Western Illinois Today

A Matherville woman facing three felony meth-related charges has had her pretrial release revoked. 40-year-old Ashley Engels appeared in Mercer County Circuit Court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing, where a Mercer County judge denied [FULL STORY]

Registration remains open for this year’s Mercer County Fair Queen Pageant. Contestants can sign up for the Little Miss competition (ages 6-9), Junior Miss Competition (ages 11-14), and the Miss Mercer County Fair Queen competition [FULL STORY]

The Western Illinois Support and Engagement (WISE) Deflection Initiative aims to prevent people from becoming involved in the criminal justice system by redirecting them to specific support services. WISE works with people who are struggling [FULL STORY]

Local State Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha) passed legislation out of the House Public Health Committee dealing with Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, or SUDEP last week. SUDEP is the unexpected death of an otherwise healthy [FULL STORY]

There was a strong turnout at a community interest meeting last week in starting a youth soccer program in Aledo. The meeting was led by Aledo Parks and Recreation Superintendent Scott Earl, whose job responsibilities [FULL STORY]

An Aledo woman has pleaded guilty to two felony meth-related charges. 33-year-old Emily Colson pleaded guilty to Class X felonies of methamphetamine delivery and possession of methamphetamine in Mercer County Circuit Court last week. The [FULL STORY]

The 2026 Rhubarb Festival is three weeks away in Aledo. The event is June 5-6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Aledo’s Central Park and will include the traditional event schedule with bake sales, [FULL STORY]

An Aledo man facing felony charges following a shooting investigation in rural Henderson County will return to court next month. 21-year-old Dakota Lockmiller was arrested and charged with two Class X felony counts of aggravated [FULL STORY]

The Mercer County Family YMCA is hosting a community interest meeting to gauge interest in starting a youth soccer program in Aledo on Thursday. Aledo Parks and Recreation Superintendent Scott Earl says he’s heard more [FULL STORY]