Heavy thunderstorms crossed South Central Illinois late Saturday afternoon, prompting tornado warnings for Marion, Clinton, Washington, and Jefferson Counties as well as severe thunderstorm warnings for the entire region. No building damage has been reported. There were a number of isolated power outages reported on the Tri-County and Ameren systems, mainly related to downed trees and tree limbs. A transformer reportedly blew near the Odin and Community Beach Road intersection. Woods Lane, ...

Salem, a graduating German foreign exchange student, has had the opportunity to learn about North American culture, gain new experiences, and make connections with people from different backgrounds. Laura Hirschberger's journey in America will end this Sunday at 2 p.m. as she becomes an SCHS graduate. Hirschberger has had a fun year and has enjoyed her time in Salem. She notes the differences in schooling here versus Germany. "It's hard at first because it's so different, especially like...

On Tuesday evening, May 12, 2026, the South Central High School Academic Awards Night was held. Principal Michael Koehnke welcomed students, parents, faculty and administration and gave opening remarks. Mr. Koehnke began the awards ceremony by presenting the Honor Roll and High Honor Roll. The Honor Roll GPA requirements are 3.25-3.74. Honor Roll Awards were presented to the following students: Cambria Allen Aubrey Beal Landen Boone Lincoln Boone Mary Brown Leah Butts Landon Courson Haidyn Cr...

by Jenna Schweikert and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR), Capitol News Illinois May 14, 2026 Article Summary With less than a month left in the spring legislative session, Senate Democrats introduced a package of bills aimed at regulating some artificial intelligence usage. The eight bills tackle consumer protections, chatbot transparency and how AI can be used in schools. The senators said the lack of federal policy was part of their motivation for introducing legislation, by banding toget...

A 58-year-old Salem woman was injured in a Thursday morning car-deer crash. Lisa Jourdan of College Street Road was southbound on Route 37 near Cartter Road south of Salem when the deer ran out in front of her. Jourdan was taken to Salem Township Hospital for treatment of apparent minor injuries. There was no one else in the car. The Salem Fire Prevention District and United Medical Response were both called to assist Marion County Sheriff's Deputies on the scene. The crash occurred at 7:50 ...

A 24-year-old Salem man has been charged in Marion County Court with aggravated identity theft and identity theft. Mason Becker is accused of using personal information of a family member to fraudulently obtain credit, money, goods and services. The theft reportedly occurred between December 28th of last year and April 23rd. The Marion County Sheriff's Department places the total loss from the fraud at about $1,000. A preliminary hearing is set for June 9th. A public defender was appointed ...

This is graduation weekend for many area schools. Sandoval High School handed out 22 diplomas at Thursday night graduation led by valedictorian Cameron Reynolds and salutatorian Jacoby Diaz. Odin and South Central High, Kaskaskia College, and Franklin Park Middle School in Salem all have graduations Friday night. 12 will graduate from Odin led by valedictorian Cloie Bechdoldt and salutatorian Lincoln Roberts. South Central will have 33 graduates, led by valedictorian Elizabeth Meyer and sa...

A 25-year-old Centralia man has been sentenced to one and a half years in prison after his probation was revoked on a felony resisting arrest charge. William Weathersby of Orange Tree Road in Centralia pulled away from a Centralia Police officer attempting to handcuff him causing an injury to the officer's left elbow. The incident occurred on July 24th, 2022. Weathersby will have to complete six months of mandatory supervised release when getting out of prison. Weathersby had originally bee...