Sidney News

Sweet Charity: Who better to tackle Charity Hope Valentine than an actor with the fabulous moniker of Summer Smart? Smart, most recently seen as Nessarose in 'Wicked,' plays the sunny-but-gullible dance hall ... via Chicago Tribune

“The puppies' health and their well-being is our main concern”

Posted: 11/29/07 Section: Diversions Media Credit: David Lai Shop owner Kari Pryor, resident of Sidney, Ill., is playing with the puppies at the Lucky Puppy Boutique and Barkery, located at the Marketplace ... via The Daily Illini

“This is taxpayer's property, but we've run it just as if we've owned it”

After generations of reliance on the rain, the soil and the University of Illinois to guide their planting and harvesting decisions, the state's farmers are threatening to drop their support for the school over its decision to rent thousands of donated acres to the highest bidders instead of its longtime tenants. The dispute pits the Illinois Farm Bureau and small-scale farmers who have lived for decades on university land against school officials who say they want a bigger and steadier income from their nearly 11,000 acres to pay for research, scholarships and other educational purposes. It comes amid boom times in Illinois agriculture, as soaring grain prices and land values raise the financial stakes across the Corn Belt. Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson has warned university trustees that the state's leading agriculture group no longer will lobby Springfield on the school's behalf, endow additional professorships or encourage members to make donations. Read more