Preparing your car now will protect it come a cold winter.NIU meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste said this winter is expected to feature periods of intense cold, two to three snowstorms, 4 inches of snow or more and a lot of wind. In addition to dressing...

Kishwaukee United Way’s Taste of the Vine will have 10,000 more sponsors today than it did last year.Kishwaukee United Way will host its 12th annual Taste of the Vine event today to raise money for more than 20 local non-profit organizations. The event...

Taxpayers will continue to support the Egyptian Theatre next year, as City Council approved TIF funding to continue through the 2014 fiscal year.TIF funds come from property taxes and are set aside to be used within the city. Mayor John Rey said the council...

Dental cleanings, oral cancer screenings and X-rays were given free to veterans and their families Saturday.This is the second annual Veterans Day celebration offered by Collins Dental Group, 2025 Aberdeen Court. Administrative assistant Martha Collins...

Area food pantries are making changes to host dinners.Nancy Hicks, site coordinator for the VAC Community Meal Program, said since July 2009, VAC’s main location at 330 Grove St. has been offering meals on the first, third and fifth Wednesdays of every...

A local jewelry store owner is planning on using her overseas finds to bring variety to her store.Every April and October, Becky Beck Ryan, of Becky Beck’s Jewelry Store, 303 E. Hillcrest Drive, travels to Antwerp, Belgium, with a group of jewelers...

Tuesday marked the first of three free self-defense classes for women taught by Rape Aggression Defense-certified instructors from NIU.Course instructor Jennifer Kirker-Priest, director of the Anthropology Museum, said one in five college-aged women is...

Dance Dimensions, 645 E. Lincoln Highway, dance studio is under new ownership and is now offering adult classes to reach out to NIU and the surrounding community.Owner Miranda Cordes took over the studio this summer after former owner Debbie Jones retired...

The DeKalb Police Department’s Targeted Response Unit’s focus on street crimes is helping the department pursue Chief Gene Lowery’s 20/20 initiatives for DeKalb.Sgt. Steve Lekkas, head of the unit, said the idea for the unit came about a year ago,...

The Sycamore Park District’s newest park is in need of a name.Students in kindergarten through sixth grade have until Nov. 8 to submit their suggestions for the name and a chance to win a $1,000 savings bond, said Superintendent of Recreation Bart Desch,...

Alumnus Carl Jenkins — a gay man who suffered sexual assault and intolerance during his time as a student — returned to NIU for the first time in nearly 40 years Thursday to talk about perseverance.Jenkins graduated in 1974 and moved to Chicago to...

Barbed wire history was part of Big Read activities on Tuesday night.Historian Gerald Brauer presented The Story of Barbed Wire: An American Invention, at the Ellwood House Visitor’s Center, 509 N. First St. He talked about the history of barbed wire,...