Our small but mighty news team reported on a wide range of stories this year across our coverage area.
We narrowed down the Top Ten Stories of 2023 by evaluating their impact and importance to our region, as well as the quality of the reporting.
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10. Addressing Hunger in the Region
The Galesburg Community Foundation’s Hunger Collaborative grew out of what organizations were already doing during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep communities fed. Our story took a look at where the collaborative stands in 2023 as more than 30 non-profits are working to address the root causes of food insecurity in the area. Elsewhere in our region, our story about a Fort Madison teenager’s cookbook for food pantry patrons was a popular one.
9. Carbide Cleanup
Who doesn’t love an environmental cleanup story? Keokuk got a $2 million brownfield grantfrom the EPA to start cleaning up contaminants from the abandoned Elkem-Carbide site. The initial grant was for the first section of the 80-acre site, and the city will apply for more federal funding to clean up the rest. The goal is to have the contaminated site cleaned up, redeveloped, and back on the tax rolls within a few years.
8. A Derecho, a Drought, and Near-Flood
Our news team debated if weather stories warranted being on our top ten list. Ultimately we decided this trio of events tells a story about our changing climate. Even without much rainfall this spring, the Mississippi River was threatening to floodin southeast Iowa because of excessive snowmelt from more northern points along the river. By June, much of the region was considered to be in a severe drought. At the end of June, a powerful derecho whipped through the parts of the region, snapping trees and downing power lines with winds that reached 100 mph. Power outages lasted for days.
7. Brand-New Schools
Construction of new schools in the Macomb and West Prairie school districts was cause for excitement. The nearly $18 million Macomb Middle School was the first new building in that district in decades. It was partially funded by a countywide school facilities tax approved in 2016. West Prairie got a new junior/senior high school by stripping its old middle school to its bones and building a new facility around it. That $10 million project was also partially funded by the countywide tax.
6. The Eye Drops Murder
The decomposing remains of Richard Young were found in a Maquon storage unit in the fall of 2022. But Marcy Oglesby was not charged with murder until February. She’s accused of poisoning the Knox County village’s former police chief with eye drops and other medication. In March, murder charges were dismissed over concerns her rights to a speedy trial were violated. Oglesby was later released from custody. However, an appellate court ruling reinstated murder chargesin November. Oglesby will appear in court on the murder charges Jan. 8.
5. Galesburg Community Center
At the end of 2022, the city council had designated the former Churchill Junior High as the site of a proposed community center – and approved and a sales tax increase to support the up to $7 million project. Early this year, the council also approved a $5 million bond issue. After April’s election, the community center project took a different direction. Churchill was put up for sale and half of the bond proceeds were redirected to road repairs. In addition, a task force was appointed to take up the issue of a community center and was given a $2.5 million funding cap. Theirnearly unanimous recommendation includes giving $800,000 to the YMCA.
4. Pipeline Plans Scrapped
Our top story of 2022 was local opposition to Navigator Heartland Greenway’s proposed CO2 pipeline. That project would have pumped CO2 from biofuel plants in five states to a storage site in central Illinois – and pass through our region. Landowners and environmental advocates who pushed back on the project had cause to celebrate in October of this year, when Navigator pulled the plug on the project. The company said the project was challenging due to the unpredictable nature of government regulations. Local pipeline opponents celebrated with a “Toppling Goliath” party.
3. City Manager Sagas
In June, Galesburg City Manager Gerald Smith signed a separation agreement with the city amid allegations he violated thestate’s eavesdropping laws by illegally recording conversations and meetings. He had been on the job for just over seven months. After a few interimcity managers filled the role, Galesburg hired Eric Hanson for the position. In Keokuk, city administrator Cole O’Donnell tried to resign in March, but the council voted it down. O’Donnell was able to resign in September, and now a search for a new administrator is underway.
2. The House Party Shooting
In the early morning hours of March 25, gunfire broke out at a Macomb house party in the 500 block of North Johnson Street. One person was killed and ten were wounded, including six Western Illinois University students. Our first story was just hours after the shooting, and we’ve covered it from the early press conferences, arrests, and court appearances to a detailed look at how a small, rural hospital ER handled the influx of shooting victims that morning.
1. Deputy Involved in Fatal Crash
On a Friday night in late January, a McDonough County Sheriff’s Deputy was involved in a fatal crash on U.S. Route 67. Details about the case were sparse at first. State police weren’t talking and neither was the Sheriff’s department. Over the course of the year and through multiple Freedom of Information Act requests, we brought you the story of what happened that night, from the dispatch audio to the state police’s investigation report that showed speeds reached 140 mph on the two-lane highway. No charges have been filed against the Deputy involved in the crash, but he remains on administrative leave. The family of the man killed in the chase has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against sheriff’s department.
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