David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — After 94 weeks of failing to find a winner, organizers of the Knights of Columbus 50-50 Jackpot Raffle promised someone will claim the grand prize next week. Brandon Isaacks had the winning PIN number during Thursday night’s drawing in Father McGivney Hall on the K of C grounds, but his choice of No.…
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QUINCY — Muddy River News obtained video on Thursday from the Adams County State’s Attorney’s office — through a Freedom of Information Act request — showing what happened in the parking lot of McDonald’s Restaurant, 1301 Broadway, on the night of Nov. 22, 2022. Security video that night from McDonald’s shows Dailean Millner-Williams driving his…
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QUINCY — Saying he’s ready to “uplift the staff, continue to push them and allow them to be able to do what they need to do,” Jarid Jones took advantage of three votes from new commissioners to be elected president of the Quincy Park Board during Wednesday night’s meeting. Jones and Mark Philpot attended their…
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QUINCY — Jim Heckenkamp said he “lost his fire” when his wife, Darlene, died at age 55 in 1992. “Ever go home to an empty house?” he said with a deep sigh. “There’s nothing worse.” He retired two years later from the wholesale floral business, choosing to deliver flowers on a part-time basis instead. Then…
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QUINCY — City Treasurer Linda Moore told members of the Quincy City Council on Monday night that the city’s police and firefighters pension funds have lost a combined $7 million since a state mandate forced the city to invest in statewide investment funds. Moore’s report for the fiscal year ending April 30 showed the Quincy…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man facing attempted murder charges for driving his car into a parked vehicle with several occupants in the parking lot of a local restaurant received a 15-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Dailean Millner-Williams, 21, was in Adams County Circuit Court before Judge Robert Adrian on Monday afternoon with…
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Complications with scheduling experts forces Wiley first-degree murder trial to be moved to November
QUINCY — A trial for a Quincy man, charged nearly five years ago with first-degree murder in the death of an infant, must wait six more months. Travis Wiley, 35, appeared with public defenders Todd Nelson and Shelby Hoiness for a pre-trial hearing before Judge Michael Atterberry Friday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court. Wiley…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man facing up to five years in prison after pleading guilty for threatening a public official received 24 months of probation instead. As part of a straight plea, Chaeto Nichols, 19, had one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony, and a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a…
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QUINCY — A simple 50-50 raffle — with a big twist — has turned Thursday nights at the Knights of Columbus grounds on South 36th Street into the biggest must-attend party of the spring. It’s guaranteed to last at least one more week. No one kept attendance figures, but at least a couple thousand people were…
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QUINCY — Adams County Circuit Judge Scott Larson signed an order Thursday immediately allowing portable electronic devices in the Adams County Courthouse. However, using those devices in the courthouse will have limitations. The order limits visitors to using portable electronic devices in the common areas of the courthouse, such as lobbies and hallways, for email,…
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QUINCY — The third session of a constitutional convention to propose separating downstate Illinois from Chicago and Cook County will be held Friday and Saturday, May 5-6, at the Holiday Inn, 4821 Oak. The Friday night and Saturday morning presentations are open to the public. The event is presented by New Illinois. It describes itself…
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QUINCY — Quincy’s two newest aldermen said their focus is on “learning the process” after they completed their first meeting Monday night as members of the Quincy City Council. City Clerk Laura Oakman swore in Glen Ebbing (R-5) and Jake Reed (R-6) before Monday’s meeting, officially giving Republicans a 10-4 advantage. Ebbing replaces John Mast,…
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QUINCY — Quincy Mayor Mike Troup says he has no intention of asking 4th Ward alderman Mike Farha to rejoin the two committees he resigned from earlier this week, saying “his time’s up.” “He showed his true colors,” Troup said after Thursday’s special meeting of the Quincy City Council, during which aldermen passed a $50.29 million…
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QUINCY — A trial for a Quincy man charged nearly five years ago with first-degree murder in the death of an infant is on track to begin May 15. Only one more hurdle must be cleared. Travis Wiley, 35, appeared with public defenders Todd Nelson and Shelby Hoiness for a pre-trial hearing before Judge Michael…
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QUINCY — Another rash of car thefts and car burglaries has led to another plea from Mike Tyler, deputy chief for the Quincy Police Department. “We’ve got to get the message out to the community to lock their vehicles, lock their homes and don’t leave keys in the vehicle where it can get stolen,” he…
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QUINCY — The Althoff family is finally getting out of the hotel business. Jim and Jo Ann Althoff have owned and/or operated the Althoff Motel, 3511 N. 24th, since 1985. Jim’s parents, Alene and Elmer Althoff, owned the 40-room motel after Jim helped build it. His parents at one time also owned the Diamond Motel,…
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QUINCY — Two flipped votes turned a potentially contentious debate over the city’s budget into much ado about nothing. Richie Reis and Patty Maples, Democratic aldermen in Quincy’s 6th Ward, were among seven aldermen at Monday night’s Quincy City Council meeting who voted not to approve a $50.29 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year. However, at a…
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QUINCY — The senior alderman on the Quincy City Council called Mayor Mike Troup “tyrannical,” believes the public is “fed up” and says the “best thing for our community” is for him to resign immediately as a deadline to pass a city budget looms. Mike Farha, a Republican alderman in the 4th Ward since his…
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QUINCY — A Wednesday afternoon motion hearing in Adams County Circuit Court didn’t go well for Bradley Yohn. Judge Roger Thomson addressed five motions made by Yohn, who is defending himself pro se in a criminal sexual assault case. One eventually was skipped, three were denied, and Yohn eventually was kicked out of the courtroom…
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QUINCY — A plea may be imminent for Quincy man facing three counts of first-degree murder. Devere Gholston, 28, appeared in Adams County Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon before Judge Tad Brenner. Gholston was represented by St. Louis area attorney Matthew Radefeld for the murder charges. Public Defender John Citro also appeared for Gholston in…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man charged in a fatal Memorial Day crash will enter a plea and be sentenced in June. Breeden Wike, 21, appeared in Adams County Circuit Court Tuesday morning before Judge Tad Brenner. Wike is represented by Chief Public Defender Todd Nelson. After briefly consulting with Wike, Nelson informed Brenner of Wike’s…
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QUINCY — The Quincy City Council approved Monday night a petition for a revocable permit allowing for the encroachment of the city right-of-way with temporary memorials. However, Stacie Sparks, who first brought the issue to aldermen on April 17, still isn’t happy. The petition was created by Assistant Corporation Counsel Bruce Alford and submitted to aldermen…
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QUINCY — Asked why they were among the seven aldermen who voted Monday night not to approve a $50.29 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year, Richie Reis (D-6) and Greg Fletcher (R-1) echoed their answer. “Communication,” they said. After three weeks of public meetings (before Quincy City Council meetings) discussing the city budget, aldermen…
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QUINCY — Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Tad Brenner has denied a petition to reduce the 115-year prison sentence of a Quincy man. Gavin Masters, 26, had filed a petition for post-conviction relief and was heard by Brenner in Adams County Circuit Court on March 30 as his lawyer, Curtis Lovelace, argued the sentence was a…
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Dear MRN, Any word on what’s going on at the old Wright’s Auto Parts property on North 24th? The place is looking good, and they continue to work. The former Wright’s Auto and Tractor Parts, a 3.32-acre property at 2024 N. 24th, was sold for $375,000, according to property tax documents filed in the Adams…
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QUINCY — A Camp Point woman facing sexual abuse charges entered an Alford plea on Friday morning in Adams County Circuit Court to an amended charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Janelle M. Sparrow, 36, appeared in Adams County Circuit Court with her attorney, Don Heck, before Judge Tad Brenner. She originally was charged with one count…
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QUINCY — The prosecution wanted the maximum prison sentence allowed, and the defense wanted probation. Judge Mark Vincent, admitting he didn’t know what he was going to do before the beginning of Friday afternoon’s sentencing hearing of John Rokusek, decided a little of both was in order. Rokusek, 60, the former owner of a Quincy…
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QUINCY — Stacie Sparks says she’s received “hundreds” of compliments from Quincy Cleaners customers when she visits the memorial she created two years ago for her son, who died in a car accident at the northeast corner of 30th and Maine. “Every time I’m out there changing it, somebody stops me and says it’s beautiful,” Sparks…
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QUINCY — The Quincy City Council voted Monday night not to pay $4,000 to the Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau for a hotel market study that was presented in February. The City of Quincy, the Oakley-Lindsay Center and the Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau commissioned Core Distinction Group, a Wisconsin hospitality consulting firm,…
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QUINCY — The profitability and popularity of youth sporting events in Quincy has prompted city officials to begin looking at the possibility of expanding the Oakley-Lindsay Center or building a nearby facility. Quincy Mayor Mike Troup and Chuck Bevelheimer, director of planning and development, have recently met with representatives with the Quincy Park District, the…
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