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These Illinois towns make America's Most 'Christmassy' list

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

CHICAGO — When it comes to Christmas, a pair of Illinois towns are making America's favorite list — no need to check it twice. Most may know Santa Claus, Indiana or North Police, Alaska, but Illinois is home to two of America's Favorite 'Christmassy' Towns in 2023, according to a new report by Mixbook.Galena (No. 49) and Naperville (No. 58) make the 'Top 75 list.' About 3,000 families were surveyed. 21st annual WGN Morning News drive-thru toy drive, presented by AARP Chicago, to be held Friday, December 8 Galena in northwest Illinois cracks the top 50 due, in part, to the town's preserved history, draped with holiday lights and decorations. The town's Main Street is also known for holiday shopping. The "Night of the Luminaria" is also one of the town's most Christmas-hyped events. Naperville's Christmas festivities include the Naper Lights display, a holiday-lit Riverwalk and the town's annual Christkindlmarket. Naperville's holiday concerts and family-friendly activities were als...

Sources: APD officer shot in southwest Austin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- An Austin Police officer was shot in southwest Austin, and a person was taken into custody, three law enforcement sources told KXAN Tuesday evening.Details surrounding the shooting were not immediately available. A KXAN crew on the scene reported a heavy law enforcement presence in the area of Austral Loop in the Circle C community near La Crosse Avenue and MoPac Expressway.One law enforcement source told KXAN the officer suffered non-life threatening injuries.KXAN is working to learn more about the suspect and has a crew on the way.This is a developing story. We will update this as more details are available.

Twins hunting for pitching rotation reinforcements in slow-moving market

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

NASHVILLE — Sonny Gray has departed for St. Louis. Kenta Maeda will make his new home in Detroit for the next couple seasons. And now, the Twins’ front office must decide how to best reinforce a starting pitching rotation that was among the best in the major leagues last season.“Losing those guys is tough, but you don’t want to have the exact same club every single year,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I also think some movement on the roster creates a little hunger and shakes things up in a good way for a lot of the players, too.”Twins starters finished the season with a 3.82 earned-run average — first in the American League — helping carry the team to a first-place finish in the Central division.While replacing Gray — he finished second in Cy Young Award voting last season — and Maeda won’t be an easy task, the Twins have one internal option they plan to turn to — Chris Paddack, who returned from Tommy John surgery late last season — and another potential option in Louie Varl...

Twins’ Alex Kirilloff, Jose Miranda progressing well after shoulder surgeries

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

NASHVILLE — The Twins got better-than-expected news on a pair of players they’re relying on to play first base next season after both had surgery this fall.The Twins were expecting Alex Kirilloff to need a labrum repair in his right shoulder. Instead, when he went under the knife in late October, he had a less invasive surgery — a bursectomy — with a shorter recovery timetable. The same goes for Jose Miranda, who dealt with a shoulder issue that plagued him all of last season. Upon his visit to the surgeon, the Twins found out that Miranda wouldn’t need a repair or a major surgery but rather just a cleanup in his right shoulder.Both have been progressing well, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said.Kirilloff is primarily lifting, running and doing non-baseball activities that do not incorporate his upper body. Falvey said he was “in a good spot,” though he was not yet ready to put specifics on Kirilloff’s timeline for his return to baseball activities.Miranda start...

State senator chosen to be Missouri's next top educator

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A state senator will not be running for re-election next year because she has been chosen to lead Missouri's education department.After seven years as the commissioner for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Margie Vandeven will resign in July. Instead of conducting a national search, the State Board of Education appointed a former assistant commissioner to be Missouri's next top educator."This is our time in Missouri to make a difference for all of the children of Missouri, the families and the educators," board member Kerry Casey said. "Missouri cannot continue in the status quo. Missouri cannot not be a leader in education. We need to be at the head of the pack, not the middle of the pack, and not at the end."A familiar face is returning to the state's education department. Sen. Karla Eslinger, R-Wasola, has a long background in education. From teacher and principal to superintendent to assistant commissioner at DESE and then serving...

On the border, the perfect burrito is a thin, foil-wrapped treasure

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

By Pati Jinich, The New York TimesCIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — One bite of a chile verde con papas burrito at Burritos Sarita in Ciudad Juárez has the power to shatter whatever preconceived notions you have about burritos. In it, a pillowy-soft flour tortilla, with hints of smoke from the griddle, swaddles a fragrant mix of tender potatoes, caramelized onions and fire-roasted chile verde that is coated in a salty and tangy thick crema.From start to finish, the tin-foiled treasure is delicate and neat. Burrito renditions far from this border city tend to be overstuffed, oversized, overdressed and overblown. But here, a purist burrito, as locals call it, has only what it needs: one tortilla, one filling.“It is our hallmark,” said Paty Covarrubias, the food truck’s general manager, of burritos’ importance to the city. She has been working for her aunt Sarita Alfaro’s business since she was 14.“My tía taught me you have to know how to make every part of the burrito yourself,” she said....

CHSAA’s first state football championships at Canvas Stadium exceed average attendance for games at Broncos’ stadium, event sponsor says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

With the first high school football state titles at Canvas Stadium in the books, fans showed they are willing to head north for championship football.The Class 5A and 4A title games pitting Columbine vs. Cherry Creek and Erie vs. Palmer Ridge drew a combined attendance of approximately 12,500 to Fort Collins last Saturday, according to a spokesperson for event sponsor Canvas Credit Union.That estimate exceeds six of the final seven “Championship Saturdays” held at Empower Field, where the games were played from 2005-22, minus the 2020 COVID year.“I was a little hesitant about what to think as far as sending two metro schools up to Fort Collins for the game,” Columbine coach Andy Lowry admitted, “but I thought our crowd was really good and the stadium was beautiful. I don’t think it impacted our fans traveling.”The 12,500 figure represents 1,500 more than last year’s crowd in Denver. Over the 17 years the games were played in the Bronco...

Home sales are expected to soar in these California cities next year

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

With mortgage rates finally easing, many California cities are expected to see home sales rebound significantly next year, according to a new forecast from Realtor.com.Five metro areas are predicted to see double-digit, year-over-year sales growth in 2024.They are Oxnard-Thousand Oaks (18%), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (13.8%), Bakersfield (13.4%), San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad (11%) and Sacramento (10.3%). Home sales in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area are predicted to climb 9.2% after seeing declining sales for two years. You can still find homes well below $500K in these California counties The online real estate portal ranked the top 100 markets based on two factors: expected single-family home sales growth and anticipated growth in median home prices. In all six of those California markets, prices are expected to climb by more than 40% over the 2017-19 average, according to Realtor."Among California metros, an interesting split emerges. Five California metros entered our...

Christmas Grinches targeting homes in Riverside County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

As Southern Californians prepare for the holiday season, Christmas Grinches targeting Riverside County homes remain at large.On Dec. 1 at around 4:30 a.m., Alexandra Falcon’s surveillance video caught at least two suspects trespassing on her property on Calle Vejar in Moreno Valley.“A group of guys were on my lawn and on my neighbor's as well and they had unplugged from the extension chord on two of our inflatables,” Falcon said.The woman’s security cameras captured at least two people stealing large, pricey Christmas decorations from the homes on her street.“We had a singular reindeer, like a Rudolph reindeer, and then we had a Santa,” Falcon said.Video from Falcon and her neighbor across the street shows a man approaching Falcon's home, then walking away. Minutes later, he returns to grab the holiday inflatables from her front lawn and calmly walks away.Surveillance video captures two thieves stealing large, pricey Christmas decorations from a Moreno Valley neighborhood on Dec. 1,...

3 German shepherds struck, killed in Canyon Country

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

At least three German shepherds are dead after they were hit on a highway in Canyon Country on Monday, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Signal.The dogs, which were initially thought to be coyotes, were hit at about 12:40 a.m. on the northbound side of Highway 14 at Sand Canyon Road, California Highway Patrol Officer Josh Greengard told the Signal.Officers found the dogs dead at the scene.The origin of the canines is unknown.