News Progress

River Ferries •October 29, 2025• by Janet Roney Crossing rivers was a huge problem for the early pioneers and Native Americans who came before them. Rivers acted as barriers between developing communities. It took some effort for neighborhoods on opposite sides of the rivers to mix. (Our modern Lake Shelbyville acts like a barrier today because only three bridges span the lake in thirty or forty miles.) The Indians worked out a system for crossing rivers in central Illinois. They kept canoes hidden on either side of larger streams at trail crossings. Isaac Hill marked the spot on the “Okaw” … Read More

2015 When Brianna Mahon graduated from Sullivan High School in 2008, her need for speed had already taken over the teenage honor student’s life. Professional MotoCross racing dominated her weekends then, but today she’s getting into bigger machines. Mild-mannered hairdresser by day, and on the weekends, she gets behind the wheel of the monster Jam Truck Scooby Doo in nationwide events. The Sullivan IGA ‘Round Up’ may be an annual fundraiser, but for the Moultrie County Food pantry, it helps lighten a big load this time of year, providing 200 Thanksgiving dinner baskets, which is a recurring need. “ A … Read More