• Firefighter reported injured battling Tuesday evening blaze

There are reports of a firefighter being injured while battling a fire in Essex last night. Few details are available, but what we do know is Essex fire was called to a house fire on Kody Alan Drive in Braidwood Tuesday evening. It's thought a firefighter fell through the floor of the home and had to be rescued. We'll have more details for you as they become available.

• Crime Stopper Tip of the Week

Local law enforcement officials are looking into a theft from a storage unit earlier this week. Kankakee County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Trent Bukowski has our Crime Stoppers Tip of the Week. Tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and could result in a cash reward.

• Bradley Police Holiday safety message

Officer Megan Lanie with the Bradley Police Department has a few tips to help make this Christmas Holiday a safe one. The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration says in 2023, which is the last year for which numbers are available, there were more than one-thousand traffic related deaths over the Christmas Holiday period

• Kankakee County Sheriff's Department "Don't Drink and Drive"

For a lot of us, the Christmas Holiday has begun, Kankakee County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Trent Bukowski has some tips to make Christmas travel a little safer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration expects there to be some 500 traffic related deaths nation-wide over the Christmas Holiday period

• Beware the Holiday Blues

It's that time of year where Holiday Blues could set in for some. Riverside Psychiatry Resident Doctor Breanna Wennberg has some tips on how to cope with those feelings. Doctor Wennberg says when those Holiday Blues last for longer than a week or two, that's a sign there is something more serious going on like Major Depressive Disorder.

Hear the unforgettable true stories of Kankakee County. Search for "This One Time in Kankakee" wherever you get your podcasts or click here: https://pod.link/1843321847

• Powerball jackpot grows

The Powerball jackpot is rolling over again with no grand prize winner on Monday night. That puts it at a staggering one-point-seven billion dollars with next drawing on Christmas Eve. There were a number of million-dollar winners on Monday, with those tickets sold in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

• Bradley announces lighting contest winners

Bradley Mayor Mike Watson announced the winners of the 7th Annual Bradley Holiday Homes Lighting Contest at last night's village board meeting.

• Bradley Trustees approve proposal for waterpark plans

Bradley Trustees passed a resolution to approve a proposal for the conceptual design layout for the Mattel Waterpark at Monday night's Village Board meeting. Bradley Mayor Mike Watson says there will be a multiple designs to choose from. It was just two weeks ago when the Bradley Village Board announced their future waterpark would now be Mattel branded. They hope to break ground on the project along I-57 in Bradley sometime this Spring or Summer.

Hear the unforgettable true stories of Kankakee County. Search for "This One Time in Kankakee" wherever you get your podcasts or click here: https://pod.link/1843321847

• Man shot/killed Sunday evening

Kankakee City Police are investigating after a man was shot to death in the City Sunday evening. In a press release, City Police say it was just before six last night when they were called to the 12-hundred block of East Oak Street for a report of shots fired. The caller told dispatchers someone was trying to break into his apartment and he had shot at them. When they got there, City Police say they found a 35-year-old man lying outside the apartment where the attempted break-in had allegedly happened. Reports say the man was taken to the hospital where he later died of his wounds. The shooting is under investigation.

• Gas prices down for holiday travelers

Gas prices are down as people hit the roads for the Christmas Holiday. Triple-A says the average cost for a gallon of gas is two-dollars-94 cents across the Land of Lincoln, that's more than 30 cents cheaper than it was a this time last year. Triple-A says gas in Kankakee County is running 2.80 a gallon on average down a penny overnight and down 11 cents in the past week. Gas in Iroquois County is also running 2.80 on average. It's 2.98 on average in Ford County, 2.99 in Livingston County, 2.94 in Grundy County and 2.85 in Will County.

Across the State Line, Triple A says a gallon of gas will set you back two-dollars-66 cents on average in Newton County, 2.90 in Benton County and 2.80 in Jasper County. A gallon of gas is running 2.76 on average across the Hoosier State. The Nation-wide average is two-dollars-85 cents a gallon.

• Griffith IN police make arrest in ice cream heist

Griffith Indiana police say they have arrested a suspect for the theft of 62-hundred-dollars worth of ice cream. Christopher Stewart is accused of stealing 258-cases of ice cream over several weeks and admitted to police he stole and re-sold it. The thefts happened in northwest Indiana and Stewart is charged with two Level 6 Felonies for theft and one misdemeanor for leaving the scene of a crash. The Level 6 Felony charges carry a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence if he is convicted.

• Newton County, IN authorities warn of scam

The Newton County Sheriff's Police are reporting another scam going around the area. In this one, the victim got a call saying someone was being released from custody and would be arriving at the victim's home within an hour. The scammer then pressures the victim to pay for "an emergency protective order" by picking from their "tiers of safety" program. The scammer asks for the money to be sent to an individual and not a business. A Newton County resident was scammed out of some 13-hundred dollars. Authorities remind you that legitimate law enforcement or court services do not demand immediate payment over the phone or ask how much money someone has available. Anyone receiving similar calls is advised to hang up and report the incident to law enforcement.

• Beecher Police look for attempted armed robber

Beecher Police are asking for help to identify those responsible for an attempted armed robbery in the Village. On their Facebook page, Beecher Police say there was an attempted armed robbery with a firearm at a vape shop on Indiana Avenue Friday afternoon. The suspect, who's described as a white man, reportedly got into a car and took off. Beecher Police ask anyone with any information on the incident to contact their office.

• Will County authorities release names of crash victims

Will County Coroner Laurie Summer has released the names of two people killed in a traffic crash

Hear the unforgettable true stories of Kankakee County. Search for "This One Time in Kankakee" wherever you get your podcasts or click here: https://pod.link/1843321847