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COMETS STAY HOT, SWEEP DUKES BASEBALL, B1
Students of the Month STERLING, A2&3
dailyGAZETTE Monday, April 20, 2015
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
FRANKLIN GROVE | BISON HERD
It’s a girl! ... they think Nachusa director expects 3 or 4 more births this spring BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521 @SeaWarren
FRANKLIN GROVE – The baby bison born at Nachusa Grasslands 2 weeks ago – likely the first born east of the Mississippi River in 200 years – is a female. Probably. Though no veterinarian has been out there to check on the 2-week-old calf, a Nachusa worker has a hunch.
“One of our guys thinks it’s a female,” said Bill Kleiman, project director at Nachusa Grasslands. “I haven’t gotten close enough to tell. We’ve been keeping our distance.” The baby, born about 9 a.m. April 6, is the first to be born in the herd, which was brought to Nachusa in the fall – arriving in trailers from Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. In the 1500s, 30 million
bison roamed the prairies of North America until, in the 1800s, they were mostly killed off by over-hunting. The Nachusa herd was brought in to help restore the soon-tobe-1,500-acre Franklin Grove site. When bison eat grass, it helps native plants thrive by Submitted giving them more space to grow throughout the prairie The 2-week-old bison calf born at Naschusa Grasslands near Franklin Grove is likely a female – according to one of the workers in the land. project. Three or four adults are pregnant, and could deliver in typical BISON CONTINUED ON A4 calving season: mid-May to mid-June.
NEWS ANALYSIS | SCHOOL FUNDING
SPRING CLEANING ALONG HENNEPIN CANAL
Bill to revise formula a no go? Tweak does little to soften opposition BY KERRY LESTER The Associated Press
Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Sisters Emily (above), 9, and Natalie Brotheridge (below), 14, help clean up the Hennepin Canal on Saturday afternoon in Rock Falls. The Rock River Development Authority organized the spring clean-up of the canal, bringing in several groups, including representatives of Newman High School Key Club, Moore Tires, Boy Scouts Troop 72 and Sauk Valley Bank. The youngsters pitched in just in the nick of time, with winds expected to gust up to 33 mph today. In fact, wind is supposed to be a nuisance all week. See the 5-day forecast for the Sauk Valley on A3.
SPRINGFIELD – Despite a revamp to ease partisan and regional opposition, lawmakers see little chance of passing legislation this session that would overhaul the state’s outdated school funding formula for the first time in 2 decades. The intent of the original bill was to increase state support for poor downstate schools, but sponsors revised it to reduce corresponding losses for wealthier school districts in Chicago and its suburbs. The revision would mean roughly $60 million less for downstate schools than in the original bill, with Chicago and its collar counties losing substantially less than first proposed, according to an Illinois State Board of Education analysis. FORMULA CONTINUED ON A4
STERLING FIRE
Anna Marks (left), 10, and May Reter, 15, tandem to fill a trash bag among the thick stuff along the Hennepin Canal.
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TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 161 ISSUE 93
INDEX
ABBY ................... A7 COMICS ............... A8 CROSSWORD....B10
LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 NATION/WORLD .. A9
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
Everyone is OK Crews spent more than 2 hours fighting a fire, but couldn’t salvage a home. Read more on A3.
Today’s weather High 57. Low 34. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B6.
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