Illinois

$1M Winning Ticket 'Huge News' In Tiny Illinois Town Of 1K

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2024

M Winning Ticket 'Huge News' In Tiny Illinois Town Of 1K

MITCHELL, IL – A lucky resident of a small town just outside of St. Louis may be the state’s newest millionaire after Illinois Lottery officials said that a $1 million winning ticket had been sold at a local convenience store there.

The winning Mega Millions ticket was sold on Tuesday at 508 Variety Shop, which is located on Chain of Rocks Road in Mitchell, which has a population of just about 1,000 people, lottery officials announced on Thursday.

Amber Ronk, who owns and operates the variety shop, suspects the winner is a local resident of Mitchell given the fact that about 90 percent of the store’s customers reside in the tiny Illinois border town.

But as small as the town may be, news of a new millionaire is anything but that.

“This really is huge news for our town,” Ronk said in a news release issued by the Illinois Lottery. “Mitchell is a very small town —blink and you might miss it. I am so excited for the winner.”

She added: “I hope I find out who won so we can bask in the joy with them.”

Ronk said not only is the winning ticket a big deal in town, but it’s also big news for the store, where she began working as a cashier 14 years ago. She said that she was hired by the former owner, who introduced her to his son whom she then married and later became the owner.

For selling the winning ticket, the store will earn a bonus of 1 percent of the winnings — or $10,000.

“Owning a business can be stressful and every day has its challenges,” Ronk said.”I am hoping to spend some of the bonus on a vacation with my family, so I can enjoy some quality time with my husband and kids.”

She added: “(Owning the store has) been a learning process, and it’s been a wonderful experience. Life really is all about the journey.”

The lucky player purchased the winning ticket matching all five numbers in the January 16 Mega Millions drawing to score the $1,000,000 prize. The winning numbers were: 2-10-42-49-54 with a Megaplier number of 13.

Two other players also won prizes of $1,000,000 in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, with winners in Michigan and South Carolina. More than 21,000 winning tickets were purchased by Illinois Lottery players for the drawing.

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Illinois

Two rounds of snow on the way to central Illinois – IPM Newsroom

Published

10 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Two rounds of snow on the way to central Illinois – IPM Newsroom

Snow is making a comeback in Central Illinois.

IPM meteorologist Andrew Pritchard said A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for Champaign County and surrounding portions of east-central Illinois beginning Thursday at 3:00 p.m. to Friday at 6:00 a.m.

Snow will spread into Champaign-Urbana between 3-6 PM late this afternoon into the evening with periods of moderate to heavy snowfall continuing overnight. Snow should taper off around sunrise on Friday morning, with around 2-4″ of new snow accumulation expected across Champaign County.

Winds will blow out of the east around 5-10 mph, with minimal impacts from blowing & drifting snow. Still, snow accumulation on roadways could lead to hazardous travel conditions overnight into the Friday morning commute.

On Saturday, the National Weather Service in Central Illinois forecasted for snow to return on Saturday afternoon. The chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Temperatures will drop below zero across much of central Illinois both Saturday night and Sunday night with resulting wind chill values as cold as 15 to 30 below zero.

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Illinois

Woman facing charges 5 years after infant’s remains found in north suburbs, police say

Published

22 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Woman facing charges 5 years after infant’s remains found in north suburbs, police say

RIVERWOODS, Ill. (WLS) — A woman is facing charges five years after the discovery of a dead newborn in the north suburbs.

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Riverwoods, Illinois police say Natalie Schram gave birth to the baby in May 2020 and then dumped the baby’s body in a wooded area in the 1800 block of Robinwood Lane.

Schram was arrested earlier this month in Washington State and has now bee charged in connection to the crime, police said.

SEE ALSO | 2 charged after infant’s remains found buried at Wilmington home, Will County sheriff says

The suspect is expected to appear in a Lake County, Illinois courtroom on Thursday.

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Illinois

Catching up with Illinois State after huge playoff upset victory

Published

2 days ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

Catching up with Illinois State after huge playoff upset victory

December 9, 2025 / 10:11 PM CST
/ CBS Chicago

Illinois State Redbirds pulled off the comeback of the year and maybe all-time this past Saturday.

ISU, who were 23-point underdogs, rallied from 14 points down with three minutes to go to knock off No. 1-ranked and defending champion North Dakota State in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in Fargo, North Dakota.

Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse overcame five interceptions to engineer the huge 29-28 upset.

Head coach Brock Spack and Arlington Heights receiver Dan Sobkowicz, who caught the game-winning touchdown, discussed the team’s spirit following the win.

“I had 142 texts, and so, I answered every single one of em, how about that. Either with a fist bump or thumbs up or ‘thank you very much,’ I answered every one,” Spack said. “Our players persevered, and they never lost. You can tell this is a different vibe. They just never lost confidence that they were going to win. To have five turnovers, and to be able to survive that and win, and beat these guys like that is amazing.”

“Obviously, it was a really good scrambler,” Sobkowicz said. “Just kinda wanted to make something happen, I mean, he found me, and, uh, obviously, I didn’t really think much of it, honestly, at that play right after, but words can’t really explain how much that meant. I think it’s just a cool moment that I’m probably never going to forget.”

The Redbirds will play UC-Davis Saturday in the FCS quarterfinals.

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