Jenna Dooley

Northern Illinois University athletic officials have reported a $253,780 profit from the Jan. 1 Orange Bowl in Florida. The MAC conference distributed $1.3 million. Expenses for NIU totaled around $1 million.

Donna Turner, NIU Associate Athletic Director for Communications, says there was a net gain due to the agreements made with the Mid-American Conference and the effective management of expenses.

Flooding displaces residents, but it can also have an impact on wildlife.  It's nesting time for many Illinois water fowl and wild turkey populations. Tim Schweizer with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources says wildlife officials don't intervene during times of flood:

When voters went to the polls last month, a majority chose Joe Boyer for Rock Run Township highway commissioner.  He passed away March 1. Stephenson County Clerk Vici Otte says by the time her office was made aware of the death, absentee voting had already started:

Last year's drought continues to weigh on farmers. That's according to Doug Yoder with the Illinois Farm Bureau. He oversees risk management. March 15th was the deadline to buy crop insurance for corn and soybeans. He expects more than 80 percent of Illinois corn will be covered by some type of crop insurance and 79 percent of soybeans. Yoder doesn't expect the extreme conditions like last year:

In a plea deal reached with DeKalb County prosecutors, William Curl will serve 37 years for the murder of Toni Keller. The NIU freshman art major was found murdered near campus in 2010.