Good morning, Peoria.

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile will visit events this week — it stops at the Canton Friendship Festival Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., at a Peoria Walmart on Friday from 1 to 5 p.m., and at the Stark County Fall Festival in Wyoming on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Morton gained official recognition as the Pumpkin Capital of the World when Mayor Jeff Kaufman and the Chamber of Commerce Executive Director unveiled a marker Tuesday — a day before the Pumpkin Festival begins — that celebrates a tradition dating back to 1835.

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria expects 50,000 to attend Archbishop Fulton J.

Sheen’s beatification mass in St. Louis on Sept. 24, while a Sheen Awards event is set for Sept. 25 in Peoria + plans continue for a museum in his former high school.

Illinois Central College received a $3M state grant to renovate 26,000 sqft of lab and classroom space for manufacturing training, funded by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The phased upgrade will support advanced technologies and is set to finish by fall 2028, benefiting students and local employers.

Residents at Glen Oak Manor Apartments on North Wisconsin Avenue say overflowing dumpsters and uncollected trash are attracting rodents and stray animals amid hot weather today.

Property management has not yet commented as the situation continues.

Peoria Public Schools' board hired interim CFO Marcus Alexander to serve for 75 days at $800 per day after Michael Curry resigned in August; the former Chicago superintendent will travel two or three days each week as audits continue.

On Tuesday, Sept. 15, Illinois American Water said forever chemicals were found in untreated groundwater from a well serving the community water system, though treated water remains safe.

The utility notified customers and will invest $92 million to add PFAS treatment upgrades by 2029.