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Mayor Mike Turner

‘Economic impact was incredible’: Annual February festival not just fun, but boon for Woodstock and its businesses

February 13, 2023

Groundhog Day and its movie-inspired festival provide ample opportunity for economic growth in Woodstock, local officials and businesses agree. “This being the 30th anniversary of the film helped,” Real Woodstock marketing manager Melissa McMahon said of this year’s five-day festival. “We noticed an uptick in interaction with social media and websites for both Real Woodstock […]

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Metra rail yard move city’s No. 1 infrastructure priority

February 7, 2023

 Mayor Mike Turner is in Springfield this week to lobby the Legislature for infrastructure funds that he says would drive economic development in and around Woodstock. Turner and City Manager Roscoe Stelford were scheduled to travel to the state Capitol on Wednesday and return Thursday after meeting with various state officials, including the director of […]

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‘Beautiful, magical place’: Even holiday weather cooperated for ‘Today Show’ visit to Woodstock

December 13, 2022

“Chicago area, we’ve got this,” NBC5 traffic and news reporter Kye Martin said. “Woodstock has the Merriest Main Street – there is no debate whatsoever.” For the second time in 16 months, Woodstock has been prominently featured on the NBC “Today Show.” In the summer of 2020, Woodstock was chosen as the recipient of the […]

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City getting things done, planning more

May 23, 2022

An hour was barely enough time for Woodstock Mayor Mike Turner to cover all of the topics he wanted to discuss in his recent State of the City speech at the end of his first year in office.The Independent counted at least two dozen projects, programs, and achievements the mayor touched on May 12 during […]

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Pavilion concept unveiled: Mayor reviews first year in office, outlines ‘catalytic’ projects for city

May 17, 2022

You can use “Ravinia West” to describe a new downtown Woodstock Pavilion concept – a gathering place, a park, performance venue, and wintertime ice rink. That’s what Mayor Mike Turner called it last week when he publicly announced the project during his annual State of the City speech. Ravinia is an internationally known 36-acre music […]

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Die Cast site the Smart choice: Consultants say mixed-use development would benefit all of Woodstock

April 12, 2022

Twenty-five years ago this week, demolition began at the abandoned Woodstock Die Cast factory site on Clay Street. Today, the land is targeted as the city’s best opportunity to develop a catalyst for dynamic growth in the community – and city officials ought to act soon. That is the opinion of consultants from Smart Growth […]

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Federal funds boost 2022-23 city budget; spending up 50 percent, revenue by 18 percent

April 6, 2022

“Improvements to city streets, building a traffic roundabout, and spending $3.4 in pandemic-relief funds are part of Woodstock’s budget in 2022-23 that will be more than $20 million higher than this year, an increase of about 50 percent. Federal funding for some of the $61 7million in spending also will increase city revenues by about […]

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‘New mayor’ being heard: During nine months on the job, Mike Turner has pushed ‘to get things done’

February 8, 2022

For the first time in 16 years, Woodstock Willie awakened on Groundhog Day to a different mayor. Mike Turner, 56, who is still often referred to as the city’s “new mayor” – even after nine months on the job – greeted Willie last week and relayed the groundhog’s weather verdict: an early spring. But it […]

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Project on rails: Sen. Duckworth sees funding for moving rail yard to Woodstock

January 31, 2022

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth came to Woodstock last week with encouraging words about the relocation of Metra’s rail yard from downtown Crystal Lake to the west side of Woodstock. City and county officials hope the next time she visits, she comes with financial support for the project that would increase rail traffic to Woodstock as […]

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Is a downtown parking garage in Woodstock’s future?

January 4, 2022

Maybe Woodstock does need a downtown parking garage to ease parking problems – or at least the perception that there’s often nowhere to park during events on the Square. City Councilman Gordie Tebo said there were “perceptions we’re fighting,” but noted the city didn’t have the property to build additional surface lots. “We have plenty […]

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Larry Lough

Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.

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Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.

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Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.

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