A tornado watch issued by the National Weather Service in Lincoln including Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties has been lifted after an outbreak of thunderstorms and tornado warnings Wednesday afternoon.

For proprietors of local Peoria coffee shops, the cost of operating the business has grown increasingly volatile in the past few months.

A line of severe storms is expected to reach Central Illinois heading into the weekend.

A major renovation to a historic stretch of Moss Avenue requires the City of Peoria to remove 27 trees along the work zone.

Chris Waible is nearly four months into his new position as the president and CEO of Peoria's nonprofit Downtown Development Corporation. He joins the effort to restore vibrancy to Peoria's downtown amid a glut of vacant office space and a need for reinvestment — an opportunity he's eager to tackle.

Among the agencies targeted for staff reductions by the Trump Administration are the National Weather Service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford says the cuts will have wide-ranging detrimental effects.

Work is set to begin Monday on a $7.1 million reconstruction of a stretch of Maxwell Road north of Peoria International Airport.

A pair of seven-figure charitable donations will enable the Peoria Salvation Army to begin work on overhauling its downtown campus later this year. A soft kickoff gathering Thursday unveiled details of the renovation plans, highlighted by construction of a new two-story men’s shelter.

Work is underway on the $18 million Churchview Garden Homes affordable housing development that will feature 47 units across seven new buildings on the South Side of Peoria.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln has issued a cold weather advisory from 9 p.m. Monday until noon Tuesday for Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford and most surrounding counties.