By JEFF STITT jstitt@yourmvi.com Belle Vernon Area School District wants to know how well it served former students and how well the district prepared them for life after high school. The district is ...

By KRISTIE LINDEN klinden@yourmvi.com A Monessen man has pleaded guilty to leading one of the largest drug trafficking rings in area history. Deaubre Lightfoot, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of cons...

By EMILY BENNETT DILULLO ebennett@yourmvi.com If a loved one were to need immediate CPR, would you be able to help them? Could you keep them alive until an ambulance arrived? A CPR session is set for ...

Jenn Codeluppi / Mon Valley Independent Fifth-grader Rico Smith helps kindergartener Serenity Carney put the icing on the bottom of her gingerbread house Monday at Monessen Elementary Center

By EMILY BENNETT DILULLO and CHRISTINE HAINES ebennett@yourmvi.com chaines@yourmvi.com Minor flooding could hit the Mon Valley over the next two days as the area is hit with rain. While a similar amou...

By TAYLOR BROWN tbrown@yourmvi.com There is currently no spending plan in the works in North Charleroi. During a council meeting Monday night, council briefly spoke of planning a January meeting to di...

By CHRISTINE HAINES chaines@yourmvi.com There will be no tax hike or increase in sewage fees in Elizabeth Township in 2020. The commissioners Monday approved the budget ordinance, which calls for $7,4...

By EMILY BENNETT DILULLO ebennett@yourmvi.com Last week, Monessen City Council interviewed interested people for positions on authority boards –– something that hasn’t been done for quite a few admini...

By KRISTIE LINDEN klinden@yourmvi.com A 16-year-old Washington resident is charged as an adult with attempted homicide in the beating of a Monongahela man with an aluminum baseball bat. Christopher Ur...

By JEFF STITT jstitt@yourmvi.com The Belle Vernon Area school board unanimously voted Monday to set the terms of a $3.8 million 2020 series general obligations bond. The 20-year insured bond is being ...

By TAYLOR BROWN tbrown@yourmvi.com It’s not everyone who can say they are friends with Aquaman, but Finleyville resident Jake Gerba is. Gerba, 29, works at an area grocery store, but plays the bass as...

By TAYLOR BROWN tbrown@yourmvi.com The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced a merger Saturday that will affect seven Mon Valley parishes. In total, Bishop David Zubik said 26 parishes will be part...

By CHRISTINE HAINES chaines@yourmvi.com When Locks and Dam 3 at Elizabeth is demolished four or five years from now, it will create the longest navigable pool on the Monongahela River at just over 30 ...

By Eric Seiverling eseiverling@yourmvi.com Pleasant Hills residents can now walk through the house of Anne Frank in Amsterdam, go toe-to-toe with Darth Vader in a light-saber battle and view Earth fro...

By JEFF STITT jstitt@yourmvi.com McKeesport officials, community stakeholders and the Allegheny County Health Department are teaming up to increase awareness about the dangers of lead in paint, dust, ...

By Jeff Stitt jstitt@yourmvi.com The state Department of Community and Economic Development has plans to flood McKeesport with more than $3 million to combat blight and promote development in the city...

By CHRISTINE HAINES chaines@yourmvi.com Donations to the Salvation Army are reported to be down all over the state, and that includes local donations as well. Capt. Sue Thwaite, who oversees Salvation...

By TAYLOR BROWN tbrown@yourmvi.com For the past decade, Amy Michalic has been hoping for a miracle. Amy, 46, of Monongahela was born with kidney disease, but wasn’t diagnosed until 10 years ago. She h...

By EMILY BENNETT DILULLO ebennett@yourmvi.com During the busy Christmas season, there’s nothing sweeter than being reminded of what this time of year is really about.   That’s what Belle Vernon Area M...

By KRISTIE LINDEN klinden@yourmvi.com Donora council passed a 2020 preliminary budget Thursday that includes a 1.25-mill tax increase, but it took accusations of grandstanding, a couple of disagreemen...