March 23, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

‘Wanting to serve this community has been my passion’

Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges cares about St. Joseph.


It is why she is running for reelection tonight at the Republican Caucus.


“St. Joseph has been my home for the majority of my life,” she said. “My roots to this community go back many years, so wanting to serve this community has been my passion. I would like my fellow residents to know that I’m one of you and wanting what’s best for our community is my top priority as your Mayor.  I’m blessed to live in such a great community and thankful to call it my home.  I look forward to sharing a smile with each and everyone of you hopefully in the very near future.”


Fruhling-Voges said as a trustee and now mayor she has always wanted to do her part to see that the village would be a great place to call home for many generations to come.


The pandemic has changed the Mayor’s short-term focus to making sure her residents stay healthy and the village does what they can to help small businesses. She is also focused on keeping the sewer plant expansion on target and planning ahead for more stormwater improvements throughout the village.


“My list is quite extensive of things that I would like to see improved, updated and planned,” she said.


Her number one long-term goal is to someday have a community building to serve the needs of village residents.


“The best part of serving the community is being able to look around and feel proud to know that I had a small part of the teamwork to make those accomplishments possible,” she said.


Fruhling-Voges said one of the most challenging parts of her job is not having enough hours to move projects forward in a consistent, efficient and timely fashion. 


“The Mayor’s position currently takes on many administrative responsibilities that require daily attention,” she said.  “My role as mayor should be with things such as; making myself available to the residents, visiting with the youth in the community, advocating for the village to new businesses, and working with our current businesses to help them succeed.”


Fruhling-Voges said that is why she thinks now is the time for the village to hire an administrator.


“ I get so excited thinking about the potential of this great community, but the challenge is keeping things moving forward.  My team of employees and trustees do a great job, but having someone in place to pull it all together consistently will give each of us the ability to accomplish more for the Village of St. Joseph.”

Photo by Bryce Herrin

Banner
Related Posts

10 things you don’t know about me…Leonard Winchester

July 15, 2020

July 15, 2020

1. What is your favorite childhood memory? I don’t have one favorite childhood memory, there were so many experiences. I...

Lending a hand: how to help out the Short family

March 25, 2019

March 25, 2019

Amy Short and her family don’t like to ask for help. So their friends are doing it for them. Amy...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Nov. 8, 2022

November 8, 2022

November 8, 2022

Happy Election Day! There are a lot of people here tonight and I am not sure why. While we wait,...

Church adapts during pandemic

December 5, 2020

December 5, 2020

COVID-19 has changed how the St. Joseph Church of Christ has done things this year. This includes letting the YMCA...

5 Questions with Republican caucus candidate Matt Walsh

December 2, 2024

December 2, 2024

1. What made you want to run? I’m a lifelong resident of Saint Joseph and at the end of the...

Remembering B.J. Hackler: ‘He made people smile’

September 10, 2021

September 10, 2021

B.J. Hackler liked to stay busy. He belonged to the St. Joseph Tea-Totalers, a group of residents who meet in...

Kids Say….

April 5, 2019

April 5, 2019

Every week we ask five students from a local school to answer a question on a worksheet. This week the...

Ask the Doctor with Dr. Jeanelle Murphy

February 7, 2020

February 7, 2020

Every month we will pose a question to Dr. Jeanelle Murphy of Christie Clinic in St. Joseph. This month we...

Live Blog April 13, 2021

April 13, 2021

April 13, 2021

They are supposed to discuss food trucks. #MAKEITHAPPEN And give an update on the village administrator. Doing investments. Doing bills....

Talk of the Town.. Ogden Mayor Gabe Clements

June 17, 2019

June 17, 2019

Every week we ask a village mayor, trustee, school administrator or school board member three questions. This week we talked...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Nov. 14, 2023

November 14, 2023

November 14, 2023

I am here so you don’t have to be. Doing the consent agenda. Basically, they approve the minutes, ect. all...

Get to know Jim O’Brien

March 12, 2025

March 12, 2025

Jim is running for the St. Joseph Grade School Board. What motivated you to run for school board?  I am...

‘They want to show their support of the law enforcement and their family’

June 2, 2021

June 2, 2021

Jim and Jen Wagner support their community, so when a friend came in to their store, Wagner signs and Graphics,...

10 things you don’t know about me… Vickie Reese

July 3, 2019

July 3, 2019

Every week we ask a village resident to tell us 10 interesting things about themselves. This week we asked Vickie...

Daily Exercise Recommendations

April 16, 2021

April 16, 2021

By: Christie Clinic Department of Family Medicine We all know physical activity is good for our overall health, but many...

Comments
Leave a Reply