News

On Friday, May 5, 2023, Harry Lyle Meader III, 49, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested following a high-speed pursuit that reached speeds of over 100 mph. Meader was wanted through Linn County on felony charges and was spotted driving a stolen Chevy Trailblazer. Meader led police on a pursuit that ended off-road in rural Tama County where he fled on foot into a wooded area and was rapidly apprehended.

Governor Reynolds has announced that applications for Students First Educations Savings Accounts (ESAs) will be accepted starting May 31, 2023. The Students First Act was signed into law earlier this year and will provide state funding for eligible students who attend accredited nonpublic schools starting in the 2023-2024 school year.   Additionally, the State Board of Education today adopted administrative rules that specify definitions for the program, eligibility requirements for participation, parameters for the application process, and program administration and accountability.

Good Neighbor RecipientsThe Palace Theatre and Vinton Unlimited are proud to announce the latest Vinton Good Neighbor recipients. The Good Neighbor project is an effort to recognize those in our community whose good deeds may go unnoticed, to encourage people to look for the positive things in our community, and hopefully prompt residents to participate and become “good neighbors” themselves.

The roundabout at the Urbana corner, on Highway 150 is now reopened for traffic

The Benton County Fairgrounds was the site for the Benton County 3rd graders on Wednesday. Every year the Benton County Extension organizes the 3rd Grade Ag Day Beginning at 9:00 a.m. the students began arriving. Students from Benton Community, Central Lutheran, Belle Plaine, Vinton-Shellsburg as well as the Homeschool Program participated. The event wraps up in the early afternoon around 2:00 p.

  Today, Governor Kim Reynolds signed the following bills into law:  HF 553: A bill for an act relating to affirmative defenses for entities using cybersecurity programs.  HF 573: A bill for an act relating to statutory corrections which may adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, delete temporary language, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, update ongoing provisions, or remove ambiguities, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.

In a lawsuit filed against the Vinton Family Restaurant, an area resident charged that the restaurant served him a bowl of chicken dumpling soup that contained wire fragments. Charlie Fraizer found himself in the emergency room in pain over the course of several days after eating at the restaurant. The incident occurred on April 27, 2022 when he went out for a late lunch.

As Memorial Day approaches, you and your family may be making plans to attend a Memorial Day service or visit a fallen soldier's grave. As you make these plans, it's also a great opportunity to pay tribute to a veteran in your life at sos.Iowa.gov/HonorAVeteran.To date, nearly 17,000 individuals have received tributes and we need your help to reach our next threshold.

ScholarshipsEast-Central Iowa REC is proud to announce it has awarded $1,000 scholarships to one young man who plans to further his education in the Powerline Technician program and 11 graduating seniors who plan to further their education in a diverse range of programs. Congratulations to these deserving students!1. Kaitlyn Ballard, Benton Community–Parents: Martin and Melissa Ballard, Marengo.

The Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) invites communities to celebrate and thank their local school board members during School Board Recognition Month, May 1-31, 2023. This year's theme is Developing Iowa's Future Together and celebrates the work of school board members who are partnering with the school community, students, families, and citizens.