News

Atkins Roundhouse was severely impacted by the 2020 Derecho, leading to its closure due to tree hazards. We received a Community Development Block Grant for a timber stand project which began in January 2025. While progress is being made, the property remains closed for safety due to heavy equipment use. Future plans for the Roundhouse include new trails, prairie and tree replanting after the project.

By Robin OpsahlThe Iowa House passed Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal Tuesday to set a statewide restriction on cellphone use in school classrooms.The measure, House File 782, was highlighted as one of the governor’s priorities heading into the 2025 legislative session. The bill would require school boards to adopt a policy beginning in the 2025-2026 school year banning the use of personal electronic devices during instruction time.

By Kathie ObradovichThe Iowa Senate voted Tuesday to ban the use of handheld cellphones and other devices behind the wheel, while turning down an effort to extend the ban to drivers of farm implements.A few minutes later, senators also voted to raise the state’s “default” speed limit from 55 mph to 60, a change that largely affects undivided paved highways.

By Layla Lynch,  East Unit Park RangerYou may have heard the term “GIS”, but have you wondered what it really entails? Maybe you have wondered how the maps you use at county and state parks are created. Is someone guessing where a boat ramp or shelter is and just posting a symbol on a map image, or is that person going out to the areas and documenting the exact location through satellite points? Let’s dig into GIS and see how we use it at Benton County Conservation!GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, is a technology that is used to create, manage, analyze, and map different types of data such as streets, buildings, vegetation, bodies of water, or any other points of interest.

After an incredible 38-year career at Virginia Gay Hospital (VGH), Monica Stark is retiring on March 17, 2025—exactly 38 years to the day after she first joined the VGH team on St. Patrick’s Day in 1987.Monica began her career at VGH after completing her training at Schoitz Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. As only the second full-time employee in the X-Ray Department, she played a crucial role in providing essential imaging services, assisting with EKGs, and managing with just one day of radiologist coverage per week.

Pictured: Top Row Left to Right: Brody Waters, Cooper McClintock, Ben McGowan, Ben Buhr, Andrew Allsup, Jameson Demuth, Cole Birker, Jonah Meyer. 2nd Row: Lily Ann Hesson, Kara Rollinger, Megan Schlitter, Eleanor Moen, Levi Lutz, Leif Allen, Steven Rogers, Andrew Pingenot. 3rd Row: Nora Grovert, Jenna Grovert, Bri Dulin, Madeline Pingenot, Carlie Clark, Sophia Newton, Will McKenna, Juliana Luis, Jazmyn Dods.

In a press release published by the United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, Euan David MacGregor aka David Joseph Bean, 54, of Iowa City and later Vinton, Iowa was "sentenced by Senior Judge John A. Mendez to 41 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for defrauding his former employer out of over $3.2 million, Acting United States Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have joined together to promote Severe Weather Awareness Week, March 24-28, 2025."Iowa is familiar with extreme weather and flooding. Last year, we faced some of the worst weather in recent state history,” said HSEM Director John Benson.

By Robin OpsahlIowa House lawmakers unanimously passed legislation Thursday changing how the crime of misrepresenting an animal as a service animal is charged.Intentional misrepresentation of an animal as a service animal or service animal in training is already a crime in Iowa, charged with a simple misdemeanor. However, there are some requirements in state law that an officer must meet before charging a person for this offense.

By Clark KauffmanDue to a felony drunken driving conviction, the Iowa Supreme Court has suspended the license of an attorney who last year expressed disappointment that President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin had “missed.”The attorney, Jennifer Miralles, is a former employee of the Iowa Office of State Public Defender and also served as lead attorney for a Nebraska state agency.