Boomfest is right around the corner! If you are interested in being a vendor for the Annual Arts and Crafts Festival. The event is going to be held on August 27 from 9:00 a.

Click here to watch the Shellsburg Library Summer Reading Program Wrap-Up musical.  Many thanks to Teresa Drtina for leading the Summer Reading Program and all the volunteers who gave their time to make this year's summer reading program such a success.

The final weekly winner for Vinton Unlimited’s You Light Up My July summer punch card incentive is Logan Wilson!  Logan won $50 in Vinton Value Dollars!  Congratulations Logan! Thank you to everyone who shopped locally and kept our community strong! Keep watching for the announcement of the winner of the Grand Prize!  Participating businesses include: Arnold Motor Supply, Cameron’s Clothing, Clipper Corner, Dollar Fresh, Echo Vision-US Cellular, Ervin Motor Company, Flowers by Nature’s Corner, Henkle Creek Mercantile, Koop’s Sales & Service, Kromminga Motors, LaGrange Pharmacy, McDowell’s Building Materials, Michael & Dowd Furniture & Appliance, New Beginning Salon, The Niche, Opal & Hazel’s Wood Fired Pizza, Theisen's, 3D Kitchens, Tootsies Ice Cream & More, Viking Plaza, & Viking Sewing Center.

Photo: Grant recipients gathered for the Benton County Community Foundation’s 2022 grant awards celebration on July 26 at the Van Horne Community Building where $134,426 in grant funding was awarded to 22 projects of organizations serving Benton County.

I had a visit with Sheriff Tippett concerning Pit Bulls, Ordinances, and other chit-chat around dogs. Both of us grew up with parents that gave a dog a "one strike and your out" chance meaning, "one bite and you are out of here!" However, local ordinances allow dogs to bite a human TWICE in one calendar year before the owner has to get rid of the animal.

"Yellow corn, big green leaves, it's sweet corn time in the city..." okay, so it's a little corny if you sing it along to the tune of "Silver Bells..."The Happel family in Vinton brought their corn to Tactical Creations to sell this week.

Following a chat with Sheriff Ron Tippett, he verified that the residents of Keystone did NOT receive a WRITTEN warning about the removal of the "pit bull" dogs.

The Benton County CISM Team was officially formed in 2020 and became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2021. The mission of the Benton County CISM Team is to provide Benton County first responders with unparalleled support through displaying respect, integrity, and passion as Crisis Interventionists.

Update 7/28/22According to the Sheriff's Office, there was never a written warning given to the Keystone residents. The residents agree that they were given verbal warnings.

This week’s winner of the You Light Up My July summer punch card incentive is George Kristjanson. George won $50 in Vinton Value Dollars that he can use while he shops in Vinton.