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A few weeks ago, in passing, our Benton County Assessor Larry Andreesen, brought a colored chart into the Benton County Supervisor's meeting to show them a snapshot of the damage caused by the derecho. That piqued my interest. I had spent several days in the county snapping photos of the damage. I knew that all around me it looked awful. Just from what I could see while driving down the highways and city streets I knew it would be the same down every country road and in every town in the path of this storm.

Registered Voters 18,046 Total Ballots 14,721: 81.57%President Joseph R. Biden Kamala D. Harris (DEM) 5,156 35.25% Donald J. Trump Michael R. Pence (REP) 9,179 62.75%Roque Rocky De La Fuente Darcy G. Richardson (ALL) 13 0.09% Don Blankenship William Alan Mohr (CON) 21 0.14% Ricki Sue King Dayna R. Chandler (GKH) 3 0.02% Howie Hawkins Angela Nicole Walker (GRN) 28 0.

TODAY is election day! If you've requested an absentee ballot, bring it to your voting location to return and you will be issued another ballot to fill out. If you have mailed in your ballot: Track your ballot after you've mailed it back! Click this link to see when it arrived back at the Auditor's office, if it didn't call the office at 319-472-2365 for instructions.

Last year in December of 2019, Loren Henkle a 5th grader, entered the flag essay contest with the Vinton America Legion Unit 57. Placing first place, his entry went on to compete at the District level. The family just received word from the 3rd District of the Iowa American Legion’s Flag Essay Chairman Doug Anderson, informing them that Loren has won 2nd place in the district, In his letter, Chairman Doug Anderson said of Henkle's essay, "I have been our district's flag essay chairman for five years now and I wanted to let you know that your essay was one of the best essays that I have read in those five years.

A sad realization of the COVID pandemic has hit one of Vinton’s fine health facilities for the elderly. Keep this facility, staff, residents and especially this family in prayer as they struggle to care for each other during this crisis. 

Trick or treaters came to the courthouse lawn to play games before lining up downtown for the annual trip to the area stores. One candy dispenser took top prize for the uniqueness. With a candy shoot serving candy from 6 foot away, children were able to place their buckets at the end of the spout to receive their candy. The creation put a smile on a lot of faces this year.

Thursday night class at Vinton Ving Tsun Kung Fu Club brought out the superheroes!  

 On Thursday, the Iowa Democrats stopped in Vinton at the Kirkwood Center with the Early Vote Express on a multi-stop, statewide bus tour making its way Iowa until Election Day. The workers on the bus aimed to lay out the clear choice in this election and encouraged Iowans to make a plan to vote early.The Early Vote Express made a stop at college campuses, libraries, and other satellite voting locations throughout the state and distributed voter education materials and discussed the importance of electing Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Theresa Greenfield, and Democrats up and down the ballot this fall.

Owner-occupied home repairs and [upd]s targeted at the older populationCedar Valley Habitat for Humanity has received funds from the Benton County Community Foundation to assist with repairs and [upd]s to homes in Benton County. The program, called “Aging in Place,” is intended to help people over 60 and adults with disabilities extend the time they can remain in the homes they own.

Thursday morning and into the early afternoon, students from Tilford Elementary went for a short walk to the Vinton Lutheran Home. Dressed in their Halloween costumes, the students made their way to the center to brighten the day of the residents. Sharing the Halloween festivities, the students formed a parade and walked around the building stopping to wave at each of the windows to the residents smiling faces.