News

The Senior Coffee at the Revolution building is canceled today (Thursday, February 13) due to the expected cold temperatures.

Katelyn Folkmann of Newhall, Iowa was recently awarded the title of Benton County Iowa, Miss United States Agriculture.Katelyn Folkmann is currently a Junior at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, with a major in Psychology and a minor in Theatre. She is from Newhall, Iowa, where her family lives on the Heritage Farm which was homesteaded by her great-great-great grandfather in 1854.

Following an election with no candidates for the 2nd Precinct, the city has approved a special election which will be held on March 3rd. Three candidates have met the qualifications to be on the ballot for the election. Leon Barber, the owner of Barber Fix it, Andrew Elwick, Elwick Electric and Kurt Karr owner of Monkeythis have all submitted their paperwork to run in the special election.

 Kneeling, Noah Damro, 2nd row L to R-Riley Davis, Sunshine Gray, Tyson Fleshner, 3rd Row L to R- Carlee Hoppe, Natalie TecklenburgThe Union High School Fine Arts Department has again proven that hard work and determination pay off.  The musical theatre entry of “Bright Star” has been selected to perform at the All-State Speech Festival for the Iowa High School Speech Association.

 The Vinton-Shellsburg Board of Education is pleased to announce that they have selected three candidates to interview for their superintendent vacancy. The third candidate, who will interview on Tuesday, February 11th is:Mr. Matt Kingsbury, Vinton, IAInterviews will be conducted on the 6th, 10th, and 11th of February.  Numerous stakeholder groups will have the opportunity to meet the final candidates and submit input to the board about each of them.

The Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the Hotel Occupancy Tax grant awards. Over $10,000 was provided to fund 11 different upcoming projects within the City of Vinton during 2020.Awardees include:· ACT I/Palace Theatre - $1,000 for concession stand upgrades· Benton County Historical Society - $1,000 for civil war re-enactment· Vinton Baseball Corporation - $725 for an informational sign and Vinton map· Vinton Guild of Fine Arts - $1,000 for art workshops· Vinton Parks & Recreation - $1,000 each for nerf parties, e-sports gaming lab, skate rink floor resurfacing and Veterans Park Memorial Renovation· Vinton Unlimited - $1,600 for Celebration Saturday and brochure restocking· Virginia Gay Hospital Health Care Foundation - $1,000 for the Benton County Community Health FairWe encourage any organization or group within Vinton that may be promoting tourism by hosting an event or developing a point of interest to attract people to visit our community to keep the HOT grant in the back of their mind.

The Vinton-Shellsburg Board of Education is pleased to announce that they have selected 3 candidates to interview for their superintendent vacancy. The second candidate, who will interview on Monday, February 10th is:Mr. Kyle Koeppen, Cedar Rapids, IAInterviews will be conducted on the 6th, 10th and 11th of February.  Numerous stakeholder groups will have the opportunity to meet the final candidates and submit input to the board about each of them.

Gov. Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Gregg will help deliver awards Ten of Iowa’s top teachers will be honored during an annual luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Altoona. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg will join Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise in hosting the Outstanding Iowa Teachers Recognition Luncheon.The luncheon will recognize finalists and winners of the Iowa Teacher of the Year award, the Iowa Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, and the State History Teacher of the Year award (names and schools are listed below).

At last Thursday's Council meeting, the Vinton Light Plant Manager, Tom Richtmeier shared with the council that one of the City of Vinton's Electric employees,  line foreman, Brad Still and his family are going through a difficult time right now with a family crisis. Brad and wife Christine's 12 year old son Brennen was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer and is receiving an experimental treatment for the cancer.

Stopping first at the Republican Caucus, which was held at the middle school, hey it was closer, the crowd was relatively small compared to the packed parking lot at the high school. The results are no surprise on the Republican ticket with Trump receiving 98% or 270 votes of the Republican votes in Benton County, and Walsh with 1% or 4 votes and Weld receiving 0%.