News

For the third year in a row, the Pyrotechnics Guild International judges have chosen Scott Anderson of rural Brandon as their Grand Master, honoring him with the top trophy as the "competitor who has best demonstrated an overall excellence with pyrotechnic device invention, implementation, and display for the current year." Anderson, one of the Iowa Pyrotechnic Association (IPA) members who works on the Boomtown displays, won that title by creating a variety of firework displays which were judged to be among the  best at the PGI convention in Indiana last week.

Horseshoe competitors throw their best pitch at Doubles State Championship and Open Singles divisions of the Horseshoe Pitching Tournament held Saturday at the 2015 Iowa State Fair. The State Fair hosts both Championship and Open Class competitions every Fair day. Division winners are crowned daily. All Horseshoe Pitching competitions take place on the clay courts just east of Farm Bureau Pioneer Hall.

Vinton residents who enjoy visiting city parks have already noticed new "Little Free Libraries" that were recently placed at B.L. Anderson, Kiwanis and Jaycee Park. Residents are welcome to take books from any of the three sites, and encouraged to return them (or other books) for others to read. The three small house-shaped boxes are the work of Eagle Scout Ryan Levis, a member of Troop 47.

There were about 60 athletes, playing 3 to a group in Saturday's Special Olympics Unified Mini Golf Tournament at the Vinton Skate Center. "We had over 100 people participating, including the volunteers," says Brian Larkin. The event was sponsored by Koops Outdoor Equipment and Stanley Roofing. The event is the only Special Olympics mini golf tournament held in the state.

Jenna and Nora Grovert won 4th place this year at the Iowa State Fair for the Twins, Triplets and More competition for the 5&6 year old most alike category. They have competed every year since birth and have won the event a few times.

For the second consecutive Iowa Hawkeye football season, the Vinton-Shellsburg Post-Prom Committee has a unique opportunity to reach most of its fund-raising goal, and hopes area residents will help. Working with Whelan Security, the group could raise up to $10,000 or more, if they can get 15 people to volunteer for each Hawkeye home game. The volunteers would serve as ushers, taking tickets, helping people find their seats, etc.

Some Vinton city streets were rendered impassable for a short while on Thursday night, and some Vinton basements remained saturated with a few inches of water after the heavy rains swept through the area. The National Weather Service advised that continued thunderstorms and heavy rains are possible today. Some Vinton residents reported as much as seven to 10 inches in rain gauges.

Cambridge was a kitten born in a litter born to a stray cat found in Vinton, he is the last one of that litter to find a home. If you will visit the Friends of the Shelter Facebook page, you will see that he is indeed the cleanest cat around! Look for the video there! He is all about fun and adventure. Can you help pass the word?  Feel free to contact the Friends of the Shelter here: VintonFOTSI@yahoo.

"Fred," a crossbred boar from Farmersburg, bested the competition to claim the Big Boar title at the 2016 Iowa State Fair. The big pig owned by Wikner Farms tipped the scale at 1,155 pounds. "Lugnut," owened by the Sackett Family of Walker, claimed second place weighing 1,148 pounds. "Big Chief," owned by Charlie Bieber and Ken Kehril of Winthrop, claimed third place weighing in at 1,092 pounds.

The Benton County Board of Adjustment – a five-member panel of unpaid volunteers that often goes for years without meeting at all – has met several times in the several months to take action on two separate land use issues. And in each of those two cases, the decision of the Board of Adjustment has resulted in a lawsuit filed by someone who opposed the board's decision.