News

During the week of April 27, 2015, I traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians EMS on the Hill Day. I was fortunate to be able to attend while chaperoning a group of paramedic students from Hawkeye Community College. The purpose of this event is to encourage lawmakers to support issues important to Emergency Medical Services.

The Benton County Fair takes place later this month. On Thursday, July 23, 2014 Fair Queen Karley Kenney will crown the 2015 Queen. The nine candidates for Queen have been participating in community events for the past several weeks. Those candidates include Juli and Elizabeth Martin of Norway, Sarah Kreutner of Vinton, Carly Selken of Keystone, Bobbie Hilmer of Dysart, Katie Isbell of Garrison, Nicole Lowe of Dysart,Sadie Anderson of Hartwick and Payton Sash of La Porte City.

Arts & crafts, repurposed treasures and antique vendors are invited to set up displays and sell their items at the annual Boom-Fest on Saturday, August 29, 2015. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. along 4th Street in downtown Vinton.  There will also be an expanded farmers market for this year's event, from 10 a.

Senator Chuck Grassley visited Vinton on Thursday, where he spent and hour discussing a variety of issues, answering questions and signed a get-well card for his former middle school teacher and coach.  Grassley was a student at New Hartford more than a half-century ago, when Henry Van Eschen was a middle school teacher and coach. Rick Zimpfer brought the card to Vinton City Hall, where he told Grassley that Van Eschen, now 90, has been dealing with health issues.

Thanks to two drone photographers, Brendan Turner of Vinton and Nikone Sysouchanh, Vinton-Shellsburg fans can see a full view of the new football turf for the first time.  Turner, the owner of Aerial Advantage of Vinton, shared his overhead photo. School officials say the project is on schedule; the Vikings will play their first game on the new turf on Sept.

Along with seeking donations from veterans organizations and others, the Benton County Freedom Rock Committee has set up a Go Fund Me page to reach more potential donors. The rock has been put in place just west of the Shellsburg Legion Hall, and will honor all of the Benton County veterans.  Kaye Bonesteel of the group says more input and donations are always welcome.

In just over 1 month, the Cedar River R.A.T.S. will take to the Cedar in one big pack and make one big impact on our Cedar River!  Mark your calendar and make plans to join us on Saturday, August 8 @ 9:00 AM at the Vinton Park Boat Ramp…we’ll meet there and have a brief safety discussion,  pass out your supplies, and hit the water!  Our route this year will take us down almost 12 miles of the Cedar from Vinton to Wildcat, we’ll stop @ Benton City Park/Campground for a homemade lunch served by some of the best “Landsharks” around!   We’ll offload all of the ‘treasures’ we’ve collected up to that point, reload our supplies and after lunch, we’ll hit the water again and head to Wildcat.

There will be a Vinton-Shellsburg Post Prom Committee meeting at Windsor Manor, 1807 W. 5th Street, on Tuesday, July 7 at 6:30 p.m.

Volunteers are still needed when RAGBRAI visits Vinton on July 23! Contact the Vinton Unlimited office for more information! Our last planning meeting will be on Tuesday, July 7 at 6:30 in the basement of Farmers Savings Bank. We will go over any last details to make sure everything is in order for the big visit! This is expected to be a short meeting.

After a few years when weather was a factor in Party in the Park events, the skies remained clear as local residents enjoyed dry, comfortable weather for Party in the Park. The Kiddie parade and courthouse events took place on Thursday. On Friday, the Party in Pink 5K filled the park and streets with 500 runners and walkers who raised $10,000 for the VGH Gifts of Hope Fund.