News

A colorful celebration as Blumer retires from County Attorney's Office

Mary Ann Blumer's favorite color...        Purple was optional at Thursday’s retirement party for Mary Ann Blumer.      Blumer retired at the end of the year as the office manager in the Benton County Attorney’s Office. Dozens of people who worked with Blumer over the years – including area law enforcement officers, former colleagues and even people from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office – went up stairs to the jury room to join her celebration.

VSHS Marching Band: See and hear part of their successful 2010 show

[VIDEO]      The Vinton-Shellsburg Marching Band earned a Division 1 rating and other awards with its 2010 show based on music from the musical "Titanic."

Remembering October 2010

One woman was seriously injured in this accident near Garrison in October.        The month of October brought a variety of “firsts” and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to area residents.      Autumn began, however, with a temporary closing of the Benton County landfill, the closure was the result of a delay in the inspection process for the new cell at the landfill south of Blairstown.

A few of our favorite stories of 2010

It was inspiring to look back at our first year --well our first nine months -- of bringing you Vinton news every day at Vinton Today.  While I enjoyed sharing the review, I came across several stories that I thought were worth repeating as we end 2010.  So here are some of my favorite stories. Click on the blue links to see them -Dean      Civil war lessons with Mr.

Remembering August and September, 2010: Progress and tragedy

'13' cast members gather around Steve Arnold after their final dress rehearsal in August.        August and September saw a variety of annual events, some more celebrations of progress, and one step toward another ambitious goal in Vinton. There were also some tragic deaths on county highways.     The River Rats again spent a Saturday cleaning the Cedar River, from the Mt. Auburn boat dock to Vinton.

Shellsburg FD to received more than $50K in Homeland Security grant

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will award grants totaling $423,276 to Iowa fire departments.   The Department of Homeland Security will distribute the money as shown below.   ·         The Canton-Benton-Shellsburg Fire Department will receive $51,674 to purchase gear and protective clothing, and to fund training.

July 2010: A time of new faces, but also of tragedy

Gretta Geiken threw out the first pitch during Vinton night -- and her 80th birthday         July began in Vinton with residents watching the building of the LEC building. The foundation was poured in June; July saw the building of the actual facility as workers began laying thousands of concrete blocks. (Project Manager Jerry Petermeier said it would be very difficult to estimate how many thousands of blocks required to form the walls of the building.

Remembering 2010: Woman of the year Virginia Holsten

2010 Review: Woman of the year Virginia Holsten.      The Vinton Women's Club named Vinton Librarian Virginia Holsten its Woman of the Year. See our unusual interview with Virginia HERE.     The original story about Virginia's honor is at http://www.vintoniowa.org/articles/Your+Neighbors/article10421.html

Remembering 2010: Rescuing Bella - Teenagers save neighbor's dog from fire

Bella escaped a house fire in June of 2010, thanks to quick action by two teenagers. Bella the dog celebrated Christmas with owners Charley and Abby Cronk this year, thanks to two teenagers who reacted quickly to a house fire in June. See that story HERE.

Year in Review: Bolenbaugh's history

Buzz Bolenbaugh at his meat counter in 1957. Many of our favorite stories of 2010 were written by friends who shared what they remember about Vinton. Kurt Karr interviewed Scott Bolenbaugh about his father's grocery business, and also shared some history of other early Vinton stores. See Kurt's story from May, 2010, HERE.