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Birthday Wishes make the day of former Vinton Woman

Celebrating 109 birthdays is a pretty big deal. Receiving birthday cards over more than a century has evolved from a handwritten wish to an online source of well wishes. However, when Alice Hootman's daughter requested that we put out a call for birthday cards to celebrate her 109th birthday, she didn't expect to receive two special letters of recognition from the leaders in the state.

Wesley United Methodist Church has received a $10,000 grant from the BCCF

Wesley United Methodist Church has received a $10,000 grant from the Benton County Community Foundation. It was presented to many deserving community organizations totaling $149,000! Ours will be used to make restrooms ADA compliant for the many folks who use our building. This will allow all families equal access. Among them our monthly food pantry, AA, WIC, Boy Scouts Troop 47, LSI, exercise groups and our church  members.
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Vinton-Shellsburg Fine Arts Century Club receives Donation

The Vinton-Shellsburg Fine Arts Century Club has received a gift of $1,000.00 from the estate of Esther Ann Hite. This gift has been directed through the Bethlehem Evandgelical Lutheran Church Congregation. We thank them for this gift. The Fine Arts Century Club is a community-based organization whose mission is to provide primarily financial support to the fine arts programs at Vinton-Shellsburg high school and middle school.

Senate panel passes latest attempt to ban hand-held phones for drivers

By Robin OpsahlAdvocates and senators at a Statehouse meeting Wednesday said they were hopeful that 2025 will be the year the Legislature can finally pass a hands-free cellphone bill for drivers.Senate File 22 passed unanimously out of subcommittee Wednesday. It’s the latest attempt by Iowa lawmakers to establish fines for drivers handling cellphones when they’re behind the wheel except in hands-free or voice-activated modes.

Baby Boy Declared Safe Haven in December

Through the Safe Haven Law, a baby boy, born December 3 is now in the care and custody of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and will be placed with a foster family until permanent placement is determined. This brings the overall total to 74 infants since the law went into effect more than two decades ago.  This brings the total to eight cases in 2024, including a baby girl born October 13 and a baby girl born on November 11.
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DNR sets public meetings to recap hunt season discuss possible changes

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting a series of town hall-style meetings where local staff will provide updates on recently completed hunting and trapping seasons, discuss possible changes to hunting and trapping rules and regulations, and address other topics as requested.“We want people to come out to these meetings, listen to the seasons reviews, ask questions and hear directly from our staff,” said Todd Bishop, chief of the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau.

VFW and Auxiliary Department of Iowa essay winners

Our VFW and Auxiliary District 2 had several winners last weekend at our Midwinter conference in Des Moines, Iowa. We had a student from Independence, Iowa Post 2440 who wrote his Voice of Democracy essay. He finished as runner up at state competition. Matthew Loomis entered his essay on "IS AMERICA TODAY OUR FOREFATHERS' VISION?"  These students can enter this contest if they are in 9-12th grade.

Lawmakers hear arguments proposing constitutional amendment on child testimony

By Robin OpsahlAdvocates of child victims said a proposed constitutional amendment allowing for remote testimony for children and people with certain disabilities could help young victims from being retraumatized in the courtroom, but others said the measure could abridge the rights of wrongfully accused defendants.House Study Bill 35 is the constitutional amendment proposed by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office, adding that the right of an accused party to confront their accuser “may be limited by law” when the witness is a person under age 18 or has a mental illness, intellectual disability or other developmental disability.
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Difference Maker Award: Megan Schlitter

It is with great pride that we recognize Vinton-Shellsburg High School senior Megan Schlitter as the recipient of the January Difference Maker Award! Megan's unwavering dedication to service and leadership has made a profound impact on our school and community.Last summer, Megan returned from a life-changing trip to Washington, D.C., and was inspired to develop a Living to Serve project that would address food insecurity.

Salvation Army Appreciates Our Giving Communities

We are grateful for the willingness of the people in this county to support our local Salvation Army Service Extension Unit. We met our goal by raising over $20,000. We usually have some donations that don't get to us until the first week in January. So our grand total, as of today, is $20,869.46We had a new development this year. We added a site in Belle Plaine.
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