The News

Kalona

Sewer, stop signs, snow plan find favor with Kalona council

KALONA Having heard no comments on the city’s plan to borrow money to upgrade sewer services, the Kalona City Council moved forward Monday night, approving a $400,000 sewer revenue loan and …

At the start of each school day, students at Hillcrest Academy check-in their phones; they won’t see them again until they leave at the end of the day.

The phone-free school: a mid-year report

KALONA In August, at the start of the 2024-2025 school year, Hillcrest Academy announced it would go phone-free, all day every day, as part of a new mental health initiative. “The goal of …

The WCRF announced over $1.4 million in grants to local cities and nonprofits at an awards celebration at Riverside Casino on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Riverboat Foundation awards $1.4 million in fall grants

RIVERSIDESmiles abounded Wednesday night at the Riverside Casino’s ballroom, where representatives of area cities and nonprofits gathered for the Washington County Riverboat Foundation’s (WCRF) …

Riverside

Bruce, the robot, gets some fine tuning.

Behind the scenes with the EagleBots

IOWA CITY For six hours a week, often more, you’ll find 15 high school students working nights and weekends in the basement of a building at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. They aren’t …

Hardscape Solutions lands the winning bid for Kirk project

RIVERSIDE The City of Riverside received one bid for a combined project that includes the Captain Kirk birthplace monument, stairs work on Third Street and improvements at Railroad Park. …

Received a letter about your drinking water? Here’s why

KALONA Cities are sending letters to residents and businesses regarding their water service lines and drinking water thanks to an EPA initiative that aims to protect all Americans from lead …

Wellman

Wellman’s Light the Night

The City of Wellman and Wellman Community Club hosted a fun and festive Light the Night downtown on Saturday, Nov. 30.

Wellman keeps ball rolling on water, bridge projects

WELLMAN Water system upgrades topped the agenda again Monday night for the Wellman City Council. Several water mains will be replaced in areas of the city, and to help fund the project, the City …

State education report cards in for area schools

KALONA On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Iowa Department of Education released new state school performance ratings and federal designations, determined for the first time using the state’s new …

Lone Tree

Lone Tree’s Winter Fest

The Lone Tree Chamber of Commerce hosted a full afternoon of vendors, treats, and activities along Devoe Street on Saturday, Nov. 30.

Lone Tree chooses decreased police coverage after JoCo Sheriff raises rates

IOWA CITY The number of hours of police protection for Lone Tree will go down next July, when the next fiscal year begins. A Fiscal Year 2026 28E contract with the Johnson County …

Folks crowded into the Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company on Thursday, Nov. 14, where they were warmly greeted by the Brown family.

Tasty food, smiling people fill Lone Ox Smokehouse

LONE TREE Folks were nearly shoulder-to-shoulder at Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company on Thursday night as the Brown family served beautiful cocktails at the bar and offered platters full of delicious …

Features

Band Night

The Mid-Prairie band took the field for a terrific halftime performance on Senior Night, October 11.

The Iowa State Fair took place Aug. 8-18 in Des Moines. It was the largest Fair in its 170 year-old history, with attendance of 1,182,682 fairgoers, exceeding the previous record set in 2019 by over 12,000, thanks to perfect weather.

2024 Iowa State Fair

All eyes on the future

KALONA Hillcrest Academy experimented with a sixth grade program last school year, introducing a class of students who will end up being great ambassadors for the program. That is because next …

‘A deep sense of belonging’

KALONA When Hillcrest Academy set a course to open sixth grade classes for the 2023-24 school year, they published a middle school purpose statement which reads as follows: “The middle …

At last! Baseball and softball return to Crawfordsville

CRAWFORDSVILLE There is a profound tie between America and baseball. Many small towns across the country feature some way for their residents to play the classic ball-and-stick game, …

Hills

Johnson County finalizes plans for spending $29.3 million in ARPA funds

IOWA CITY While millions of dollars have yet to be actually spent, Johnson County has appropriated, or directed, $27.8 million of the $29.3 million it was allocated in American Rescue Plan Act …

Johnson County voters approve $30 million bond for conservation

IOWA CITY Johnson County voters overwhelmingly approved a $30 million bond referendum for conservation projects in last week’s election. In an election that produced a record number …

Iowa City/Coralville

Administrator Stephanie Kronlage, in the atrium at Atrium Village in Hills.

Meet Atrium Village’s new administrator

“Coming here has been a breath of fresh air,” says Stephanie Kronlage, Atrium Village’s new administrator, who began working for the non-profit, Hills-based independent living and nursing care community in March.

Pamela Redlinger

Pamela Redlinger was born Sept. 15, 1955, in Washington, Iowa, the daughter of Ivan and Muriel Joan (Spears) Redlinger. She graduated from Mid-Prairie High School in 1974. She lived in the Wellman …

Washington County

Board OKs FY25 pay for ambulance personnel, name for Riverside creek, Orchard Hill change order; acknowledges challenge to Highland bond vote

WASHINGTON In a 17-minute meeting Tuesday, Washington County Supervisors approved two personnel matters, agreed to naming a Riverside creek and deducted $3,763 from the Orchard Hill remodeling …

Head-on collision kills three, injures one on Hwy 1 south of Kalona

Three people died Monday morning in an accident occurring in the 1700 block of Hwy 1, roughly midway between Washington and Kalona, according to the Iowa State Patrol. The accident occurred just …

Johnson County

Shane named Executive Director for JoCo Board of Supervisors

IOWA CITY Erin Shane, who had been the interim auditor in Johnson County, was appointed as the new Board of Supervisors Executive Director during the board’s November 26 formal session. …

Friends, family, and community members gathered at the gravesite of Gleanna Roberts, a WASP who died serving her country in 1944, at Welsh Church Cemetery in Sharon Center on Sept. 3. After a service, veteran Larry Ritland, accompanied by daughter Lindsey Ritland Ante, began a 26-day bicycle ride to the National WASP World War II Museum in Texas to honor the Roberts and all who served as WASP.

Women with Wings

SHARON CENTER Who counts as a veteran? The answer should be any person who has served in the military; however, historically, the United States has sought loopholes that allowed the government …