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by Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa —In the waning days of the year and the beginning of a new, it’s always fun to take a glimpse over our shoulder to review the past 12 months.
This past year saw a variety of major stories and a few changes other than the flipping of another calendar page.
Early in the year, the area saw changes in the Mount Ayr Community School district that indicated the shifting in demographics. Enrollment was down and population shrank a bit, likely contributing to the decline.
The Diagonal schools welcomed a new principal in Roger Johnson who took over the reins from Gary Clark who resigned his position mid year.
Mount Ayr schools also saw a few changes, not the least of which was the hiring of the husband-wife combo of Geno and Jacy Walker. The Walkers took over the leadership of the MACS music programs with Jacy leading the choral groups and Geno heading up the bands. The schools also saw huge improvements in the academics as Mount Ayr achieved an “Excellent” rating for the first time.
The area also had some less inspiring news with the drug bust conducted at the Ramsey Farm Pavilion where several people were arrested for illicit drug activity including possession and intent to distribute.
The summertime also brought about rebuilding projects in Tingley that moves forward in their effort to rebuild after a devastating tornado destroyed a good portion of the town. In true community fashion, the town helped to raise money for the recovery and immediately went about rebuilding the town.
The Ringgold County Fair made another appearance in the newly updated facilities at the fairgrounds despite a setback on the main building roof collapse.
Diagonal sent four students to the famous streets of Europe to study ancient history live and in person.
One local man, Skyler Stamps, made the jump to prime time media with his hiring at WHO as the newest multimedia journalist.
One of the biggest summertime local news story came about when Tom and Tami Hawley, publisher and owner of the Record News and Diagonal Progress decided to retire and sell the newspaper. The paper was purchased by Ken Garner the current owner of the Maryville Forum who took over ownership in August.
The festivities celebrating Mount Ayr’s 150th anniversary (Sesquicentennial) followed in September where the town held several days in its own honor. The weekend got off to a rainy start but weathered the storm and went on the hold a wildly successful celebration.
The rest of the summer saw interesting events such as the birth of a new Mount Ayr resident that came to Harley\e and Peyton Stull. The couple was so excited by the new arrival they decided not to wait to get to the hospital, rather they delivered their newborn in the front seat of the family truck.
The end of summer also saw the induction of Mike and Shelly Wimer into the 4-H Hall of Fame.
October saw the addition of a school resource officer that will help to teach the children of both MACS and DCS the importance of safety and situational awareness.
On the same topic of schools, the MACS and DCS systems saw the first ground breaking on the newly planned CTE center to advance trade studies.
November brought about area-wide elections that saw the passing of the torch for mayor in Mount Ayr, as well as the reelection of several council members.
Mother Nature decided to put on an early Christmas light display with a spectacular display of the Northern Lights — rare astronomical treat that was enjoyed by all.
Finally, the area was introduced to an early winter landscape with the earliest measurable snowfall in many years.
The year was eventful in many ways but was merely paving the way for a new set of memories yet to be realized in 2026.
Happy New Year Ringgold County.
