New school year starts Friday
School begins on Friday, August 23 for all kindergarten through grade students attending Diagonal or Mount Ayr Community Schools. Both Diagonal and Mount Ayr elementary schools are hosting a back to school night on Thursday, August 22 beginning at 5:30 p.m. Students in Kindergarten through fifth grade can find their classrooms, meet their teacher and…
Read MoreMarcums leave Blockton church after 37 years
By Mike Avitt What do you do after a thirty-seven year career as the minister of the Blockton Christian Church? Well, you spend your retirement with your grandchildren; such is the decision of Reverend Scott Marcum and his wife Debbie. And a noble decision it is. Scott Marcum was born in Grinnell and graduated from…
Read MoreMISSING: Mount Ayr Record News page 5
An attention seeking printing plate found it’s way onto the press, hiding within the pages of the Mount Ayr Record News Wednesday, August 15, 2024. The printing error was discovered after the newspapers were already delivered to the post office. All stories and advertisements that should have been printed on page 5 in the August…
Read MoreKaren Sue Clark
Karen Sue Clark, age 82, passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 3, 2024, in the comfort of her home surrounded by her family. Karen was born December 19, 1941, in Mount Ayr, Iowa to Rex Huffman and Darlene (Dailey) Huffman. Her parents divorced and she was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents, Roy and…
Read MoreSnapshots of History: Mount Ayr Bank
By Mike Avitt This week’s photo was taken in 1895 or 1896 by professional photographer J. A. McClanahan. This picture and many others by McClanahan appeared in the June 12, 1896 edition of the Twice-A-Week News, which was an extended, souvenir edition featuring many of Ringgold County’s business leaders and commercial enterprises. Pictured here is…
Read MoreMore on Project 2025
To the editor: Donald Trump is trying to run away from Project 2025, a legislative blueprint for the next administration drafted by the Heritage Foundation that collects in one place conservative thinking since the 1950s. Trump last week disavowed Project 2025 because, among other things, it would dismantle Social Security and Medicare. We should all…
Read MoreLooking Back
One Hundred Years Ago (From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, August 20, 1924.) Grand River, in southern Iowa, is said to be the greatest catfish stream in all Iowa. It flows into the Missouri River and fish of immense proportions pass out of the big river into the smaller one and keep going until they get…
Read MoreFree meals welcome back MAC students
The Mount Ayr board of education celebrated free meals for all students, reversed course on previously approved Title IX policies, and approved new staff contracts at their regular meeting on Monday, August 12. CEP free meal program The board learned that the district received final approval for their Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) application. Participation in…
Read MoreTingley preparing for 5th annual celebration
One Sunday each year, Tingley swells from a town of 136 people to more than 700, as visitors flock to the community to share pie, ice cream and memories at Tingley Memorial Park. The 5th Annual Ice Cream Social planning committee is prepared to welcome visitors to Tingley Memorial Park again this year on Sunday,…
Read MoreFive ‘Blacks’ and a dog funeral
(Editors Note: This article appeared almost 100 years ago in the December 10, 1924 Mount Ayr Record-News. It is a fascinating look at life in our county 100 years ago and the norms present during that age. References to Blacks in the original article were in the vernacular of the day and have been changed…
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