Former mayor, business leader Don Solliday passes away
Don Solliday had a love for people that guided the way he served as a public representative, and ran his businesses during his time in Ringgold county. Don moved to Mount Ayr in 1965 from Chillicothe, MO, bringing his experience in the grocery business to southern Iowa. He owned and operated Don’s Ayrliner for over…
Read MoreThe strange case of Dr. Quigley and Mr. Pugsley
By Mike Avitt Ringgold County will be 149 years old in May and many wonderful, enlightening, and heartfelt stories have emerged from that history. Some stories, however, have been draped in darkness and morbidity. This is one of those stories. Redding, in Clinton Township, had gotten the railroad in 1880 and was a bustling commercial…
Read MoreSnapshots of History – Corinth School
By Mike Avitt While going through a very large number of Clair Heyer photos, I came across three pictures of Corinth School, Jefferson Township No. 8, dated 1966. This schoolhouse was located in section 28 of Jefferson Township on county road J-20, two miles east of the Pole Road (P-33). However, a 1904 plat map…
Read MoreLooking Back – January 11, 2024 Issue
One Hundred Years Ago (From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, January 16, 1924.) After six years as postmaster Mrs. B.F. Seaton has resigned. Mrs. H. K. Seaton is her successor beginning work January 1. The postoffice has been moved from B.F.Seaton Store to the M.H. Evans building across the street. Truman Dulany, who is associated with…
Read MoreNew council members take seats, property improvements debated
A catalyst grant application was reviewed at the Tuesday, January 2 meeting of the Mount Ayr city council. [The meeting marked the first by newly elected council members Jessica Murphy and Mike Wik.] City council members heard from Chad Hunt who submitted an application for a community catalyst building remediation grant. He is requesting $100,000…
Read MoreMount Ayr Fire Dept. responded to 84 calls in 2023
Call-out statistics from the Mount Ayr Volunteer Fire Department have been released for 2023: Structure fires 14 Vehicle fires 4 Vehicle accidents w/o extrication 10 Vehicle accidents with extrication 3 Grass/brush fires 28 False alarms 7 HazMat 2 EMS assistance/ ambulance 6 Water rescue/recovery 1 Service calls 9 TOTAL 84* *of the total, 13 calls…
Read MoreFour-day school week in Iowa?
Schools across Iowa are beginning to look at four-day school weeks to combat a shortage of teachers. According to Diagonal Community Schools superintendent, Larry McNutt, the concept of a four-day school week is picking up steam. At the December 20 school board meeting, superintendent McNutt reported that Lamoni and Central Decatur school districts are studying…
Read MoreTeacher balancing act, lockers top school board meeting
The Mount Ayr board of education held a quick meeting on Monday, January 8 as a winter storm moved into the area, canceling school on Tuesday, January 9. New lockers for sixth grade Three bids for new lockers were presented to the board in preparation of sixth graders moving to the middle school/high school building…
Read MoreState legislation pains communities
County and cities facing significant budget loss On May 2 of last year, Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File 718, a new property tax agreement, into law that will take effect July 1, 2024. The legislation was aimed at reducing property tax growth in Iowa, and has two very different outcomes. Iowans may end up…
Read MoreFour in a row for Raiders
The Raider boy’s basketball team started the second half of the season with a big home win over Martensdale-St. Mary’s last Friday at home. The Raiders knew that the Blue Devils would be problematic as they came into town on a three-game win streak and were winners of four of their last five games after…
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