Obituary – Larry Joe Sackett
Larry Joe Sackett, son of Lyle & Ramona (Smith) Sackett, was born August 6, 1941, at Mount Ayr, Iowa. Larry grew up at Mount Ayr and graduated from Mount Ayr High School. Larry entered service for his country on July 4, 1959, in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was honorably discharged with the rank of…
Read MoreObituary – Lester (Les) Leroy Hickman
Lester (Les) Leroy Hickman, age 86 of Mt. Ayr, Iowa, passed away Thursday, February 26,2026 at the Mount Ayr Health Care Center. Les was born on August 17, 1939, in Indianola, Iowa, the son of Murrel and Mary (Hamilton) Hickman. He graduated from Indianola in 1955 and received a BS of pharmacy at Drake University…
Read MoreObituary – Sharon “Gayle” Giles
Sharon “Gayle” Giles, age 85, passed away peacefully on February 3 in Littleton, Colorado. She was born April 30, 1940, in Denver (Worth County), Missouri, to Claude and Deloris Geraldine Stephenson and was raised in Ellston, Iowa. During her childhood on the family farm, Gayle developed exceptional skill as a seamstress. She created clothing for…
Read MoreObituary – Phillip “Phil” James Richmond
Phillip James Richmond (Phil) of Kansas City, MO passed away peacefully at his home Wednesday, February 25, 2026, with his wife and son at his side following a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Phil was born November 22,1940 in Leon, IA to James B.W. Richmond & Florence Irene (Jarvis) Richmond. Phil grew up in Ringgold…
Read MoreObituary – Ruth “Joan” Rinehart
Ruth “Joan” Rinehart, daughter of Glenn and Mabel (Butler) Lesan, was born October 13, 1929, in a beautiful farm home in the area that is known as “Lesanville”, near Mount Ayr, Iowa. She was welcomed home by two doting brothers, Robert “Bob” and Rex Lesan. Joan died on Monday, February 23 at Clearview Home at…
Read MoreObituary – Nancy Ellen Stephens
Nancy Ellen Stephens was born April 2, 1946, in Creston, Iowa to Roy and Helen Reece Blunck. She was one of nine children raised in their home in Benton, Iowa. Nancy was an avid 6 on 6 basketball player, earning four years of letters, while attending Mt. Ayr Community Schools. She was an Iowa All-State…
Read MoreMACHS Speech
The MACHS Speech team headed to East Union on Saturday February 28 for the District Individual contest. We took eight programs with seven students performing. Shaylinn Smith delivered the prose piece “God is Love” and received a 2 rating. Nick Triggs wrote his own speech about his aunt Amanda’s battle with invisible diseases and also…
Read MoreMount Ayr Raiders qualify for state
Both Nathan Roemer (wrestling at 150 pounds) and Cordell Clemens (wrestling at 215 pounds) qualified and wrestled in the IHSAA State Wrestling Championship. The event was held Feb. 18-21 at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines.
Read MoreLOOKING BACK in the Early Files by Lora Stull
One Hundred Years Ago (From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, March 10, 1926.) The extent to which a community may be agitated by the prevalence of one case of small pox was demonstraqted during the past week after A.M. Carr, who moved from Poe township to a farm near Tingley, was placed under quarantine for the…
Read MoreSnapshots of History by Mike Avitt
I took this photo in March 2010 at Ringgold Cemetery. The gate faces east, so a morning shoot is best. This is the oldest man-made site in Ringgold County. The cemetery was established by Charles Schooler about 1847 when he buried his wife and child there. Of course, these graves are unmarked and it is…
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