Snapshots of History
By Mike Avitt It has been quite some time since I wrote about our friend Harry Bedwell. This week’s picture was scanned from page 65 of the book, “Harry Bedwell – The Last of the Great Railroad Storytellers,” by Frank P. Donovan, Jr. The house is described as being two blocks north of the depot.…
Read MoreLOOKING BACK in the Early Files
One Hundred Years Ago (From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, July 15, 1925.) Frank Jackson of Kellerton, ex-national horseshoe pitching champion and Cecil Freel of Murray, are touring the eastern states pitching exhibition games this summer. Mrs. Bessie C. Evans of Afton was killed and H.M. Polen of Diagonal, was injured Saturday afternoon when the automobile in…
Read MoreMAC board plans for 2025-26 school year
Decisions related to the 2025-25 school year comprised the majority of discussion at the Monday, July 14 meeting of the Mount Ayr Community Schools board of directors. Personnel The board approved the resignations of Daniel Showalter as a classroom teacher and assistant football coach and Sarah Holmes as a middle school softball coach. New hires…
Read MoreMount Ayr water rate increases are revamped
Rate increase now will effect those using over 2,000 gallons per month The Mount Ayr city council restarted the ordinance approval process for water and sewer rates and approved the second reading of the garbage rate ordinance at their regular meeting Monday, July 14. In the first council meeting for Assistant City Administrator, Brandy Anderson,…
Read MoreJunior high Raiders complete season
“We ended the season today. It was a hot day, but we played some of our best baseball to end the year.” Those words from coach Josh Vanderflught summarized the end to the 2025 baseball season for the Mount Ayr junior high team. On Tuesday, July 1, the Raiders played at Lenox. The A team…
Read MoreObituary: DONALD EDWIN THOMPSON
Donald Edwin Thompson, age 84, passed away on June 16, 2023, at home in La Feria, Texas. He was born on October 22, 1938, in Mount Ayr, Iowa and lived a life marked by dedication, service and love for his family. He was preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Cleone Thompson, brothers Larry and…
Read MoreRaiderettes get revenge against Lenox, 7-6
The Mount Ayr Raiderettes won an improbable game on July 3 in Lenox last week. The Tigers are a dangerous team and are a sneaky pick to make a run at the state tournament in Class 1A. The game between the two schools was originally scheduled to be played on June 26, but was postponed…
Read MoreRaiders finish second in POI
The Mount Ayr Raiders captured a second place finish in the final 2025 Pride of Iowa Conference baseball standings. This comes after three POI wins last week over SW Valley, Wayne, and Lenox gave Mount Ayr a final POI record of 13-3. The Raiders finish one-game behind POI champ Martensdale-St. Mary’s who won the league…
Read MoreObituary: DANNY LEE RINEHART
Danny Lee Rinehart, 76, of Davis City, Iowa, was born December 29, 1948, in Mount Ayr, Iowa to Calvin & Leatrice Rinehart. Danny was raised in Diagonal, Iowa along with his siblings Diane, Steve, Jerry, and Debbie. He attended Diagonal Community School. In 1969, Danny was drafted into the Vietnam War, serving in the United…
Read MoreSnapshots of History
By Mike Avitt Let’s revisit an old mystery that has since been forgotten by most people. During the winter of 1997-98, the Mount Ayr Depot Preservation Corp. members found a gravestone while landscaping the depot grounds. The stone indicates the name of the deceased as Washington Alley. In a bit of irony, the railroad came…
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