Area News

Three weeks before the opening of school in Mount Ayr, the district’s Return to Learn plan has added a significant change to the beginning of the school year: students and staff will now be required wear face masks where social distancing is not possible. According to Mount Ayr superintendent Jason Shaffer, the change comes as…

by Brenda Grose Revised timelines for the proposed retail pharmacy and expansion for the Senior Life Solutions program, added services in the visiting physician’s clinic and a new physician signed to begin practice August 2021 all headlined business discussed Monday, July 20 at the Ringgold County Hospital Board of Trustees regular monthly meeting. After being…

A sister’s love for her late younger brother has resulted in the publication of a book with deep roots in Ringgold County and the town of Benton. Trapping Trigonometry: Increasing Your Numbers, by the late Tony Butler, is now available thanks to the dedication of his sister, Vickie Butler Pierce, who acted as typist, reader,…

by Suzy Woollums Recently, the “Look Back” section of the Record News reported that 50-years ago the paper ran three obituaries for William “Bill” Woollums,   his wife, Loana “Mitzi” Woollums, and their three-year-old daughter, Jodane “Jody” Woollums who were killed in a car accident on a rural road in northern Missouri on June 23, 1970. …

At their regular meeting Monday, July 20, the Mount Ayr city council brought to an official close the major water distribution system improvement project. The council voted unanimously to approve final payment of the retainage to the three contractors responsible for work on the project. Retainage is the final amount retained by the city until…

For the first time in 10 years, a new face occupied the superintendent’s chair at last week’s Mount Ayr school board meeting. Jason Shaffer officially began his duties as shared superintendent between the Bedford and Mount Ayr school districts July 1, replacing Joe Drake, who retired June 30. Shaffer and his family have moved to…

                  Ringgold County had the rare distinction of having visits from both of Iowa’s U.S. Senators within an hour of each other Tuesday morning. Ernst at courthouse Sen. Joni Ernst met with a dozen invited constituents at 8 a.m. in the county courthouse assembly room to discuss…

Ringgold County Public Health has announced the first death associated with novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the county. The individual was an elderly adult. No further details will be released. “We wish to extend our sympathy to this individual’s family,” said Becky Fletchall, RN, BSN, Ringgold County Public Health Nurse Administrator. “Ringgold County Public Health and…

Details have been announced for the Commencement Exercises for the Mount Ayr class of 2020. The event will take place Sunday, July 19 at 1 p.m. on the high school football field. Chairs for the graduates will be placed in four rows on the track and football field, spaced at six-foot intervals. Both the home…

Preparations leading up to the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year filled the agenda of the Mount Ayr Community Schools board of directors at their regular meeting held Monday, July 13. The meeting was the first for new superintendent Jason Shaffer, who officially took over his duties July 1. Shafffer replaces Joe Drake, who retired…