Area News

Based upon feedback received at the Monday, March 11 public hearing on the new budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the Ringgold County board of supervisors withheld final approval of the budget pending further review of options to decrease the $4.90 per thousand tax rate. The supervisors met again the next day to review the…

An extraordinarily short agenda awaited the Mount Ayr city council at their regular meeting Monday, March 18. The council approved the third and final reading of a city ordinance amending garbage pickup rates. The increased rates will go into effect July 1. Monthly rate increases Now           July 1 Once weekly pickup Residential – Inside…

Iowa law requires all property to be revalued every two years to reflect changes in market value and to keep up with market trends.  Research of sales ratio studies, analysis of local conditions, and current construction costs are used in determining assessments.  The assessed value represents the value as the property sits on January 1,…

Shopko will liquidate its assets and close all of its remaining locations by June, according to a document filed Monday in U.S. bankruptcy court. The company stated in a media release that it was unable to find a buyer for the retail business and will begin winding down its operations beginning this week. The announcement…

The city of Mount Ayr has been informed of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Windstream Holdings Inc., the company that furnishes a major portion of telecommunications services within the city. As a utility, the company is required by law to inform cities of its impending reorganization. According to published reports, the move comes following…

The Ringgold County Board of Supervisors received some pushback from taxpayers during the annual budget public hearing held in the courthouse assembly room Monday morning. As a result, the supervisors said they would go back and look at the budget again to see if savings could be found. The supervisors were scheduled to meet Tuesday…

Plenty of kids gathered at the Dragoon Trace Nature Center Saturday morning, as the spring showers came down in Ringgold county, to learn  about owls through a Nature Tots program. Nature Tots was started by Ringgold County Conservation Director Kate Zimmerman in August of 2017. So far the program has featured song birds, fall harvest,…

  Friday night, the Mount Ayr High School Drama Club presented their annual spring play to the community, and one very special guest. The guest came unannounced and unknown to the actors and actresses on stage. It was none other than the author of the play they were performing, Delmar Burkitt. Burkitt and his friend…

By Zippy Duvall President, American Farm Bureau Federation Throughout the year, we hear about food recognitions such as National Chocolate Milk Day (Sept. 27) or National Pie Day (Jan. 23, but some celebrate again on National Pi Day, March 14).         This week, we recognize the people who make those food recognition days possible:…