Area News
Disaster in Delphos
Small community hit by two tragedies on same day By Jeff Snyder DELPHOS, Iowa — Fire ripped through a home in Delphos last Wednesday leaving a family destitute in the aftermath. Jolene and Chad Percifield stood on the lawn of an abandoned church across the street from their burning trailer type home and watched as…
Read MoreSnapshots of History by Mike Avitt
This week’s picture comes courtesy of the Linda Swanson collection and shows the Ringgold Evangelical Church about 1910. The church faced south and was on the north side of what we call Ringgold County Road J-67. An 1894 plat map verifies this location. This photo also appears on page 31 of Raymond Banner’s book (2002)…
Read MoreDNR Prairie reclamation project picks up steam
By Jeff Snyder MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The latest efforts to create and execute a plan of prairie reclamation throughout Iowa’s rural ecosystems by the Department of Natural Resources continue throughout Ringgold County. Currently, there is work being performed on the Walnut Creek Marsh Wildlife Preserve, located south of State Highway 2, approximately four miles…
Read MoreMount Ayr continues fiber optic push
By Jeff Snyder MOUNT AYR, Iowa — Mount Ayr continues to move toward modernization of its infrastructures by expanding its digital footprint, specifically the expansion of fiber optic data transmission capability. Over the past few years Mount Ayr has seen a dramatic increase in the number of homes serviced by the high tech advantage of…
Read MoreRed Cross provides free smoke detectors
By Jeff Snyder MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The American Red Cross started a program in 2014 called “Sound the Alarm.” The program was started with the intent to help in the prevention of loss of life, due mostly to residential fires. The organization’s mission is simple — prevent human suffering in the face of emergency.…
Read MoreLOSAP program granted final approval
By Jeff Snyder MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The Mount Ayr City Council conducted its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday and addressed several housekeeping issues. During the meeting a number of housekeeping issues were discussed and decided upon by council. Chief among them was the council’s final approval of the Mount Ayr Fire Department’s Length of…
Read MoreEmergency Management Announces Burn Ban for Ringgold County Residents
By Jeff Snyder MOUNT AYR, Iowa — With a rash of recent fires Ringgold County has joined other area counties in southwest Iowa in instituting a county-wide burn ban. On February 17, the office of the state fire marshal received a request pursuant to Iowa code 100.40(1) (1995) from Ringgold County Director of Emergency Management…
Read MoreCTE construction continues to move along
By Jeff Snyder MOUNT AYR, Iowa — Favorable weather has given the new Careers in Technical Education (CTE) building project for the Mount Ayr Community Schools a welcomed boost in construction progress. Frigid weather in January hampered the building advancement largely due to sub-zero temperatures. The first stages of the progress required preparation of the building…
Read MoreA history of President’s Day
By Jeff Snyder MOUNT AYR, Iowa — Originally, President’s Day was supposed to be a day that honored the first president of the United States, George Washington. In reality the federal holiday is quite a bit more complicated. George Washington’s birthday was, and always has been February, 22. In the 18th century, England operated under the…
Read MoreFire claims life in Clearfield
By Jeff Snyder CLEARFIELD, Iowa — A recent fire claimed the life of long time Clearfield resident, Deborah Scott (age 78) on February 7. The home located at 1665 North 110th Avenue is in the a rural part of town located about a mile to the east of town center. The house was fully engaged by the…
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