Area News

The district’s Return-to-Learn plan and personnel decisions topped the action items at the Monday, August 9 regular meeting of the Mount Ayr Community Schools board of directors. Return-to-Learn The Return-to-Learn plan for 2021-2022 looks very similar to last year’s, with a handful of notable exceptions. In keeping with Gov. Kim Reynolds’ edict prohibiting mask mandates,…

Students age 12-17 are now able to protect themselves and their peers from COVID-19. Mount Ayr and Diagonal schools and Ringgold County Public Health are collaborating to offer vaccines to students during school registration this week. COVID-19 vaccines are found to be the most effective protection against hospitalizations and death related to coronavirus. “In addition,…

For the first time in over three decades, Ringgold County Hospital has come under new leadership. Effective July 1, Joe Mangiameli took over duties as chief executive officer at RCH following the retirement of long-time CEO Gordon Winkler. Actually, Winkler’s tenure as RCH administrator is in large part why Mangiameli chose RCH as his first…

Gerry Greenland from Grand River was found guilty of attempted murder during a May 23, 2019 incident involving Decatur County Sheriff Ben Boswell. Fifth Judicial District Court Judge John D. Lloyd found Greenland guilty of attempted murder on a peace officer, assault on a peace officer with intent to cause a serious injury and while…

The sale of the city-owned property, approval of two loans, and the purchase of a trencher were among action items at the Monday, August 2 regular meeting of the Mount Ayr city council. Property The council approved the sale of the property located at 103 S. Webster Street to for a price of $73,000. The…

Loss of the oncology clinic, changes in employee health insurance and reinstatement of some recently dropped procedures related to Covid 19 management were all topics of discussion in a brief regular monthly Ringgold County Hospital board meeting of trustees, held Monday, July 19. In his last meeting as hospital administrator, Gordon Winkler shared some disappointing…

Are you wondering if the headache, sore throat, runny nose, and/or fever symptoms are COVID-19? In addition to the option of seeing your primary care provider, Ringgold County Public Health (RCPH) serves as a pick-up site for free COVID-19 test kits. “It’s simple to test,” reports Becky Fletchall, RCPH Nurse Administrator. “After getting the kit,…

A vacant building in downtown Mount Ayr will soon ring with music and dance thanks to a dream by Ryann Martin. Ryann’s Dance Academy is scheduled to open August 25 in the building that formerly housed Mitchell Drug and Forget-Me-Not Flowers at the corner of Taylor and Adams streets. The Dance Academy will be a…

The original Hy-Vee grocery store in Beaconsfield may get new life if efforts of the newly-formed Ringgold County Historic Preservation Commission come (RCHPC) to fruition. In existence since March, RCHPC is considered a “certified local government,” a designation that allows the commission to qualify for grants aimed at preserving historic buildings and sites. Members of…

Ringgold County Public Health recently surveyed the community to determine information on vaccine hesitancy. “What we found was mostly similar to nationwide data. One thing that differed was no identified barriers in access to vaccine,” states Becky Fletchall, Nurse Administrator. Unlike other places in the state and nation, Ringgold County Public Health has been delivering…