The Mount Ayr Jazz Band finished in fourth place at the Iowa Jazz Championships on Tuesday, April 2. Ashlyn Byer received one of four Outstanding Performer Awards for all of Class A. Brittney Gilliland, vibes; Aiden Comer, trombone; and Ashlyn Byer, flute were also named Outstanding Soloists. There will be a pep rally on Thursday,…
After considering 11 projects, the Enhance Iowa Board awarded $3,025,047 in Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grants to projects in 10 communities including the City of Mount Ayr. Mount Ayr was awarded a $340,000 CAT grant, on Thursday, April 4, filling the final gap in funds needed to replace the original pool built in 1963.…
The Ringgold County Board of Supervisors hired an IT Director for the county, approved 2 percent increases in salary, and set their FY25 budget at their regular meeting on Monday, April 8. New IT Director Zachary Hague will be transitioning the management of IT infrastructure internally beginning April 22. Hague received his Associate of Applied…
By Mike Avitt Dick Simpson is in the business of turning heads. Not as a pretty young lady might turn heads; Dick does it with clippers, scissors, and a barber chair. And he’s been doing it for sixty years now in the same shop. Dick finished barber school and began his internship at Clarinda. However,…
Since the pandemic, childcare has become increasingly challenging, as the number of people providing daycare has decreased. There is a shortage of in-home providers and staff for the existing centers in Ringgold County. While the issue isn’t unique to our area, organizations are collaborating and asking for support to promote childcare business and education in…
The Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded three $50,000 grants to Calhoun County Public Health, Cass County Board of Health, and Van Buren County Hospital to test a new volunteer program aimed at decreasing emergency response times in rural Iowa. The total grant funding of $150,000 was made available through the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative.…
The defending POI boy’s champs began their spring 2024 season with a bang last Thursday at home. There, the Raiders dominated the scores at a home triangular that featured three Pride of Iowa Conference schools. The Raiders shot a team score of 170 with all of their scores from the six in the lineup under…
What a start for the Mount Ayr girl’s golf team. The Raiderettes saw meet action for the first time this season on Thursday, April 4 on their home course and won the triangular meet going away. The meet featured a trio of Pride of Iowa Conference schools as Martensdale-St. Mary’s and SE Warren joined Mount…
The Mount Ayr boy’s track team claimed a pair of relay wins at the Centerville co-ed last week in their first outdoor meet of the spring 2024 season. There, the Raiders won the Distance Medley Relay and the 4X400-meter relay events. Davis County won the meet with a team score of 151 points followed by…
LESLIE EUGENE RAUCH, SR. Leslie Eugene Rauch, Sr. was born March 30, 1940, to Arthur and Agnes Rauch at the family home in Grant City, MO. Leslie and his siblings grew up in Grant City, MO and Mount Ayr, IA. Leslie grew up working hard and being charitable. His family farmed so that meant the…
James Leroy Madison left this earth on March 23, 2024, to meet his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to live with Him throughout eternity. He was born January 12, 1939, to George Madison, Jr. and Ellewyn Dorothy Hall Madison, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He attended school in Fort Dodge, Iowa, graduating from Fort Dodge…
Jacqueline (Jacquie) was born to John and Bernice Wiley on October 5, 1938, at home on their farm near Conway, Iowa. Jacquie went to two different country schools and then to Clearfield Community School where she graduated in 1957. After high school, she moved to Des Moines, Iowa and started working at Bankers Life (Principal…
To the editor: Lou Conter, the last survivor of the USS Arizona, died Monday of heart failure at his home in California. His death is a reminder that we are losing, on a daily basis, the Americans who lived through the depression and World War II. Newman and author Tom Brokaw called these Americans “The Greatest…
To the editor: Donald Trump recently claimed that if he is not elected President in 2024, that America will cease to exist. I hold the view that if America ceases to exist, the cause would be Donald Trump’s election as President in 2024. Leota M. Lipovac Urbandale
To the editor: On behalf of Madalynn Stewart’s family, our heartfelt thanks for the outpouring of love, prayers, and generosity of so many communities at our time of loss and grief. As Madalynn’s grandmother, our family experienced compassion, friendship, and amazing support as we gathered in Mount. Ayr to celebrate Maddie’s life. The support was…
From the Desk… On April 30th, RCDC will be hosting Stephanie Neppl, Tourism Liaison from the Iowa Tourism Office/IEDA. Karen Bender and I met with Stephanie several months ago and was amazed at all the services they offer. I asked Stephanie to summarize her presentation. “Come learn how to maximize the free marketing opportunities through the Iowa…
The terms public meeting, public forum and public hearing are often used interchangeably, however there are important differences in terms of their format, purpose, and level of formality. Public Meeting A public meeting is generally defined as a meeting in which business is conducted by a public body like local government, a school district or…
One Hundred Years Ago (From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, April 16, 1924.) The wholesale egg dealers of Iowa in their meeting held at Des Moines March 20, 1924 unanimously adopted a resolution to commence on April 1, 1924, to buy eggs on a two-grade basis. The clean eggs of fair size to go as…
By Mike Avitt As I was researching James B. Wishard I came up with more questions than answers. But, I did get some answers, so let’s see how Wishard Chapel was named. The first mention I found of Father Wishard was in 1879 when the Mount Ayr Post Office placed a notice in the newspaper…