News
County Open House brings visitors to explore services
Last week Benton County held a formal open house for folks to come and explore the services available to all of the Benton County residents. The Benton County Sheriff's Office brought along a trailer with hidden paraphernalia that might be used by people who have a substance abuse issue. Residents had an opportunity to explore and see if they could find all of the items hidden in the room and pick up on some of the clues that could be found and help to identify a concern in their home. Bethlehem Lutheran Church celebrates 110th Anniversary
Bethlehem Lutheran Church celebrated 110 years of ministry on June 10, 2023. For over a century Bethlehem has served as a mission outpost; offering a place to gather and worship in the Lutheran tradition and a place to gather to serve others, here in Vinton, Benton County, and the world.Members at Bethlehem cherish their Swedish roots, having started as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Bethlehem congregation as part of the Augusta Synod, based in Rock Island, Illinois. Ordinances, Land Sale, East School & Election Time discussed at Council Meeting
The city council met this week and covered a short agenda in under an hour. Tami Stark, Rylie Pflughaph, Bethany Gates, Zach Parmater, Andrew Elwick were present.Under committee reports, Bethany Gates reported that the Rental Code Committee met and developed a mission statement and will meet again on September 13th at 6:00 p.m. at city hall. Tami Stark reported that the business type activities committee met before the council meeting to address the sale of a lot on East 5th St. Benton County Community Foundation to Host Virtual Grant Workshop
The Benton County Community Foundation (BCCF), an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, will host a public grant workshop on Aug. 30 to discuss its 2023 grant cycle. The event will be held virtually via Zoom from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Organizations, especially those interested in applying for a 2023 grant, are encouraged to attend the workshop and should register to obtain the Zoom meeting link at www.
END OF SUMMER TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT
Last year, during the final weeks of summer (August 1-September 4, 2022), there were 40 traffic fatalities in Iowa; 30% of those fatalities were alcohol/drug related*. To prevent future tragedies, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is partnering with law enforcement to decrease impaired driving. August 18- September 4, agencies across the state will be participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over high-visibility enforcement project. Presidential Candidate Ryan Binkley makes stop in Vinton
Republican candidate for president, Ryan Binkley made a stop in Vinton on Wednesday afternoon at Brickside Brew-N-Chew in downtown Vinton. Binkley is the pastor of Create Church in Richardson, Texas as well as the president and CEO of Generational Group out of Texas.He and his wife Ellie married in 1999 and have five children. The couple adopted their last child from South Korea, also the place of Ellie's birth before she arrived in the United States as a first-generation immigrant along with her parents. Benton and Linn Co. 4-H Programs Strengthen Food Security by focusing on Poultry
Over the last three years, the Linn and Benton County 4-H programs have partnered to donate over 1300 pounds of poultry to the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP). 4-H and FFA youth take pride in donating locally-grown protein while exploring raising poultry as a hobby or an entry point to a career path.The Iowa 4-H program has over 40 project areas that empower youth to explore their spark or area of passion.
Thank you from business donations for queen contest
The Benton County Fair Board would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Izzie Birker as the 2023 Benton County Fair Queen, Kait Ballard as the 2023 Benton County Fair Princesses, Izzie Birker as Miss Congeniality.A special thank you to Annabelle Newton for serving as the 2023 Benton County Fair Queen and was the 2022 Iowa State Fair First Runner up and Emily Ingalls for serving as the 2022 Benton County Fair Princess.
Urbana Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Child
A man who sexually exploited a child pled guilty on August 4, 2023, in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Michael Heinitz, age 20, of Urbana, was convicted of one count of sexual exploitation of a child. At the plea hearing, Heinitz admitted that, between August and September 2022, he recorded sexually explicit videos of a four-year-old girl. ECI REC Maintains nearly 2,300 miles of Powerlines
When you think of electricity, you might think of power lines and the poles that hold them in the air. But if you venture out into the countryside, you might run across Maurer Tree Service out of Fairbank. The company has been busy trimming branches around power lines in the area. North of Vinton, the company is busy clearing the area around East-Central Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative's power lines.