News

The Highway 150 Bridge construction heading northing out of Vinton will be ongoing for the next 8-12 weeks. Stoplights are placed on both ends of the bridge as travel will be down to one lane. ***Be sure to pull up to the white line to activate the light to change when traffic is clear.**Click to see IDOT information containing width restrictions.

Vision Dysart, a sub-committee of the Dysart Development Corporation, is pleased to announce the completion of the Main Street Pocket Park. The project was first conceived in the spring of 2021 when a large tree was removed leaving an undeveloped space on Main Street. Through grants, donations and fundraising efforts, Vision Dysart was able to transform the area into a covered space with colorful seating, planters with foliage, a gallery of historic photographs of early Dysart, free Wi-Fi and dusk to dawn lighting for night owls.

At the city council meeting last week, there was a mixed bag of citizen input during the meeting. Topics included:Downtown ConcertArea businesses voiced complaints to the city council concerning the concert held in downtown Vinton. The June concert held on 4th Street, according to some of the businesses, it shut them down. Spokespersons for Lotus restaurant spoke first.

Adam Hildebrandt, a former Center Point-Urbana teacher who had faced two charges avoids prison time. Hildebrandt was originally charged with Sexual Exploitation by a school employee (which was dropped) and Attempt to Entice a Minor under 16.Iowa District 6 Court Judge, Justin Lightfoot, handed down a 2-year deferred judgment, or 2 years of probation with Hildebrandt  pleading guilty to enticing a minor.

The Eastern Iowa Freedom from Hunger Food and Fund Drive, coordinated by the HACAP Food Reservoir, is looking for supporters to help reach a goal of 50,000 total meals donated with the campaign running through September 1st. Eastern Iowa Freedom from Hunger is an opportunity for local businesses, families, religious organizations, and any community group to lend a helping hand to over 30,000 of our neighbors facing food insecurity.

Speaking July 11 at the Center Point Historical Society Bike Day were Randy Burke and Ryan Schlader of the Linn County Conservation Department and Tom Peffer, president of the Linn County Trails Association.The trio talked about how dramatically attitudes have changed in the forty-some years since the idea of public bike trails from abandoned railroad lines was just a gleam in the eye of people like Center Point’s late Tom Neenan.

The Vinton Lions invited some special guests to their noon lunch program at noon lunch at Pizza Ranch in Vinton. The three guests each received 2023 Vinton Lions Scholarship. Pictured are left to right:  Kallie Burke attending University of Central Florida, Bennet Rickels attending DMAC  and Abby Davis attending UNI in the Fall. Congratulations to all of the recipients.

According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, starting on Monday, July 17, traffic entering and leaving Vinton on Highway 150 north will be affected by road construction. The report says, that between US 218 and County Road E16 (Vinton) there will be road construction. -Temporary traffic lights. -Height limit in effect. 15'0"-Width limit in effect.

Emily Rose Ingalls the daughter of Loren and Patti Ingalls of Newhall, is no stranger to being royalty. In 2022 Emily reigned as the Benton County Fair Princess. This past weekend, she was crowned the 2023 National Cattle Congress Fair Queen.She said that she ran for this contest "because I wanted to be a role model for young girls in the community.

The State Library of Iowa has announced that the Vinton Public Library has met the conditions for state accreditation as outlined in “In Service to Iowa: Public Library Standards Sixth Edition.”Achieving accreditation requires a significant, ongoing local commitment to high quality library services. The Vinton Public Library has been recognized for its efforts in all areas of library operations including governance and funding, staffing, library collection, services, public relations, access, and facilities.