News

 On January 1, 2021, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assisted the Urbana Police Department in the investigation of a possible murder/suicide. The Urbana Police Department received a 911 call from Garry Jensen, age 59, stating he had shot and killed his wife, Margaret Jensen, age 54. Law enforcement responded to the Jensen residence, located at 300 East Main Street in Urbana, and found Margaret Jensen deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.

Grant applications can now be submitted to the Benton County Community Foundation’s 2021 grant cycle. The online grant application may be found on the Community Foundation’s website at www.bentonccf.org. The deadline to submit applications is 11:59 p.m. on March 15, 2021. Grants are awarded to projects in the following areas: arts and culture, community betterment, education and youth development, environment and animal welfare, health, and human service.

At or about 9:00 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, January 2, 2021, deputies with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a request for a welfare check at a residence at 5909 28th Avenue in rural Vinton, Iowa. Upon arrival, authorities located the body of a deceased male identified as 84-year-old James Howard Bright. Bright's death is currently being investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa State Patrol.

2020 may be a year we are happy to see fading in our review mirror, but with the help of Vinton Unlimited and several local businesses, 2020 is going out on a good note!  Vinton Unlimited’s Holiday Lights Punch Card promotion has been in full swing since the end of November.  Shoppers have been able to turn in punch cards for every $100 they’ve spent at participating local businesses to be entered into weekly drawings, accumulating into one final Grand Prize!The holiday season was kicked off by the first weekly winner, Laurie Hyland.

Reminder: With the impending winter storm, please move vehicles off the streets to assist with the City's snow removal. Also, sidewalks are to be cleared within 24 hours after snowfall ceases.

DECK THE HOUSE WINNERS:1st Place - Frankie Dulin, 502 4th Ave2nd Place - Mary Bell, 303 W 8th St3rd Place - Virginia Root, 403 S Ave SBusiness 1st Place - John’s Tire ServiceWinners of the Deck the House contest were as follows:1st Place: Frankie Dulin, 502 4th Ave. 2nd Place: Mary Bell, 303 W. 8th St.3rd Place: Virginia Root, 403 S Ave. S.Business 1st Place: John's TireFor a map of locations where lights are might still up this week can be seen here!https://www.

The Annual Christmas Dinner looked a little different this year. Beginning in 2014 the Vinton Presbyterian Church began offering a Christmas dinner to area residents. Designed to meet a need in the community for socializing on the Christmas holiday for those alone or to lend a hand to those in need over the holidays, the church found a way to do that with their Christmas dinner.

“Here it is! Here's the gold coin!” That was the statement made by counters Norma Frost and Julie Hansen when the Salvation Army Red Kettle money was counted Monday night, December 14th.The one-ounce gold coin appraised for $1,885 dollars. “We are grateful to the person who donated this coin. It's quite an honor to receive it. We can never forget all the generosity of the daily donations of $1, or $5 and even $10's and $20's that make up the bulk of our donations.

On Saturday morning, the area AMVETS (American Vets), VFW & Auxiliary dedicated a new flag that was installed at John's Qwik Stop. When arriving in Vinton via C Ave. you will see the flag peeking over the top of the houses. Denny Miller, Commander of the AMVETS presented the call to colors followed by Dale Henry who read the following poem:"Oh Flag of Our UnionO flag of our Union, To you, we'll be true,To your red and white stripes,And your stars on the blue, The emblem od freedom, The symbol of right, We children salute you, O flag fair and bright.

On 12-18-2020, at about 9:07 AM, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a stolen vehicle near Keystone IA. The 911 caller reported that he had observed his stolen 2013 Chev 2500 Silverado being driven by unknown persons.  The vehicle had been reported stolen from Linn County on 12-06-20. With the assistance of the vehicle owner, officers would locate the vehicle and suspects were taken into custody.