Business

Urbana Clinic will be open until 3pm on Friday, July 5thAtkins, Van Horne and Vinton Family Medical Clinics will have normal hours on July 5th.Wishing everyone a safe and joyful Independence Day!

Do you know someone who deserves to be considered for the Iowa Master Farmer Award? Nominate them. Nominations for the 2025 Award are due September 13, 2024.Maybe it’s your parents, a sibling, your neighbors, a friend or a colleague. Perhaps its someone you’ve served with on a board, or someone you’ve long looked up to. Candidates may also nominate themselves.

 Fareway Stores, Inc. is partnering with Variety - the Children’s Charity to conduct the eighth annual Round Up at the register from July 1-20 at all 139 store locations. Customers will have the opportunity to round up to the next dollar or provide an additional donation on their grocery bill to help fund Variety’s mission. Dollars raised through the Round Up will provide mobility equipment to children living with special needs, as well as fund and deliver effective programs and grants to care for children who are underprivileged, at-risk, critically ill, or living with special needs.

“Strengthening Our Roots” is the theme of the annual Iowa Women in Agriculture Conference at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny on August 1.The conference will explore the challenges of agriculture’s evolving financial and environmental climate, including:* Commodity market scenarios and advice* Soil and water quality initiatives* Lender's outlook for 2024-25* Prospects for a new Farm Bill* Latest on land values, transition planning, and conservation* Role of women in this dynamic and growing ag industryThe Conference kicks off at 8:15 a.

Due to declining health, I will be closing Vinton Monuments on July 18, 2024.  I will continue to serve my customers who have ordered, and the monument is not yet set. Phillip and Haley Close have taken over the cleaning part of the business and I hope you can extend to him the same courtesies given me.  Phil uses industry standards for methods and solutions for cleaning monuments.

The Iowa Healthiest State Initiative’s Double Up Food Bucks program has expanded its partnership with Fareway by adding eleven stores in communities across Iowa as participating locations. The eleven new sites include two locations in Cedar Rapids, as well as Clinton, Council Bluffs, Fort Madison, Hampton, Muscatine, Newton, Red Oak, Toledo, and Vinton.

With the first hay crop harvested, summertime for forage growers is in full swing. In addition to being the primary feed source for ruminants, forages bring many values to farms and surrounding communities.To celebrate the many benefits of the forage industry, the American Forage and Grassland Council will host the 10th annual National Forage Week June 16-22.

Joseph Lensing and Eric Weuve will work with farmers in northeast and north central Iowa, respectivelyTwo new field specialists have joined the farm business management team with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.Joseph Lensing and Eric Weuve both joined in May. Lensing will serve a 12-county region in northeast Iowa and Weuve will serve 12 counties in north central Iowa.

iVinton announced that it has acquired the USBank drive-up location and community building. The Vinton utility has purchased the property and will be renovating it to fit their needs. US Bank will be maintaining an ATM machine in the lane closest to the community building. The new iVinton location will be at 109 West 5th St. in Vinton just around the corner from their current location.