Kent Sutton McWilliam was born in Jefferson, IA, on December 15, 1936. He lived his life on his family farm in Paton. He graduated high school from Paton Consolidated in 1955 and left the farm briefly to attend college at Iowa State University in Ames. After one year he transferred to Arizona State University in Phoenix, where he obtained a…
Read MoreDay: January 2, 2019
So you like free news?
A year ago I wrote that stories reported in 2017 made us “proud, angry, sad, optimistic – all those things that make life such an interesting journey.” The same can be said about the stories of 2018, but “proud” and “optimistic” would be in all capital letters if I were using social media. If we were excited and optimistic as…
Read MoreQuotes worth starting a new year with
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I collect quotes as if I am a Bartlett of Familiar Quotations fame. I stash them in diaries and on scraps of paper in pockets and purses, wishing I had written them myself. Here are a few to start you off on a good and interesting year. I am heartened by the words of the…
Read MoreTotal taxable valuation up for county
The increases most property owners saw in their assessments in 2018 make the news Pam Olerich gave the county supervisors Monday not a surprise. The total taxable valuation in Greene County for fiscal year 2020 increased 4.51 percent, the largest increase in the past five years. Olerich, real estate and tax coordinator in the county auditor’s office, called the figures…
Read MoreSupervisors hire veteran services director, EMS transition administrator
The Greene County supervisors approved a pair of hires at their Dec. 31 meeting, one to fill a long-standing vacancy, and the other to fill a position the board hasn’t yet taken action to create. The board approved hiring Michael Bierl as part-time county veterans services director, a position that has been vacant since Tracie Perez left at the end…
Read MoreRotary donates to food pantry building fund
The Jefferson Rotary Foundation recently donated $5,000 to the Greene County Christian Action Resource Center for the purchase of its new home at 1006 N. Vine St in Jefferson. The ARC food pantry serves about 100 different families a month, but according to ARC coordinator Dianne Blackmer, a record 140 families were served in November.
Read MorePulitzer Prize-winning editor to speak in Jefferson
Art Cullen, winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing and editor/co-owner of the Storm Lake Times, will be the featured speaker at a Ground Hog Day dinner Saturday, Feb. 2, in Jefferson. Cullen is known for his thoughtful commentary on immigration, water quality, and the impact of large-scale farming on the environment and on Iowa. Cullen will discuss…
Read MoreGenealogical Society meets Jan. 5
The Greene County Genealogical Society will hold a regular meeting Saturday, Jan. 5, at 10 am in the basement meeting room at the Jefferson public library. Installation of 2019 officers will take place. The genealogy library will be closed January, February and March, but the group will continue to meet the first Saturday of the month at 10 am. Persons…
Read MoreRam wrestlers sweep CR-B duals 3-9
~courtesy of The Scranton Journal The Greene County wrestling team swept the Coon Rapids-Bayard duals Dec. 20 with wins over Collins-Maxwell, Nodaway Valley and CR-B. There were only four bouts in the C-M match with the Rams winning three of those. The Crusaders had seven wrestlers, but Greene County dispatched all seven, giving up only one forfeit for CR-B points.…
Read More