The Greene County supervisors delayed a number of decisions at their March 23 meeting, delaying decisions on a 9-foot-tall monument commemorating the Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey, a 28E agreement with the city of Jefferson for recycling services for rural residents, and a proposed solar project. After taking care of drainage business and an amendment to the FY26 budget, the supervisors…
Read MoreYear: 2026
Greene County magistrate court, week ending March 27
In Greene County magistrate court a judgment was entered March 25 against Anthony Charles Kennedy of Ames on a charge of criminal mischief- fifth degree. He was fined $105 with a $15.75 surcharge. Court costs were $60. Cases were initiated as follows: Kenneth Joseph Bonnette of Scranton, charged with violation of a no contact order; Seth Allen Blumberg of Grand…
Read MoreSheriff’s report – March 2026
Following are excerpts of activities reported by the Greene County sheriff’s office: Tuesday, March 31: At 3:11 am a deputy investigated a suspicious person in the 500 block of S. Wise St in Paton. At 6:56 am a deputy returned to the same location to investigate suspicious activity. At 10:13 am a deputy investigated a complaint of animal neglect in…
Read MoreJeff council purchases $2 million in GO bonds for various projects
The Jefferson city council at its March 24 meeting approved a bond purchase agreement for $2 million in general obligation bonds at a rate of 4.28 percent, including all fees. Tim Oswald of Piper Sandler handled the transaction. He said he had been concerned the bonds wouldn’t be purchased due to fluctuation in interest rates reflecting uncertainty created by the…
Read MoreZoo in Jefferson topic of April Historical Society program
South of Jefferson, at the northwest corner of the old Panora Speedway (now S. Mulberry St/Neola Ave) and 250th St, there once was a small zoo called Totem Acres. The wooded site was developed in the 1960s by Carl Daubendiek, founder of the Jefferson Telephone Co., as nature retreat for his employees, according to Jefferson publc library director Jane Millard.…
Read MoreJefferson named a Tree City USA
Jefferson is among 71 Iowa cities to qualify for the Tree City USA award from the Arbor Day Foundation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. To qualify for the Tree City USA award, a city must have either a city forester or an active city tree board, have a tree ordinance, spend at least $2 per capita annually for…
Read More‘And make America again!’
~a column by Colleen O’Brien My good friend Chris sent me a gift that is nearly a century old, a copy of a poem I read many years ago but forgot. It was written by Langston Hughes, published in 1936 in New York during the Harlem Renaissance. Because it is in the Public Domain, it is history; it is also…
Read MoreSecond scholarship presented by P.E.O. Chapter CZ
Chapter CZ of P.E.O. awarded a scholarship for 2025 to Danille Curtis of Gowrie recently. Curtis, a Simpson College and Paton-Churdan High School graduate, works full time as the Iowa director at Midwest Mission in Jefferson. The $500 local scholarship will be utilized by Curtis to help obtain her master’s degree in philanthropy and non-profit development from University of Northern…
Read MoreStatewide tornado drill Wednesday, 10 am
The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have joined together to promote Severe Weather Awareness Week, March 23-27, 2026. Accordingly, the annual statewide tornado drill will take place Wednesday, March 25, beginning at 10 am. “Severe weather doesn’t wait for us to be ready; it requires us to act now,” said HSEM…
Read MoreGreene County district court, week ending March 20
In Greene County district court Michael James Wagoner, 43, of Jefferson was sentenced March 18 to five years in prison, with credit for time served, after changing his plea to guilty to a charge of domestic abuse assault- third or subsequent offense. The prison term is consecutive to a sentence entered in January in another Greene County case. Wagoner was…
Read MoreGreene County magistrate court, week ending March 20
In Greene County magistrate court a judgment was entered against Anthony Lee Arbuckle of Cooper on a charge of disorderly conduct- fighting/violent behavior. Arbuckle was fined $105 with a $15.75 surcharge. Court costs were $101.80. Audrie Leiann Lawrence of Jefferson was sentenced to two days in jail after she pleaded guilty to a charge of providing false identification information. She…
Read MorePatricia Peterson, 1939 – 2026
Patricia Ann Peterson, 86, of Jefferson passed away March 20, 2026, after a long battle with declining health. A graveside service will be held April 4 at 11 am at the Jefferson Cemetery. Pat was born March 25, 1939, in Morristown, NJ, to Ernest and Erma (Baynes) Peterson, the second of five children. When she was 5 years old, the family…
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