More than $240,000 in local scholarships were awarded at the Greene County High School Senior Awards Night May 13. Scholarships were awarded as follows: Andrew F. Schmitz Memorial – Leah McCormick Ben Carman scholarship – Brianna Ades Beta Tau Delta – Savannah Lansman and Nala Losee Betty Jo Callaway scholarship – Natalee Baugh, Teagan Chisholm, Christopher Daugherty, Carter Hinote, Madison…
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Memorial Day observances slated
Memorial Day observances are slated around Greene County as follows: Sunday, May 24 Pleasant Hill Memorial Chapel – 6 pm. Homecoming service with patriotic music performed by the Town & Country Band and a salute to fallen heroes by the Rippey American Legion Post 583. Refreshments will be served. Pleasant Hill Memorial is in Grant Township, 1794 Redwood Ave, Jefferson.…
Read More‘Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey’ debut Memorial Day at Old Rippey Cemetery
A little-known Civil War story from Greene County is being brought back to life this Memorial Day through a major community project led by students, their teacher and local historians. The “Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey” were 32 students and former students, along with two teachers, from one of Greene County’s earliest schools who enlisted together during the Civil War. Eleven…
Read MoreSupervisors May 18 meeting is primarily informational
The Greene County supervisors had a light agenda for their May 18 meeting. The only agenda items were resolutions to hire Sandy Groves as a fulltime dispatcher for the Greene County sheriff’s office and Michael Glover as a part-time EMT for Greene County Ambulance. Both hires were approved. During the Reports portion of the meeting, county attorney Thomas Laehn praised…
Read MoreHistorical Society tells plans for ‘Barbie By the Bells’, Bell Tower Festival weekend
The Greene County Historical Society and the Barbie Team invite the public to attend the official opening of the “Barbie By the Bells” exhibition Wednesday, June 3, at the Society’s newly acquired building located next to the main museum. The Greene County Historical Society recently purchased the building to create a permanent home for the extensive Barbie collection, allowing hundreds…
Read MoreSite preparation begins for KCG housing project
The first dirt was moved May 18 for a multi-family housing project north of the Union Pacific railroad tracks and west of N. Elm St in Jefferson. The project was first proposed by KCG Properties of Indianapolis during the summer of 2023. Despite heated opposition to the project for a variety of reasons, the city’s planning commission approved rezoning the…
Read MoreDOT agrees to more business access off Hwy 30 in Jefferson after city officials involve legislators
Jefferson city council member Luke Winkelman, just five months into his first term on the council, scored big for the city in the economic development game. The “win” was shared when Greg Piklapp, director of Greene County Development Corporation as part of the Ames Regional Economic Alliance, made his quarterly report at the May 12 council meeting. The “win” was…
Read MoreJeff council ups water, garbage fees, and department head salaries
The Jefferson city council at its May 12 meeting approved increases to a pair of costs residents see on their city services bill, most commonly referred to as a water bill. The council approved a 2 percent increase to the “retail” rate of water. The base fee, which includes 134 cubic feet of water, will increase from $13.72 to $14.…
Read MoreGrCo school board approves budget amendment, gr 5-8 literacy curriculum
The Greene County Schools board of education approved an amendment to the certified budget for the current school year at its May 13 meeting. Superintendent Brett Abbotts explained the amendment is a “precaution” to allow the completion of various projects without going over the budget approved in April 2025. The amendment increased spending by $500,000, with half the total going…
Read MorePlanting behind 2025 pace, ahead of 5-year average
There were 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 17, 2026. Topsoil moisture condition statewide rated 5 percent very short, 26 percent short, 64 percent adequate, and 5 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 4 percent very short, 23 percent short, 69 percent adequate, and 4 percent surplus. Corn planting reached 88 percent complete, which is one…
Read MoreGovernor signs property tax law projected to save $4.2 billion over 6 years
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch, May 18, 2026 Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds signed into law May 18 a measure she and supporters say will lower property tax costs for Iowans – an issue Republicans said was their top priority for the 2026 session. “We’re bending the spending curve away from government and back toward the families who fund it,…
Read MoreSupervisors give final approval to Schoolboy Soldiers monument, take care of routine business
The Greene County supervisors at their May 11 meeting approved easements for Red Lion Solar to place solar installations at the secondary roads building in Jefferson, Spring Lake Park, and the new jail. That followed a public hearing attended by no one. The supervisors gave final approval for the verbiage on the Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey monuments. One will be…
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