MILITARY: Pickart assigned to Pearl Harbor
Lt. Col. Damien Pickart, a Blairstown native and 1991 Benton Community graduate, was recently assigned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam as the Pacific Air Forces deputy director for public affairs. He...
View ArticleNorthern Iraq – Van Horne man is ready to go back to work there
By JIM MAGDEFRAU Star Press Union editor “He said, ‘Hey, do you want to come over and work?’ I said, ‘Sure.’” That’s how Van Horne’s Stephen Bange first ended up working in northern Iraq. And he’s...
View ArticleBenton County officials ponder security for the courthouse
By JIM MAGDEFRAU Star Press Union editor VINTON – Could it happen in Benton County? The shooting incident in Jackson County several weeks ago at a board of supervisors’ meeting prompted Benton County...
View ArticleNature Center Open House is October 5
Join the Benton County Conservation staff on Sunday, Oct. 5 from noon to 3 p.m., as they celebrate the grand opening of the county’s Nature Center at 5718 20th Ave. Drive, just north of Vinton off...
View ArticleSupervisors to meet Tuesday, Oct. 7
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING October 7, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. Benton County Board of Supervisors Room 1. 9:00 A.M. Call to Order 2. Approve minutes 3. Approve claims 4. 9:05 a.m....
View ArticleSour Grapes, Oct. 8, 2014
Funk Working within the system, to change the system, continues. Readers, I’m working to make the big fonts smaller and the small fonts bigger. One concerned reader said there too many ads. Well, I’m...
View ArticleWork in Ethiopia – Kayla Toennies
Internship focuses seeing no one goes hungry By JIM MAGDEFRAU Star Press Union editor “Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world.” This is the philosophy of food pioneer Norman...
View ArticleOBITUARY: Christine Kay Freland
Funeral services for Christine Kay Freland, 66, Belle Plaine, were Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014, at Hrabak Funeral Home, Belle Plaine, with Pastor Debbie Eberly of Spirit of Faith Family Church, Cedar...
View ArticleOBITUARY: Debra Johann
Debra Johann, 48, Iowa City, previously a longtime resident of Blairstown, went to sleep on Friday, Oct. 3, 2014, and woke up Oct. 4, 2014, with her maker at the age of 48. Debra is survived by her...
View ArticleAgenda set for Belle Plaine School Board
BELLE PLAINE BOARD OF EDUCATION – REGULAR MEETING Belle Plaine Community School District Meeting date/time/location: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 at 6:45 p.m., Longfellow Elementary School, 707-7th...
View ArticleSupervisors to meet this Tuesday in Vinton
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING October 14, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. Benton County Board of Supervisors Room 1. 9:00 A.M. Call to Order 2. Approve minutes 3. 9:15 a.m. – Carla Loverink, IowaWorks re: Support for...
View ArticleBenton school board to meet in Atkins this Wednesday
BENTON COMMUNITY BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR BOARD MEETING TIME: 7:30 P.M., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2014 PLACE: ATKINS CENTER, MEDIA CENTER 217 4TH AVE ATKINS, IA TENTATIVE AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 7:30...
View ArticleOBITUARY: Clarence James “Clancy” Becker
VAN HORNE – Clarence James “Clancy” Becker, 79, died Oct. 12, 2014, at the Senior Suites in Keystone with his family at his side, following a short and courageous battle with cancer. A Mass Of...
View ArticleVan Horne Community Newsletter, October/November 2014
Van Horne Community Newsletter October 2014 Greetings Van Horne area residents! Well, in a couple of weeks, daylight savings time comes to an end and we set our clocks back an hour. Fall sports come to...
View ArticleUnityPoint Clinic announces move in November to new location
UnityPoint Clinic, Belle Plaine, has officially announced it is moving from its current location on Eighth Ave. in Belle Plaine to its new office, which is the former UI Medical Clinic, location at 105...
View ArticleBusy year for the library in Belle Plaine; roofing options are weighed at BP...
By JIM MAGDEFRAU Star Press Union editor BELLE PLAINE – Kristi Sorensen gave the library director’s report at the Belle Plaine City Council meeting, Monday, Oct. 6, and detailed a busy year for the...
View ArticleOrder filed against pharmacy owner
Several area pharmacies are now for sale, following an order by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy. In an order issued Aug. 27 of this year by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, the owner of Belle Plaine Pharmacy,...
View ArticleCity council roundup: Van Horne, Oct. 13, 2014
CITY OF VAN HORNE Regular Council Meeting October 13, 2014 6:30 P.M. The meeting was called to order at City Hall at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Martin Junge Council Present: Carlson, Allman, Parmenter,...
View ArticleSour Grapes, Oct. 15, 2014
Wrong place It was a typical League of Cities conference for Belle Plaine’s City Administrator Jeff Horne. The conference was in Council Bluffs, and had interesting sessions on development and...
View ArticleBenton County Letters, Oct. 15, 2014
Political ads So many negative political ads these days from all candidates. One has to question if any candidate is worthy of the office. However, looking at who is sponsoring these negative ads tells...
View Article