DES MOINES – A little more than a month after earning the crown at the Tama County Fair, Belle Werner of Toledo has added another — this time representing the entire state of Iowa. Werner was crowned the 2026 Iowa State Fair Queen last Saturday evening, Aug. 15, on the Anne and Bill ...
TRAER – Eight invited North Tama/Traer classes celebrated milestone reunions Aug. 7-8 as part of the 2026 Winding Stairs Festival, including Traer High School classes of 1956 (70 years) and 1961 (65 years), and the North Tama High School classes of 1966 (60 years), 1971 (55 years), 1976 (50 ...
TOLEDO – The sun was high in the sky, beating down on the morning like Cassius Clay in the third round. The Tama County Supervisors’ Monday, Aug. 10 meeting started with the board being served a petition during the public comments time. The petition was to place a public measure on the ...
DES MOINES – 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the most notorious ribbons ever handed out at the Iowa State Fair. Under a three-year pilot program from the Iowa State Fair 4-H Advisory Committee, every 4-H project at the fair in 1996 received an identical, tricolor participation ribbon, on ...
TOLEDO – It’s not just a simple management shift for the local board of supervisors; no, this is one of those historic moments that needs to be recorded and remembered for the posterity of Tama County. The first elected woman to the Tama County Board of Supervisors is now the first female ...
VINTON - Aubree and Hunter Heitmann of Vinton celebrated the birth of their first child, daughter Wrenlynne Maye Heitmann, on July 11, 2026. Wrenlynne weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and measured 19 1/2 inches long. Grandparents are Amber and Jeremy Monat of Traer, and Dawn and Matt Heitmann of ...
TRAER — The 2026 McKenna Reunion for the families of the late Charles and Clara McKenna was held Sunday, Aug. 2, at Taylor Park in Traer. Thirty-nine family members attended the potluck dinner. President Stephanie Buchanan led the business meeting following dinner. Officers elected for the ...
TRAER – Fresh cut alfalfa is a favorite smell of summer on the farm. Vincent Caslavka is shown green chopping alfalfa to feed his dairy cows in 1957. He farmed in Oneida Township east of the V18 and E29 corner. In the 1950s, Tama County had hundreds of dairy farmers like Caslavka.
STATE CENTER -- Over the last few months, festivalgoers and attendees of various patriotic events may have noticed a massive restored Vietnam-era Sikorsky UH-34D Marine Corps helicopter making conspicuous landings around central Iowa, and if Nicholas and Kimberly Turner of rural State Center ...
IOWA – Water and Wastewater Workers of Iowa Week is scheduled for Aug. 23 through Aug. 29, 2026. This marks the 16th year that a governor has signed a proclamation honoring the water and wastewater workers of Iowa. It is a week set aside for Iowans to honor those workers in the water and ...