Kathleen Keefer, 100, smiles radiantly on Sunday, Jan. 15 as she welcomes guests to her 100th birthday party held at the Traer Public Library. Keefer officially turned 100 two days later on Jan. 17. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Members of the Redhawks wrestling coaching staff including (r-l) head coach Andrew Knaack (right), Brice Girkin, and Luke Dvorak celebrate Gavin Rausch’s second place district win in the 132 pound bracket at the Class 1A District 7 postseason tournament in Ogden on Feb. 11. Rausch’s wrestleback win ensured three North Tama wrestlers would be heading to the state tournament again this year. PHOTO BY CRAIG SHULTZ/OGDEN REPORTER

The late Terry Shay, center, poses for a photograph on Traer’s high school gym stage on March 10 while surrounded by past and present students following the 2023 Swing Show. Mr. Shay – who retired from teaching vocal music at North Tama at the end of the 2022-23 school year – passed away unexpectedly on Sept. 28 at the age of 59. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Union High School boys soccer captain Brock Ruzicka (14) passes the ball to co-captain Mason Herman (10) during the newly formed JV program’s season opener against Benton Community in Van Horne on March 28. Prior to the 2022-23 season, the Knights had a sharing agreement in place with Hudson – an arrangement that was ended by Hudson for a variety of reasons. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Martin Halstead, co-owner of The Junkyard Bar along with his wife Channing Halstead (not pictured), smiles while standing behind a line-up of the new commemorative 150th Anniversary Czech Pilsner designed by the Halsteads in partnership with Millstream Brewing Co. in honor of Traer’s Sesquicentennial. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Emily Hulme works with a Gelbvieh cow named Misty at her rural Clutier farm in late April while sporting her 2023 Beef Queen sash and tiara. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Junior Sydney Anton competes as part of Union High School’s shuttle hurdle relay team during the NICL Mega Meet held on May 4 in Dike. Anton and her teammates took second in the event while Anton herself later took conference gold with a time of 15:52 in the 100-meter hurdles. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Children of all ages look up and around in both wonder and excitement as paper confetti streams down from above in Taylor Park on Saturday, June 3, just after 1:50 p.m. in celebration of Traer’s 150th birthday. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Cathy Irvine, left, listens as Dr. Laura Jackson (off frame) speaks on Friday, June 9, about Cathy’s most recent donation of farmland to UNI’s Tallgrass Prairie Center – a donation that expands the Irvine Prairie located north of Dysart from its original 77 acres to almost 300. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

First Communicant Violet Upah, center, waits as the Corpus Christi procession pauses at one of three outdoor chapels in St. Vaclav Cemetery in rural Clutier on Sunday, June 11. Upah was wearing a first communion dress once worn by her grandmother, the late Julie Hennings. First Communicants Daisy Dvorak and Maddie Howard are also pictured. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Members of the Dysart community including Mayor Tim Glenn (center left) and Dysart Sesquicentennial Committee Chair Marcia Knupp (center right) assemble around the The Great Dysart Gorge for a drone photograph on Sunday, July 3, as part of the town’s 150th birthday celebrations. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Congress comes to town. From left to right, U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) pictured on Aug. 3 at Youngblut Ag in Dysart as part of a hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, a committee chaired by Gallagher. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Students at Dysart-Geneseo Elementary wait in line at the end of the school day on Aug. 25 to load one of two buses for their trip home. Due to a persistent driver shortage, the district has been making do as best it can by utilizing subs. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Tama County farmer Keith Earley, center, pictured in late August in Traer alongside his children Mark Earley, left, and Diane Panfil with their 2023 Heritage Farm sign. Earley Acres was honored during the 2023 Iowa State Fair as part of the annual Heritage Farms Award Ceremony. Earley passed away on Oct. 16. PHOTO COURTESY OF DIANE PANFIL

North Tama tight end Josh Dostal (5) leaps into the air on Dennis Field to receive a pass during the Redhawks’ homecoming win against BCLUW on Sept. 15. Dostal recorded a great night against the Comets, running in a touchdown pass and making his second pick 6 in as many weeks in just the first quarter alone. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Andy Olson, far right, with UNI’s Tallgrass Prairie Center leads a group of Roadside Vegetation Conference participants on Oct. 5 through Irvine Prairie in rural Dysart. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Members of the Union Knights volleyball team pictured on Tuesday, Oct. 24 in the high school main gym in La Porte City following their win 3-1 over West Delaware for both the Class 3A Region 5 championship and a trip to the 2023 state tournament. PHOTO BY SUMMER MAST

Clutier Mayor-elect Linda Pearson, right, pictured on Dec. 4 with Clutier's first female mayor, Patti Kupka, left, who served in the 1970s, and Clutier's second female mayor, Ardene Cross who served more recently. Pearson is only the third female mayor of Clutier. She will lead an all-female government beginning in January 2024. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER