IRVINE PRAIRIE – Under a pristinely blue winter sky and amid pleasantly brisk temperatures, local conservationist Cathy Irvine breathed new life into the mostly-forgotten New Year’s Day tradition of farmers checking fences and walking property lines by leading the newspaper on a ‘First ...
TRAER – Ripley United Church of Christ (RUCC), located at 400 S. Main Street in Traer, has made a generous donation to the Traer Theatre following its volunteer service at the 2025 Tama County Fair. A group of RUCC members volunteered at the Fair Food Stand which is staffed entirely by ...
TOLEDO – A $221 million ITC Midwest electrical transmission line will be constructed running between the Morgan Valley substation in Linn County southwest of Fairfax and the currently under construction Twinkle substation on the east edge of Marshalltown after the Iowa Utilities Commission ...
DYSART – As has become tradition, the Dysart Lions Club sponsored an annual Christmas lights contest. On Dec. 15, 2025, out-of-town judges picked the first, second, and third best displays in Dysart. Judges do the same in the neighboring town of Traer. The first place winner received $50; ...
Beginning in January 2026, the Traer Historical Museum will be sharing photos from the past as a regular feature in the North Tama Telegraph. The photos will be selected and captions written by members of the museum’s board. Current board members include Carol Boyce, Brenda Cook, Kim Howard, ...
WATERLOO – MercyOne Waterloo Birth Center’s first birth of 2026 was recently announced. “Please join us in congratulating Kimberly, Nathan and family on the arrival of baby Calvin,” MercyOne wrote on social media on Jan. 3. “Calvin was born on January 2, 2026, at 6:49 a.m., marking ...
TOLEDO – The final Tama County Board of Supervisors meeting for 2025 was held on Monday, Dec. 29, and was over and done within a mere 15 minutes. The rocket ship of a meeting started like always with Tama County Engineer Ben Daleske giving his weekly report. He stated they hauled sand to ...
DES MOINES – Iowa lawmakers are heading into the 2026 legislative session with several new leaders – but many of the issues expected to take top priority are subjects left unresolved in 2025, namely eminent domain and property taxes. Lawmakers presented legislation on both of these issues ...
DYSART – William “Bill” Zak made what he thought would be a simple stop for coffee and a quick check of his lottery tickets at a gas station in Vinton on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, while on his way to a pheasant hunt. He ended up leaving the store $1,000,004 richer. “I ...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – I had hours remaining before my return flight, and timed tickets were going to be the end of me. I had lucked out with a slot at the Hermitage, the estate of former president Andrew Jackson, that got me in the door right as a downburst of rain stalled over the place ...