Featured

SOLON– At least 4,358 people participated in “First Day Hikes” in Iowa’s State Parks on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported it was the highest attendance since the start of the annual event in 2012, and coincided with kicking off the Iowa State Park Centennial Year (2020).

TIFFIN– Seventy Clear Creek Amana (CCA) Middle School students have taken on a role typically more mature of seventh and eighth graders, and their classmates with special needs are the beneficiaries. The students, led by Physical Education (PE) Teacher Nick Boeset, spend time each week in a Peer PE program working one-on-one with their classmates in an open gym format.

NORTH LIBERTY– Winter in Iowa can be rough. Once green cornfields resemble a windswept Arctic tundra from Siberia. Most people huddle in their homes, grumbling about the cold, the wind, the snow, the ice, and whatever reason it is they continue to live in Iowa.
However, there is another group of people who grin rather than grumble and embrace winter rather than curse it. For those special folks, there is Beat the Bitter, a week full of activities designed to get people out from under their comforters and into the great outdoors for fun, adventure and good cheer.

SOLON– For Barry Sharp, the history of Solon Hardware was worth preserving.
“If you want to feel good about living in this community, this is a great story,” he noted.
His documentary film, “Dean’s Dream,” will be screened for the public Sunday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. at the Solon Community Center.
Sharp moved to Solon in 2006 as director of the Iowa City Veteran Affairs (VA) Health Care System. He visited the Solon Hardware Store to purchase garbage cans and other items needed for a new home.

TIFFIN– The holidays will be at least a little bit brighter for some thanks to a group of Clear Creek Amana (CCA) Middle School students, and a lot of generous individuals. Ten eighth graders at the school in Tiffin are participating in a service learning elective class called “Me to We.” According to their teacher, Leif Asper, the students organize local and global service campaigns in coordination with an organization called WE.