Andy Hallman

Washington resident and District Court Judge Michael Mullins was appointed a judge on the Iowa Court of Appeals. Mullins received the news Thursday morning. Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Mullins to fill the vacancy created when Judge Edward Mansfield was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court. Mullins was one of 26 applicants for the position.Mullins had applied for a position on the court of appeals on two prior ...

The Chicaqua Chapter of the Izaak Walton League hosted a day of fishing Wednesday for local handicapped people. The fishermen dropped their lines at a pond at Marr Park. After a few hours on the water, the group gathered in a nearby shelter for lunch.Handicapped Fish Day began decades ago. Vice President of the Chicaqua Chapter Denny Sorrell has been in the organization for nearly 30 years, and he said the ...

Riverside City Administrator Tina Thomas will resign her position at the end of June. Thomas made the announcement at the conclusion of Monday?s city council meeting. Thomas will take a position in the engineering firm Hart-Frederick Consultants in Tiffin.Thomas was born in England to Jerry and Mandy Diedrich. Jerry was in the United States Air Force and as a consequence the family moved often. The family ...

A local company has been fined $14,000 by the Occupational and Safety Health Bureau for safety violations that occurred in January, which caused one death. Iowa Bridge and Culvert based in Washington was engaged in a flood recovery project on the University of Iowa Campus on Jan. 24. That day, Kevin Dean Hammons, 55, of Washington was killed when a steel beam fell on him and trapped him to the ground.The ...

The Main Street ?Youth Art Show? was held Friday afternoon in Washington?s Central Park. The event showcased the artwork of local students from elementary through high school. The ?Best of Show? was awarded to 9th grader Emily Bell. Bell?s winning entry was the self-portrait she painted, seen here. She said art is her favorite subject and that she plans to study it after high school. She is the daughter of Steve ...

One lane of traffic was closed Tuesday morning on North 12th Avenue near the intersection with G36. Rodney?s Construction was in the process of replacing a portion of the road. Northbound and southbound traffic took turns driving past the construction site on the one lane that remained open.

Pilot Tim Swift (front) is about to take flight in his homemade ?Long EZ? airplane at the Washington Airport Sunday morning. His co-pilot in the backseat is Jason Layton of Marion, who was at the airport with his father John Layton. The Fly-In Breakfast was that morning, which attracted several planes and people despite the hard rain that fell on the area.

The Washington City Council voted to hire an interim city manager at a special meeting Friday afternoon. The council voted to authorize Mayor Sandra Johnson to enter into a contract with Dick Schrad to fulfill many of the duties of a city administrator. The council has begun the process of searching for a full-time city administrator. The former city administrator, Dave Plyman, left Washington at the end of May ...

City Administrator Dave Plyman completed his last day of work with the city of Washington one week ago. Since then, his responsibilities have been divided among the rest of the city staff. The city council talked about those responsibilities and who would bear them.Councilor Bob Shepherd said that, ordinarily, he doesn?t want the council to be too heavy-handed in its dealings with the city staff. However, he ...

Cassie Peters hates to throw anything away. She can take seemingly any item and incorporate it into her artwork. Peters is a craftswoman and photographer who sells her wares at local farmers markets, including Washington?s. She was at the market Thursday sharing a table with her father, Scott, who was selling tools he made in his blacksmith?s shop.Peters displayed a number of homemade necklaces which featured ...

The McDonald?s in Washington will receive a make-over in the next 60 days. The store?s owner, Kevin O?Brien, spoke about the remodeling at Wednesday?s City Council meeting. He said the store will add a second drive-up window to reduce waiting times in the drive-thru lane. The store will also reduce the size of the playpen on the south side to make room for 20 more seats in the main dining area.O?Brien said of ...

The Washington City Council tabled the ordinance that would raise sewer and water rates. The ordinance passed its first reading in May but was stuck in neutral for Wednesday?s council meeting.Councilor Bob Shepherd said the city has a problem with base fees for sewer and water usage that has not yet been addressed. The problem is that residents are charged one base fee per water meter. However, some residents ...

The West Chester Post Office may be closed later this summer. The postal services district in Des Moines has recommended consolidating West Chester?s post office into Keota?s post office as a way to save money. West Chester had a town meeting in March to discuss the matter, at which 27 people were present. On June 16, the proposal will go to the postal service headquarters in Washington, D.C., for its consideratio...

Local wildlife conservationists are making and selling homes for birds and bats. The Izaak Walton League of America is an environmental organization which was founded in 1922. It is active in 20 states, including Iowa. The club in Washington County is known as the Chicaqua Chapter. Two of the Chicaqua Chapter members, Don Kline and Don Pfeiffer, had the bat houses and birdhouses on display at Thursday?s Farmers ...

Motorists traveling on Highway 92 east of Washington were subject to a traffic stop Thursday evening. Law enforcement officers were positioned on the east edge of the city. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the officers pulled over every fourth car that passed by. The officers checked features of the car to see if they were working properly and checked to see if drivers had the appropriate documents on them, such as a ...