AnnaMarie Kruse

Students across Washington County are stepping into the spotlight this fall as three area high schools prepare to stage their annual musicals. From the imaginative world of

Washington County’s municipal ballots promise to offer options this election, with Ainsworth’s mayoral race leading a slate of contests that will shape how several smaller communities in the county chart their future.

A Washington man faces several felony and misdemeanor drug charges after a task force search Wednesday morning uncovered nearly 190 grams of marijuana and other controlled substances at his home, according to court records.

A Mt. Pleasant man faces multiple charges after leading deputies on a high-speed chase through the county and into a cornfield Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 22, according to court records.

The Mt. Pleasant Community School District Board of Education voted unanimously to accept a $238,125 bid from DeCarlo Corporation to demolish the historic P.E.O. Memorial Building on the former Iowa Wesleyan campus, closing a chapter in the town’s long relationship with the nearly century-old structure.

The Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra is tuning up for a weekend of movie magic, taking its annual Kidsymphony on the road for five concerts celebrating the music of John Williams Nov. 1-2.

Ahead of city and school elections set for Tuesday, Nov. 4, friends, community leaders, and strangers gathered on the Henry County Courthouse Lawn, Sunday, Oct. 26 to pray for local leaders, students and one another and turning civic preparation from a private errand to a community act.

With century-old sewers to fix, tighter state tax limits ahead, and residents eager to be heard, Washington’s city council candidates told voters Wednesday night they’ll focus on the basics — roads that hold up, budgets that balance, and communication that works both ways.

Raised on a Riverside farm and a graduate of Highland High School, Mackinze Hora returned home to Washington County to manage pigs for Iowa Select Farms. Two years later, she’s managing something larger: a voice for local producers.

When dramatic soprano Jessica Faselt steps onto the stage of the Paris Opera this November, she’ll be thousands of miles from home — but her heart will still be rooted in the quiet fields of Washington County.

When Washington Community Theater regular Emily Piette steps into an exam room at the University of Iowa, it isn’t usually because she is actually sick. She’s helping train first- and second-year medical students to meet real people with real feelings before they ever meet real patients.

Wayland photographer Tasha Mae Crile built her business where she grew up, but her work reaches wherever clients want their lives documented. She photographs seniors, couples, and families across Jefferson, Henry, and Washington counties — and beyond when a client needs it — balancing a home base in rural Iowa with a portfolio that keeps expanding.

The City of Winfield and the Winfield-Mt. Union Community School District have launched a new partnership to aimed at strengthening and growing community by identifying opportunities that connect the schools, local businesses and residents.

As part of National Manufacturing Month, the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce has organized multiple visits to different manufacturing leaders throughout Henry County for members and students. One celebratory visit was not in an industrial building, however, it took place in the Mt. Pleasant Community High School Media Center with iJAG students and instructors.

A national traveling exhibit that brings the stories of America’s fight for independence to life will arrive in Mt. Pleasant next week, giving residents and students a rare chance to experience Revolutionary history up close.