AnnaMarie Kruse

Henry County renews privacy compliance program after being labeled “problem child” for lagging training rates

Voters in Washington County approved a measure Tuesday, Nov. 4 authorizing a new property tax levy to fund emergency medical services (EMS), a step that supporters say will secure countywide ambulance and rapid‐response infrastructure, according to unofficial vote totals. The public measure passed with 1,791 votes in favor — 68.91 percent of those cast — and 808 against.

After months of closure and construction, the MacDonald’s on South Marion Avenue reopened its doors Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 11 a.m. following a full teardown and rebuild.

Voters in Riverside overwhelmingly approved an $8 million bond to help fund a long-planned community wellness center, a project city leaders describe as a cornerstone for the town’s future growth.

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.