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Sen. Charles Grassley has nominated 55 Iowa students for consideration for appointments to the U.S. service academies.Van Buren High School student Tyler Runyon was nominated to the U.S. Air Force Academy.Each year, Grassley has the opportunity as a U.S. senator to nominate either current or future Iowa high school graduates for a select few service academy placements. The Air Force, Military and Naval academies...

JACKSBORO, Tenn. (AP) ? A Tennessee preacher who used poisonous snakes in his religious practices won?t face criminal charges. But he also won?t get back the 53 serpents wildlife officials seized from his Tabernacle Church of God.It makes no difference that a grand jury declined to indict Andrew Hamblin on Wednesday; the snakes are contraband, ?so we can?t hand them back,? Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency ...

Jim and Joan Sterling of Hedrick announce the engagement of their daughter Jaime Sterling to Andrew Vandehaar, son of Criss and Brenda Vandehaar of Altoona.The bride-to-be is a 2010 graduate of Pekin High School and is a senior at the University of Northern Iowa.The groom-elect also is a senior at the University of Northern Iowa. He is a 2010 graduate of Bondurant Farrar High School.A July wedding is planned.

Fairfield Middle School officials have announced its Trojan PRIDE winners for the first semester of the 2013-14 academic year.Students were nominated by teachers for showing Trojan PRIDE on a daily basis for the first half of the school year.The students were recognized Dec. 20 with a Subway lunch.The eighth-grader students include: Fernanda Giron, Connor Ryan, Kelsey Hollander, Aaron Haines, Brady Wahl, ...

Friends of Lake Darling are sponsoring a group bus trip Jan. 25 to the Herbert Hoover Museum in West Branch for the opening day of the Jay ?Ding? Darling exhibit.?This is very exciting as there will be a special presentation by Samuel Klotinsky, executive producer of Marvo Entertainment Group ... regarding our local cartoonist, conservation activist and Pulitzer prize winner Ding Darling, for whom Lake Darling ...

A bluegrass jam session is set from 6:30-10 p.m. Saturday at the Fairfield Senior Citizen Center.Pickers and singers with acoustic instruments are welcome.Snacks and coffee will be available.Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to help defray costs.

The Fairfield High School counselors will host a financial aid workshop for the parents of juniors and seniors at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the FHS Commons.Representatives from Iowa College Access Network, known as ICAN, will present information about filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, talk about cost-saving strategies and answer any questions parents have.

The Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign ended Christmas Eve with a final total for the year of $21,142.66.?This is an increase of $1,100 over last year,? said the Rev. Joe Phipps, volunteer coordinator for The Salvation Army in Jefferson County. ?And that comes despite the fact that we had a shorter season, and we got off to a shaky start with a leadership change at the beginning of November. This is truly a ...

GRACELAND UNIVERSITYLAMONI ? The honor roll lists for Graceland University?s 2013 fall term have been announced. Students with a perfect 4.0 grade point average are named to the President?s List. Students with a GPA between 3.65 and 3.99 are named to the Honors List. Students with a GPA between 3.25 and 3.64 are named to the Dean?s List.Catherine Durflinger of Cantril was named to the President?s List.Heather ...

BIRMINGHAMThe Over 50 and Fabulous Red Hat Ladies will meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Kokomo?s Kafe at the Best Western Fairfield Inn in Fairfield.­­­???The Birmingham Lions Club will have a regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Birmingham Lions Building.The January committee is Carroll Unkrich and Harry Anderson.? Arlene Lyon, Ledger correspondent

Late-season pheasant hunters are reporting better-than-expected hunts in parts of Iowa, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.?We are hearing pretty consistent reports from DNR field staff in northwest, north-central, central and west-central counties that bird numbers are better than originally expected,? said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist for the Iowa DNR.Excerpts from ...

The Fairfield Park and Recreation Department has issued a reminder that snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles are prohibited in the city parks and on the city trails.