Fairfield News

Fairfield Fire Department responded to a call at 12:40 a.m. today to investigate a smell in an apartment at 51½ S. Second St.

In a modest milestone for President Barack Obama?s high-speed rail vision, test runs started zooming along a small section of the Amtrak line between Chicago and St. Louis at 111 mph Friday.The 30-mph increase from the route?s current top speed is a morale booster for advocates of high-speed rail in America who have watched conservatives in Congress put the brakes on spending for fast train projects they view as ...

DES MOINES ? Iowa?s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 percent in September from 5.5 percent in August.The comparable rate for September 2011 was 5.9 percent. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate for September also decreased by three-tenths of a percentage point, falling to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent in August.?The drop in the September jobless rate was welcome news, but we are still ...

ASSOCIATE DISTRICT COURTHoward Leroy Seward 40, of Brighton, pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated, second offense, an aggravated misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, all but seven days were suspended. He was given work release privileges. He was placed on two years suspension. His driver?s license was revoked. He was ordered to complete a drinking drivers course. He was fined $1,875 plus a ...

Reception to honor Iowa?s centenarians DES MOINES (AP) ? Gov. Terry Branstad and other state officials plan to take part in a ceremony honoring Iowans who have lived for a century or longer.Branstad?s administration announced Thursday that it would host the Centenarian Honors Reception Tuesday at the Iowa Historical Building Atrium in Des Moines.U.S. Census Bureau data shows that 846 Iowans are 100 or older, ...

KEOSAUQUA ? The names of the man fatally shot and the Van Buren County Sheriff?s deputy who allegedly shot him were released by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation Wednesday afternoon.The deceased man has been identified as Robert M. Dooley, age 59, of Brighton. The deputy has been identified as Jon Tharp.At about 11 a.m. Tuesday, Van Buren County Sheriff?s Office deputies were dispatched to numerous ...

Jeffrey Lee Himes, 44, of Douds, was sentenced Oct. 18 to 108 months imprisonment, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey Himes also ordered Himes to serve four years supervised release following imprisonment and pay $200 towards the Crime Victims Fund.Himes previously had pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine and unlawfully...

PACIFIC JUNCTION (AP) ? The U.S. Interior Department says a western Iowa Native American site has been designated a national historic landmark.The site is among 26 new national historic landmarks and one national natural landmark designations announced Wednesday.The new landmark in Iowa is the Davis Oriole Earthlodge Site, near Pacific Junction in Mills County.It is considered one of the best-preserved Central ...

Levi Jarvis is all smiles after figuring out the intricacies of a pinball game Wednesday morning at the Community Childcare Center in Fairfield. Levi?s buddy Jonathan Delaney offers advice and waits for his turn to take the controls.

Steve Bekel of Hy-Vee Food and Drug Store takes the scenic route past a wall of pumpkins while pushing a train of grocery carts back into the store this morning. Bekel put up with a few sprinkles while rounding up the carts, but the weekend forecast in Fairfield is looking like a dry one.

A cluster of bonsai trees outside Family Video may have enjoyed Wednesday?s showers more than their owner did. Keong Lee, from Texas, braves the rain Wednesday afternoon to sell his potted trees, a traditional Japanese art form of creating miniature landscapes.

The Fairfield Economic Development Association has been working with the Iowa Workforce Development?s Regional Research Bureau to complete a Laborshed employment study for the Jefferson County area.The study will develop the potential labor force from which Jefferson County area employers draw their employees based upon commuting patterns into the region. The study will assist existing and potential new businesse...