Fairfield News

Iowa bank lending ticked upward for the first time in two years but bankers aren?t ready to declare the recession is over.Loans for 348 Iowa-based banks increased in the past quarter to $41.5 billion. The Des Moines Register reported that is still below $42.2 billion from a year ago and far behind the 2008-year end high of $44.3 billion.Charlie Funk, president of MidWestOne Bank in Iowa City, says loan ...

The individual or organization honored during Fairfield?s annual lighting dedication ceremony will flip the switch in Central Park Friday, illuminating the ?Christmas City.?The ceremony kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with holiday music performed by the Fairfield High School Choir. At 5:55 p.m., the surprise lighting ceremony honoree will be announced, and the lights will go on at 6 p.m.Then, the Fairfield Police ...

Fairfield?s preliminary application to become an Iowa Blue Zone community has been viewed favorably.Fairfield has been asked to submit a full application for the program by Jan. 4.The city is currently ranked third at bluezonesproject.com on the scoreboard for community support, which is one factor in the selection of Iowa?s 10 Blue Zone cities. Oelwein is in the lead, followed by Woodbine.The Blue Zones ...

Livestock farmers are demanding a change in the nation?s ethanol policy, claiming current rules could lead to spikes in meat prices and even shortages at supermarkets if corn growers have a bad year.The amount of corn consumed by the ethanol industry combined with continued demand from overseas has cattle and hog farmers worried that if corn production drops due to drought or another natural disaster, the cost ...

The Johnston police chief says he?ll punish two of his officers for letting a burglary suspect escape out the back door of the police station earlier this month.Police Chief Bill Vaughn would not tell The Des Moines Register what the discipline would include, but he says detectives Tyler Tompkins and Travis Hamilton also will be getting more training.Vaughn says ?there is an expensive price to be paid when ...

It may be dreary today but temperatures are mild enough to encourage outdoor activity. Tom Funkhouser was putting up his outdoor Christmas decorations and checking connections to make certain everything worked properly.

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Newt Gingrich, a political gambler his whole life, is banking on unorthodox stands on immigration, Social Security and other issues to propel him past Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential contest.In a few weeks, GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire will show whether they think the best person to challenge President Barack Obama is a comparative stranger to Washington politics or a ...

Celebrities Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Brand, Russell Simmons and David Lynch will headline the third annual ?Change Begins Within? Benefit Gala, to raise funds for the David Lynch Foundation, Dec. 3 in Los Angeles.The goal of the foundation is to offer the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation technique to tens of thousands of students as well as to veterans and their families suffering from posttraumatic ...

This active pooch was running a marathon within the enclosed yard, stopping every once in awhile to stand in the corner and peer over the fence as though waiting for someone to return.

DALLAS (AP) ? Dallas police honored a man on Tuesday whose ?keen observation skills and strong sense of civic duty? led them to Lee Harvey Oswald, who had crept into the back of a darkened movie theater to hide on Nov. 22, 1963, shortly after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.Police Chief David Brown presented Johnny Calvin Brewer with the department?s Citizen?s Certificate of Merit and praised ...

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Shoppers awaiting this week?s traditional kick-off of the holiday shopping season should find plenty of safe toys for children, but consumer advocates say some dangers still lurk.A report released today from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found over a dozen toys on store shelves that violate federal safety standards for lead and chemicals called phthalates or could present a choking ...

These traffic charges were filed with the Jefferson County Clerk of Court:Jeffrey Edward Beener, Monroe, speeding.Lindsey D. Becker, Keosauqua, operation without registration.Brandy Lee O?Dell, Eddyville, financial liability coverage violation, speeding.Lashell Denea Box, South Haven, Miss., financial liability coverage violation, no valid driver?s license, speeding.Christopher Gene Stansberry, ...