Features

Monticello shines in conference, district speech contests

Published by admin on Wed, 01/29/2025 - 7:26am

   Plenty of highlights for Monticello came out of the River Valley Conference and District large group speech contests Jan. 18 and 25, respectively.

   At districts, Monticello qualified seven entries to the state contest. In the conference event, six groups placed, and 12 groups earned Division I ratings.

   Results follow.

 

District meet

Becker announces new role at Camp Courageous

Published by admin on Wed, 01/22/2025 - 7:14am

     It was announced on Jan. 15 that Charlie Becker, CEO of Camp Courageous for the past 45 years, is not retiring, but will transition to the full-time job of CEO of the Camp Courageous Foundation.

   The announcement was made inside Durgin Pavilion at Camp, with media representatives present, as well as the Camp Courageous Board of Directors (BOD) and dozens of Camp staff.

   Becker honored the dedicated volunteers who have served on the BOD for several years.

GJCF announces final act of 2025

Published by admin on Wed, 01/22/2025 - 7:11am

     The fourth and final Great Jones County Fair entertainment announcement is here…

   The headliner on Thursday, July 17, will be GRAMMY-nominated country music star Sam Hunt! Opening for him will be Dylan Marlowe.

   Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m. on the fair’s website, www.greatjonescountyfair.com.

   Tickets for this show, which kicks off on the stage at 8 p.m., are $60 for all seating options: track, amphitheater, and hillside bleachers.

Monticello library invites teens to explore hobbies, interests

Published by admin on Wed, 01/22/2025 - 7:08am

     “New Year. Some You: Try Something New!” is the name of a new program offered by the Monticello Public Library geared toward teens in the community.

   “The beginning of the year, we are always bombarded with statements about finding the ‘new you,’” offered Librarian Molli Hunter, “and I think it sends a negative message that there is something wrong with who we are now. There is nothing wrong with still being the same you in a new year, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t grow and learn and have a blast while doing it.”

Hart reflects on 20 years with Environmental Health

Published by admin on Wed, 01/15/2025 - 8:22am

     In December, Paula Hart, Jones County’s Environmental Health (JCEH) coordinator, announced her retirement after working for the county for 20 years.

   “I started in 2004. I had my 20th year on Dec. 27,” she shared.

   Hart announced her plans to retire during a December Jones County Board of Health meeting, in which she serves a Board of Health administrator. Her intent is to remain until sometime in April, wanting to dedicate plenty of time to help train the person who will replace her.

JCED offers free Business Lab services for any, all businesses

Published by admin on Wed, 01/15/2025 - 8:19am

     “These services are huge for businesses looking for some extra help on topics important to them and on their time,” offered Jones County Economic Development (JCED) Director Derek Lumsden of the Jones County Business Lab. “JCED if proud to be able to offer these services free of charge to our entrepreneurial community and encourage everyone to make use of these resources to grow and improve their business.”

JCCF honors Koehler for leadership, community service

Published by admin on Wed, 01/15/2025 - 8:15am

     The Jones County Community Foundation (JCCF) awarded Monticello High School senior Leah Koehler a $2,000 scholarship toward her education at Iowa State University next fall.

Rohwedder speaks fondly of 14 years of county service

Published by admin on Wed, 01/08/2025 - 11:03am

     “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. That’s a carryover from my personal life. We both try to live that way and care about people.”

   Ned Rohwedder of Olin shared those words recently upon his retirement, a sort of campaign slogan he used for years when running for Jones County Supervisor, representing District 4.

   After 14 years of service to the people of Jones County, Ned’s last day in office was Jan. 3

Nelly announced for 2025 GJCF

Published by admin on Wed, 01/08/2025 - 11:01am

     The Great Jones County Fair has announced its third concert for the summer of 2025…

   Hip hop/rap artist Nelly will be performing in Monticello on Friday, July 18, at 8 p.m. Opening the show will be CHINGY.

   Tickets go on sale on Friday, Jan. 10, at 10 a.m. on the fair's website, greatjonescountyfair.com.

   SRO (standing room only) track tickets are $55. Seats in the amphitheater and hillside bleachers are $50.

JCED affordable housing project on the market

Published by admin on Wed, 01/08/2025 - 11:00am

     In September, Jones County Economic Development (JCED) announced an affordable housing project in Monticello.

   JCED acquired to lot located at 541 N. Chestnut St. Working with Homes for Iowa, Inc., a public-private partnership with Iowa Prison Industries, manufactured homes are built in Newton and trucked to communities throughout the State of Iowa.

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