News

Young is new VA director

Montgomery County’s new Veterans Affairs director is settling into the new post.Recently, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors approved Veterans Affairs Commission Chair Jerald Palmquist’s recommendation to hire Ed Young as the director. In May, the supervisors approved the hire of Bret...

Lester appointed to fill council vacancy

The Red Oak City Council is once again operating at full capacity.At the regular council meeting on July 7, the council discussed a resolution for the appointment of a Ward One council member. The vacancy was created by the resignation of Ward One Councilman John Haidsiak on May 28, citing an...

Red Oak Community Heart & Soul gets input on projects

Red Oak Community Heart and Soul held an event on July 9.A community action workshop was held at the FiveOne8 to prioritize action ideas gathered in the community. Samantha Williams is the coordinator of the organization, and said the ideas have been gathered for a lengthy period of time.“We’ve...

Mitchell named chief deputy

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is once again operating with a chief deputy.Deputy Rick Mitchell has been promoted to the position of chief deputy. Mitchell began his career in law enforcement in December, 2006 with the Red Oak Police Department. Just a year later, in 2007, he became a K9...

Supervisors ponder options for urban revitalization

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is looking at options for a county-wide urban revitalization plan.The supervisors met with John Danos of Dorsey & Whitney in Des Moines, which serves as bond counsel to the county and helps them on a variety of matters.“In addition to assisting...

New bleachers at SWV ball field

The Southwest Valley School District is enjoying a recent renovation that was completed just in time for summer sports.SWV preK-eight grade principal Liz Timmerman said the school now has brand new bleachers at the middle school baseball field in Villisca. Timmerman said the existing home game...

Junction Days in Red Oak

The Red Oak community held its annual Junction Days celebration this past weekend. Pictured, the Red Oak Fire Department helped people beat the heat with a water truck, and Blue ED Bands performs for attendees.

Bierbaum settles in as new owner of White Sparrow

The White Sparrow at 510 N. 4th St. celebrated its grand re-opening June 13 with new owner Missy Bierbaum. Missy was announced as the new owner by prior owners Tatum Jansky and Gayle Allensworth in March of this year. As part of the grand re-opening, Bierbaum hosted a book signing for childhood...

Red Oak ponders WIC move

The Red Oak School Board is pondering an invitation to move into a different conference.Superintendent Ron Lorenz said on June 11, he Red Oak School District received an official invitation to join the Western Iowa Conference beginning in the 2027-2028 school year. The WIC is seeking to expand, and...

Community dives into new pool season

The Red Oak Municipal Pool is once again open to help residents of Red Oak and the surrounding area beat the heat this summer.The pool reopened to the public after COVID-19, and pool manager Georgana Derr is returning for her third year in a row in the position, one that Derr said she adores.“I...