Celebration of America’s Independence will see Battle Creek take on a festive air.
The fun will kick off Saturday, July 2 with the Battle Creek Fire Department Concert and alumni banquet.
Juding for Mr. and Miss Firecracker is set for 1 p.m. in Alumni Park Sunday, July 3 with winners to be announced July 4 at 7 p.m. over at the Softball Field.
Monday, July 4 will be the biggest day for events starting off with a fun run at 8 a.m. and a craft and vendor show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the community center.
A part of the Battle Creek community is celebrating its first 100 years and looking ahead to the next century of serving Battle Creek.
The Battle Creek Public Library saw its official foundation just a few years after the First World War had ended. “The founding of the town library was in 1922,” said Sheila Petersen, director of the Battle Creek Public Library. That library had even earlier roots with an original foundation in 1886 with eight members, meeting each week in the home of one of the members as they gathered to read books.
Bridge work with a $410,000 price tag on Highway 175 is among upcoming projects approved the Iowa Department of Transportation, one of several projects along the highway over the next few summers.
The DOT listed several northeast Iowa projects, including replacement of a bridge over the Mississippi River, in its Five-Year Highway Program that was approved at its meeting in Coralville.
The 2026 bridge deck replacement is set along Moorehead Creek.
That work will be close to a 2027 project for a completely new bridge over Reynolds Creek just to the south and east.
A signature part of Ida County has had a facelift, one designed with both aesthetics and the long-term vitality of its habitat both in mind.
Visitors to Moorehead Park are being greeted with the results of a major project aimed to clear out invasive species. Hardy but ultimately unhealthy interlopers had crept into the park over the course of generations, resulting in a situation that was creating difficulty for the ecosystem.
If you work in or drive through downtown Ida Grove, Megumi Nakazawa’s dedication to the county seat is impossible to miss. It’s located on a 75’ x 20’ wall at Godbersen Park on 2nd and Main.
It seemed to pop up overnight and, quite literally, it did.
With closure set for Morningside Care Center in Ida Grove, corporate officials are refusing to say much. Closure of the home is set for no later than Aug. 15 and might even come sooner.
Staff will work with residents and guardians to find new locations for residents.
What will happen to staff at the home or details about the transition are not being released.
“I’m am unable to comment on this matter…,” said Alan Kennedy, Morningside’s administrator.
The building itself will go on the market, perhaps being able to open under new management.
The Ida County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday, June 14 at 9 a.m. in the courthouse. Board members in attendance were Chair Raymond Drey, Creston Schubert, and Rhett Leonard. County Engineer Jeff Williams presented an Application for Underground Construction on County Right of Way located along Eagle Avenue to the Ida/Sac border for Aureon Network Services. The board approved the application, then authorized the Chair to sign an Iowa DOT underground construction permit for Aureon Network Services along Highway 20 in Ida/Sac counties.
Things should up and running by the end of the month for the Battle Creek Ambulance Service. During the June 14 meeting of the Battle Creek City Council, members heard an update on ambulance service in the city.
Under Ambulance Service Director Pat Stevens, preparation work has been underway.
Stevens will have a crew of 14 members who have been busy getting ready, council members heard.
Street closures are coming, both for Independence Day celebrations and for RAGBRAI.
A northwestern Iowa business is celebrating is 50th Anniversary with special events.
North Star Community Credit Union emerged from origins in Cherokee as the Cherokee County Credit Union. “And we are planning celebrations in all of our branches,” said Lorna Kohn, director of Business Development and Marketing.
The origins were of the business were fairly simple.
“We started in the basement of a home in Cherokee,” said Kohn.
A final schedule is set for Heritage Days with several days of fun for the community.
Things will kick off Thursday, June 23 with daytime activities led by the Ida Grove Public Library hosting story time and a stuffed animal sleepover drop-off beginning at 10:30 a.m. with Farmers Market and a grill out to officially get things going.
Crowning of Lil Miss as well as Mister Heritage Days will take place at Godbersen Park at 6:30 p.m. with a free moving following at 7 p.m. at the King Theatre.
