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Trace Adkins to perform at 2021 Franklin County Fair

The Franklin County Fair Board on Tuesday announced that country music legend Trace Adkins will perform at the 2021 Franklin County Fair in Hampton.
Adkins, who has been in the music scene for 25 years and has amassed 20 chart topping singles, will headline the grandstand on Friday, July 16.

Body located in vehicle identified as Ethan Kazmerzak

The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner has officially identified human remains found in rural Hampton as Ethan Kazmerzak.

Will operate out of Sietsema-Atkinson Funeral Home on Highway 65

Sietsema Family Monument Sales now has a new home in Hampton.
Patrick Sietsema, owner, recently moved the business into the newly opened Sietsema-Atkinson Funeral Home on Highway 65 between Wood Vision Clinic and Pralle City Wash.

CAL fifth and sixth graders see health risks of tobacco use at Red Ribbon Week assembly

The last day of school before Halloween was the perfect time to incorporate pig lungs with a lesson that may already be a little spooky for young children and their guardians.
Community and Family Resources, Prairie Ridge Integrated Behavioral Healthcare and Franklin County Family Focus last week teamed up for a Red Ribbon Week presentation at CAL Elementary School for fifth and sixth graders.

Independent dive team locates Ethan Kazmerzak’s vehicle after seven years of unanswered questions

On an otherwise quiet Mon-day afternoon, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office received a call with information they had been seeking for seven years.
Oregon-based diver and YouTube personality Jared Leisek, a founder of Adventures with Purpose, was on the other side of the phone to deliver news regarding the disappearance of Hampton resident Ethan Kazmerzak.

Improvements on Franklin County Fairgrounds Convention Center begin, March finish expected

After nearly three years of planning and fundraising, improvements and renovations to the Franklin County Convention Center are underway.
The Franklin County Fair Board last week announced last week that exterior work on the building started earlier in October.

Greene native begins career as attorney at Hampton law firm

Riley Kock’s childhood walks past a law office in his native Greene have led him to life as an attorney.
Kock in September began working as an associate attorney at Miller and Miller, PC in Hampton, where he had summer internships in 2018, 2019 and 2020 while he worked his way through law school at Drake University.

New Sietsema-Atkinson location formally opens its doors

Each feature of the new – and recently completed – Sietsema-Atkinson Funeral Home in Hampton has already proven to be valuable assets to guests and the directors alike.
Last Saturday, October 17, the new Sietsema-Atkinson Funeral Home, located on Highway 65, between Pralle City Wash and Wood Vision Clinic, opened its doors for its first visitation hosted at the new location.

Rick and Julie Salvesen sell MID:COM and Midwest Meter after 40 years of ownership

Rick and Julie Salvesen see the founding and growth of MID:COM and Midwest Meter, Inc. as their “love story,” and the page of that story has been turned to the next chapter.

Hampton native begins service as press assistant

Leah Poland, Mid-America Publishing’s newest printing press assistant, can’t help but smile when she sees one of the company’s finished products on newsstands and in stores.
“It’s kind of cool seeing a paper and being like, ‘I probably touched that and I’m one of the reasons that’s there,’” she said, with a laugh.

Underwater recovery YouTube channel scours Hampton for clues in the Kazmerzak case

A frigid and grey October sky may not seem like a day to get in the water, but for Jared Leisek and Sam Ginn, there’s no time to waste.
Leisek and Ginn, who run the Adventures with Purpose YouTube channel, have dedicated their free time to search and recovery missions typically involving submerged vehicle.

H-D, CAL schools install distance learning coordinators to reach remote learners

In a new era of learning across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a handful of staff members at Hampton-Dumont and CAL schools have been given the task to make sure students learning from home are connected with the resources they need.

Remains found in recovered vehicle on Tuesday

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that human remains have been found in the vehicle that earlier today was retrieved from a rural Franklin County pond.
On Tuesday morning, the Sheriff’s Office in a release stated that a vehicle, believed to be Ethan Kazmerzak’s, was found by dive team Adventures with Purpose in a body of water northwest of Hampton on Monday afternoon.

Recovery Efforts and Continued Investigation of Ethan Kazmerzak

Area law enforcement is working to recover a vehicle possibly belonging to a Hampton man who has been missing for seven years.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in a release stated that on Monday, an independent dive team, Adventures with Purpose, located what is believed to be Ethan Kazmerzak’s 2006 Volkswagen submerged in water northwest of Hampton.

La Amagita operators to open new night club specializing in a variety of events

A new club opening soon in Hampton aims to provide guests of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy live music and a wide array of unique entertainment.
This Saturday, Oct. 24, Project X Night Club, located in the former Coconut Lounge at 11 Second Ave. NW, is slated to host its first event. Plans include a performance by Chicago-based keyboard artist Edgar and His Keys.

La Luz nabs state Challenge Grant for exterior building improvements

La Luz Centro Cultural’s mission to revamp the former Hampton Heating building into a safe haven for those who utilize its services received a major boost towards its goal.
The Iowa Economic Development Authority last Thursday, through the Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce/Main Street, awarded La Luz a $50,800 Challenge Grant for La Luz’s revitalization project on the building.

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