News

Local 4-H chapters gather perishable goods for statewide competition

Published by editor on Wed, 11/11/2020 - 11:21am

Local 4-H chapters are teaming together to collect food for those in need and are asking for the public’s help.

Throughout the state, chapters in all 99 counties are working to raise 10,000 non-perishable food items to donate to food banks in communities across Iowa.

Rebekah Craighton, 4-H State Council Franklin County Representative, said that means 4-H clubs are challenged to raise 100 items as a county. She said Franklin County clubs are well on their way to the goal, already collecting 25-plus items within the first two days.

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Trace Adkins to perform at 2021 Franklin County Fair

Published by editor on Tue, 11/10/2020 - 12:32pm

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.

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Body located in vehicle identified as Ethan Kazmerzak

Published by admin on Thu, 11/05/2020 - 8:13am

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

Kazmerzak went missing in the early morning of Sept. 15, 2013 and was last seen driving a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta. An independent dive team, Adventures with Purpose, located the vehicle in a pond northwest of Hampton last Monday. Several law enforcement agencies last Tuesday recovered the vehicle and located remains inside, which were sent to the State Medical Examiner for identification.

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

Published by admin on Wed, 11/04/2020 - 10:40am

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.

Sietsema started the monument service in the fall of 1999 and moved to its former location at the corner of Highways 3 and 65 in Hampton. Sietsema said he had the opportunity to sell the former property and move to the new funeral home as a part owner.

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

Published by admin on Wed, 11/04/2020 - 10:39am

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.

Red Ribbon Week, which ran from Oct. 23 to Oct. 31 this year, aims to bring drug, alcohol and violence prevention awareness to communities and schools.

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

Published by admin on Wed, 11/04/2020 - 10:37am

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.

“We have located Ethan’s vehicle,” said Leisek to the sheriff’s office last Monday. “We have identified the vehicle as a Volkswagen Jetta with license plate number AUZ 382.”

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

Published by admin on Wed, 11/04/2020 - 10:32am

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.

Jon Baltes, Fair Board President, said contractor Kingland Construction, out of Forest City, began work on exterior improvements, concrete work, pillars and the installation of a drive under canopy on the west side of the building, among other projects.

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Greene native begins career as attorney at Hampton law firm

Published by admin on Wed, 10/28/2020 - 8:39am

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.

Kock passed the bar exam in September, which completed the first part of his journey that he started at a young age.

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New Sietsema-Atkinson location formally opens its doors

Published by admin on Wed, 10/28/2020 - 8:38am

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.

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

Published by admin on Wed, 10/28/2020 - 8:29am

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.

The Salvesens earlier this month announced the sale of Midwest Meter, Inc./MID:COM to North Dakota-based FEI, Inc. after more than 40 years of owning and operating the business. FEI, a customer of Midwest Meter’s, is a distributer of agricultural and propane related equipment.