Des Moines Skydivers Attend Knoxville City Council Meeting

Indianola Parks and Rec is hosting the next installment of their Afternoon Adventures Speaker Series Tuesday, featuring the Underground Railroad movements in southwest Iowa, including details about activities in Madison and Warren County. Kathy Kester with Indianola Parks and Rec tells KNIA News Madison County Historical Society President Linda Griffith Smith and former Warren County Historical Society President Deb Taylor will host a program about the Underground Railroad movements, and the punishments for helping your fellow man that included prison, a $10,000 bounty, and your life. The Afternoon Adventures Speaker Series will be Tuesday from 2-3pm at the Indianola Activity Center.

The Iowa High School Music Association State Jazz Festival was held for the state’s southern high schools Saturday. Pella High School hosted three of its own bands and Knoxville. Pella Jazz I once again earned the highest possible score — a Division I “Superior” rating, while Pella Jazz II and III earned a Division II “Excellent” mark. Knoxville earned a Division II score as well.

The Marion County Development Commission (MCDC) is accepting nominations to honor 10 young professionals in the Red Rock Area. The purpose of these annual awards is to highlight the impact young adults are making in our communities, encourage young adults to become involved as volunteers, and highlight the benefits for young adults to live and work in Marion County.

A work session took place at the end of the last Knoxville School Board meeting Monday, Jan. 23. The session consisted of the school working on developing a 3-to-5 year strategic plan for the district. It is the first of several meetings slated for the school as they work on...

Junior Fun Night has been set for those in 4-H in Marion County. The fun event is set for February 24 at the Knoxville Park and Recreation Center. The event will be from 9-10:30 p.m. and open for 4-H youth in grades 4-6 at no cost. A 4-H member is allowed to bring one non-4H member. The whole facility will be open for swimming, the gymnasium and more according to Ashtin Wells, Marion County Youth Coordinator.

Crossroads of Pella is calling out for kids in the community to come together for a fun service project. Chris Allen with Crossroads says they are hosting “A Playdate to Do Good Things” on Saturday, February 6th at 10 a.m. on the 3rd floor of the Pella Community Center. He says the goal is to bring families together to empower children to learn about service and how it can be fun to help others.

Two high school speech programs rich in state tradition carried on an annual celebration of both Thursday. Pella Christian High School hosted the sixteenth All-City Speech Night. The festival showcased all the 2023 Large Group Speech events of both Pella and Pella Christian high schools. A free-will donation was taken to be divided between both schools. Click here for a full list of state qualifiers from Pella and PCHS. The Iowa High School Speech Association Large Group State Competition will be held on February 4 at Cedar Rapids Washington.

Simpson College is honoring the first annual George Washington Carver day in the State of Iowa next week, after Governor Kim Reynolds declared last June that every February 1st would celebrate the famed humanitarian. Carver attended Simpson College after being rejected from other institutions due to the color of his...

The Marion County Board of Supervisors met with department heads Thursday to discuss proposed budgets for several departments. The budget of Marion County Development, Zoning, Treasurer, Health Insurance, Sheriff, Attorney and more were discussed. Several of the departments have been restricted over the years as being a one-person department. Carla...

Today marks another historic occasion for girls wrestling in Iowa as Super Regionals are held for the first time at four sites across the state. The Region 3 and Region 4 tournaments will take place at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, with competition beginning at 11:00 a.m. Area schools Indianola, Norwalk, Pleasantville and Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas are all competing in Region 3, which includes 25 total teams.

The Warren County Leadership Institute class of 2023 has begun, totaling eight sessions through the early portion of the year, with additional education sessions spread throughout. Applicants must be living or working in Warren County, and the class is an initiative of Warren County Economic Development Corp with the primary objective to train and inform leaders so they can create the best future for themselves, their families, their communities, and their county. Find a list of the 15 members of the 2023 class below.

The Indianola boys wrestling team took home the regular season Little Hawkeye Conference tournament championship on Thursday with a win over Norwalk, then completed the season sweep on Saturday with a LHC Tournament win scoring 234 team points. Norwalk scored 198 points to finish in third, while Pella scored 165 points to place fourth.

A visitation for Marlys Sowers will be held on Tuesday, January 31th from 4:00-7:00pm at the Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Milo. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family.

The Warren County Farm Service Agency is offering benefits through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program due to the recent dry conditions in the area. Producers in Warren County are eligible to apply for benefits on small grain, native pasture, improved pasture, annual ryegrass, and forage sorghum. These losses must have occurred during the normal grazing period, which for Iowa is from April 15 through October 15 on native and Improved pasture and until September 30 on forage sorghum or annual ryegrass. For more information, click below.

Despite snow and cold, the Pella Rural Fire Department spent most of their Saturday morning battling a fire west of Pella. Crews responded at 5:18 this morning to a barn on fire in the 700 block of 190th with flames visible from Highway 163. The building was a total loss,...

Funeral services for Dr. Stearly Alling Holt, age 88 of Knoxville, will be held Wednesday, February 1st at 11:00am at Bybee & Davis Funeral Home. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be in Graceland Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Knoxville Hospital & Clinics Foundation or to Freedom for Youth. Online condolences may be left at bertrandfuneralhomes.com.

The Indianola, Norwalk, and Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas girls wrestling teams all competed in the state qualifying meets today, several athletes advancing with a top four finish. The Indianola girls had top finishes from Summer Wolff at 135lbs with a fourth place finish, while Lanie Frericks at 235lbs also had a fourth...

Funeral Services for Barbara Fynaardt, age 78 of Oskaloosa, will be held Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the First Christian Reformed Church in Oskaloosa. A family prayer service will precede the funeral at 10:15 a.m. in the church Fellowship Hall. Burial will be in Forest Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. at the First Christian Reformed Church; the family will greet visitors from 4-6 p.m. Langkamp Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.

In Marion County the Emergency Management team consists of Jeff Anderson, Emergency Management Director and Emily Feagins, his assistant. Randy Emal is a sign technician for the department. Feagins tells us what Emergency Management is all about, “What is Emergency Management, and what do we do? So, Emergency Management is...

The Norwalk boys basketball team’s seventh straight victory was also their most noteworthy of the season Friday night as the Warriors handed Class 4A fifth-ranked Indianola its first conference loss of the season, 59-49, in Norwalk. Indianola won the girls game 52-35, taking control behind a 16-3 third-quarter run...