Tying up some stories and sprinkling in references to some new ones:
- The deadline for moving to 8-player football has passed, and as of this writing, the North Tama board had taken no action for at least the varsity level. There is a possibility that junior high and junior varsity could play 8 soon, according to the North Tama Telegraph. A phased-in approach would at least reduce which grade levels have to make a sudden adjustement.
- But more importantly, for the long-term picture, the school district is on track for a March bond referendum that would provide for the construction of new high school facilities on the far east end of the block, allowing for demolition of the 1917 building in the middle. See the above link.
- Tama County voters went 3-to-2 in favor of enlarging the board to five supervisors. See this blog post for exploration of this issue and this Tama-Toledo News-Chronicle story for county results.
- Traer is building a new fire station next to the old one because it couldn’t get the old Traer Manufacturing building on the south side of town. See last Thursday’s Telegraph story, which is an update from this August 2021 Telegraph story.
- The Tama-Grundy newspapers and the Marshalltown Times-Republican are now being published in Webster City after the T-R‘s printing press was shut down abruptly around the end of October. The only online news item is this short one from KFJB Radio in Marshalltown.
- The T-R‘s publisher resigned in July and the publisher of the Fort Dodge and Webster City papers was named interim.
- In addition, the Grundy Register‘s editor, who had been on the job since March, is now a reporter for the T-R.
- The Carroll Times Herald and Jefferson Herald, long family owned, were sold shortly after Thanksgiving. (Link: KCIM-AM)
- Douglas Burns, the Carroll paper’s editor, wrote candidly in October about being interviewed for a book about American newspapers today.
- The Fort Madison Daily Democrat and Keokuk Daily Gate City have switched to Tuesday-Saturday publication instead of Monday-Friday.
- The owner of those two papers acquired the Burlington Hawk Eye and also switched it to Tuesday-Saturday. Dec. 4 was the last Sunday paper.
Updated Dec. 24 with Hawk Eye information.