Category archives for: News

Oskaloosa Awarded State-Backed Grant to Strengthen Small Businesses and Startups

Deann De Groot, executive director of the Mahaska Chamber and Development Group, accepts a $30,000 Rural Business Initiative grant check from Mark Reinig, Iowa Rural Development Council board chair and Madison Burke, chair-elect. The funding, approved with support from the state’s Empower Rural Iowa task force, will support the Ignite Oskaloosa initiative, providing training, technical assistance, and grant opportunities for local small businesses and startups as the community prepares to celebrate 40 years as a Main Street community.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa – The Mahaska Chamber and Development Group has been selected as one of three communities to receive funding through the Iowa Rural Development Council’s Rural Business Initiative (RBI) grant program, with support approved this week by the state’s Empower Rural Iowa task force. The funding will support Ignite Oskaloosa, a multi-part small business […]

Warmth That Lasts: Santa’s Helpers Trade the North Pole for Oskaloosa

Oskaloosa High School Peer Helpers sort, prepare, and wrap winter clothing and holiday gifts for elementary students, carefully matching sizes and favorite colors as they turn each package into a thoughtful reminder of care, dignity, and community during the holiday season.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa – Inside a classroom at Oskaloosa High School, winter coats are folded neatly beside stacks of sweatpants, socks, and snow pants. Students move with purpose, checking sizes, comparing prices, and carefully tracking budgets. For more than 30 years, this scene has played out quietly each December, as Oskaloosa High School Peer Helpers work […]

Delayed jobs report: Unemployment ticks up to 4.6%, jobs up 64K

Recruiters discuss jobs with students at a July 2024 jobs fair at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. A new jobs report shows jobs nationwide rebounded after October losses, with a 64,000 gain in November. (Photo courtesy of St. Edward’s University)

by Tim Henderson, Iowa Capital Dispatch December 16, 2025 A shutdown-delayed jobs report released Dec. 16 showed an increase of 64,000 jobs in November, rebounding from a large loss of 105,000 jobs in October. Unemployment ticked higher to 4.6%, the highest since September 2021. The October loss was the largest since December 2020, during a […]

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird files lawsuit against Roblox

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed a lawsuit against Roblox over allegations on child sexual exploitation. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch December 16, 2025 Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Roblox, the popular online gaming company, for allegedly putting Iowa children in danger of sexual exploitation. Roblox, an online game platform, has over 80 million daily users, “many of those are Iowans and most of whom […]

Miller-Meeks says her health care bill would address ‘root causes’ of high premiums

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, spoke at a news conference in Washington D.C., Dec. 3, 2024, calling for regulating financial practices of pharmacy benefit managers. (Photo courtesy of Miller-Meeks’ office)

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch December 15, 2025 U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks said Monday the health care bill she is leading in the U.S. House would address the “root causes” behind rising health care premiums while not seeking to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. The “Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act,” sponsored […]

Oskaloosa Main Street Celebrates a Successful 2025 Lighted Christmas Parade and Holiday Season

The 2025 Lighted Christmas Parade held on Saturday, December 6, was a huge success.

The 2025 Lighted Christmas Parade held on Saturday, December 6, was a huge success. Thank you to all who participated, volunteered, and sponsored the 38th Annual Lighted Christmas Parade. “It was a night to remember,” shared Angella Foster, Oskaloosa Main Street Director. “Seeing the joy on people’s faces, from the little children marveling at the […]

Reynolds orders flags lowered to honor Iowa soldiers killed in Syria

Iowa National Guard Sgts. William Nathaniel Howard and Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar were killed in an attack in Syria Dec. 13, 2025. (Photo via Iowa National Guard)

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch December 14, 2025 Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday ordered all flags in Iowa lowered in honor of the two Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria. The two service members were killed Saturday in Palmyra, Syria, by a lone gunman suspected to be affiliated with ISIS. The two […]

Superintendent Mike Fisher’s administrator license expired Nov. 30; renewal submitted

Oskaloosa School Superintendent Mike Fisher.

***Update*** Superintendent Mike Fisher said Tuesday morning that his Iowa administrator license is now back in “good standing” after the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners processed his renewal. Fisher told Oskaloosa News that the license expired because he forgot to pay the renewal fee. He said he paid the fees online over the weekend as […]

Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad receives Iowa Award

Former Gov. Terry Branstad was presented the Iowa Award by Gov. Kim Reynolds at a ceremony conducted at the Iowa State Capitol Dec. 11, 2025. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch December 11, 2025 Former Gov. Terry Branstad, the nation’s longest-serving governor and a former U.S. ambassador to China, was granted the Iowa Award Thursday, the state’s highest citizen award. Branstad became the 26th recipient of the award, joining the ranks of other notable Iowans including President Herbert Hoover, Nobel […]

Iowa panel warns of ‘mixed’ economic picture, predicts slight revenue upturn

Members of the Revenue Estimating Conference, from left, Jeff Plagge, director of Northwest Bank in Spencer; Kraig Paulsen, the state budget director, and Jennifer Acton, director of the Fiscal Services division of the Legislative Services Agency, discussed projected state finances Dec. 11, 2025, at the State Capitol. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch December 11, 2025 Economic uncertainty due to tariffs and the effects of the federal government shutdown are expected to continue to impact Iowa’s economy, members of the Revenue Estimating Conference said Thursday as they met to discuss Iowa’s finances heading into the 2026 legislative session. Though the three-person panel […]

             

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