Aleisa Schat

REGIONAL—When Viktoriia Baturina fled Odesa, Ukraine, with her two sons in 2022, she was a single mother with no ties to this rural corner of Iowa, where she has spent the next four years building a life.

REGIONAL—Before children are old enough to sign up for 4-H, they may join Clover Kids, a monthly after-school program that introduces them to the pillars of the 4-H pledge: “Head, heart, hands and health.”

SIOUX CENTER—Young people in Sioux County who might otherwise never get the chance to help raise a bottle/bucket calf have an opportunity to do just that through a new partnership between Clover Kids and Dordt University this year.

REGIONAL—Detecting and treating breast cancer in its early stages can mean the difference between life and death, according to Jenny Campbell, imaging center manager at Orange City Area Health System.

SIBLEY—Dr. Gregory Kosters of Sibley was just a kindergartner when he first announced his career aspirations.

ROCK VALLEY—Excavators and demolition crews were busy leveling homes on a cluster of adjacent properties on and near Main Street late last week in Rock Valley. It was just after noon, and days of rain had finally ended. The sky was blue, and the sun was out. On 15th Avenue, perched atop one large pile of debris, there was a child's push car, a classic red-and-yellow Little Tikes Cozy Coupe with bright eyes and a friendly smile. Just across the street, a lone brick chimney stood towering above an empty basement, the skeletal remains of the home that once stood there. One block to the east, Donald Hoffman stood in what used to be his back yard while two of his three daughters, 7-year-old Jordyn and 6-year-old Haven, ran through the dirt, playing with sticks and marveling at caterpillars. “I had a few tears yesterday,” Hoffman said. His house had come down the day before, on Thursday, Oct. 8, one of several on the docket for the first day of demolitions in Rock Valley, a community of a bout 4,180 residents. “We'd only been there four years, but what we had already made and built — and the memories and stuff inside the house — it's hard to believe that it's no longer there,” Hoffman said. Standing near the foundations of his former home, Hoffman pulled up two photos of Jordyn on his phone. In the first, Jordyn is a chubby toddler sitting on the lowest rung of the backyard fence, her feet just grazing the grass. That photo was taken the day the Hoffmans moved into their home. In the second photograph, Jordyn is captured on a circular rope swing in the same yard. The sun is setting behind her, and the sky is bright blue. That one was taken just weeks before catastrophic flooding destroyed their home in June of 2024. The demolitions are proceeding according to plan, if not a little ahead of schedule, according to Rock Valley city administrator Tom Van Maanen. “For me, it's a great relief to have this finally rolling,” he said. “It's what we've been working on for forever.” The wait for the homeowners hoping for buyout approval finally ended in June, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the obligation of more than $22 million in funding for the acquisition of flood-damaged properties through the agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant program. The program provides funding for cities to rebuild in ways that minimize future disaster losses. “Everybody knows somebody that's been waiting for 28 months for this to happen,” Van Maanen said. “Finally seeing people getting the financial help they need to complete their recoveries — it's very positive.”

J ane Morse was going through boxes from her late parents' home in Sheldon when she came across a letter addressed to her father, Sheldon postmaster Donald Morse, dated April 3, 1973.

REGIONAL—N'West Iowans who care about the integrity of their midterm elections can get involved in a grass-roots initiative called the Trusted Neighbors project, which is organized by the nonpartisan Advancing Liberty Coalition.

When I was 26 years old and living in Fort Worth, TX, I was working a corporate job downtown and preparing to defend my master's thesis at Texas Christian University.

INWOOD—On a typical Saturday morning, Angie and Rayna Van Bochove can be found tidying clothing racks or preparing the espresso machine at their small boutique on South Main Street in Inwood.