At the April 12th A-A School Board meeting, several parents and staff members from Alta Elementary School spoke to school board members about Principal Stacy Mueller whose contract is being terminated at the end of the school year. They requested that the school board reconsider their decision and reinstate her contract...

Dancers performed at the Alta-Aurelia Fusion Dance Team’s Kids’ Dance Clinic and Dance Night on March 26th and 27th. Performers included kids and high school students. “We had to separate them this year due to COVID and not wanting to overpack the gym,” A-A Fusion Dance Team Coach Brooke Nielsen said. ...

Buena Vista County Farm Bureau organized a safety demonstration for the Alta-Aurelia driver’s education class on April 12. Each student got to sit in the cab of a combine, tractor hooked to a grain cart, snowplow truck, and semi-tractor with 53’ trailer...

The Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Department is going above and beyond to potentially save lives in the schools with its recent donation of equipment to the Alta-Aurelia School District in late 2020 and early 2021. “The BV County Sheriff’s Dept recently donated four LifePaks which can be found in the Aurelia school building, Alta Fitness Center, & the Roxy Theatre in Alta,” Sonia Galvin, A-A District School Nurse, said. ...

olf and Country Club, requested permission for a one-time burn of brush and small logs on the golf course. The matter was discussed at the April 7th Alta City Council meeting. Bartel and others from the country club said the yearly burn has been allowed for more than 50 years, and this year is imperative because there are currently more dead trees to dispose of than usual due to the Emerald Ash Borer infestation...

Congratulations to Warrior Jazz Band members Cassidy Parks, Morgan Westphal, Victoria Gustafson, Sierra Hill and Lili Solis on being selected for the 2021 1A/2A All-State Jazz Band. The students will perform on June 5th in Earlham.

Alta-Aurelia athlete Brielle Engelmann has been named to the 3rd Team All Twin Lakes Conference for the 2020-2021 basketball season and to the Pilot - Tribune All - Area first team. “Getting named to the 3rd Team All Twin Lakes Conference and other awards around this area was quite an honor,” she said. “Many of the girls who received these honors were very deserving and highly respected players. To be recognized among these awesome players was amazing.”...

The Alta-Aurelia Warrior Speech Team is excited to announce that two of its members were nominated for Individual All-State Speech. Lydia Feis and Brennan Shea both earned nominations in the Prose category. This is Lydia’s first year being nominated for Individual All-State. ...

Kelly Jensen received gold for the individual award on the Floriculture team at the March 6th FFA District Competition held in Lake Park. She was one of several Alta-Aurelia competitors. “FFA this year has been fun. I have gotten to compete in new events that I would have never done before,” she said. There were certainly changes this year. “COVID has made it so we can’t attend some events in person but we can attend more events virtually.”...

A-A high school students lit up the stage last weekend with performances of “Emma, A Pop Musical” on March 20 and 21 at the Roxy Theater in Alta. The music department’s production incorporated singing, dancing and humor in the matchmaking-themed musical...

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve volunteers Steve Waller and Dave Kimbell presented to the City of Alta and Brad Pedersen, City Street Supervisor, the coveted ESGR “Patriot Award” on March 20th. Sp/4 Tom Lane, former employee and a member of 2168th Transportation Co, IANG, recommended his supervisor, Brad Pedersen, and the City of Alta, for their supportive actions during his drill schedule, subsequent annual training, and other requirements during the past year...

With nearly 10 years of experience playing basketball, Alta-Aurelia High School senior Alaina Westphal has been named to the Academic All-State Team for the 2020-2021 basketball season. ”Being named to the Academic All-State Team for this basketball season is an honor because it shows something that I have worked at achieving since my freshman year,” she said. “Grades have always been important to me so being recognized for my academic achievements is a great honor.”...

Alta Kiwanis Pancake Day will be held Sunday, April 18 at the Alta Community Center. Serving is 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Admission is by free will donation. Alta-Aurelia High School musicians will be performing at 11:30 a.m. Proceeds from this event go to the City of Alta toward purchase of new playground equipment...

Alta-Aurelia School Board members voted this week to terminate the contract for Stacy Mueller as principal at Alta Elementary School, by a vote of five yes and two no. Termination takes effect at the end of the school year in June. This is Mueller’s third year and the last year of probationary status for her contract. One board member made a motion to extend the contract for one year, but it was not seconded. The board did not discuss cause for the decision...

D was discussed at the March 15th Alta-Aurelia School Board meeting. “We are exactly one year removed now in COVID,” Superintendent William Walters said. “It was a year ago, and so much has happened between now and then. It’s been a challenge that I think our staff has risen to, and our kids have been in school all year, and that’s really good,” he said...

Congratulations to Warrior Jazz Band members Cassidy Parks, Morgan Westphal, Victoria Gustafson, Sierra Hill, and Lili Solis on being selected for the 2021 1A/2A All-State Jazz Band. The students will perform on June 5 in Earlham. Alta - Aurelia is proud of the students’ hard work to achieve this honer...

Technology upgrades were discussed at the March 15th Alta-Aurelia School Board meeting. Technology Coordinator Ryan Fredin updated the School Board about technology infrastructure plans. He discussed the technology plan for 2021-2022 as well as the 5-year plan...

Alta-Aurelia High School performers are stepping back into the 1800’s for the spring play, “Emma, A Pop Musical.” Performances are scheduled for March 20 at 7 p.m. and March 21 at 2 p.m. at the Roxy Theatre in Alta. An on-demand performance will be streamed on March 27 and 28...

The Alta-Aurelia Warrior Speech Team had a great day at the District Individual Speech Contest on Saturday, February 27th. Fifteen performers presented 21 entries and received 15 Division I ratings and six Division II ratings. “Prose” - Brennan Shea I, Trista Erlandson I, Lydia Feis I, Joelle Arnts I, Jared Stopczynski I, Emily Launderville I...

Some Alta residents are at a standstill with home repairs due to unavailability of contractors. Rob Hach, founder of Altagether, came up with an idea to organize the first annual Altagether Home & Garden Show to facilitate communication and connections between homeowners and contractors. The event took place on March 6th at the Alta Community Center and was free to the public...

A new crop of students were inducted into the Alta-Aurelia National Honor Society (NHS) at a March 8th ceremony. “We have some really great students at Alta-Aurelia, and those who applied and were selected for NHS have effectively demonstrated the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, leadership, service, and character,” A-A NHS Advisor Jennifer Radke said. She teaches English at the high school...

Five Alta-Aurelia dancers qualified for the All-Iowa Honor Dance Team with performances scheduled for Saturday March 6th. They are Jasmine Sliefert, Emma Peterson, Amelia Damewood, Jocelyn Launderville and Lydia Feis. A-A Fusion Dance Team coach Brooke Nielsen said this is a huge honor for the girls. ...

Residents in the Alta-Aurelia Community School District voted down a proposed Public Education and Recreation Levy by a narrow margin Tuesday. The vote was 139 yes (48%) and 143 no (52%). The PERL levy vote was the first of its kind in Buena Vista County. ...

Tree burning within Alta city limits was discussed at the March 1st Alta City Council meeting where Clyde Bartel requested permission to burn trees at the Alta Golf and Country Club. He is a board member at the club. “The country club has quite a pile of dead trees that they want to burn like they’ve done in the past, and I think Clyde was ready to get it burning when he got wind to be sure that you come to the council first,” Mayor Kevin Walsh said. ...

The City of Alta is looking to hire for several summer positions. Needed is a pool manager and lifeguards, ballfields manager and umpires, and a concession stand manager. Positions are filled by the season, so those who have worked in the past and wish to return need to apply. The deadline for applications is March 26...

United Bank of Iowa recently donated $2,437 to the Alta-Aurelia School Backpack Program. The donation will provide weekend meals and snacks for students. This money was raised during United Bank of Iowa’s UNITED TOGETHER Makes the Difference Community Cause Day...

Megan Benz, 9th-12th grade band director at Alta-Aurelia High School, is impressed with how her jazz band students are handling changes in performing music this school year. ‘’The students are doing a great job taking all of the changes in stride,” she said. ...

The PERL (Public Education & Recreation Levy) special election for the Alta-Aurelia School District will take place Tuesday March 2. Voters living in Buena Vista County will go to the community building in Alta to vote, those in Cherokee County will vote at the community center in Aurelia. Poll hours are 7 a.m.-8 p.m...

Kids at Ready, Set, GROW! Learning Center barely skipped a beat in their learning and socializing as they dealt with the pandemic over the past year. The daycare students follow a daily schedule, and each lead teacher creates a lesson plan that includes art, music/movement, reading, small motor development, and large motor development. Ages start at 6 weeks...

Alta Street Department employees are responsible for quickly removing snow in Alta after each snowfall. Brad Pedersen, Streets and Sanitation Department supervisor, is one of four tasked with that job. They are armed with a snow plow with sander, a grader, a payload and a tractor. The vehicles are used to move snow and remove it from the business district as soon as possible...

Nine Buena Vista University business students and nine science students have been selected for the Clifford A. Rae Academic Achievement Award for the 2020 calendar year. The following local students received the award: Mason Peterson of Alta, accounting and financial decision making double-major in the Harold Walter Siebens School of Business, is a second-year winner...

The new fiscal year budget was discussed at a special meeting of the Alta City Council on Feb. 15th. “At the last meeting we were wondering where that set-aside was for infrastructure,” City Clerk Megan Peterson said. She reviewed the accounts and came up with a surplus of $22,000...

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The Alta Community Center is the place to be on Sat. Mar. 6th for anyone in need of home repairs. Rob Hach, founder and organizer of the community volunteerism group Altagether, requested use of the facility for the organization’s winter project. At the Feb. 1st Alta City Council meeting, Hach requested use of the community center at a discount or at no cost for the first annual home and garden show. The event is designed to connect Alta residents with contractors for home repairs...

A PERL (Public Education & Recreation Levy) special election for the Alta-Aurelia School District will take place Tuesday March 2. “It gives us the authority to levy for the PERL if we win,” A-A School Superintendent William Walters said at the February. 8 school board meeting...

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Bicyclists will pedal through Alta on Sun. July 25th on the first day of RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) 2021. The 7-day bike ride will begin in Le Mars and end in Clinton with the first day from Le Mars to Sac City along with other area pass-through towns Aurelia, Schaller and Early...

Seaman Bret Alhosherkenbach, from Aurelia, Iowa, communicates with a sound-powered telephone aboard amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) during a replenishment-at-sea with dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3). ...

Alta-Aurelia High School Jazz Band performed this week in Fort Dodge. The Jazz Band earned a Division 1 rating from the Iowa High School Music Association. / Photo courtesy AA Schools

The city of Alta has begun a new text alert service for residents to receive important updates. “With a partnership with City of Alta and Alta Municipal we are now able to reach out to our citizens to make them aware of important things happening in our community. The messages will be short and to the point,” Mayor Kevin Walsh said...

The Alta Fire Dept. is making plans for its 140th anniversary celebration and annual fundraiser to be held Aug. 21st and 22nd with a weekend of activities and an appreciation meal. Activities will be publicized as plans evolve. The department’s official anniversary year was 2020 with the celebration postponed due to COVID and has been rescheduled for this year. ...