(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa community of nearly a thousand residents will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding this weekend. Aurelia was named for the daughter of the man who owned the Illinois Central Railroad that had tracks running through the town. The school in Aurelia will be open Saturday morning so returning residents can reminisce and reconnect.

Until the 1990s, the Aurelia Community School District was the only one in the state that had unique names for its boys and girls teams. Aurelia boys teams were known as the Bulldogs. Girls teams from Aurelia were known as the Atoms. Alta and Aurelia districts began sharing grades in the 1990s and voted to merge in 2017.

(Cass County, Iowa) –  A reminder from the Cass County Food Policy Council: The Cities of Atlantic and Massena are hosting mobile food pantries this (Wednesday) afternoon (June 14). In Atlantic. the distribution site is the Atlantic High School front parking lot, from 4-6 p.m. Enter from 14th Street and follow signs. (Questions call 712-243-1132.) In Massena, the mobile pantry will be located at Southwest Iowa Egg (74877 Clark Avenue) from 4:30-until 5-p.m. Enter from the west and drive across the scale for pick up.

A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. Each car can take food for up to two households at a time. Both Atlantic and Massena will be distributing the same food products. If supplies run low in Massena, families will be directed to Atlantic.

Upcoming Atlantic 2023 Mobile Food Pantries

Please note: Atlantic 2023 Mobile Food Pantries are being held at different locations during the school year (Cass County Community Center) and summer months (Atlantic High School).

Time: 4-6 p.m.

Atlantic High School (1201 E. 14th St. Atlantic, IA 50022): July 12, August 9
Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St., Atlantic, IA 50022): October 11

Upcoming Massena 2023 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Southwest Iowa Egg Coop (74877 Clarke Ave. Massena, IA 50853)

Remaining 2023 Dates: July 12, August 9, October 11 (NOTE: Registration may be required by the Monday prior to distribution for these pantries. More information will be released prior to the pantries, and will be posted on the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page listed below.)

Box pick-up time: 4:30-5:00 p.m.

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries in Anita and Atlantic, visit https://foodbankheartland.org/food-resources/find-food/. For the latest information on Massena pantries, call (712) 779-3447. For information on upcoming events and local food, farmers markets, and food access activities, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.

(Radio Iowa) – The city of Ames is hosting a dedication ceremony Saturday for the renaming of its airport. Spokesperson, Susan Gwiasda says the airport is being named in honor of African-American flight pioneer James Herman Banning. “James Herman Banning was a resident of Ames from 1919 to about 1928. He ended up becoming the first pilot to receive his pilot’s license from the U-S Department of Commerce,” she says.

Gwiasda says it was not an easy route for Banning. “He was denied flight instruction, several different places he tried to receive flight instruction in central Iowa,”Gwiasda says, “but eventually found a flight teacher and went on to become the first African American pilot to fly across the United States.”  Banning attended Iowa State University for one year and named a plane he flew “Miss Ames.” One of Banning’s relatives will be at the event Saturday. ” One of the things we’re really excited about is during this dedication ceremony, which is 10 a-m on Saturday, June 17th, Christopher Hart will be speaking. Christopher Hart is the great nephew of James Herman Banning,” she says.

Hart served as the 13th chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He has a private consulting company and degrees from Princeton University in aeronautics aeronautical engineering, and he has a law degree from Harvard. He will be talking about his great uncle’s legacy. “After the Banning dedication ceremony is over, there will be a reception in the airport terminal. And then we’re inviting everybody to come to Bandshell Park for the Juneteenth Celebration,” she says. “That will be happening from noon to 4:30, a free event with live music, food trucks, arts, crafts, games, face painting, and more. Learn more about James Herman Banning, and you can learn more about the history of our community at this event.”

James Banning. (photo from City of Ames)

Banning died at the age of 34 in 1933 as a passenger in a plane that crashed. Banning flew as a passenger in the plane after being denied entry into the event as a pilot because he was black.

(Bayard, Iowa) – Firefighters from Bayard and Coon Rapids responded to the scene of a two-story house that was fully engulfed in flames early this (Wednesday) morning. The Bayard Fire Chief told KJAN News crews from Bayard were page-out at around 3:37-a.m., to 113 3rd Street. When they arrived, the Coon-Rapids firefighters were requested for mutual aid at around 3:45-a.m., to provide tankers and more manpower. The house was abandoned/unoccupied. It was a total loss. No injuries were reported. Crews were on the scene until about 7:45-a.m.

The cause of the fire was undetermined. The Sheriff’s Office and State Fire Marshal’s Office were requested to conduct an investigation.