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Posted in: News
East Iowa Herald Top 10 Stories of 2008
By Mitch Traphagen
Dec 31, 2008 - 10:33:32 PM

nly months after the devasting news that Victor Plastics had filed for bankruptcy protection, a new flag, that of River Bend Industries, was flying over the plant. Mitch Traphagen Photo

1. Victor Plastics Bankruptcy - The January 15 announcement that Victor Plastics would seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection shook the very foundation of the community.  Story 1 | Story 2

2. River Bend Industries purchase of Victor Plastics - Just over a month after the bankruptcy announcement, River Bend Industries of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, signed a letter of intent to purchase Victor Plastics. Two months after that, the purchase was complete.
Story 1 | Story 2 | Story 3

3. Warriors boys basketball team wins Iowa State Consolation Championship - The Warriors basketball team remained off the state sports radar for much of the season but rose to inspire the entire community by being the first team since 1973 to advance to the highest levels of the state basketball tournament in Des Moines.
Story (with photo gallery)

4. Iowa Flooding - The flooding in Cedar Rapids was reminiscent of New Orleans after Katrina. Closer to home, the levy held in Marengo and many in Victor rallied together to save the baseball field concession stand. Throughout the area, however, basements, homes and fields were flooded - the damage, though slight in comparison to Cedar Rapids, will be felt for years to come.
Story

5. Local caucuses - Candidate Mike Huckabee won Iowa County on the Republican side, Barack Obama won on the Democratic side and went on to win the Presidency. After a huge build up with candidates jostling for position and ending in a surprise Obama win, finally, the neighbors gathered.
Story

6. Honor trip to Washington, D.C. for Iowa County veterans - A small group of Iowa County residents set a new standard raising money for veterans of World War II to visit the monument that was built in their honor. The East Iowa Herald was there to document the incredible event.
Story 1 | Story 2 (with photo gallery)

7. Warriors football team goes to playoffs for third consecutive year - The HLV Warriors football team continued the school’s success in athletics by advancing to the state quarter finals.
Story 1 with photo gallery | Story 2 with photo gallery | Story 3 with photo gallery

8. Parks of Victor Committee reaches financial goal for new Victor park - With the help of many small donations from people around the community, donations from businesses, and one large donation from Victor residents Orville and Loanna Bloethe, the Parks of Victor Committee reached - and then exceeded - their financial goals to build a new park on Second Street.
Story

9. Pennies for the Park reaches financial goal for new equipment in Marengo park - A year-long campaign in Marengo to raise money for new playground equipment for the downtown Marengo park paid off in September as the new equipment went up with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers.
Story

10. Possible layoffs in Iowa County Secondary Road Department - The Iowa County Board of Supervisors hoped to avoid the possibility of layoffs in the road department by offering an early retirement package. When that failed to completely resolve the financial issues, the specter of layoffs was raised. The resulting firestorm of opinion caused more than a few tense moments during the weekly supervisor’s meetings - and may have cost one long-time supervisor his seat on the board.
Story 1 | Story 2 | Story 3 | Story 4 | Story 5

Other notable East Iowa stories for 2008: In May, Marengo resident Candi Schmieder was chosen to introduce Barack Obama in his first return visit to Iowa since the caucuses. On the night he arrived in Des Moines, he had all but clinched the Democratic nomination. A few months later, Schmieder was again in the spotlight when she addressed the delegates (and the nation) during the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Story 1 | Story 2

In an almost eerie precursor to the summer flooding, county-wide participation in the National Flood Insurance Program became an issue for the Iowa County Board of Supervisors when Marengo realtor Tom Sandersfeld first brought it to the board’s attention in February. The board eventually passed a resolution allowing everyone in the county to participate in the program. Story 1 | Story 2 | Story 3

In November, Iowa County Supervisor and board chairmen Ric Gerard was defeated in an independent bid to retain his seat.
Story 1  | Story 2



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