Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Cool Event at VU After Hours Event

The picture that is attached to this blog entry is a laser metal cutting demonstration taking place at Ideal Industries in Vinton. Ideal Industries does many different metal fabrications using a press, roller, plasma cutter and laser cutter. It was a great demonstration of a unique business in Vinton. The demonstration took place during a heavily attended After Hours event co-hosted by the city’s chamber of commerce, Vinton Unlimited, and Ideal Industries. The After Hours events take place at a different Vinton business each month. Usually, they are only open to members of Vinton Unlimited. As shown by the laser demonstration, you usually get more than your member dues worth at these events. So, we encourage you to seriously consider becoming a member. Call 319-472-3955 for more details!


Saturday, July 14, 2012

Dollar General Ribbon Cutting

This morning, we did the ribbon cutting at the new Dollar General store. Several people were there to start shopping. This is a great new venture for the whole community. Come and check it out!


The picture shows Vinton Mayor John Watson and Vinton Dollar General Store Manager Sue Lockridge cutting the ribbon as Vinton Unlimited President Dan Engledow watches.

Monday, July 2, 2012

New Dollar General

Several months ago, we were disappointed that Roy’s Grocery Store closed on K Avenue (Highway 218). While we were mourning this loss, the Dollar General people saw this loss as an opportunity. The Dollar General store in Vinton operated out of a small building that once housed the former True Value hardware store. The parking was atrocious and cramped as was the limited space inside the store for customers and items for sale. Now, with a quick remodeling, the former Roy’s is now the new Dollar General. Even though the remodeling only took a few months, the picture below shows the exterior looks great. Even better, the interior is bright and inviting. The old days of not finding a parking space and squeezing by other customers are gone!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Vinton Veterans Memorial Airport

The picture with this entry shows the entrance sign and a few buildings of the Vinton Veterans Memorial Airport. The airport serves six businesses that are based out of the airport as well as the community as a whole. The airport will become quite busy in a about a month as crop dusting season starts. Every weekend, when there is good weather, the Paradise Skydiving company takes customers into the sky to participate in skydiving. To find more information on what is happening at the airport, visit their website at: http://www.flyVTI.com/

Sunday, May 20, 2012

A New Beginning

Once again, Vinton is beginning again following last year's windstorm. On Saturday, May 19th, several community members came together to plant tree at the Vinton Public Library and a couple of the city parks. We hope that this will inspire all residents with a renewed interest in planting more trees to replace those we lost last year. The picture shows Mark Pingenot from Trees Forever and City of Vinton Parks employee Brian Elwick demonstrating the proper method of planting a tree.

Friday, May 18, 2012

New Restaurant in Vinton

We have a new Mexican restaurant in Vinton called La Reyna. I have been told that this is translated to "the queen" in English. This restaurant has been open for a couple of weeks after some high anticipation from Vinton residents. The restaurant had to learn how to cope with the overwhelming crowds when it first opened, but now appears to be doing quite well. The restaurant moved here from Iowa City after the owners had started a salsa business in Columbus Junction. This picture shows Carlos Legaspi. He and his wife, Carmen, are co-owners of the restaurant.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Continuing Cleanup

The City of Vinton is continuing with the cleanup following the devastating windstorm of July 11, 2011. The picture shows logs that have been cut by a logging company employed by the city parks and recreation department to clear an area near the sledding hill. The department is not paying for the work, rather the logging company pays for the logs taken from city property. This money will be used to remove trees that the logger can't get to and to replace trees lost in the windstorm.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

New Century Begins Construction

New Century/Farm Service has begun work on their regional service center on West 13th Street. The construction represents an approximate $6.5 million investment. Dry fertilizer will be hauled in by rail and truck and then taken out by truck. The City of Vinton will soon begin a $1.6 million road improvement project from Highway 218 to the site to handle the expected increase in traffic.

Golf Cart Use in Vinton

It's warmer outside and this means we'll see more golf carts on the streets in Vinton. Use of the carts are permitted throughout Vinton except on those streets that are also state highways. This includes C Avenue, K Avenue and portions of 1st Avenue and 3rd Street that are part of Highway 150. Golf carts are allowed to directly cross these streets. Other regulations for golf carts can be found under Chapter 77 of the city code at www.vintoniowa.net.