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Ames Voice

Mid-Iowa Community News

Ames Voice

City of Ames

Sam Morrow, center, talks with customer at Clay-Mations Studio. An artist and teacher, Morrow recently opened the studio. (Provided by Sam Morrow)

Local ceramics studio gets start thanks to CYstarter program

by Kyle Werner, Reporter
Published September 17, 2025

Sam Morrow has always loved the arts. Art was a way to entertain herself when she was younger and, as she grew older, she found a passion for creativity, finding her niche in ceramics and watercolor. “Both...

Ames voters will be asked to approve a $10.5 million bond issue to build a new fire station to replace the station on Welch Avenue in November.

$10.5 million Ames fire station bond issue on November ballot

by Bill Monroe, Reporter
Published September 17, 2025
Ames residents will vote in November on spending up to $10.5 million to build a new fire station for the city’s west side. The city wants to replace Fire Station No. 2 with a bigger station on land at 601 State Ave. that Iowa State University will let the city use for free. The Ames City Council voted to place the matter on the November ballot during a special meeting on Tuesday.
Brookside Park is celebrating its 100th anniversary on Saturday by unveiling of a new fire-themed park.

Brookside Park commemorates its centennial with fire

by Amber Mohmand, News Editor
Published September 10, 2025
Brookside Park is celebrating its 100-year anniversary on Saturday with the unveiling of a new fire-themed playground.
Ames Community School District office located on 24th Street.

School board begins its school year with facility updates

by Kyle Werner, Reporter
Published September 10, 2025
Monday’s school board meeting was full of announcements about facility updates to launch the fall season of play and sports. The Ames High School track has been completed and includes marks of an unwanted guest: hoof prints from a wandering deer. They were found after the track’s curing stage had been completed.
Municipal bonds will be issued Sept. 23 to enable the city of Ames to borrow $13.6 million to pay for a variety of city improvement projects.

Ames council borrows $13.6 million for city projects

by Bill Monroe, Reporter
Published September 10, 2025

The Ames City Council voted Tuesday to borrow $13.6 million to pay for improvements around the city. The city will sell bonds on Sept. 23 to get the money. What the money is for: The city plans to use...

Ames residents could save money on their home heating and cooling bills if the city is successful in obtaining up to $15 million from the federal government in a special loan program.

Ames could get $15 million to help residents save on energy bills

by Bill Monroe, Reporter
Published September 10, 2025
The city of Ames might receive up to $15 million from the federal government to help residents make their homes more energy efficient. This money would let homeowners upgrade their heating, cooling and electrical systems without paying huge costs up front.
This year, ISU PD issued a total of 39 citations, five more than 2023 — when the game was last in Ames.

Game-day blotter: 5 more citations than the last time Cy-Hawk football was in Ames

by Amber Mohmand, News Editor
Published September 9, 2025
The Iowa-Iowa State football game is the most anticipated game across the state — fueling a decades-long rivalry between the two universities. It’s hosted in Ames every other year, which brings a wave of excited fans across the state who are ready to watch and celebrate the Cy-Hawk game. This year, many Cyclones fans celebrated the team’s 16-13 victory over the Hawks on Saturday.
Chloride lime is added as a softening agent to treat minerals like calcium and magnesium that contribute water hardness.

Ames residents don’t need to worry about their water as concerns arise in central Iowa

by Kyle Werner, Reporter
Published September 3, 2025
As concerns of water quality in central Iowa rise, Ames residents do not need to worry about the safety of their great-tasting water supply. High levels of nitrate were found in the water supply that comes from the Des Moines and Racoon rivers this summer. Ames was not included in communities affected by the ban, but questions regarding water safety in the city have been raised.
Austin Frerick, author Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry, speaks to a group at the University of Iowa Law School in February 2025.

Lecture: Author traces the rise of food titans

by Anthony Capps, Reporter
Published August 27, 2025
As an adult, Frerick spent five years researching the nation’s food industry, culminating in his book, “Barons: Money, Power and the Corruption of America's Food Industry,” which traces the rise of seven titans of the food industry and the cost of sustaining the system. Frerick will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Ames Public Library.
Work on the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center, located on Lincoln Way across from the Iowa Department of Transportation headquarters, is on schedule for a grand opening in March 2026.

Aquatic center construction moving along swimmingly

by Bill Monroe, Reporter
Published August 27, 2025
Ames area residents can look forward to swimming indoors next spring as construction of the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center is on schedule. Work on the project, located on Lincoln Way across from the Iowa DOT headquarters, is projected to be substantially completed by January with a grand opening in March.
After attending training and making changes, the Ames City Council gave a liquor license to La Casa Maya after it was not renewed in July.

La Casa Maya gets second chance with new liquor license

by Bill Monroe, Reporter
Published August 27, 2025
After the management at La Casa Maya made necessary changes when its liquor license was not renewed in July, the Ames City Council gave the restaurant a new liquor license on Aug. 26.
Ukrainian flags were planted in the ground around the Walnut Shelter at Inis Grove Park for the Ukrainian Independence Day celebration.

Ames celebrates Ukrainian Independence Day

by Kyle Werner, Reporter
Published August 26, 2025
Ames’ Ukrainian community celebrated their home country’s 34th year of independence from the Soviet Union on Sunday at Inis Grove Park. The city is home to a robust Ukrainian population. Through Lutheran Services in Iowa and its community partners like the Ames Interfaith Refugee Alliance, dozens of Ukrainian refugees and their families have settled here in recent years.