Mayor Hansen Hosts Coffee with the Mayor

Newton Mayor Michael L. Hansen will host a Coffee with the Mayor the third Saturday of each month from 9 – 11 a.m. at the Newton Public Library located at 100 N 3rd Ave W.

2019 dates for Coffee with the Mayor are January 19, February 16, March 16, April 20...

City of Newton Recognized for Social Media Marketing

The City of Newton was recognized at the sixth annual Social Media Club Des Moines’ Hashie Awards as a finalist for Best Use of Video and Danielle Rogers, Community Marketing Manager was named Social Media Professional of the Year. The City of N...

Project Fastpitch Announces Softball Complex To Be Built In Newton

Project Fastpitch and City of Newton leaders announced a new tournament softball development located on seventy acres north of Rusty Wallace Drive across from Iowa Speedway along Interstate 80 in Newton. The development is designed to provide an amazing e...

Demolition Project 2019-02

Community Services staff recently received bids, and has a signed contract for, the demolition of the structures at 124 E 4th St N and 115 E 4th St N. DW Zinser Co. of Walford, Iowa will be completing asbestos abatement, lead paint abatement, and demoliti...

Newton Cares Classic Golf Tournament

On July 25th, the inaugural Newton Cares Classic was held at Westwood Golf Course. 68 golfers and 17 celebrities enjoyed the morning sign-in and reception at the Newton Club at the Iowa Speedway, a catered lunch and 18 holes of golf at Westwood, and the a...

2018-02 Asphalt Resurfacing Project

Manatts, Inc. of Brooklyn, Iowa has begun work on milling and asphalt resurfacing of several local streets throughout Newton. The project includes the removal of the old street surface, placement of a new hot-mix asphalt surface, and construction of ADA-c...

Fire Prevention Week Uses S.A.F.E. House to Educate Students

The Newton Fire Department is providing a valuable opportunity to plan and practice escapes as part of Fire Prevention Week visiting local elementary schools this week with the S.A.F.E. House.

Following a classroom visit, third graders view a video inside ...

Newton Fire Department Kicks Off Fire Prevention Week

The Newton Fire Department and Mercy One Air worked together to plan Iowa's first-ever helicopter delivered game ball at the Newton High School football game on Friday, October 4. Thank you Captain Rex Heisdorffer and Athletic Director Ryan Rump for coord...

Fire Department Call Volume Up Over Last Year

The Fire Department ended this fiscal year (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019) with an increase in calls again over last year.  

The Fire Department responded to 3,272 calls for service.  Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls account for 90% ...

9/11 Memorial Service Reminder

The 9/11 Memorial Service will take place on Wednesday, September 11 in front of the Newton Fire Department. Please visit www.newtongov.org for more details next week.

Ladder Truck in Indiana for Repairs

Ladder 1 has been delivered to Fire Services, Inc. of St. John, Indiana for repairs to the ladder. During a recent safety inspection, the ladder was found to have structural deficiencies that needed to be repaired. This is a very specialized type of busin...

New EMT/Firefighters Start Paramedic Class

Three recently hired firefighters have started paramedic class. The course is approximately 1,200 hours in length and will take nearly a year to complete. Firefighters will experience a combination of classroom, clinical, field practicum time. This progra...

Fire Department Utilizing New Radio System

Firefighters participated in training on the new radio system in mid-August and all operations have switched to the new system. At the beginning of 2019 the Fire Department purchased radio equipment to upgrade to the new 800 megahertz system. The new radi...

New Ambulance Now In Service

 The ambulance is on the road and being utilized as the primary transfer ambulance. Ambulances are replaced on a nine-year rotation, with one ambulance being replaced every three years. This ambulance replaces a 2010 model that will be kept and u...

Ghost Towns of Jasper County

On Wednesday, August 28th, the library welcomed Dave Baker, writer, and photographer for Iowa: The 29th State, for a presentation on lost Iowa places and the stories behind them. You might not know it, but Jasper County is full of ghost towns. Ghost towns...

You’ve Got a Library Card - What Can You Do With It?!

Here are just a few ways you can use your library card:

• Borrow an unlimited number of books. 4 DVD’s can be checked out at a time. We add new items to the collection every week, and you may request titles to add to our collection!
• Download e-books...

1000 Books Before Kindergarten Update

Our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program continues to grow, with 122 enrolled, and 35 children have completed the program by reaching the 1000 Book milestone! Congrats to Acelynn, who is our most recent finisher of the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten pro...

Library Choir Camp

The library hosted another successful Choir Camp at the end of Summer Reading. The camp was taught by Courtney Tabor, a Newton native, and Rachel Peter, both music major graduates from Central College. The group chose “The Day the Crayons Quit&a...

Story Time at Maytag Park

The Library and Community Services Division partnered for a Toddler Story Time before Toddler Swim at the Maytag Pool on August 9th. Around 40 participants came to the event and enjoyed songs, books, and coloring with sidewalk child on the park’...

Library Escape Room a Success!

Our Public Services Librarian, Becca Klein, created and hosted a new Escape Room during the first week of August called “History Heist: Locked in the Louvre”. The 90 attendants were zip-tied together and had to successfully escape the room by breaking the...

Safety City

The Police Department recently partnered with the NCSD, Colfax-Mingo School District and the Newton Christian School to provide safety training to kindergarteners at each school. The program is an annual event that teaches participants how to safely cross...

Jasper Community Foundation Grant

JCF recently awarded the Newton Police Department with a $5000 Local Community Grant for the purchase of simunition training guns and protective equipment. This equipment will allow police officers to train in a more realistic manner and ultimately prepar...

SROs Ready for School Year

Officer Julie Britton and Officer Tom McDonnell are ready for the 2019/2020 school year to begin. This is the first year that the Police Department will have two SROs assigned to the NCSD. Officer Britton is assigned primarily to the Newton High School, W...

Self Defense Course at YMCA

The Newton YMCA and the Police Department recently partnered to offer a women’s self-defense course. This was the 2nd time the two organizations have partnered to offer this opportunity and it continues to be a well-attended event. The class was...

Discover Hope Meal

The Police Department recently provided and served a meal to over 65 community members at Discover Hope during the organizations Tuesday night service. Discover Hope is a community-based recovery organization for those struggling with addiction. Members o...

Grant Update

Newton Wal-Mart recently awarded the Newton Police Department with a $2500 Local Community Grant for the purchase of traffic safety equipment to be used at public events to educate community members about the dangers of drunk driving and distracted drivin...

Downtown Traffic Signal Improvement Project Update (10/2/2019)

The contractor intends to begin work on the 1st Street and 1st Avenue intersection this week. Motorists and pedestrians are advised to use caution in the area during the project and are asked to follow posted traffic control devices and signs.

The physical...

Downtown Traffic Signal Improvement Project Update (9/17/19)

The contractor intends to begin work on the W 2nd St intersection on Thursday, September 19. Motorists and pedestrians are advised to use caution in the area during the project and are asked to follow posted traffic control devices and signs.

The Downtown ...

Newton Sanitary Landfill Leachate Line Cleaning

The Newton Sanitary Landfill operates as a landfill by receiving a permit from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. One of the requirements of the permit is the leachate lines need cleaning every three years. Operationally we should wash one-third of...

Public Works Operations Street Crews Rebuilding Storm Sewers

The street crews have been actively working on rebuilding storm sewer catch basins all around the city. Due to aging infrastructure, the storm sewers and the designed structures are falling apart at a steady pace. The street crews encounter storm sewers t...

Water Pollution Control Update

Water Pollution Control staff is tasked not only with the maintenance of the collection system and the process equipment but also with the upkeep of plant buildings and grounds. In this photo, the staff is seen pouring the concrete floor for a new effluen...

Parks Operations Update - Trail Reconstruction

Staff is completing a few sections of hike and bike trail repairs at Agnes Patterson Park. There is a much larger hike & bike trail reconstruction project being placed out to bid for contract work, to be completed yet this year.

Parks Operations Update - Storm Sewer at Westwood Golf Course

Staff is also currently working on improving storm water drainage area at Westwood Golf Course. Park operations are installing a new storm sewer. Some damaged sections of cart paths caused by storm water will get replaced as part of this project.

Parks Operations Update - Tree Work

Parks operations staff are always busy with tree work. Work ranges from pruning to clean up from storm damage, dead tree removal, stump removal, mulching, and planting new trees. The two trees pictured are hazards, so they have been removed at Westwood Go...

Downtown Traffic Signal Improvement Project

The Downtown Traffic Signal Improvement Project is scheduled to start on Wednesday, August 14. During this time, traffic signal and sidewalk improvements will be made along 1^st Avenue between W 4^th St and E 4^th St. Questions on this project should be dire...