The Friends of Beeds Lake group is getting close to reaching their goal of $200,000 for a new playground at the state park.
The group recently received several large donations from community members, including $5,000 from the Rotary Club; $15,000 from First Bank Hampton; $10,000 from the Community Foundation of Franklin County and $25,000 from the Kiwanis Club of Hampton.

The Hampton Police Department held a brief graduation for the students of their second annual citizens academy during the April 10 city council meeting.
 

Federal authorities have announced a year and a day in prison as the sentence for a man convicted of check kiting between two banks to maintain an appearance of solvency.
 
Roger Dean Peters, 71, was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge Roseann Ketchmark after he entered a guilty plea for a single count of bank fraud back in May 2024. 
 

Anna Dunnwald believes it’s important for children in the community to know where their food comes from. 
Through her job as the Outreach Coordinator for the Franklin County Farm Bureau, she teaches embryology at elementary schools in Franklin County. These lessons are made possible through partnership with North Central Iowa Ag in the Classroom, which brings ag lessons to students in eleven counties.  

Hampton-Dumont-CAL High School student Isaac Thomas Vosburg will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the Grand Lodge of Iowa, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. 
 

Evan Pharr joined the Hampton Chronicle as its new sports writer last week.

Thursday was his first day on the job. Pharr received a BA in journalism and emerging media from Kennesaw State University in Georgia in July of 2023. This is his first full-time newspaper job.

Representatives with Franklin County Family Focus Group have been hard at work, making sure those in the community have the resources they need, while observing the month of April as “Child Abuse Prevention Month” and “Sexual Assault Awareness Month.”

La Luz Centro Cultural is currently getting a new look, thanks to a grant and help from those in the community.

Consider yourself lucky if you were able to catch the “Little Mermaid” production at Church of the Living Word this weekend. It had all of the makings of a great play: humor, love and a fun twist at the end.

There’s a new car detailing company in town, and it goes by the name of “Wise Choice Detailing.”

The man behind the operations: Ron Wise.

Kimberly Jobe's story is one of trauma and then triumph. 
Kim, who was born and raised in Hampton, had a rough start to life. She ran with a bad crowd, smoking weed and drinking at a young age. And her father was never in the picture. 

The students of the 2025 Hampton Police Citizens Academy had their final class at Ellsworth Community College on Wednesday evening, March 26, where they went through a gun simulator course called "MILO." 
 

Bill Holmstrom, who formerly served as the postmaster for Hampton, was appointed as the new Ward 3 City Councilor during last Thursday’s city council meeting. 
 
The appointment came after the recent resignation of Kevin Blanford.
 

Around one hundred people packed into the Franklin County Courthouse courtroom Friday morning for Senator Chuck Grassley’s town hall meeting.

Crowds of constituents filled the main lobby of the courthouse — some holding signs — once the courtroom was full.

Grassley started the event by saying that he felt it was important to speak with constituents in person — the reason for his annual 99-county tour.

Seventy five years ago, Frances Huling answered a notice in a Sunday school newsletter that would lead to a decades-long friendship.

The ad was placed by Lois Grosse, who was 12 years old at the time and living in Australia. She hoped to find a pen pal who lived in the United States.

Fran, who was also 12 years old at the time, was one of many to respond to her ad.