After a year on lockdown, the Harriman-Nielsen Historic Farm is getting ready to re-open for tours during the upcoming Franklin County Fair.
The 140 year old farmhouse is a nationally registered historic location preserving the history of what life was like eras gone-by through the possession and letters of its residents, from Hampton's 19th century physician, Dr. Oscar Harriman, to Danish immigrants Chris and Anna Nielsen.

Cloudy skies couldn't stop the fun in Hampton on Saturday as the community flocked to Band Shell Park for the fifth Gran Festival celebration.

The Hampton City Council addressed another dog incident during their regular meeting on Thursday, June 24.
At the meeting, the council held a public hearing regarding a bite incident that happened on June 9.

A southwest Hampton neighborhood has lost to-the-door delivery of their mail following a recent dog incident and there seems to be few viable options left to resolve the situation.

The summer events in Hampton will continue next week as La Luz Centro hosts its fifth Gran Festival, bringing the cultural celebration back to the community after having to cancel last year's event due to the pandemic.
"We're excited to have that milestone and to be able to have the community event again," said Associate Director Aimee Lenth.

Beyond discussing the mail delivery situation in SW Hampton, the Hampton City Council addressed regular items of business during their meeting on Thursday, June 10.

The CAL Community School Board will be making another change to the upcoming school calendar.

The Windsor Theatre premiered their first public showing of a recent movie release after more than a year on hiatus on Friday, June 11.
With movie showings canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the theatre screen has seen little use over the last year. Independent films were shown last June and the theater tried running classic movies in July, but low attendance due to the pandemic put regularly scheduled movies on hold.

Tuesdays on the Town continued in Hampton last week as people came out to Band Shell Park for dinner and a show.
Showcasing last week's show was Elizabeth Lyons a rising vocalist with some local roots. Lyon's mother grew up in Mason City and her family still has farmland in the area.
"I grew up coming here over summers so it's special to come back to Iowa to play a show," said Lyons.

After 46 years, Maggie Pearson is retiring from her career in nursing. Pearson began her nursing journey after graduating from the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska in 1975 where she worked for Bergan-Mercy Hospital for a year and a half as a critical care nurse. She then moved back to her hometown of Boone where she worked in the intensive care unit as a critical care registered nurse at Boone County Hospital for four years.

Mid-America Publishing is excited to have a new editor join the staff.
Alanna Maier is settling in to her new position as editor of the Hampton Chronicle.
"I'm very excited for this opportunity," said Maier.

After 11 years as principal of Hampton-Dumont High School, Steve Madson has accepted a new role in the district. Starting next year, Madson will be stepping into the newly created position of the Director of Innovative Programs.
“I’ll be working on multiple programs designed to fit the needs of the diverse learners that we have,” said Madson.

The Hampton-Dumont Community School Board approved the 2021-22 school calendar during their regular meeting on Monday, May 17. However, the calendar may need to be amended before the next school year starts.
A week of Spring Break was included into the calendar between March 14-18, however that decision was made when it seemed like the state legislature would allow schools to use virtual learning on snow days.

The Hampton City Council presented Jeff and Tracy Spear with the city's Image of Pride Award during their regular meeting on Thursday, May 13.
In a bit of a change from previous years, this year the city will be focusing the Image of Pride Award to property owners that have spruced up homes that have otherwise not been well kept.

Hampton-Dumont hosted an Agriculture Fair on Monday, May 17 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. The third and fourth graders of Hampton-Dumont/CAL schools came out to learn all about equipment, farm, and animal safety through a unique opportunity that was organized by the FFA club in conjunction with Iowa Farm Bureau.