Happy Thursday!

It’s that time of year when everyone, including me, questions how the heck it’s already August. I’m still convinced summer just started 🙂‍↕️. But hey, there’s still plenty of summer to enjoy ☀️!

In today’s newsletter, our top story is about a 13-year-old student’s goal to solve food insecurity. For the 2026 National Civics Spelling Bee competition, Atesh McKilligan drafted an essay detailing an initiative he hopes will bring food back to families.

We also have a story from the Iowa State Daily profiling the group pushing back against the Ames’ proposed data center. CyTown’s opening is delayed to 2028 and the Rolling Hills Music Festival brings a full weekend of music rooted in Iowa's history to Ames.

In Community Voices, one of our founding leaders reflects on his sobering experience with the Ontario wildfires and a family's remarkable courage.

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Thank you for your continued support,

 
Amber Mohmand, News Editor
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Welcome to Our Newest Founding Voice: Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care!

We are thrilled to introduce Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care as the newest member of our Founding Voices program. For years, Grandon has been defined by trust, integrity, and a deep dedication to serving families during life's most significant moments right here in Story County.

Our Founding Voice partners are those cornerstone businesses in Ames and Story County who step up to make a transformative financial commitment to help us launch — along with an ongoing advertising commitment to help sustain independent local reporting.

Grandon’s generous commitment helps ensure that independent, nonprofit community journalism continues to thrive in Ames and Story County, while also helping us officially launch the Ames Voice Obituary Page to honor and celebrate the lives of our neighbors.

We want to extend a special note of recognition and gratitude to Mike Ewing and the entire team at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care. Beyond running a compassionate local business, their work reflects a deeply rooted commitment to serving our residents and strengthening the ties that make our community feel like home — values that sit at the very heart of our newsroom.

Thank you to the team at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care for believing in our mission and investing in the future of local news!

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Top Story

Young Gilbert resident fights for a food-secure future

Families go hungry. Stores throw out food that has never been bought and will never be touched. Stomachs remain painfully grumbling as food insecurity lives to damage another day.

For 13-year-old Gilbert resident Atesh McKilligan, now is the time to change this.

For the 2026 National Civics Spelling Bee competition, McKilligan drafted an essay detailing an initiative he hopes will bring food back to families.

“I came up with it when researching different issues relating to Iowa in general, and I realized that one in eight people in Iowa suffer from food insecurity,” McKilligan said. “I thought it would be a huge problem to tackle, but I thought it would be doable by starting small in a community and scaling it here.”

News

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Arts & Entertainment

More from A&E

🎶 Art and community take center stage at an Ames open mic.

📚 Reading and exercise come together in this specialty Ames book club.

Community Voices

In Other News

⚖️ A former ISU graduate student with disabilities is accusing the university of harassing and retaliating against her. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

🚦 Construction for turn lanes at the 13th Street and Grand Ave. intersection is set to start in 2028, but the city must first acquire 12 nearby properties. (Ames Tribune)

🖌️ Ames is seeking a new member for its Public Art Commission. (City of Ames)

🖼️ Visitors to the Iowa State University exhibit at the 2026 Iowa State Fair will take a trip down memory lane from the 1960s through today. (ISU News Service)