The class of 2026 graduated from H-D-CAL High School on Sunday afternoon, May 17. 
 
Their graduation ceremony began with a speech by Class President Emma Dietz, who reflected on their closeness as a class and their ability to persevere through challenging times.

The man who drove through the front entrance of Hampton-Dumont-CAL High School in December was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with all but four days suspended.

A total of 96 students received $368,425 in awards during the Hampton-Dumont Scholarship Foundation ceremony at H-D-CAL High School on Wednesday evening, May 6.

Senator Joni Ernst stopped by Latimer’s Friday afternoon, May 8, to share the Small Business of the Week award with the current and past store owners.
Store owners Deana Hernandez and Sarah and Clay Miller said they are grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the community through the newly-renamed Latimer’s, which they purchased in February.

Ten H-D-CAL High School seniors will receive a Seal of Biliteracy upon graduation this year.
The students who are receiving the award are Israel Zamaro, Osvaldo Sanchez, Zeila Gonzalez, America Dominguez Rincon, Aimee Calles, Jhoan Sosa-Castillo, Juan Valenzuela, Graciella Urbina, Daniel Blanco-Valentin and Yareli Castro-Manzo.

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors has finalized the county’s fiscal year 2027 budget with a lower tax levy.
The approved levy is about $5.11 for urban areas and $8.85 for rural areas. County officials say the budget reduces the total amount of property tax revenue by 5%, or about $693,706 less than the current fiscal year.

The Hampton Police Department is currently looking for two new officers, according to Police Chief Mark Morrison. 
This comes after several of their police officers have departed for other ventures, including officer Gilberto Luna, who recently signed on with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. His first day as a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office will be May 18 according to Franklin County Sheriff Aaron Dodd. 

Two students from Franklin County were honored during the 24th Annual Governor’s Scholar Recognition Ceremony in Des Moines on April 26. 
West Fork senior Ivy Hartman and H-D-CAL senior Ronald (Jake) Minardi were among those who were honored during the ceremony. 

West Fork senior Keston Pralle is taking center stage this week for his outstanding achievements in fine arts. 
Keston has become a staple in the community plays that are held by the Franklin County Arts Council at the Windsor Theatre, along with a number of school productions at West Fork High School. 

The Geneva Market returned once again, bringing nearly 200 vendors to the old school grounds in town on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2. 
Vendors sold a variety of items this year, everything from outdoor decor to jewelry to homemade treats. 

The H-D-CAL culinary students whipped up a dinner fundraiser for Friday evening, May 1, to raise money for their ProStart competitions next year.
On the menu for the night: ribeye sandwiches, calico beans and potato salad, which they served in the back parking lot of the high school. 
Orchestrating it all was culinary teacher Tara Zakeer, who said they ended up selling around 230 dinners, which she was pleased with. 

Four of the copper statues on top of the Franklin County Courthouse will finally be repaired this week, after they were damaged in a storm in April of 2025. 
 
Scaffolding went up last week and repairs will be completed this week by Midwest Art Conservation Center out of the Twin Cities.
The courthouse’s roof was repaired last October, as well, after sustaining damage from the same storm. 

After 21 years in business, Butch and Jennifer Gruelke handed over the keys of their auto body shop to Lance and Erica Studer, of Studer Customs Auto, who took over May 4. 
 
Butch told the Chronicle that his love for working on cars stems back to when he was a teenager and he got into his first car accident. His only option: to fix his car himself, with

The Franklin County supervisors adopted the 2027 secondary roads budget and five-year construction permit during their meeting on April 28. 
Iowa Code requires these items to be adopted and submitted annually to the Iowa Department of Transportation by April 30. The motion passed unanimously with a roll-vote. 

The crew at the Carlson Tree Farm invited students from CAL Elementary out to their farm for a special Arbor Day field trip on Friday, April 24.