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Students’ photo project supports museum
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Wednesday March 4, 2026 | Volume 151, Issue 9 www.polkio.com
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The thrill of victory
Commissioners approve drafting fairgrounds operations levy By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor
The Polk County Commissioners have decided to go directly to proposing a November operations levy ballot measure to keep the Polk County Fairgrounds and Event Center open. The Fairgrounds and Event Center faces potential closure if additional funding is not devised to cover the annual maintenance costs of the facility between $1.5 million to $2.5 million. The move comes instead of sending to the May ballot an advisory question to determine if there is enough public support for such an operations levy. A sample levy that has
been used in discussions so far would be four years, collecting 10 to 13 cents per year at a $1,000 valuation. The decision came two weeks after the County Commissioners hosted two public hearings Feb. 11 in which they heard from community members on both sides of the argument whether to keep the fairgrounds open amidst rising costs to the county. However, Fair Board Chairman Tim Ray began second guessing the logic of putting forth a question of support for a levy in May when so much could change by November. See LEVY, page A8
Dallas City Council approves new ambulance purchase By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor
PHOTO BY SMY PHOTOGRAPHY
Dallas sophomore Khadijah Tabib is ecstatic, hugging her coach Rick Jordan, after winning a state title during her dominating 155-pound final, pinning McNary senior McKenna Unger at the OSAA State Wrestling Championships Feb 27-28. For more tournament results, see page B1.
The Dallas City Council unanimously approved Feb. 17 the purchase of a new ambulance to expand the Dallas Fire & EMS department’s growing demand for service. In addition, they approved a request for the remounting of an existing ambulance onto a new chassis to extend its service life. Fire Chief April Wallace explained that her department has seen a significant increase in call volume and inter-facility hospital transfers that has resulted in high mileage, frequent maintenance, and extensive repairs to their fleet
of ambulances. In 2025, Dallas F&EMS call volume reached 5,616 calls for service. Of that, 1,506 of those were inter-facility transfers and 2,275 of those were hospital transports. Wallace said the reason for the high numbers is their ambulance service area covers 240 square miles. While most of their transports are local to West Valley Hospital, many patients sometimes require a higher level of care and are transported to Salem Hospital, which is approximately a 30-mile round trip, Wallace said. “As we are seeing the See AMBULANCE, page A8
Rebranded NerdCon returns March 13 bigger than ever By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor
Dallas librarian Mark Greenhalgh-Johnson worried last year about hosting a new event modeled after the comic conventions around the country. He and his staff had to weigh both extremes – what if nobody came and what if everybody came? The first ever Library Con last March turned out to be such a success without being overwhelming that it’s back in 2026, only rebranded. The Dallas Public Library presents NerdCon March 13, with expanded hours from 2-8 p.m. encompassing three downtown locations – the Dallas Library, the Dallas Civic Center, and the Majestic. “We went with NerdCon after we searched around for something catchy that didn’t
IN THIS ISSUE
seem a lot of others were using it,” Greenhalgh-Johnson said. “We didn’t find a copyright obstacle. And after taking staff possible name suggestions, we went with NerdCon. And since we’re all nerds.” He said while staff would have been happy if just one collectibles nerd showed, last year’s event exceeded expectations with an estimated more than 1,000 attendees. “For our first, all the authors and vendors were very happy. All of them wanted to come back,” Greenhalgh-Johnson said. So, for 2026 NerdCon, he promises a bigger celebration than ever of all things pop culture, featuring more authors, artists, vendors, games and fun. NerdCon will host more author/illustrators: See NERDCON, page A5
I-O FILE PHOTO
A popular attraction at last year’s LibraryCon, the Portland Ghostbusters, return to the rebranded NerdCon March 13.
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