Stories from Sunday, August 9, 2009

Children & Families of Iowa's Elevate, a program designed for and run by youth in foster care, will receive its first national award next month. The North American Council on Adoptable Children grants the Adoption Activist Award for "outstanding regional efforts to achieve permanence for children in the child welfare system." The council awards up to five each year, and Senator Chuck Grassley is also among this year's award recipients...

Chris and Heather Nissen of Kingsley are happy to announce the birth of their son, Grayson Lee Nissen, on August 3, 2009 at 4:51 p.m. He weighed 6 lb. 3 oz. and measured 19 inches long. Grayson has three brothers - Harrison, Jackson and Easton. His grandparents are Mike and Marsha Harman of Kingsley, Arlyn and Tracy Nissen of Milford, Norman and Winifred Allen of Latimer, Lea and Rick Beaumier of Anchorage, Alaska...