Featured in this week's news:

• City Hammers Out 2013 Budget
• Fire Department Hoping For Full Staff
• County Sanitarian Offers Septic Options
• Van Weelden Trial Starts Next Week
• Hy-Vee IPhone App
• Penn Prepares For Barnstormers

The council also tentatively approved the fire and police department budgets - allowing both of those departments to fill vacancies. One full-time position at the fire department has been open for three months. CRI's Molly Agnes has more.

Hy-Vee is trying to keep up with trends in technology---the grocery store just released a smart phone app. CRI visited the Oskaloosa HyVee this week to learn about how the app works and what it means for business.

Oskaloosa Elementary School is proving it's never too early to start learning about technology.  CRI stopped by a local Kindergarten class that is using new "SMART boards" to start students on the path to success.

In its first 3 months the new community stadium hosted more than one hundred practices and other events and brought thousands of spectators to Oskaloosa's Lacey Sports Complex. The Oskaloosa city council heard a year-end report from Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation.

Oskaloosa's own political forum "Egg's and Issues" meets again this weekend.

Local lawmakers Republican Representative Guy Vander Linden and Democratic Senator Tom Rielly will host the meeting and District 72 Republican Representative Rich Arnold and Republican Senator Paul McKinley of District 36 have been invited to join in the discussion.  

The William Penn Cheerleading team will host its 3rd Annual Lil’ Statesmen Clinic on February 4 in the Penn Activity Center.

The clinic will run from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. with lunch at noon (not provided by WPU). The day concludes with participants performing at halftime of the men’s basketball game against Iowa Wesleyan. There is no admission charge for parents/family/friends wishing to ‘drop in’ to watch the performance.

The Iowa Barnstormers professional arena football team will be here for preseason practice in three weeks. CRI headed to William Penn University's Penn Activity Center to find out what needs to be done at the PAC before the team arrives. PAC director Levi Tarbell says his to-do list is a long one.

Oskaloosa--Damon Harrison (Sr., Lake Charles, La., Lake Charles Boston HS) was an instrumental part of the William Penn defensive front over the past four years and now he is preparing for a possible future at the next level.

Forest City--The William Penn women's basketball team was able to both avenge an earlier-season setback and keep itself in the middle of the league pack after holding off Waldorf 64-60 in Midwest Collegiate Conference action Monday.