Newton, IA Real Estate, Homes For Sale, School & Area Information

Newton is a city located in Jasper County, Iowa. It is approximately 30 minutes from downtown Des Moines. The population is around 15,000 residents. Newton offers a small-town atmosphere with a variety of amenities, including beautiful parks, recreational facilities, and community events.

One of the gems of our Newton community is the beautiful 40-acre Maytag Park which was given to the city by washing machine guru Fred Maytag. There are picnic areas with shelters for family gatherings, along with walking, biking, and Frisbee golf areas. Summer nights you can relax and have a picnic on the grassy area in front of the Maytag Bowl and catch band concerts, graduations, and the annual big event Bowl Full of Blues for Blues artists and fans.

One of my favorite things about summers in Newton is the Iowa Speedway just south of town right off I-80. Race fans from all over Iowa flock to Newton for the few weekends that races are scheduled. They also have concerts at the track on other weekends pulling in major entertainment, Ted Nugent and rock band Survivor played to a packed crowd last summer.

Newton took a hit 12 years ago when Maytag closed up shop. But it's kept it's head high and has attracted enough new industry and jobs to town that there's now not enough places to live to keep up with all the new workers. Amazing. New construction is going up everywhere!

This has been a fun yearly event, the lighting of the Jasper County courthouse for Christmas. It's always the day after Thanksgiving. I remember coming out to do this as a kid and it's just as much fun today, it's a very cute small-town tradition. Despite the messy weather, there was a good size crowd out.

Looking for a beautiful area to walk, read, take photos, smell the flowers and relax. Stop by the Newton Arboretum. The Newton Arboretum is a beautiful six acre garden area with an annual bed, perennial bed, butterfly garden, a large pond and garden, shade garden, tulip bed, rose bed and some native prairie. There is a gazebo, arbor, bow bridge and numerous sculptures. There are over 185 trees and 150 different species throughout the area. Plus there is over 3000 feet of hard surface trails. The whole area is managed by Project AWAKE and no tax dollars have been used to develop or maintain the arboretum.

Want to go back in time for a couple hours of your life? This is a great place to take the family and enjoy a couple of movies. The Valle Drive-In opened in 1948 and is the oldest in Iowa with only five others remaining. Take your pick-up and set up your lawn chairs in the back or watch from your car. You can take your own popcorn or buy treats from their Snack Shack. Movies start at dusk. Cost: 4 and under is free; 5-11 years of age is $5.00; and 12+ is $8.00. The audio is tuned in on your radio. Movies are on Friday, Saturday and Sunday till they close for the season in October.