​     Edie Worthington, kneeling, a senior at the Air Force Academy and volunteer manager and offensive line signaler for the Falcon football team, is shown with some of the players following the 31-28 win at the First Responder Bowl on Dec. 28. Pictured, from left, are: Jensen Jones, a sophomore from Florida; Haaziq Daniels, a junior from New Jersey, who is the starting quarterback for the Falcons and a close friend of Edie; Mike Thiessen, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach; Warren Bryan, a senior from California; and Zach Larrier, sophomore from Ohio. 

By J.O. Parker
 
     If you happened to watch the First Responder Bowl on Dec. 28 between the Air Force Falcons and Louisville Cardinals, you may have seen a familiar face on the sidelines.
      Elizabeth Worthington, a 2017 graduate of BGM, worked as a volunteer manager and offensive line signaler for the USAFA football team and could be seen giving pep talks to the players and play signals to the quarterback during the game.
         Air Force won the game, 31-28, finishing the season with a 10-3 record.
       Edie, as she is called, is a senior at the Air Force Academy and will graduate on May 25. She is currently working on a degree in civil engineering with an emphasis on concrete construction.
        Edie said her plans following graduation are to enter pilot training with the hope of flying a CV-22 Osprey, an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical and short takeoff and landing capabilities.
      “I hope to fly the osprey and be a part of the Air Force Special Operations,” she said. “I will be doing that for at least 10 years, maybe 20 or 30 years.” 
       She got involved with the Falcon football team following basic training her freshman year at the academy.
“During basic training, I met some other cadets who had been recruited to play football and they became my friends,” Edie said. “I had been talking with them and heard about an opportunity to work with the football team.”
       Edie said she has always enjoyed football and thought this would be a great opportunity.
     “They did interviews and asked about my skills and what type of person I am and how I could fit their mission,” said Edie.
       She landed a position with the Falcon equipment staff in August 2018 and it just grew from there.
       “I worked my butt off every single year because I really enjoy it,” Edie said.
       She then started working with the running backs and progressed to the quarterbacks.
      “That allowed me to learn the game even more,” she said. “I then moved into a dual role working with the equipment staff and also with the offensive coordinator, Mike Thiessen.”  
        Her junior year, Edie was promoted to the quarterback play signaler.
     “With every motion I’m doing, I’m telling the quarterback what play to run,” she said of being on the sidelines on game day.
       She participated in all home games and traveled to the away games as well as attended practice each day.
     “I went from a person who moved equipment around and helped with drills, to somebody who helped with film and with offensive game play calling,” she added. “I actually became an important part of the team.”
Edie said most days at the academy start at 6 – 6:30 a.m.
      “I go to morning accountability formation,” she said. “Then I’m off to class and other military duties from 7:30 a.m. – noon.”
      After lunch, Edie works out and at around 2 p.m., she joins the football team and stays until around 7 p.m. That is followed by a late supper and homework until 11:30 p.m.
“I do it all over the next day,” she said.
When asked what she loved the most about helping the team, Edie said the biggest thing was becoming invested in the lives of the young men.
“Having the opportunity to watch these young man grow and develop has been a pleasure,” she said.

By J.O. Parker
 
     Doing good things for the Grinnell community is a top priority of employees at Total Choice Shipping and Printing as shown with the recent donation of $2,056 to the Grinnell Food Coalition.
     Since August, Total Choice has donated $1 from each sale, both in store and online, to various non-profits in the Grinnell area. The Grinnell Food Coalition represents sales from Nov. 1 – Dec. 23. In October, the business donated $953 from September sales to Dollars for Scholars, and in September, the business donated $840 to S.H.E. Counts from August 2021 sales.
    Alicia Blankenfeld, co-owner of the business, said Total Choice has always been a community supporter through volunteer efforts and has donated dollars towards programs in the past, but this is the first time the business has done so to this magnitude.
     “We are so proud to be able to give back to our local non-profits from the support our community gives by shopping local,” Alicia said. “We are doing this because supporting community initiatives on various levels is the right thing to do. We are in a position to redirect the dollars spent locally. When we reinvest back into our local community, it helps everyone succeed.”
     Pictured are, Alicia Blankenfeld, right, presenting a check for $2,056 to Jennifer Cogley with the Grinnell Food Coalition.

By J.O. Parker
 
       The Grinnell Veterans Memorial Building Artist Residency for Veterans Renovation Project received a boost in early December when the Enhance Iowa Board awarded $350,000 to the project.
         The award was part of $5,168,458 in Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grants awarded to 16 Iowa communities by the Enhance Iowa Board.
         Tom Lacina, co-chair of the Create a New Calling Capital Campaign to renovate and repurpose the building, said as of early December 2021, project funds were at $1,924,602, with funds drawing closer to the $2 million mark in recent weeks.
            Lacina said construction bid packets should go out soon.
          “I suspect we’ll open the bids in March and know where we are as to any gap (in fundraising),” said Lacina. “Assuming we can fill the gap, work should begin this summer.”
            The goal, he said, is to open the artist residency in 2023, possibly by Memorial Day.
“A lot will depend on schedules provided by the contractors,” he said.
            Lacina said he hopes to run the first artist residency during 2023.
          Lacina added that the project has received a remarkably diverse amount of local support with nearly 400 donors.
          “The key support from the State of Iowa through the three grants—Iowa Great Places for $300,000; Rural Renovation for $20,000; and Enhance Iowa for $350,000—have made a key difference,” said Lacina. “What it shows it that the projects unique blend of veterans and the arts struck a chord with the state. I believe the facility will have significant veteran and community use, and at the same time, provide a program of engagement between national artists and our local community thereby further developing the downtown creative activity.”
           Learn more about the project by visiting www.prairiestarresidency.org. Tax-deductible donations can be made to the campaign through the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation at www.GreaterPCF.org.

      An “icy” announcement has come from the Grinnell Community Theatre! Disney’s Frozen Jr. has been selected for the spring youth musical.
Auditions
       Date: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022
      Time: 2:30 - 6 p.m.
      Location: Grinnell Arts Center, 926 Broad St.
    Young aspiring actors, grades second through eighth, should be dropped off at the Arts Center between 2:30 - 2:45 p.m. and picked up between 5:45 - 6 p.m. on Jan. 29. Actors will sing a short, acapella song like Happy Birthday or Twinkle Twinkle or another short song of their choice. Masks are required. 
    Alternate auditions may be arranged prior to Jan. 29 by contacting Debby Pohlson at 641-990-0238. The cast for the show includes up to 30 actors. Rehearsals will begin on March 7, with some individual rehearsals beginning in February.
    This “icy” production will occur in the Loft Theatre at the Grinnell Arts Center April 6 - April 10. Co-directors are Debby Pohlson and Tom Lacina. More “ice filled” details to follow.

By Monica Shore
 
        “I’ve only just tried a few short searches, but this is wonderful.” This was the response from Dan Kaiser when he first received word that early Grinnell area newspapers are now online. Kaiser is a local history enthusiast and author of the Grinnell Stories blog, a website where he shares in-depth stories related to the history of Grinnell. He has spent a lot of time looking at microfilm of newspapers at Drake Community Library, a time consuming task that can only happened during open library hours. Now his research can continue any time of day and from any location by going to https://grinnell.lib.ia.us/newspaper
      Digitization of local newspapers has been a long time goal of Marilyn Kennett, the long-time library director who retired on Dec. 6. With funding from Friends of the Library, she was able to move forward with digitization for papers that are outside of the timeline for copyright restriction. The dates range from 1871 through 1925 and cover five publications. The majority of what is available is from the Grinnell Herald (1871 – 1925) and the Grinnell Register (1911 – 1925), two papers that merged in 1936 to form the Grinnell Herald-Register. The three other papers included where only published briefly in the 1870s. They are the Poweshiek County Herald, the Malcom Bulletin and the Montezuma Standard.
      Digitization was done by Advantage Archives, a Cedar Rapids company that has worked with many libraries around the state on similar projects. Whenever possible, microfilm owned by the State Historical Society of Iowa was used as it is generally in prime condition. At the start of the project it was discovered that the library owned several rolls of film that the State Historical Society did not own. Sixteen rolls of microfilm from the library, covering the years 1871 – 1897, were sent to Advantage for digitization.
        The ability to do keyword searches online is already proving fruitful for Kaiser. He has been able to fill gaps in his research for several of his stories. One of the more fun things to come from the new research tool was a story from 1911. While looking for new discoveries related to the Renfrow family, Kaiser found an article from May 29, 1911 with the headline, “Finds a Live Alligator: Novel Experience for Mrs. L.A. Renfrow a few days ago.” The sixteen-inch alligator had been brought from Florida by a neighbor. It escaped its tank and somehow found its way to the Renfrow cellar a block away, where it was struck on the head with a hoe by a young man summoned to help Mrs. Renfrow. While it may not add depth to his research on the family, it certainly is a fun story.
      “I can hardly say how much I appreciate this development, one of which I shall make use of most every day and one which future researches and genealogists will appreciate as well,” said Kaiser.
        Monica Shore is the Drake Community Library Systems Administrator.