 Dust off your recipe box and pull out your famous chili recipe!! Brooklyn is waiting to taste your creation!! Or just plan to end March with a great night of soup, chili and live music!!! All proceeds go to the 175th celebration this summer!
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 Its National FFA Week, Feb. 12 - 22, and shown are members of the Grinnell FFA Chapter. They are, from left, front row: Advisor- Ashley Wolfe, Aden Wolfe, Maggie Dayton, Lauren Louden, Tristan Graff, Carter Hansen, Alyssa Peterson, Easton Edelen; Second row: Joesaph Hernandez-Bollas, Rylie Smith, Anna Slagle, Abagail Hatcher, Kolton Kline, Xihomara Hernandez Robles, Gracie Kaufman; Third row: Tyson Garber, Isabel Rubendall, Charly Fenner, Kendyl Levelle, Brennan Rasmussen, William Schalmo, Shelby Flemming; Fourth row: Owen Kaltsas, Breyen Innis, Emma Willenbring, Emmett Otto, Zane Iverson, Trenton Huls, Drew Hart, Dasha LaRue; and back row: Jace Aldridge, Tucker Adkins, Jamison Hidlebaugh, Will Slagle Cooper Wiese, Micah Loomis, and Jacob Bosler. Submitted photo.
 GM's Hunter Hodina is shown in the school wrestling room prior to leaving for Des Moines and the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championship, Feb. 19 - 22. This is the second year that Hodina has punched his ticket to the state wrestling championship. He wrestles in the 113 pound class and says it is a fun sport. By J.O. Parker
One BGM High School wrestler has punched his ticket to the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championship, Feb. 19 – 22, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Hunter Hodina, a sophomore who wrestles in the 113 pound class, is returning to state for a second straight year. BGM wrestles in Class 1A. Hodina started wrestling as a youngster in the pee wee league, saying he really enjoys the challenge of the sport. “It’s a fun sport,” said Hodina. “It takes a lot of athleticism to compete.” Hodina went 2-2 at the 2024 state tournament, just missing the top eight and the podium by one match. “I’m going to go there and give my best and try and place this year,” said Hodina. “He will be just fine as long as he wrestles with confidence, a clear head and determination,” said BGM Head Varsity Wrestling Coach Dalton Roberts. “It will all shake out how it should.” Class 1A wrestles between 1:30 – 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19. IHSAA State Championships Results for BGM, Brooklyn 1A-113 - Hunter Hodina (45-6) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.
 Logan McDonald, a senior at Grinnell High School, punched his ticket to the state wrestling tournament with a first place finish at districts on Feb. 15 at Benton Community Schools. He will be joined by wrestlers Eli Peiffer and Josh Ringler at the state wrestling tournament, Feb. 19 - 22, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. This is McDonald's third trip to state. He plans to continue wrestling in college. Submitted photo. By J.O. Parker Three Grinnell High School wrestlers have punched their tickets to the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championship, Feb. 19 – 22, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Grinnell competes in Class 2A. Logan McDonald Logan McDonald, a senior who wrestles in the 138 pound class, returns to Des Moines for a third time. McDonald holds a 45- 3 regular season record. McDonald is a third seed at state. He finished first at districts held on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Benton Community School. McDonald, who has been wrestling since seventh grade, said state is a special place. “It’s exciting to have everyone support and cheer you on,” he said. When asked what he enjoys the most about wrestling, McDonald said hanging out with his teammates and riding on the bus to tournaments and meets. McDonalds plans to continue wrestling in college. Eli Peiffer Eli Peiffer, a freshman at Grinnell who wrestles in the 106 pound class, is making his first trip to state. Peiffer holds a 26-20 regular season record. He is a 24 seed at the state tournament. Peiffer has been wrestling for about 10 years. He went 3-1 at districts to qualify for state. “It means a lot to me being one of three wrestlers from Grinnell to qualify for state,” said Peiffer. “It’s a great honor.” When asked what he enjoys about wrestling, Peiffer said the competitiveness of the sport and how the Grinnell team supports everyone at tournaments and meets. Josh Ringler Josh Ringler, a sophomore at Grinnell, is making his first trip to the state wrestling tournament. He is a 13 seed at state wrestling. It’s been a goal of Ringler all season to punch his ticket to state after finishing in third place at districts in 2024. “I didn’t qualify last year for state,” he said. “I set a goal this year to make it and I did.” Ringler wrestles in the 175 pound weight class. He finished the regular season with a 45-5 overall record. Ringler has been wrestling for 12 years. When asked what he likes the most about wrestling, Ringler said wrestling is an individual sport. “Your performance is based on the work you put into practice,” said Ringler. “The biggest thing this year for me is my diet and taking my nutrition more serious.” “The exciting thing is these three wrestlers are all wrestling really well at the right time in the season,” said Grinnell Head Varsity Wrestling Coach Tony Farmer. “They upset guys (at districts) that were seated higher than them, avenging earlier losses in the season. Each of our first round opponents (at state) are likely kids they have wrestled earlier.” Class 2A wrestling gets underway at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19. IHSAA State Championships Results for Grinnell 2A-106 - Eli Peiffer (26-21) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
 Tommy Hexter, right, dishes out a serving of his “Silence of the Lamb” soup at the annual Stew Fest held on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Grinnell Area Arts Council. Hexter said the key to a good soup is local ingredients. He thought “Silence of the Lamb” would be a good name for his soup creation. By J.O. Parker An estimated 90 plus people, young and old, filed into the Grinnell Area Arts Council (GAAC) building in Grinnell on Saturday evening, Feb. 8, for the annual Stew Fest. The event, which is sponsored by GAAC and the Stew Makerspace, brought some of the area’s best stew and soup chefs with their creations together for an evening of soup and stew tasting, fellowship and fundraising. The Stew Fest event drew 13 chefs offering a variety of soups and stews. There was everything from chicken noodle soup to Butternut Squash Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup, Moroccan Tomato Soup, Utterly Magical Potato Lentil Stew, Broccoli and Cheese Soup and Silence of the Lambs Stew. Many of the creations were labeled vegetarian, nut and dairy free. Brian and Kathy Sogard of Kellogg brought their Smokey BBQ Pulled Pork Stew. When asked what the secret was to their creation, Kathy said, “Good ingredients and time to cook.” Brian said he smoked the pork for six hours. “We are going to win this,” said Kathy as she nudged Brian with a chuckle. “We are here to have fun,” replied Brian as the two smiled. The couple finished in second place. This is fifth Stew Fest and the third since Covid. The event is held to raise funds for the Stew Makerspace located at 927 Broad St. in Grinnell. The Stew, as it’s called, is a place where individuals and groups can exercise their creativity in ceramics, woodworking, 3D printing, metal working, laser engraving and much more. Following is a list of chefs and their creations. They included: Harira – a Moroccan Tomato Soup - Michael Hunter Marry Me Chicken Noodle Soup - Kate Baumgarter Creamy Vegetable Soup - Jordan Esbrook Butternut Squash Sweet Potato and Lentil Stew - Mary Lindberg Curry Lentil Soup - Gina Donovan Utterly Magical Potato Lentil Stew - Erik Simpson Tuscan Lemon Artichoke Soup - Lisa Bacon Smokey BBQ Pulled Pork Stew - Brian and Kathy Sogard Creamy Black Lentil and Mushroom Stew - Rebecca Loew Vegetarian Chili - Cecilia Knight and Rita Mertens Broccoli and Cheese Soup - Chefs from Stew Makerspace Jay’s Homestyle Chicken Noddle Soup - Jay’s Deli Silence of the Lambs Stew - Tommy Hexter Guests purchased tickets to taste-test the various stews and soups and used them to vote on their favorites. The winners were Mary Lindberg, third place with her Butternut Squash Sweet Potato and Lentil Stew; Sogards, second place with their Smokey BBQ Pulled Pork Stew; and Gina Donovan, who took the crown and first place title with her Curry Lentil Soup. The event included a silent auction of numerous Stew Makerspace creations and other donated items. Tommy Hexter, who stirred up a batch of “Silence of the Lambs” Soup, said the key to a good soup is local ingredients. “I like to know where it comes from,” said Hexter of the ingredients. “It just tastes better.” When asked about the name, Hexter said he was trying to be creative in naming his soup. “It’s spooky and goofy,” Hexter said of the name and the movie. “I figured if I’m going to name my soup after “Silence of the Lambs,” I needed to watch the movie.” Which he did last week. “It’s a wild ride for the stew eater,” Hexter said of his creation. “I was really working to make something that tested great that everyone one could eat,” said Erick Simpson, who made and served Utterly Magical Potato Lentil Stew. “Balance – not too thick and not too thin,” said Gina Donovan, who brought her award-winning Curry Lentil Soup to the event. This was Donovan’s first year to enter the Stew Fest and she took home the top prize. Rita Mertens, a teacher at Grinnell, said the key to her Vegetarian Chili was a perfect mix of love and texture. “It is very important,” she said. “You have to know the difference between a stew and soup.” She said a stew is hardy and a soup smooth. Michael Hunter, who brought a Moroccan Tomato Soup, said the key is lot of spices and time to cook. “It’s got chickpeas, lentils, chicken and tomatoes,” he said of his creation. Jill Petsel, who was taking a break while taste-testing some chicken noodle soup, said “It’s delicious.” “I’m generally not a chicken noodle eater, but I tried it and I’m a fan,” she said. “It has a little bit of kick to it.” Nancy Guenther of Grinnell said she had tried about six different soups and her favorites were the Butternut Squash and Creamy Vegetable with fennel in it. “It’s really good, especially with potatoes,” she said of the creamy vegetable. “The Stew is awesome,” said Hridaya Ghosh, a Grinnell College student who was helping at the Saturday night event. “There is a lot of good community support at this event.” Robin Linse, a Grinnell College student helping at the Stew Fest, is one of the chefs of the Stew Makerspace Broccoli and Cheese Soup entry. “It’s a good way to meet people from the community,” said Linse. “We all cooked this together.” “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and collaborate food and art,” said Craig Gibbens, program manager at the GAAC. Gibbens helped put the Stew Fest event together. All funds raised from this event go to support the operations of the Arts Council's community makerspace, the Stew Makerspace, keeping patron fees low for community members and free for Grinnell High School students. It was not known at press time how much the event raised. For more information on GAAC, visit https://www.grinnellarts.org.  Abdouramane Bila, a Clear Creek-Amana School Board member, makes a point during a school board in-service meeting held at the Michael J. Manatt Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, Jan. 30. The meeting was hosted by the BGM and HLV schools. By .O. Parker The BGM and HLV School districts hosted a board in-service session at the Michael J. Manatt Community Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, Jan. 30. This is an annual event where area school superintendents and their board members are invited to take part in an open discussion with legislators representing each district. The event drew about 30 attendees including superintendents and board members from BGM, Belle Plaine, Clear Creek-Amana, English Valleys, Grinnell-Newburg, HLV, Iowa Valley, Montezuma, North Mahaska, Tri-County and Williamsburg. Invited but not in attendance was Benton, Keota and Lynnville-Sully representatives. The evening began with a pork loin dinner served by the Brooklyn Ruritan Club. Following dinner, there was a legislative forum. The legislators present were Jon Dunwell, House District 38; Thomas Gerhold, House District 84; Dawn Driscoll, Senate District 46; and Judd Lawler, House District 91. One of the main topics discussed was property taxes. All the legislators talked about making changes to the property tax system in Iowa. They all spoke of the need for changes, but no further information was outlined in the meeting. “This could have an impact on our schools as much of our funding comes from property taxes,” noted Montezuma Superintendent Rich Schulte. A board member with the Clear Creek Amana School District encouraged the legislators to make sure that if there are bills that impact the education system that there is plenty of input sought from educators in the system. It was also noted that the Iowa Senate has proposed a two percent SSA (State Supplemental Assistance) for education for fiscal year 2026, while the Iowa House is battling for at least 2.5 percent SSA. Schulte noted after the meeting that the proposed SSA still doesn’t keep up with inflation. He said that during 14 of the last 15 years, the SSA rate has been lower than the cost increase that schools have experienced. There was also some discussion on the governor’s cell phone policy in schools. Governor Reynolds is asking that there be no cell phones used during instructional time. At Montezuma, Schulte said the district already has a policy in place that aligns with the governor’s wishes. School start date was another topic of discussion. Current law requires schools to start on or after Aug. 23. School districts are looking for some flexibility in that law to allow the start date to be the Monday or Tuesday following the end of the Iowa State Fair. This year, the state fair will end on Sunday, Aug. 17. Another topic of discussion was chronic absenteeism. It was noted that a revision of the law was needed to allow districts to have more flexibility with local decision making regarding this issue. A final topic discussed was economic development, especially in small town Iowa. This includes new businesses, jobs, housing and available healthcare. Some others issues discussed included eminent domain, taking steps to protect children in the court system, bird flu, school choice, home schooling and fully funding 4-year-old preschool. In closing, Michelle Johnson, government relations director with the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB), updated area board members and superintendents on the bills currently related to education that are being talked about in the house and senate. “It is really helpful to have board members and superintendents gather in one place early in the session, particularly if they let us know what policies need to be tweaked,” noted Lawler, house district 91. “For example, several school leaders talked about challenges they are facing with the new absenteeism policy, and they gave us some specific things that they think could improve. I have already reached out to other members of the House to advocate for our schools based on what they told us.” Editor’s note: Montezuma Superintendent Rich Schulte assisted with this article.  Week 4 of the session was marked with sorrow and reflection as we mourned the loss of one of our House colleagues, Rep. Martin Graber. Rep. Graber was not only a beloved husband and father, but also a 32 year veteran of the Iowa National Guard, retiring as a Brigadier General. He was elected to the Iowa House in 2020. The House canceled session on Tuesday so that members could attend his funeral in Fort Madison. Rep. Graber was a strong Christian man, the church where the funeral was held started out in the Graber’s home many years ago and the Graber’s were instrumental in building the beautiful church the congregation occupies today.
On Wednesday, the Iowa House’s new Higher Education committee passed a bill, House Study Bill 53, to prohibit the Regent institutions in Iowa from requiring students to enroll in courses related to DEI or critical race theory. The bill does not eliminate the existence of some of these courses, and there are exemptions if the program is directly related to racial, ethnic, or gender studies. However, it eliminates the requirement for these courses if the degree the student is in pursuit of is completely unrelated. For example, right now all Iowa State University undergraduate students are required to take a course in “U.S. Cultures and Communities”, a seemingly innocuous title. However, ISU’s website states that the students in this course will be inculcated into discredited “Woke” concepts dealing with race, gender identity, etc. These concepts are dogmatic Liberal social beliefs that are contrary to the common sense and decency that most Iowans support. These concepts have nothing to do with preparing our college students for the real world. The Regents were registered in favor of the bill, but that didn’t stop the Democrats in committee from voting against this common-sense legislation. For several sessions, Iowa House Republicans have been interested in taking action to protect our local pharmacies facing unfair practices from Pharmacy Benefit Managers, the middlemen known as PBMs. House Study Bill 99 is aimed at further protecting our local pharmacies. We are seeing rural pharmacies close at an alarming rate, 29 Iowa pharmacies closed in 2024 and more than 150 Iowa pharmacies have closed over the past decade. Without local pharmacies, Iowa families and older Iowans have a harder time accessing the care they deserve. This bill includes several regulations on PBMs in Iowa, including requiring the PBMs to reimburse pharmacies based on acquisition cost instead of an amount set by the PBM. This bill passed subcommittee in the Iowa House this week. It is likely not in its final form, and we will continue to seek input as this bill makes its way through the legislative process. As always, I look forward to seeing you at the capitol, or in the district.  A sadness came over the Iowa Legislature this week with the passing of Representative Martin Graber (72). He was elected to the Iowa House in 2020 and was serving his third term from Southeast Iowa. He served 32 years in the Iowa National Guard and retired as a brigadier general. He will be remembered for his service to Iowa, and our thoughts are with his family.
At the statehouse, Representatives introduced HF209, the Rural Attorney Program, with the intent of helping meet the growing need for attorneys in rural areas and providing appropriations. The program is designed for counties or municipalities with populations less than 26,000 and located more than 20 miles from a city with a population of 50,000 or more. As part of the program, counties or cities are required to pay 35 percent of the costs. The bill passed out of Judiciary in the House unanimously. I have filled a companion bill, in the Senate, to further strengthen this initiative. SSB 1022, focuses on providing public school districts with supplemental weighting to secure additional funding. This funding is intended to expand student opportunities and redirect more resources toward student programming, helping districts better serve their students. SSB 1069, addressing the licensing and regulations of gaming facilities, came before the Senate Local Government Committee this week after HF 144 passed in the House 68-31 with bipartisan support last week. The bill would have placed a moratorium on the issue of new gaming licenses in Iowa. The bill died in committee. There currently are 19 licenses in Iowa. In committee, Senator Ken Rozenboom of Oskaloosa, who serves as the chair of the State Government Committee, clarified his position on the bill. He stated, “I am no fan of gambling and my decision not to advance this legislation should not be considered in support of casino expansion. According to my conversations, this bill did not have enough support from Senate Republicans to advance all the way through the Senate process. In the interest of moving this session forward to other issues of critical importance to Iowans, I have no plans to reconsider the legislation for the remainder of this session.” For several years, interested persons in Cedar Rapids have proposed a new casino and entertainment venue in their community but have faced opposition. The proposed moratorium would have halted the gaming commission's vote on awarding a gaming license to Linn County casino-backers. However, on Feb. 6, the Racing and Gaming Commission met and voted 4-1 to issue a new gaming license to Cedar Rapids. I am interested in hearing from you about bills or issues that impact your lives. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me via email at [email protected]. This was the first full week of session, week 3. Committee work on bills is in high gear. On Thursday we also passed several bills on the House floor, the first of the session.
Two bills we passed were to improve the lives of our National Guard members for all they do to serve and protect. House File 117 creates the National Guard Service Professional Qualification Scholarship Program. This scholarship would cover the cost of certain educational programs approved by the adjutant general and administered by a community college, Regent university or private institution. This could include programs leading to certifications in cyber security, IT, emergency medical services or others relevant to their service in the National Guard. House File 118 makes improvements to the National Guard Service Scholarship Program by allowing the amount to be calculated on the actual tuition costs and the financial aid received. This will improve efficiency in the distribution of funds and potentially free up dollars for more recipients. We also passed House File 144 that implements a 5 year moratorium on any new casino’s in Iowa. We had previously implemented a 2 year moratorium that expired a year ago, and the House passed a bill in the 2024 session to continue that moratorium, but the Senate did not take it up. The issue driving this moratorium is a proposed casino in Cedar Rapids. Studies show that the gambling market in Iowa is saturated, if that casino were to be built it would cannibalize business from the Meskwaki, Waterloo, and Riverside casino’s, causing a significant loss of jobs to those rural areas. I am in full support of this moratorium, not only to protect the jobs provided by the Meskwaki Casino in Tama County, but also to ensure that these jobs stay in rural areas instead of being sucked up into the larger cities. The rural areas have lost too much of our retail and other employment to the cities, enough is enough. The Governor and the Iowa Senate have both stated publicly that they support a 2% increase in State Supplemental Aid (SSA) for our schools, which is the per-pupil state aid for K-12 schools, both public and private. I do not find that amount to be adequate, I would prefer a higher percentage based on inflation and other factors. The Iowa House Republican caucus is going to consider other options to increase school funding, particularly to help our rural schools, such as increased operational sharing and transportation equity. As always, I look forward to seeing you at the capitol, or in the district. |
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