A youngster enjoys having his photo taken with Sparky, the Grinnell Fire Department mascot, at the Grinnell Optimist Club National Night Out on Aug. 1. Behind the Sparky suit is Grinnell Firefighter Vince Lukehart.
0 Comments
The Grinnell Optimist Cub is hosting the 50th Annual Grinnell Car and Motorcycle Show on Saturday, Aug. 26 at Central Park in Grinnell.
Registration is 8:30 a.m. – Noon with the event ending at 3 p.m. for award presentation. Breakfast will be served by the Grinnell Optimist Club until 10 a.m. Top 40 trophies plus five bonus special awards will be handed out. Door Prizes and 50/50 drawing is also planned. Awards will be presented at 3 p.m. There will be food, music (DJ) and a whole bunch of door prizes. Vehicle entry fee is $20. No pre-registration or reserved parking. Vehicle owners will be parked as they arrive. A free concert in Central Park is slated for Friday, Aug. 25 in Central Park. Pet Rock from Omaha will be playing from 7 – 10 p.m. In the event of rain, the concert will be moved to Hotel Grinnell. Here is our first fundraiser for PIE! A BGM Elementary Smash Park and Ruritan Hotdog supper on Friday, Aug. 25 from 4:30 - 7 p.m. A fun Back to School Family event on our playground so you can see first hand how badly we need to replace those dreaded blue chips (aka Smurf-Turf) with a much cleaner, safer, and ADA accessible surface! Come join us for this event and thanks to the Ruritans for helping us with this fundraiser!
John Stoakes, District 5 Field Manager with Iowa Corn, stretches out the tape measure during the Poweshiek County Tall Corn Contest. Assisting Stoakes was Gavin Tindle, Poweshiek County Extension intern; Signey Hilby, Poweshiek County Extension Clover Kids and Outreach; Catherine Lents, Poweshiek County Extension Director and Jessie Lacaeyse. The event is sponsored by the Poweshiek County Extension. By J.O. Parker The 2023 Poweshiek County Tall Corn Contest had the largest number of entries this year with 33. The event, which was held on Saturday, July 15 at the Poweshiek County Fair, was measured by John Stoakes, District 5 Field Manager with Iowa Corn. Assisting Stoakes was Gavin Tindle, Poweshiek County Extension intern; Signey Hilby, Poweshiek County Extension Clover Kids and Outreach; Catherine Lents, Poweshiek County Extension Director and Jessie Lacaeyse, Poweshiek County Iowa Corn Growers Association. The contest is sponsored by the Poweshiek County Iowa Corn Growers Association. The results are as follows: Kid Division 0-17 1 - Ella Lowry - 11 foot 2 inches - 2 - Brayson Latcham - 11’ ½ ” 3 - Tanner Huls - 10’ 10” Adult Division 18-40 1 - Jacob Johnson - 11’ 9 ¾ ” 2 - Kyle Latcham - 11’ 2 ¾ ” 3 - Shuna Huls - 10’ 9” Adult Division 41 & up 1 – Brand Family - 12’ ¼ ” 2 – Brian Lowry - 11’ 5 ½” 3 – Don Edelen - 10’ 8 ½” Other Tanner Huls was the winner of the number of corn kernels in the jar with a guess of 6000. The actual number was 6033. Prizes ranged from food gift certificates for youth to ethanol credit cards for adult division winners. All participants received an Iowa Corn Bucket John Stoakes, District 5 Field Manager with Iowa Corn, makes sure his measurement of a tall corn stalk is right on the dime during the Poweshiek County Tall Corn Contest held on Saturday, July 15. Signey Hilby with Poweshiek County 4-H, records a tall corn contest entry with the help of Poweshiek County Extension Intern, Gavin Tindle, while John Stoakes, District 5 Field Manager with Iowa Corn, looks on as the trio measures one of the 33 entries in this year's contest. Jessie Lacaeyse, Poweshiek County Iowa Corn Growers Association, checks out some of the 33 entries in this year's Poweshiek County Tall Corn Contest held on Saturday, July 15 during the Poweshiek County Fair.
Paige Carlson, Associate Vice President of the Wealth Management Division at Grinnell State Bank/ Grinnell State Bank President, CFO and CTO, F. Austin Jones, and the Grinnell State Bank Board of Directors announces the addition of Paige Carlson, CFA, CAIA as Associate Vice President of the Wealth Management Division.
Carlson holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designations and has 17 years of investment management experience. Between working for a college endowment and being part of a family-owned business, she is passionate about helping both families and small businesses maximize their growth and reach their goals. She enjoys digging deep into the complexities that small businesses face such as retirement plans, tax-efficient strategies, and succession planning. Paige’s investment background and extensive nonprofit endowment experience uniquely position her to serve nonprofits and charitably inclined individuals. Carlson, a graduate of Montezuma High School, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Grinnell College. Prior to her transition to financial advisory services in 2023, Paige worked as an Associate Director of Investments for Grinnell College’s $3 Billion endowment. Carlson has been active in the community through her involvement with Mayflower Homes, Inc., the Lynnville Public Library, and Grinnell College’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Beta of Iowa. “I’m excited to use my finance and investment background to help individuals and families maximize their financial potential,” noted Carlson. Carlson resides in Lynnville with her husband, Adam, and two children, Trace and Lola. She is currently accepting new clients. Please stop in and see her at Grinnell State Bank or call 641-260-2496 to schedule an appointment. Staff at Key Coop in Grinnell cooked and served 500 pork loin sandwiches to exhibitors and their families at the Poweshiek County Fair on Friday, July 14. Pictured are, front row: Makaylin Sellers, Brent Deppe, Carlie Miller, summer feed sales intern; Amy Gathman, Dan Dunsbergen, Ceara Smothers. Back row: Jared Tokle, Chris Gathman and Scott Schmidt. Key Coop has been serving meals to exhibitors at the county fair since 2001.
Grinnell Rotary Treasurer Todd Honold, left, presents a Rotary logo mantel clock to outgoing Rotary President, Janet Stutz, on Tuesday, July 11 to recognize her year of service as Rotary President. Stutz has retired from her position as Grinnell-Newburg Superintendent of Schools, a position she held for seven years. She and her husband are moving from Grinnell. Honold and Stutz are joined by Scott Beach, right, the incoming Grinnell Rotary President. Submitted article
The Grinnell Rotary Club met Tuesday, July 11 for their first official meeting of the Rotary year since the first Tuesday was a holiday. Since this was President Janet Stutz’s last official meeting, Treasurer Todd Honold presented her with a Rotary logo mantel clock to recognize her years of service as Rotary President. In addition to her last meeting as President, she was also wished well as she and her husband leave Grinnell to be closer to family. The club appreciates her membership and time as President. The now Past President Janet passed the Rotary President’s gavel to incoming President, Scott Beach. Scott completes a line of Presidents from the Beach/Urfer family that includes his wife, Julie, her dad, Jim Urfer, and her grandfather, Sam Urfer. Grinnell Rotary appreciates Scott and the Urfer family for their service to Grinnell Rotary and the Grinnell community. After the change of leadership, the club began planning for “Kites Over Grinnell” coming Sept. 30. The hope is that this free family event will be bigger and better than last year. Grinnell Rotary meets each Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at West Side Family Dining. All are welcome, Grinnell Rotary would love to have you stop out and join us on a Tuesday night and see what being a Rotarian is all about. It is a great way to meet new people and serve the Grinnell community. Volunteers direct bicyclists as they roll into Grinnell on Thursday, July 27, the fifth day of the 2023 RAGBRAI. By J.O. Parker
“We will be back,” said Tracy Hamlin of Birmingham, Ala., as she and her sister, Kari Helton, took a break in Grinnell on the fifth and one of the hottest days on the 50th Anniversary of RAGBRAI. The sisters were among thousands who made the 90-mile trek from Des Moines through Altoona, Mitchellville, Colfax, Newton and Kellogg before arriving in Grinnell, the final pass-through town before ending the day in Tama/Toledo. “It’s so much fun,” said Tracy of the ride. “We might just move here.” “Thanks for the hospitality,” added Kari, who also lives in Birmingham as the two enjoyed their first RAGBRAI. Teri Angcos of Steamboat Springs, Colo, who also riding her first RAGBRAI with husband, Bob, said it’s been really nice to see all the small towns giving their best. “Everyone has been so great and welcoming,” Bob said as the two cooled off before rolling out of town. In spite of the nearly 100-degree heat and high humidity, it was a great day and Grinnell was a shining star and a Jewel on the Prairie for the bicyclists rolling through town. As many as 300 volunteers, all wearing bright pink T-shirts with “Grinnell, the Jewel of the Jubilee,” logo printed on the front, helped showcase the Grinnell community. “Welcome to Grinnell,” could be heard ringing across the airwaves as bicyclist rolled into town to a bevy of volunteers giving directions, handing out water, selling tickets and making the day special for the thousands of bicyclists. And they did it with a smile. Central Park was a hubbub of activity throughout the day as bicyclists enjoyed a bite to eat from one of the many vendors along Broad Street, took a quick nap under a shade tree, listened to various bands performing on the Central Park stage or caught up on social media. “Rachael Kinnick and the chamber team did heroic work to pull off an event for up to 40,000 visitors,” said Steve Langerud, a Grinnell Chamber Board member and volunteer on the RAGRBRI planning committee. “The community volunteers the chamber organized really made the day work. It simply could not have happened without the chamber, the city, law enforcement officials, emergency services and the citizens of Grinnell.” Steve said he and Tammy Jones, also with the Grinnell RAGBRAI planning committee, were at the official information station all day. “We heard so many kind comments about the beauty and cleanliness of Grinnell and the reception by the community,” said Steve. “It was a brutally hard day for many riders and we thank the staff at Unity Point and the medical tent downtown for their work. It was a joy to represent our community to people from all over the world.” “We simply could not have done it without the help and support of each and every one of our volunteers: from setup to teardown, route support to hospitality, food and beverage to entertainment, photographers and everything in between - our volunteers truly helped make our community shine,” said Rachael Kinnick, Grinnell Chamber of Commerce Director. “This is the best stop over town,” said Ryan Clark, who was on his first RAGBRAI. “Grinnell is easy to get through and there are lots of choices.” Mark Smalley, a native of Marquette, Iowa who now calls Los Angeles home, was on his 20thRAGBRAI and the first in eight years. “For me, this year is a coming home reunion,” he said. Mark was joining his dad, Don, who lives in Marquette and is on his 28th RAGBRAI. The father, son duo are part of “Team No Rules,” a group of friends and family who ride RABGRAI together. “This (Team No Rules) started as a small family affair and grew to include a nucleus of friends with people coming and going,” said Don. “I have always liked challenging things and RAGBRAI is a challenge.” And Mark chimed in, saying that he attended the University of Iowa. “I had to ride through Ames,” he said with a chuckle. “I had a touch of Little Brother Syndrome while there.” “When we arrived in town, people were handing out water,” Don said. “Grinnell is really organized with people telling you where everything is.” Natalie Mindrum of Chicago, who attended Luther College in Decorah, was on her first RAGBRAI. “It has always been something I wanted to do,” she said of RAGBRAI. Putting it off for a number of years, Natalie, who is a vegan, found a 45-member plant-based bicyclist team, “Powered by Plants,” and that put her on the road to riding RAGBRAI. “RAGBRAI has been actually what I thought,” said Natalie. “People have been so friendly and every town has been organized. It is a testament to the great State of Iowa.” Greg Snyder of St. Charles, Ill., who was on his sixth RAGBRAI, said the event is a collective of shared experiences. “You can go on a bicycle ride anytime,” said Greg, a retired lawyer who was on the ride with his brother, a retired judge. “People go on RAGBRAI to be together. Everyone talks to everybody.” Linda Long of Spencer, Iowa said she and her husband lived in Texas for 35 years before moving back to Iowa three years ago. “My husband said it’s so we could be closer to RAGBRAI,” she said with a chuckle. Angie Radcliffe, a volunteer with Renewed Hope Furnishings, an outreach of Friends Church of Grinnell, said it was a great opportunity for volunteers to get out there and meet and greet the riders through the outreach’s food stand on Broad Street. “Greg Lincoln headed up this venture with his expertise in roasting flavored nuts,” said Angie. “We also sold flavored popcorn, Gatorade and water. Sixteen volunteers worked in our stand, selling products, and talking with lots of folks.” Angie said RAGBRAI was a great opportunity for the outreach to share the message of the ministry as well as learn from riders what messages many of them were bringing,” “The temperature was hot but the riders still came; they were so kind and complementary of Grinnell,” Angie said. Angie said the goal of the day for Renewed Hope Furnishing was to raise funds toward a building as the outreach currently operates out of four storage buildings. “We did make a small profit and are so thankful for the opportunity we were given,” said Angie. “Thank you RAGBRAI riders. We thoroughly enjoyed getting the chance to meet you. Thank you Grinnell Chamber of Commerce for all of your hard work in preparing for this big day in our community.” “In spite of the heat, the Grinnell Community was able to pull off a good event and welcome thousands of bicyclists,” said Shane Hart, general manager of the Grinnell College Golf Course and Grinnell Chamber member, who had a booth at RAGBRAI. “We appreciated the visitors on July 27, but want them to know they are welcome back anytime.” |
Archives
May 2024
Categories |