Iowa Interfaith Power & Light (Iowa IPL) is inviting Iowa farmers to attend an upcoming “Faith Farms and Climate” event in one of four communities around the state. These gatherings bring people of faith and conscience together for a meal and conversation about the intersection of faith, farming, and climate action.
“Although they can feel some of the strongest impacts, we rarely talk about the climate solutions that farmers can bring to the table,” said Tim Gossett, Associate Director at Iowa IPL. “At our Faith Farms and Climate conversations, we're intentional about bringing farmers together to talk about the ways their faith calls them to farm in ways that both grow food as well as a healthy environment that enables all of us to thrive. These conversations help clarify the kinds of resources that can inspire climate action, grow community, and teach people about farm-based solutions for resilience.” These gatherings will bring people of faith and conscience together for a meal and conversation about the intersection of faith, farming, and climate action. The full schedule includes:
To learn more about the Faith Farms & Climate initiative, visit https://iowaipl.org/faith-farm-climate.
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The Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce will host guest speaker Brenda Clark Hamilton for Spring Connecting for Women Keynote Luncheon on April 4 at the Grinnell Mutual Conference Center. The Chamber is excited to welcome keynote speaker Brenda Clark Hamilton. Brenda speaks to nearly 100 different organizations annually, including coordinating an Iowa Teachers professional development for more than 1,200 teachers state wide. Brenda will share “Be Your Best Self– Freshly Brewed”, where she encourages attendees to call forth their best selves and become lifelong dreamers and fulfill their highest potential in work, personal and relationship aspirations. Doors open for the event at 11 a.m. for networking, Pagliai’s catered lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. and our keynote speaker will join us virtually from 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Tickets for the event are available on the Chamber’s website at www.grinnellchamber.org/en/events/connecting for women/. Social Networking Event The Chamber also welcomes area women to save the date for the Social Networking event that will be held from 4:30 - 6 p.m. at the Grinnell Craft Brewhouse on Thursday, April 18. This event is free to attend and gives area women the opportunity to connect socially with others. Drinks will be available for purchase. RSVP’s are encouraged for this event on the Chamber’s website at www.grinnellchamber.org/en/events/connecting_for_women/. The Connecting for Women series is sponsored by UnityPoint Health - Grinnell in partnership with Double You Marketing, Grinnell College and Grinnell Mutual. For more information, please visit the Chamber website at www.grinnellchamber.org or call the Chamber office at 641-236-6555. The Grinnell Farmers Market has opened its application process for the 2024 season!
Market will kick off Thursday, May 9 from 3 - 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 11 from 10 a.m. - Noon and will run until Oct. 17 and 19 at the corner of Fourth Avenue & Broad Street, around Central Park. Vendors interested in participating can choose between Thursdays, Saturdays, or both, as well as full time or part time status. The market is currently seeking food and non-food vendors to participate in the 2024 season, noting that the Grinnell Farmers Market is a 100 percent producer market. Interested vendors are encouraged to read through the complete rules and regulations to ensure their products are a fit for the Grinnell Market. The rules and regulations also explain which products require insurance, additional labeling requirements and/or additional training. All vendors are required to sign a Hold Harmless Agreement with the Chamber. All details, rules and regulations and the code of conduct can be found at www.grinnellfarmersmarket.com. Printed copies of the application, rules and code of conduct can be picked up at the chamber offices at 833 4th Ave. Questions can be directed to Marissa at marissa@getintogrinnell.com or 641-236-6555. A limited number of full time applications will be accepted and applications will close on April 19, or once all spots have been filled. Part time applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis throughout the market season, though week-to-week availability of spots may vary. The 2024 Grinnell Farmers Market is sponsored by Grinnell Mutual, UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center and Grinnell College. Businesses interested in sponsoring the market can contact Marissa for more information. For the latest market information, make sure to follow the market on Facebook and Instagram at @grinnellfarmersmarket or sign up for our weekly email newsletter by visiting our website. For more information on how to join the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce or get involved, please visit grinnellchamber.org or call 641-236-6555. BGM Elementary students participate in a musical exercise during the spring concert on Thursday, March 14. The program features students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first grade and fourth grade.
Grinnell Vintage Auto Club 51st Car and Motorcycle Show and Shine is slated for Saturday, Aug. 243/31/2024 Tommy Hexter of Grinnell is running for Iowa House District 53 as a Democrat. Hexter is the director of Grinnell Farm To Table, a local food business that connects more than 35 local farmers with consumers in Poweshiek and Tama County and provides food access to eight community food pantries in the area. He also works for Iowa Farmers Union as a rural organizer representing family farmers in state and national politics. Hexter is running for House District 53 because he believes there are many residents of Poweshiek and Tama County that are not having their voices heard in the State Legislature. He believes that decisions about public education, resources for Iowans, and agriculture are made at the Iowa Capitol and that these issues impact the daily lives of everyone in our District. Hexter is 24 years old. His motivation is to make living in our counties better for current residents and a viable option as a place to live for the next generation. He will listen to constituents before speaking, fight for critical resources like public schools and food access, and support rural development by making sure farmers and small businesses have the tools they need to thrive. You can follow Hexter for Iowa on Facebook, Instagram, or at hexterforiowa.com. His largest goal is to make politics accessible to everyday people. To be a true representative, he aims to get out and reach all voters in Poweshiek and Tama County to let them know he is listening and that everyone deserves to be represented in the decision-making that impacts their lives. He is always willing to speak in front of any group or have private conversations with anyone. He is looking for help knocking doors and calling voters. Request more information about Hexter’s campaign - volunteering, inviting him to speak at events, or just getting together for coffee - by emailing tommyhexterforiowa@gmail.com. A grand opening is slated for Friday, March 29 from 6 - 8 p.m. Kent Reed, founder of American Brawn Charity and the newly opened Solace Center on the third floor of the Grinnell Masonic Lodge at 928 Main St. in Grinnell is shown in the art therapy area of the center. Reed founded American Brawn in 2018 following a motorcycle accident. to help first responders and veterans. The Solace Center is a place where veterans and first responders can gather to do art projects, listen to music, read and relax. A grand opening is slated for Friday, March 29 from 6 – 8 p.m. The event will feature live music, snacks and a tour of the space. By J.O. Parker
A place of solace for veterans and first responders to gather, visit, listen to music, read or work on art projects has opened its doors in Grinnell. The American Brawn Solace Center is located on the third floor of the Grinnell Masonic Lodge at 928 Main St. The public is invited to a grand opening on Friday, March 29 from 6 – 8 p.m. The event will feature live music, snacks and a tour of the space. The Solace Center is the brainchild of Kent Reed, the president and founder of the Grinnell-based American Brawn Charity outreach, an organization he founded in the summer of 2018. Reed, a sales representative with Latitude Signage + Design in Grinnell, founded the fundraising organization following a serious motorcycle accident in the Altoona area on June 2, 2016, that left him with three skull fractures and a brain bleed. “My life was saved by first responders who got to the scene and stopped the bleeding and got me to the Mercy Hospital Emergency Room (ER) where they saved my life,” he said in an earlier interview. Reed spent eight days in the ICU at Mercy where he dealt with ongoing complications of the accident. He spent six months off work and was unable to drive while recovering from the accident. “I came back better than before,” he said in an earlier interview. “Since then, I have been doing everything I can (to make a difference) with the rest of my life that God has given me to live.” While recovering, Reed decided to pay back and pay forward for what first responders did for him and what the veterans have always done to keep us free and safe. Each year in late July, Reed and American Brawn host a fundraising gala to benefit veterans and first responders. “So far, we have raised almost $80,000,” noted Reed of the 501c3 non-profit organization. The mission of the organization is saving lives through efforts to stop suicide among U.S. Military, Veterans and First Responders, and to provide grants to Fire and EMS departments for the purchase of life-saving equipment. It was through the gala that Reed met Scott Droessler, a 28-year Army Veteran and Cedar Rapids artist. Reed said Droessler entered the Army as a young man and it was his mom who made him promise that he would earn a college degree after the military. “He did go back to college 28 years later where he earned a fine arts degree,” said Reed. Droessler is founder of CAV (Community of Artists and Veterans) located on the fifth floor of the Cedar Rapids City Hall. “His program provides art therapy to veterans and their families,” said Reed. “He has donated some of his artwork to American Brawn Charity fundraisers the last two years.” Reed visited the art therapy center during one of their sessions in November 2023. “It gave me the fever to create a similar program in Grinnell,” said Reed. “His place had large windows and lots of natural light for the art studio.” “I started thinking of where I could do that in Grinnell and the Masonic Lodge came to mind,” added Reed. “I asked (the Masons) and they welcomed the idea with open arms.” Over the course of the next three months, Reed and a host of volunteers spent Saturdays and some evenings cleaning and organizing the space. Reed said he visited second hand stores and searched Facebook for Sale sites looking for furniture, bookcases, desks, antiques, art supplies and other items for the Solace Center. It’s quite a hike to the third floor and Reed said he used the three handicap motorized electric chairs to move furniture and supplies up three flights of stairs to the Solace Center. He hired C&K Transfer of Grinnell to move some of the heavier items. The space is divided into two sections by 17 wooden panel doors. On one side is an art therapy area lined with three large wooden folding tables. The other side is the music and reading space filled with large comfy chairs, coffee tables, antiques and a music venue space for mini concerts. There is also an old piano that was inherited with the third floor space when Reed moved in. “I had the piano tuned and it is working like new,” said Reed. The area also includes a project corner filled with wood shelves, old signs, wooden chairs and other items for guests to paint and create artwork. Reed said the items will be sold periodically to raise money for the Solace Center. And when guests arrive at the Solace Center, they are greeted by a large wall filled with positive, upbeat sayings, poems and loving quotes. Reed said American Brawn is allowed to use the space, which still has access to a rarely used kitchen, on a very generous lease. The Masons had a new heating and air conditioning unit added to the space, replacing outdated boiler heat with radiator heating units. The Solace Center will be open every Thursday from 6 – 8 p.m. for scheduled solace sessions, inviting veterans, first responders, their families and close friends to partake. For those unable to attend a Solace Center session, Reed said he or a volunteer would be happy to provide them with artistic direction and materials for a project to do at their home. Other open hours and events will be communicated through the American Brawn Charity Facebook page. These include periodic volunteer workshops and guest artists and musician presentations. “Please join us just to check it out with absolutely no obligations whatsoever to stay or come back (although we’re sure you’ll want to!),” noted Reed. “Bring a couple friends with you to share in the time.” For more information on American Brawn Charity, visit www.americanbrawn.us. |
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