How the donut man from Bunkers Dunkers in Jefferson helped land RAGBRAI XXXVI for an overnight stop here!
The route for the 2008 RAGBRAI -- that's the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa -- includes our Greene County seat of Jefferson as an overnight stop on Monday, July 21. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people will be in Jefferson that night. Read the amazing story here about a chance encounter three years ago in Florida, where our vacationing local donut king Randy Bunkers warmly greeted a stranger who was wearing a RAGBRAI T-shirt. The fellow happened to be RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz -- and now, hurrah! RAGBRAI is coming our way!
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Our hometown of
Cooper may look
pretty sleepy but
there's a whole lot
happening here!
There’s the annual Cooper Prom (for all ages), concerts, basketball, suppers, ice cream socials and people coming through all the time on the Raccoon River Valley Trail. Here is the story on the little community in Greene County, Iowa, that is now home for the Offenburgers.
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Here's looking at life
at Simple Serenity Farm
Carla Offenburger got the lawn work season started Sunday, April 20. We saw rhubarb and lilac bushes budding, but the bad news is that we realized we must have the three ugliest trees in Greene County. Click here for larger format
Recent items of interest in
our perhaps peculiar view
STARRING IN AUDUBON AS “ELVIS”
Audubon, March 31, 2008 -- Some of the most popular music concerts held in Iowa never get reviewed in the local or state newspapers or other media. Yet, they are generally performed in auditoriums packed by especially devoted fans. We refer, of course, to the local elementary school's periodic musicals. The one that started us thinking about this was held last Thursday, March 27, in the southwest Iowa town of Audubon, where music teacher Tami Meiners' fifth and sixth grade students starred in show titled, “Cinemagic.” You need to look at only one photo to know how much fun it was.
Fifth grader Brad Kerkhoff makes 'em swoon as a young “Elvis” doing the song “Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear” in the 5th & 6th grade concert in Audubon. (Photo by Kathleen Parris.)
Young Kerkhoff, shown above during his solo, is a grandson of Sam Kaufffman, the Audubon mayor and owner of Sam's Barber Shop, which has long served as our “sample precinct” in the town. Photographer Parris, who also serves on the panel of regulars in our barber shop discussions, said after the concert, “I asked Sam if Brad got his 'Elvis' moves from his grandpa.” -- CHO
ONE EXCITING TRAIL BRIDGE!
Council Bluffs, March 31, 2008 -- Our bicycling friends Joe and Cindy Connolly of Council Bluffs are our official observers of progress on one of the most exciting cycling-related developments ever -- construction of the trail bridge across the Missouri River between Omaha and the Bluffs. The Connollys were out this past weekend, and sent back this photo of the construction project.
The span of the fantastic new bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists across the Missouri River is nearing completion. The grand opening is set next fall for this bridge that connects downtown Omaha and the west side of Council Bluffs. (Photo by Joe & Cindy Connolly.)
''The last three sections of steel will close the gap in a week or so,'' Joe Connolly reports. The $22 million bridge for cyclists and pedestrians over the Missouri River rises gradually from Council Bluffs, makes a couple of gentle bends as it reaches a height of more than 100 feet above the water, then will spiral down to the shoreline on the east edge of downtown Omaha. Its total length is to be 2,221 feet, and the two main pylons supporting it above the river stretch to a height of 225 feet. It will connect to extensive trail networks in both cities. -- CHO
SECOND BEST BARBER IN IOWA?
Ames, February 18, 2008 -- Publisher Roy Reiman and Editor Jerry Wiebel of the new ''Our Iowa'' magazine may be on to something. As a promotional gimmick this winter, they asked their readers to nominate local barbers for a contest to determine the ''Best Barber in Iowa.'' Ten finalists were picked from throughout the state -- each won $200 -- and they all came together for a barbering competition on Saturday, February 16, in one of the handsome buildings in Reiman Gardens adjacent to Jack Trice Stadium on the Iowa State University campus here. Yes, publisher Reiman and his wife Bobbi were the lead donors funding the gorgeous and elaborate gardens at ISU.
The biggest surprise to us was that our personal guru Sam The Barber Kauffman, who cuts hair in the shop that has long served as our ''sample precinct'' in Audubon in southwest Iowa, finished only second. Word is that the winner, Kitty Snakenberg of Miss Kitty's Barber Shop in the southeast Iowa town of Ollie, out-talked him! The fact that anybody could out-talk Sam Kauffman is astonishing everybody back home in Audubon.
Maybe Kauffman's grandson Matt Kauffman, 28, of Granger, was most surprised at the outcome. ''Grandpa!'' this former champion wrestler said, ''you got beat by a girl!''
Snakenberg won another $500 for her championship.
The second biggest surprise to us was that all the finalists brought along big cheering sections, so big that at one point, more than 200 people were jammed into the building to witness the hair-cutting competition. If this kind of event can draw that many people to Ames on a cold Saturday morning in February, it seems to me that ''Our Iowa'' magazine could turn this into a major event at the Iowa State Fair.
Their first run at it, in Ames, was sure nicely done, complete with a barber shop quartet performming and WHO Radio's regular morning team of Van Harden and Bonnie Lucas on hand to report results to listeners across the state. -- CHO
Kitty Snakenberg (right), of Ollie in southeast Iowa, was named ''Best Barber in Iowa'' in a contest sponsored by the new ''Our Iowa'' magazine. Sam Kauffman (center), of Audubon in southwest Iowa, was second. Pictured with them is Rick Butler (left), one of the judges, who is an instructor at the Iowa Barber College. The third place finisher was Bill Ward, of Fremont in southeast Iowa. Between the top three placers, they have 124 years experience barbering. The contest was held Saturday, February 16, in a pavilion at Reiman Gardens on the south end of Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State University in Ames. (All photos here were taken by Kauffman family members.)
The 10 finalists in the ''Best Barber'' contest all came to Ames with cheering sections, and Sam The Barber Kauffman of Audubon had one of the biggest -- consisting of his wife, grown kids, grandkids and great-grandkids -- all wearing ''Sam's Barber Shop'' T-shirts.
The models getting haircuts during the competition were nearly all Iowa State University students, the shaggiest-headed ones that ''Our Iowa'' magazine staffers could find. Sam Kauffman's draw was Drew Allison, a freshman from Waukee who intends to study veterinary medicine. When Kauffman asked young Allison how he normally wears his hair, he said, ''With a stocking hat over it.''
Drew Allison turned into a good-looking young man with the fine haircut that Sam Kauffman gave him.
Sam Kauffman with his best cheerleader, his high school sweetheart and wife of more than 50 years, Lois.
BRR! IT'S ANOTHER BIKE SEASON
Perry, February 2, 2008 -- We Offenburgers joined the happy crowd on Saturday for the 31st ''BRR'' festival sponsored by the Perry Chamber of Commerce. The event, which features the 23-mile round-trp ''Bicycle Ride to Rippey'' is sponsored by the Perry Chamber of Commerce, and is the traditional opening event of another cycling year in Iowa. It was a delightful day, as Iowa winter days go, with a high temperature of 33 degrees, just a bit of snow blowing around at midday but otherwise the roads were dry and safe.
Bicyclist Chris King, of Ames, was all bundled up for the ride from Perry to Rippey and back, with her favorite radio show on her headphones and her light in place, just in case she needed it. That's a real headlight, you know?
More than 1,200 cyclists made the ride, which for the first time this year started at Perry's fantastic McCreary Center recreation facility instead of the gym at St. Patrick's Catholic School. Carla Offenburger invoked her ''30-degree rule,'' which is that she is not riding her bicycle when the temperature has not yet reached that number -- and it had not by the 10 a.m. start of the ride. So we had the BRR breakfast together, and then she hung out in Perry until early afternoon, waiting for me to pedal to Rippey and back. I am so undertrained -- I had not been on my bike since November -- that the ride up to Rippey in a light headwind was a good physical test. Returning to Perry, with a tailwind, was sweet.
Carol Sieck, who lives outside Rippey, made these cookies shaped and decorated like a goose, to help promote the ''Galloping Goose'' recreational trail being developed between Rippey and Perry. Sieck serves as postmaster in Jefferson, but back home around Rippey in the southeast corner of Greene County, ''we think of Carol as the Martha Stewart of Rippey,'' said Janice Schlicht.
And the little town of Rippey (pop. 319) was never more organized -- with hot beef goodies at the Public Library, the traditional potato bar by the youth group at the United Methodist Church, a beer garden in a warm tent on the southwest corner of town, and excellent cookies and gourmet coffees by the Friends Of Rippey (FOR) at the new bank bulding which is just being completed downtown. The FOR group is raising funds to help develop the ''Galloping Goose'' recreational trail, which would be a nine-mile hard surfaced trail on a railroad right-of-way connecting Rippey and Perry. They reported taking in more than $1,000 in contributions Saturday. The ''Galloping Goose'' name is the nickname passengers gave to the old railroad train that ran on that line. Our photo coverage is not doing the whole BRR event justice this year, but I was too focused on keeping my bicycle's wheels turning to worry much about taking pictures.
The beer garden, which operated in a big warm tent, was a popular stop for the bicyclists in Rippey, but so were the food offerings at the United Methodist Church, the Rippey Public Library and at the new Rippey office of Peoples Trust & Savings Bank.
It was a fun day, behavior was high-spirited in some cases but I didn't notice anything revolting, except for those unthinking cyclists who for some reason think they are justified in not paying the $35 registration fee that the Perry Chamber depends on to keep the event going. I suggest if you know some of these bandits, you call them at their places of work and tell them they should write a check and send it now to the good folks in Perry. We want to keep BRR going, as it's almost like a winter reunion of Iowa's bicycling family of friends. -- CHO
IN LITTLE YALE, THEY ARE GAMERS
Yale, January 21, 2008 -- There are more good things happening in this west central Iowa community of 287 people than you'd find in most towns 10 times its size. We've told you before how West Des Moines native Sarah Brewster is renovating the 118-year-old, long-deserted Windsor Hotel into a fine new inn. The City of Yale is doing a total renovation on the classic 75-year-old round gymnasium for concerts, theater, basketball and other gatherings. And you can't beat the food and fun at Just Ethel's cafe & bar. Well now, there's more in this town that has long been a favorite of those of us who are regulars on the Raccoon River Valley Trail. In a partnership, the City of Yale and the Yale Community Club are now running a Sunday evening bingo game -- with all proceeds going toward building a new community center building downtown.
We sat in for the third week of Yale bingo on January 20. The two of us spent a grand total of $29, had three hours of fun, ate delicioius loose-meat sandwiches and more for supper, and enjoyed seeing a lot of friends from around the Yale area. No, we didn't win in bingo, but it was fun trying.
Yale Mayor Steve Stanton was the ''caller'' for the bingo game, so I asked him if you have to go to training to run a good bingo game.
''Well, almost,'' he said. ''There's a lot to learn, that's for sure.''
Steve Stanton, the mayor of the west central Iowa town of Yale, calls the bingo numbers in a new game being operated on Sunday evenings by the City of Yale and the Yale Community Club, with all proceeds going to help build a new community center to replace the 30-year-old one that for now is the site of bingo and a lot of other community activities. At left, Tim Welch is picking out the bingo balls, and at right, Julie Kipp is recording the numbers.
Mayor Stanton, his wife Patty Stanton and others from the community, once they decided to get a license and start up a game, did a good deal of research. They asked one of the organizers of the game that flourished for two decades in nearby Jamaica, to come over and coach them.
''After that night, we were all kind of frantic,'' said Patty Stanton. ''It seemed like there was so much to learn. So Steve and I spent our New Year's Eve in Grand Junction, playing in the bingo game the Volunteer Fire Department there runs. They really do a nice job, and when they found out we were trying to learn how to run ours right, they had us stay around later and they talked us through a lot of it. That really helped!''
The Yale game Sunday evening appeared to operate without a hiccup. It's a nice atmosphere -- clean, no smoking, a friendly pace, open to players of all ages, and it was neat seeing whole young families playing together. Some of the youngsters even took turns as floor clerks, calling out the numbers to verify winning cards after someone yelled, ''Bingo!''
Wow, is this game of bingo about a perfect match for Iowa culture, or what?
The game here is being played in the current community center, a steel building that was erected in 1977. While it is still neat and clean, the Yale folks have almost worn it out, with all their receptions, dances, reunions and that fabulous pre-Thanksgiving turkey dinner they offer the public every year. So they have plans in the works for a new building, to be constructed on the same spot downtown, for an estimated $200,000.
''Bingo will be just one of a variety of fundraisers we're going to do to pay for the building,'' said Mayor Stanton.
Doors open at 4 p.m. on Sundays, and concessions open then, too. ''Early bird bingo'' starts at 4:30 p.m., with the ''regular session'' starting at 5 p.m. You're done no later than 8:30 p.m., although we finished a half-hour earlier than that when we played. The rest of the story on our fine night of bingo in Yale is in the photos below. -- Chuck Offenburger
A crowd of 54 people turned out for bingo in Yale on Sunday evening, January 20, despite bone-rattling cold outdoors. The game had drawn 70 people a week earlier.
Rules of the game, hand-written on poster paper, are posted on one wall of the community center.
During breaks in the action, players were making dashes to the kitchen serving area for loose-meat sandwiches, chips, desserts and soft drinks. Everything is made by volunteers in the community.
Dorothy Rogers of Yale was serving as cashier for the food orders, and was also selling the bingo markers that players use.
A young couple Courtney Kopaska and Nate Hodges, both of Yale, were intent on their games. They'd played all three nights of bingo so far in Yale, and hadn't yet won a game. ''I'm about bingoed-out,'' Kopaska said at one point. ''If I don't win a game tonight, I might not come back.'' Then she won the last game played Sunday evening!
Ronnie and Ruby Dygert, of Yale, were among the players.
Julie Kipp is show here verifying the numbers after veteran player Betty Wicks, of Yale, had yelled ''Bingo!'' You'll see Kipp is actually holding six cards that were taped together, to allow Wicks to mark them quicker while playing that many cards at once.
Betty Wicks, of Yale, won at least four games Sunday evening and is said to be one of the best players in the area. She said she plays bingo ''four to five nights a week,'' traveling to games in Perry, Boone and Coon Rapids on a regular basis and now having the one available Sunday nights in her hometown, too. She is surely earning a nickname of ''Bingo Betty,'' isn't she?
A $1 MILLION DAY FOR OUR TRAIL
Cooper, January 14, 2008 -- Now in mid-winter, it may look pretty quiet, even eerie, out on the Raccoon River Valley Trail, as these recent photos along it show. The paved trail runs 56 miles from Jefferson on the north, through Greene, Guthrie and Dallas Counties before connecting into the Des Moines metro trails. But the RRVT had its own ''Super Tuesday'' last week, with more than $1 million grants for it being announced on the same day. For the details, you can go to the full story by clicking here.
Looking south, near the trailhead in Panora, just south of Iowa Highway 44.
A guardrail seems to point the way as the trail passes through tiny Herndon, in northern Guthrie County.
Looking north toward the small town of Cooper, in southern Greene County.
In short form, the new grants mean than a new 33-mile-long ''North Loop'' will be added to the RRVT, making it one of the longest paved recreational trails in the U.S. Construction will begin during 2008, and may be completed during 2009. Meanwhile, the number of trail users is expected to begin climbing immediately from the estimated 100,000 per year now. All that is expected to trigger new interest by investors to build businesses catering to the trail users and new trailside homes, too. It's going to be a great new era of outdoor recreation in west central Iowa! -- CHO
BEST PIE & BEST MALTS ANYWHERE
Shenandoah, December 11, 2007 -- As many of you know, I do a radio chat on Friday mornings at 9:35 a.m. with Chuck Morris and Don Hansen, co-hosts on the aptly-named ''Chuck & Don Show'' on station KMA in my hometown here. You can dial it in at 960 on the AM dial, or on the Internet site www.kma960.com. So one Friday morning in the fall, I was talking about how I'd just been back to Shenandoah for a visit on a Saturday, and it'd been such a great day because I'd been able to have two of my favorite food items, available only there in my hometown -- a piece of Mary Peterson's lemon coconut pie at The Sanctuary restaurant and a chocolate malt at the soda fountain in George Jay Drug Company. I went on to tell how if you are a Shenandoahan, you can be a long way from home, maybe even on the other side of the world, and you'll think about Mary's pie or the Jay malts, and it's like a hook is set in some special spot in your brain. The next time you are anywhere close to Shenandoah, you find yourself making a beeline to The Sanctuary and then Jay's soda fountain. I don't know how much a piece of the lemon coconut pie or the Jay malt costs, and actually, I don't even care. I will pay whatever it is.
Chuck Offenburger holds a picture-perfect lemon coconut pie made by Mary Peterson at The Sanctuary in Chuck's hometown of Shenandoah in southwest Iowa.
The Sanctuary's owner Lucy Clark had the KMA staff lift my comments about the pie from the recording made of the ''Chuck & Don Show,'' and she now buys on-air ads that have me doing the testimonial. I'm telling you, there's not another product I'd be any prouder to be a spokesperson for than Mary Peterson's lemon coconut pie! As you can now hear me saying on the air, it is the best pie I've had in 60 years of pie eating. This pie and Jay's malts are genuine tourist attractions for Shenandoah, or should be. Get yourself there and try them for yourself, and I will wager that you will return again and again for more. The reason this comes to mind now is that I was back in Shenandoah this past Saturday for the 58th annual Wassail Bowl, a grand Christmas gathering of the men in the area. I had ordered up a whole lemon coconut pie from Clark at The Sanctuary, and picked it up to-go after my holiday event, since the roads were icing up and I wanted to start my drive back to Simple Serenity Farm. I began thinking about how, if I were unable to make it home, I'd be well-fixed if I had to barter my way into some shelter along the way! But I made it to the farm just fine, and am now in extremely good graces with my wife Carla Offenburger and with a neighbor Doug Lawton, with whom I shared some of the the lemon coconut pie Saturday night.
Carla Offenburger and our pal Doug Lawton prepare to dig into slices of the lemon coconut pie. The top crust is a perfectly-browned layer of coconut, covering an inside that is almost like a firm lemon pudding with coconut mixed into it.
It's wonderful just stopping in at The Sanctuary. Clark bought the building, which was once a Christian Science Church, has enlarged it twice and yet has preserved the traditional lines and stained glass. She now operates as fine a dining spot as you could find in Omaha or Des Moines, with gourmet coffees and teas, excellent sandwiches, fine entrees and killer desserts -- some almost as good as Mary Peterson's lemon coconut pie. Clark has now started a series of occasional dinners, prepared fresh in The Sanctuary's kitchen by local people who have cooking expertise and want to share it with the public. The dinners have been real hits. City Attorney Bob Norris was the guest chef Saturday night, and invited me to stay on for his meal, which sounded like it was going to be delightful. But with icy roads ahead of me -- and with Mary's lemon coconut pie in my hands -- home sounded too good. So I will have to return for a Sanctuary dinner on another trip. -- CHO
SOME ADVICE FOR HILLARY CLINTON
Perry, Nov. 26, 2007 -- A half-dozen thoughts occurred to me after witnessing a presidential campaign stop here Sunday by Senator Hillary Clinton, the New York Democrat and former first lady.
First, I was sitting there among the crowd of 500 at Perry High School thinking about how, of all the leaders in this race in both parties, the Clinton campaign seems by far the most impressive, best organized and probably best funded. But then I read reporter Abby Simons’ story in Monday’s Des Moines Register and see that Clinton was an hour late to her next stop after Perry – in the town of Nevada 65 miles to the east. She apologized to the crowd there, “saying she lost track of time in Perry,” Simons reported. How can that happen?
Second, Hillary Clinton seems the most conservative among the Democratic front runners, which might be a problem for her in the Iowa Caucuses, and possibly in some primaries, but would make her more electable in the general election. When she talks about fiscal responsibility in government, border security measures “even to building barriers,” her support of much more generous programs for veterans – I had to remind myself that I was listening to a Democrat.
Senator Hillary Clinton brought her Democratic presidential campaign to the high school commons in our neighboring town of Perry on Sunday, November 25. About 500 filled the room, which was set up with huge American flags on three sides of the stage.
Third, I think her Secret Service protectors are doing a nice job of making her as accessible to the public as she is. When she spent 20 or 30 minutes after her Perry presentation shaking hands and chitchatting with the crowd, the Secret Service agents were right behind her, and watching every move in the crowd, just as they need to be. But I sure didn’t see any rough treatment or shakedowns. In fact, I saw a couple of the agents smile once or twice.
Fourth, and this may seem odd to say, but I think the biggest factors working against Clinton in her bid to become the U.S. first female president are her age, her experience and how familiar nearly every American is with her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. They are 60 and 61, which is not really old, of course. There are a lot of cool people around who are 60-something. But Senator Clinton’s most serious challenger among the Democratic candidates, Senator Barack Obama, 46, makes a compelling argument that this is a good time for a generational change in American politics. As David Yepsen reported in his Sunday Des Moines Register column: “Obama’s uptick appears to result from a growing number of Iowa Democrats who are opting for a candidate offering a ‘new direction and new ideas.’ Some 55 percent seek that in a candidate, up from 49 percent in July. Only 33 percent prefer a candidate with strength and experience, down from 39 percent in July. Obama wins the new-direction voters; Clinton the strength-and-experience ones.” All that said, if I were advising Senator Clinton, I’d tell her that it is indeed time for her to be trotting out a family member in support of her candidacy. I’m not talking about the former president, I’m talking about their 27-year-old daughter Chelsea Clinton, who works in financial services in New York City. While Hillary Clinton has a real advantage connecting with women of middle age and above, her daughter could connect her mom with America’s young voters, female and male. Chelsea has made only one or two public appearances for her mother’s campaign so far, and has not spoken publicly for her. I think a lot of younger voters – and some of us older ones, too – would love hearing what she has to say.
Senator Clinton is shown here chatting with Gary Overla, chairperson of the social studies department at Perry High School. That is Carla Offenburger, next in line to meet her.
Fifth, I do believe Clinton is the first presidential candidate I have heard from either party who did not ever refer to her audience as “guys” or “you guys,” when there are almost always more women in the audiences than men. We are so tired of hearing that, and so tired of hearing lame excuses about the candidates intending to be “non-gender specific” when they use it, that this is almost reason enough to caucus for Clinton. We don’t think you can get much more gender specific than “guys.” Hurrah for Clinton for avoiding it.
Sixth, and finally here, just five weeks before the caucuses, where in the heck are my Republican candidates? I haven’t seen a Republican presidential candidate in Greene County for at least two months. Maybe that’s because we’re close enough to super-conservative western Iowa that we are being taken for granted. But I think Republican leaders should be aware – there are mass defections among GOP regulars this fall. Somebody better be out here soon wooing people back home. -- CHO
THE FIRST SNOW OF THIS WINTER
Cooper, Nov. 22, 2007 -- We set a weather record in Iowa in October, the first time since record keeping began that month had been completely snowless across the state. And it was beginning to look like we might have a snowless November, too. But it began snowing here in west central Iowa at mid-morning Wednesday, November 21, and gave us a good dusting by mid-afternoon.
The farmhouse after the first snowfall of this winter, on November 21, 2007.
And so we awaken today, on Thanksgiving, and one of the things we can be thankful for is that Iowa looks just about like it's supposed to look this time of year -- with a little snow cover. It's cold, too, with a dawn temperature of 27 degrees and a predicted high of 35. We will now file our request for the rest of this winter of 2007 and 2008: Days just about this cold, one good paralyzing blizzard that will stop everything for two or three days at some point when we are all too damned busy, and three or four pretty snows of four to six inches. Give us that, O Lord, and we will be very happy Iowans. But on further reflection, whatever you give us, O Lord, we'll be happy with it. Life is good. -- CHO
STORM LAKE'S BEAUTIFUL ''RED SEA''
Storm Lake, Nov. 14, '07 -- One of the most striking symbols for a town in Iowa has become even neater looking this fall, with the native grasses having reached maturity around Storm Lake's gateway lighthouse. The 65-foot-tall lighthouse was completed in 2001 at the intersection of U.S. Highway 71 and Iowa Highway 7 on the east edge of the town of 10,000 in northwest Iowa. The gateway area is a a triangular-shaped piece of land that includes about four acres, fitting like a wedge between the highways and a railroad line. To make the site even more attractive, Storm Lakers moved in load after load of field stones around the base of the lighthouse, creating the look of a rugged shoreline. Then they planted the native grasses that, at different times of each year, will look like a sea of green, or faded-blue or red, waving in the wind around the lighthouse. And the site is lighted at night, too.
The native grasses have now reached maturity around Storm Lake's distinctive lighthouse gateway to the city. This time of year, the lighthouse seems to be surrounded by a kind of Red Sea!
Our Storm Lake friend Dick Hakes, who was president of the Chamber of Commerce about the time the lighthouse project was conceived, spearheaded what became a $100,000-plus project mostly paid for with private donations, in-kind contributions and ''discounts from friendly contractors,'' Hakes said in a note this week. In addition, there is a $30,000 endowment fund to cover maintenance in future years. Hakes was at the site one early morning this week and ''took this photo of the native grasses -- little bluestem -- around the lighthouse, which look terrific this fall with a rich red/rust color. After about six years, our native grasses are beginning to take shape. Besides this fine stand of little bluestem, we have successfully planted buffalo grass, sideoats gramma and native wildflowers. Native grasses take a lot of patience, but they eventually prove to be pretty hardy, especially in the rocky soil we have to deal with in this particular tract of land which was once roadbed.'' The land had belonged to the Connell family of Storm Lake, which donated it to the City of Storm Lake for creation of a gateway to the community. The city government then deeded it to the Chamber of Commerce when it undertook the project. It is a very effective welcoming symbol. Frequently when you drive by it, you'll see visitors pulled on to the roads' shoulders, taking photos of the lighthouse and the ''sea'' around it. -- CHO
The route for the 2008 RAGBRAI -- that's the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa -- includes our Greene County seat of Jefferson as an overnight stop on Monday, July 21. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people will be in Jefferson that night. Read the amazing story here about a chance encounter three years ago in Florida, where our vacationing local donut king Randy Bunkers warmly greeted a stranger who was wearing a RAGBRAI T-shirt. The fellow happened to be RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz -- and now, hurrah! RAGBRAI is coming our way!
There’s the annual Cooper Prom (for all ages), concerts, basketball, suppers, ice cream socials and people coming through all the time on the Raccoon River Valley Trail. Here is the story on the little community in Greene County, Iowa, that is now home for the Offenburgers.
