The Holstein Farmers’ Market is underway as it opened for business and fun June 6. There were several vendors to choose from and some guitar music and song playing to make it relaxing and fun.
Eric Myrtue, head baseball coach at Ridge View, has always had a love of the game. Baseball has become a family affair for the Myrtue clan, as Eric now coaches his sons Cael and Blake, and is assisted by his brother Jacob. Myrtue, who also has been a teacher, gave a brief history of his duties at Galva-Holstein.
“I graduated from Iowa State in 2001,” he stated, “and taught History and Government at Galva-Holstein from 2001 to 2007. During that time, I was assistant football coach, head girls basketball coach, assistant track, golf for a couple of years, and head baseball coach.”
The golf course in Holstein is an award winning recreational area, nestled in the southeast edge of town. The course is member-owned, with approximately 350 golf and social members. In addition to golf, the clubhouse is available for rental for all types of events, such as graduation parties, wedding receptions, conferences, business meetings, and private parties. Several social events are held throughout the year, such as Sunday Brunch, holiday parties, and Trivia. The country club also has its own on-site golf cart storage.
Mayor Kathy Breyfogle welcomed all to Holstein Aquatic Center’s grand opening for the summer. A red ribbon cutting presented the event with clarity as well as the first swimmer Max Breyfogle diving off the board with a big splash! A crowd of people entered the pool for their first swim of the year. The new lifeguards are as follows: Emily Fulton, Sydney Blackmore, Lillian Whitmer, Molly Reiss, Ryan Peterson, Natalie Madsen, Sophia Keleher, Drew Burk, Carson Harriman, Ethan Mason, Kellen Jensen, Ben Schmunck and Shane Reiss.
Stained glass windows were placed in churches to tell the Christian story to worshippers who could not read, which would have been most all of them in medieval times, when stained glass art really hit its peak.
They were also placed in churches so that worshipers who couldn't afford or were not able to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land or other sites, could see the beauty of the story of Jesus right before them, without leaving their own parish church.
Dennis Freking has taught band and choir at Ridge View middle school for the past seven years, and has been in education for 43 years at various schools. The longtime instructor is setting down his director’s baton for good after this past school year. Freking talked about his duties at Ridge View.
“Here at Ridge View, I taught fifth grade band, sixth grade band, seventh and eighth grade band, sixth grade choir, seventh and eighth grade choir, and this year, a sixth grade skills class.”
Freking explained why he chose music instruction as a career choice.
Scott Phelps, a longtime teacher and coach in the Ridge View school system, is a big believer in working at skills until you get them right. Phelps, who has taught various industrial technology classes and coached a variety of sports, discussed his duties with the school.
Teresa Hunt, owner of A & A Food & Fuel on North Main Street in Holstein, enjoys running her own business, even though it’s not easy. Hunt shared some insight into her operation, starting with how she came to own the store.
“My husband Mark and I purchased the old Pronto,” she stated, “and we opened in December of 2017. We made the decision to purchase Pronto when John Perrettt was ready to sell, because we didn’t want to see another building sit empty, and we didn’t want someone to purchase it and make it a storage unit.”
Mark Leonard has had an interest in the Civil War period since he was a little boy when his father gave him toy soldiers from that civil war era. His father having had served in WWII, cued his boy to ask,
“Dad, Which ones are the Americans?”
“They are all Americans.”
“Who are the bad guys?”
“They are all good guys?”
“So why are Americans who are all good guys fighting each other?”
“Study the history and see if you can figure out what many men could not.”
Ida County substantially beat the state average as unemployment numbers for Iowa continue to best the national average.
With Iowa’s unemployment rate falling to 2.7 percent in the latest figures made available by Iowa Workforce Development, improvement was seen in many counties with Ida County’s 1.5 percent nearly topping the state.
Osceola County led the state at 1.4 percent, just barely ahead of Ida County.
The state average is a decline of .1 percent from the month before while the national rate was at 3.4 percent.
