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Tue

Nov

Birdnow closes two stores, but retains commitment to Monona

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/15/2016 - 16:15

For over 40 years, the Birdnow family has operated northeast Iowa car dealerships in Monona, Oelwein, Cascade and Jesup. Having raised their family in Jesup, where their sons graduated from high school and later entered the family business, the Birdnow family announced it has recently sold its Cascade and Jesup stores.

The Cascade store was sold to a Dubuque dealer who wished to expand his network of new car dealerships; Jesup was sold to Rydell’s, of Waterloo. While the family tried hard to find a suitable buyer for its Jesup store, the best option turned out to be Rydell’s, who has closed it in order to have less competition for their existing stores.

Tue

Nov

Friends experience Honor Flight together

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/08/2016 - 12:43

Local veterans (left to right) Jim Teaser, Max Abildtrup, Frank Rodenberg and Adrian Kinley went together on an Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C., Oct. 18. (Submitted photos)

As Korean War-era vets, the Korean War Memorial was a favorite stop.

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

Everything’s better when you can share it with friends. For four local veterans—Adrian Kinley, Frank Rodenberg, Jim Teaser and Max Abildtrup—that was especially true Oct. 18, as they embarked together on an Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C.

The Eastern Iowa Honor Flight, based in Cedar Rapids, is a non-profit organization that sends veterans to the nation’s capital to visit a variety of war memorials and historic sites.

According to Kinley, the four heard about the organization through another local veteran, Bob Eggen, who went on an Honor Flight in April.

Tue

Nov

Speaker shares Ringling history

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/08/2016 - 12:39

Joe Colossa, a 14-year employee with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus and owner of the Al Ringling Mansion in Baraboo, Wis., spoke about the Ringling family, including its ties to McGregor, at the McGregor Historical Museum’s fall event Nov. 5. (Photos by Audrey Posten)

The Ringling Brothers’ first circus in McGregor, Colossa explained, included music, comedy, a goat, horse trick riding and a moving picture show.

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

Joe Colossa has been interested in the Ringling family since he was 10 years old. A Connecticut native and fourth generation in his family to be part of the circus business, he did all he could to discover more.

“I was trying to read anything I could find,” said Colossa, who spoke about the Ringling family, and the well-known brothers of circus fame, at the McGregor Historical Museum’s fall event Nov. 5.

After reading “The Circus Kings,” written by Henry Ringling North, son of the Ringling Brothers’ sister Ida, Colossa said he was really hooked.

Tue

Nov

Annual McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce awards dinner held

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/08/2016 - 12:36

The McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce awards dinner Nov. 7 was Carolyn Gallagher’s final duty as executive director. Her husband recently accepted a new job in Cedar Rapids, forcing them to relocate. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

Four area businesses/individuals were honored at the awards dinner, including (left to right) Paul and Monica Tiffany, with McGregor Mercantile, who received the Lena D. Myers Award; Maureen Wild, who was recognized with the Alexander McGregor Award; and Audrey Posten, editor of the North Iowa Times. The newspaper, which celebrated its 160th anniversary last month, was honored with the Longevity Award. Not pictured is Dave Martin, from the Marquette Bar and Cafe, who received the James King Award. (Photo by Gary Howe)

Gallagher’s last duty as executive director

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

The McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards dinner Nov. 7, recognizing the work businesses throughout the two communities, as well as Prairie du Chien, have done to promote the area.

“Everybody comes together,” shared the chamber’s president, Anne Kruse. Looking out over the room, “these are the people who get everything to run.”

“We are very busy towns,” Kruse added. “We’re known as a place to go where you don’t have to make plans; you can come to town and there’s always something to do.”

Tue

Nov

‘It’s a privilege’

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/01/2016 - 12:28

MFL MarMac seniors Tristen Kautman (left), Peyton Meisner, Emily Hanson and Kayla Keehner will all vote for the first time in the Nov. 8 general election. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

Students excited to vote for the first time

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

“I’m excited that my voice finally matters.” Emily Hanson, along with her fellow MFL MarMac seniors Kayla Keehner, Tristen Kautman and Peyton Meisner, will be among the millions of young Americans eligible to vote for the first time in the Nov. 8 general election.

They’re taking their rights seriously.

“It’s a privilege,” Kautman shared. “It’s one of the most historic elections.”

It’s also a bit surreal, though, admitted Keehner.

Tue

Nov

Special Left Bank exhibit to highlight work of McGregor’s Margery Goergen

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/01/2016 - 12:26

Vintage, hand-colored photographs, like this shot from Pikes Peak State Park, created by notable McGregor photographer Margery Goergen, will be featured in a new special exhibit at The Left Bank Shop and Gallery in McGregor. The exhibit, “Coloring McGregor,” will open with a reception Friday, Nov. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m.

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

A new special exhibit at The Left Bank Shop and Gallery in McGregor will feature a collection of vintage, hand-colored photographs created by one of the city’s most notable historic figures, photographer Margery Goergen.

Goergen, born in 1900, was a young woman when she began working at Oscar Fryklund’s photography studio in McGregor. She later took over the studio, located in the three-story left side of the Masonic Block buildings, operating black and white negative processing and finishing dark rooms in the back with John Sloan, who was also skilled in photography work. Following a fire in 1943, Goergen moved her studio down the street, where Interstate Federal is currently located.

Tue

Nov

‘FEEST’-ing on unique food combinations

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/01/2016 - 12:24

Keri Picha (left), Maya Butikofer and Skylar Moser listen as MFL MarMac’s FEEST intern, Macie Weigand, explains some of the foods available for the school’s first FEEST dinner of the year Oct. 28. (Photos by Audrey Posten)

Macie Weigand (left), the MFL MarMac FEEST intern, and partner Reagan Butikofer chop up zucchini for their dish.

Katie Ruff, owner of By the Spoonful in McGregor, is helping FEEST intern Macie Weigand plan and select foods for FEEST dinners. She’s also sharing her expertise with the FEEST participants, like Jesse Breuer (shown here), demonstrating proper knife and utensil usage and suggesting ways to combine and cook foods.

Keri Picha (left) and Maya Butikofer work to figure out the best way to de-seed a pomegranate for their fruit slaw dish, which also included apples and mango.

Max Koeller scoops the innards out of an acorn squash. He and his partner made a variation of bruschetta for FEEST, topping wheat bread with the squash as well as chunks of apple.

Skylar Moser and Max Koeller have fun creating a dish of pork loin, sweet potatoes and onions. The theme of the Oct. 28 was farm to school month, so locally-grown foods were incorporated. Pork was also used in recognition of October being pork month.

FEEST, which stands for Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team, encourages youth to transform the health and equity of their community by gathering around food. Nearly a dozen students participated in the FEEST Oct. 28, creating four dishes comprised of unique food combinations.

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

Nearly a dozen MFL MarMac students feasted on some unique food combinations during the school’s first FEEST dinner of the year Oct. 28.

Developed in Seattle in 2006, FEEST, which stands for Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team, encourages youth to transform the health and equity of their community by gathering around food.

Tue

Nov

Remember to vote Nov. 8

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/01/2016 - 12:20

Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, is now less than a week away. Aside from the high-profile presidential election, there are many hotly-contested races at both the state and local levels that voters will be asked to settle.

Tue

Nov

Sauer hops into rabbit judging after years of showing

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/01/2016 - 12:18

After showing rabbits as a kid, McGregor native Zach Sauer is now a rabbit judge. (Submitted photo)

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

Rabbits first sparked Zach Sauer’s interest in 2005, when, as a kid, he attended a county 4-H workshop. He began showing at the Clayton County and Iowa State Fairs along with American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA)-sanctioned shows.

“I was doing well and got more and more into showing, then started going to the national convention,” said Sauer, a McGregor native who’s now in veterinary school at Iowa State University.

Tue

Oct

The ghost counselor

Submitted by admin on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 13:03

Local woman helps entities cross over

Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

As a child, Jenny Gordon lived in a home with entities, spirits that could communicate with her.

“As a young child, it was very scary, when you don’t understand what’s going on,” recalled Gordon, a McGregor resident. “My parents didn’t see them.”

As a teenager, fear propelled her to close off the connection. However, as an adult, Gordon tapped back into it, hoping to help both the living and non-living.

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