Christopher Braunschweig/ Jasper County Tribune
Lynn Harnden, center, shares a moment with Joe Giannini of Midwest Aerospace after a Huey helicopter was installed Sept. 30 in Baxter. The helicopter serves as a memorial for Vietnam veterans and was a project spearheaded by Harnden, a 90-year-old retired lieutenant colonel.
By Christopher Braunschweig
Lynn Harnden spent 1,200 com-
bat hours in the cockpit of a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, known by its nickname “Huey” during the Vietnam War, and for many soldiers on the battlefield it was a welcomed sight to see one of them up in the sky providing air support or landing near a smoke signal for a swift rescue.
It has been 50 years since the Vietnam War ended, and the Huey was still a welcomed sight to behold in the small town of Baxter, Iowa. The helicopter was unarmed and unmanned, and although it didn’t
look it from the outside it was sorely out of commission. Harnden made sure the chopper got one last fight. Instead of piloting the Huey manually — which was impossible in its current state — he and the Baxter American Legion Post 493 spearheaded the fundraising to get the helicopter to be put on display on a raised platform, permanently in flight and overlooking other veterans memorials on the north end of Main Street.
Veterans set a goal for $75,000. In just 16 months, they exceeded their goal and were staring at a tried and true Huey being assembled on the streets of Baxter. It took a few hours for Midwest Aerospace to in-
stall the tailplanes, the main rotor and the tail rotor onto the body of the Huey, but it proved to an entertaining show.
Baxter residents unfolded their lawn chairs and sought shelter under the shade of downtown shops, enjoying bottled water and chips or the occasional ice cold beer from Baxter Family Market, the staff of which eventually grilled hotdogs for the hungry onlookers unwilling to give up their front row seats.
Harnden brought along a chair of his own, but most of the time the 90-year-old was on his feet admiring the aircraft and taking pictures
By Jamee A.
When the City of Colfax remodeled the building that became the new city hall location, city leaders also had their eye on the alleyway next door. After years of work, that space is the newest pocket park for the community to enjoy and is a bright spot in downtown Colfax.
After 28 great years, Baxter High School Principal Rob Luther calls it a career
By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune
If there was ever a “Mr. Bolt,” it is Rob Luther. For almost 30 years, Luther has led not only the high school as principal but the football team as a coach, making him a certified fixture in the community.
Having been in Baxter since 1998, Luther walked through the doors for his final last day of school May 24, marking the end of a memorable career.
A Maxwell High School graduate, Luther attended Missouri Southern State University where he played basketball and participated in theater. It was the latter where his dreams lie, not the path of education he would eventually follow.
“No one would believe it if I told them,” Luther said. “I’d always loved doing the musicals and plays in high school. I was a theater major in college and as soon as I graduated I went to New York to go be famous and make a life on Broadway. I worked out there for about two-anda-half years, did some plays, did some shows and had another job. I learned quickly that missing family and a lot of reasons brought me back.” Upon returning from the
Colfax Mayor David Mast cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the new pocket park next to city hall in downtown Colfax Aug. 27
“We always planned on this when we bonded for city hall. When we were building city hall it was a time of high inflation, and with any project of this magnitude there are change orders that come along. So funding ran out,” Colfax City Administrator Wade Wagoner said. “We had kind of an ugly alley next to the beautiful city hall so I set out to try to find grants.”
After working with Main Street Iowa to develop drawings of what the park would look like, Wagoner set out to make it a reality. He struck gold with the T-Mobile Hometown Grant which gave $46,000 to the project.
“The main one was T-Mobile. They gave us almost $50,000,” Wagoner said. “Jasper Community Foundation kicked in al-
Troy Hyde
most $5,000, and that was enough to buy the furni-
ture, lay the brick, make the sculpture and plant all of the flowers.”
Work started last fall and continued throughout the spring and summer. A ribbon cutting was held Aug. 27 to celebrate the official opening of the pocket park.
A unique addition to the park is a sculpture designed by Colfax Main Street Director Stuart Patterson and fabricated by VS Fab Works. Featuring waves passing over each other, it brings the community’s past and present together in one space.
“This was an underuti-
lized alley and now it’s a great outdoor ‘living room’ space for the community to hang out at,” Patterson said. “There’s still potential to add cool features in the future like outdoor string lights, murals and more. We’re looking forward to seeing how the project continues to evolve.” The new park was full of people to celebrate the new addition to the city. It is a space that is poised to see continued use and become a desti-nation spot in downtown Colfax.
“It is beautiful — I love it,” Wagoner said.
with friends and family.
The retired lieutenant colonel is a true Army man. By the time he made his first deployment to Vietnam in 1966 he was already in the Army for 15 years.
“I was an old man in Vietnam,” he told Newton News on Sept. 30. “Most of my pilots were like 19 years old. I went back for a second tour from 1969 to 1970.”
Seeing another Huey up close again reminds him of service and his experiences.
His longest day flying lasted 11 hours and 15 minutes; he made 52 takeoffs and landings. It is hard to say how many people he picked up. He expects it had to be hundreds. There were so many missions, and it was so long ago.
For veterans, the Huey helicopter is not only a symbol of the Vietnam War, Harnden said it was regarded as a savior, a guardian angel. It was larger than any of the soap bubble canopy model helicopters at the time, allowing for medics to treat injured soldiers in need of emergency medical attention.
“Over 91 percent of
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BETHANY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 5627 N. 95th Ave. W., Baxter 641-227-3402 Pastor Chris Hayward SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Sunday School
(Sunday after Labor Day to second Sunday in May); 10 a.m. Sunday Worship. First Sunday communion. All are welcome. baxterbethanyucc.org
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2nd & 4th - 6:30 p.m. Men’s and Womens Bible Study
THURSDAYS 10 a.m. - Womens Bible Study
BAXTER
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
218 S. Main, Baxter Pastor Ben Spera Church: 641-227-3382
SUNDAY - 10 a.m. Worship
WEDNESDAY - 6 p.m. Bible Study
THIRD THURSDAY of month -
6:30 p.m. Theology on Tap at Bea’s Place on Main Street Check us out on Facebook and baxtercongregational.com
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the people we evacuated survived,” Harnden said. “From the time we got a call until we had the person picked up and on his way to help, it was 15 minutes or less. All of us monitored three different radios. Each radio had its own emergency frequency … Everybody was listening.”
Harnden could not help but stare at the helicopter when it was resting on the ground. Even with most of its hardware removed, it weighs about 4,000 pounds. When the aircraft was on active duty in Vietnam, it weighed considerably more. Harnden said it more than doubled its weight at 9,600 pounds.
As he watched the helicopter lift off the ground for the last time with the help of Dave’s Crane & Wrecker Service, Harnden couldn’t help but smile. It felt like a huge undertaking to get the helicopter to Baxter. When he initially saw the Huey pull down Main Street, he was overwhelmed with emotions.
“The enthusiasm and happy feelings and tears of joy,” he said. “I spent an important part of my life in this thing.”
It is an important part of living history, Harnden added, and its presence in Baxter may just reinforce the impact of the Vietnam War and those who fought it in. He hopes residents and visitors appreciate it in the years to come. He hopes it becomes an educa-
tional tool. And he hopes it inspires.
Surrounded by other memorials to veterans, the Huey helicopter monument is in good company to do just that. Greg Christianson, the longtime post commander of the Baxter American Legion, said when he first took on the leadership role there was only one flag pole and two walls of names honoring veterans.
Two more walls and two more flag poles were added. Then came the soldier statues. Funnily enough, it took longer — two to three years — for the Baxter American Legion to finish that project than it did to install the Huey. The mural is one of the newest additions to the corner memorials.
Silhouettes depict a soldier calling for help for another injured laying on the ground. Next to them is a nurse, which Christianson said is supposed to be local veteran Marta Ford, who was an active duty member of the Army Nurse Corps. Like Harnden, she retired a lieutenant colonel.
Above the silhouettes are Huey helicopters flying over the horizon. Christianson said these memorials in conjunction with their proximity to the Huey, the caboose and the Chichaqua Valley Trail, it ought to bring more people to town and enjoy the small town atmosphere and amenities.
“It’s a destination,” Christianson said.
Mark Otto created as an Eagle Scout project,” Colfax Park & Recreation Auxiliary Board Member Doug Garrett said. “In 2005, Don Edwards and I were on the Colfax city park board and were looking for projects to do. We decided to take that original course and with permission from the school district, we were able to utilize some school property to enlarge it to 18-holes with only a couple of the original holes remaining the same.”
With the help of members of the Des Moines Metro Disc Golf Club including main contact Ryan Hesseltine and Edwards’ daughter, Danae, the expanded course was created. Local volunteers did the dirt work and for years the disc golf course was available to the community.
When plans for the new school stadium were laid out, several holes on the disc golf course were
John Holle of Baxter, who served in the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1967, had been watching the progress of the Huey monument since noon. He remarked that he got a ride in one once. Holle also thinks the memorial will not only honor veterans but also give folks a reason to come to Baxter more often.
“It’s going to bring in a lot of people and bring business in town,” Holle said.
By viewing the Huey for themselves, Christianson hopes visitors understand what was given and what was sacrificed for Americans to enjoy their freedoms.
“Like it says here, ‘All gave some, some gave all,’” Christianson said of the phrase included on one of the walls of the nearby memorials. “If they stand and look and read that and look at all the names, it surely should do something to them.”
Joe Giannini of Midwest Aerospace led a team of four — including himself — in constructing the final pieces to the Huey before it was anchored to its platform. Midwest Aerospace is based out of Lowell, Ind. and was founded by Giannini’s grandfather. It has been in business for almost 35 years.
Midwest Aerospace supplied Baxter with the Huey helicopter. Typically, the company sells and distributes hard-to-find parts for military aircraft in order to
impacted. Organizers waited as construction was completed on the beautiful new amenity and then started to work to bring back the course.
“Once the stadium construction was complete, we began to walk the remaining available area,” Garrett said. “We were able to utilize more area to the north of the original course and areas that were closer to the school building and baseball field to complete the course.”
Hesseltine once again consulted on the project along with Des Moines Metro Disc Golf Club Board President Amanda Beery. He walked the area, along with Beery, several times and created a design that allowed flow without large distances between holes.
City of Colfax staff took the lead to carve out the course on the property along with several local residents donating time to “polish” the course and make it inviting for users. The Colfax-Mingo School Board and Superintendent Tim Salmon also chipped in by allowing the use of some school property
get as many back in the air as possible. But about once a year the company is called upon to do what they call a “static” job. Instead of getting the aircraft ready to fly again, Midwest Aerospace prepares it for display purposes. Before the Huey was hoisted away, Giannini and his crew were wiping down windows and looking for any imperfections that needed fixed, like some extra paint on the ends of the rotor.
It is those small details that are important to Giannini, and they are indicative of a team and a company who are passionate about what they do.
“We have a lot of respect for the guys that served and the guys currently serving and a passion for the helicopter and what it stands for,” Giannini said. “That’s why we are one of few companies that are dong everything we can to keep them flying.”
Midwest Aerospace has installed another static exhibit in Treynor, Iowa. The main difference from that job is there was not as many people watching.
“Nobody came out except the guys from the American Legion,” he said.
“You guys have the whole town here! It’s a little bit more stressful for us but it’s alright. We didn’t expect an audience but it’s OK. We’re proud of it and we want you guys to be proud of it, too. We’re proud of what it stands for.”
and providing new dis catchers in the blue and orange school colors.
“The original 18-hole course was considered by many to be one of the best in the state. It had received acclaim from players of all talent levels. It definitely put Colfax on the disc golf map and was drawing more interest each year,” Garrett said. “We are very confident that this course will be well received as well and will grow its own recognition as a fun and challenging course. For a town of our size, anything that draws folks to visit and potentially decide to move here is important to our community.”
To celebrate the re-opening, a tournament by Titan Disc Golf of Des Moines is planned from Oct. 20. To sign up, head to www.discgolfscene.com/tournaments/Colfax_Flex_Start_Sunday_2024.
“We just really want everyone to come out that weekend and have some fun,” Garrett said. “We especially would like to hear folks’ feedback on the course and to see if we may want to tweak things a bit more to improve play.”
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Big Apple, Luther wasn’t sure what he would do next. Luckily, a theater professor told him while in college that while a theater degree is great, there isn’t a lot he could do with it and a backup plan would be a good idea. Luther listened and got his education degree as well, just in case.
“I bounced around at a couple of jobs I didn’t like and I decided just to sub,” Luther said. “I thought I would just sub theater classes. The first day I was in there I subbed, came back the second day and somebody from the district office came in and said, ‘Hey, we have a theater long-term sub job, would you be interested?’ I did that and before it was done that principal hired me to go on to another school. I spent four to five years in Des Moines doing theater and coaching.”
Wanting to further his coaching career, when Maxwell Superintendent Rick Sullivan called and said the CMB head football coach position was open, Luther was interested. The position came with a newly created dean of student role, one that Luther
didn’t know a lot about but was willing to learn.
“Ironically, that year the Baxter High School principal job came open in the spring of 1998 for the 98-99 school year. The superintendent here, Neil Seals, who is a huge mentor and a lot of the reason I’m still sitting here, asked if I wanted to apply, saying there are no guarantees,” Luther said. “I said I don’t even have my admin degree and he said let’s just go through the process. I get the position, so I was actually seated as a principal without ever taking a principal class. I started right away because then you could get a waiver to do it before you got your degree. I went to Drake and two or three years later I had it and I’ve never left.”
Luther said luck has helped out a lot along his journey. From finding his way back to Iowa to getting an ideal career near his hometown, each step has fallen into place culminating in a great career.
“I don’t know how many theater major football coaches there are around, but I’m just lucky,” Luther said. “I thought I’ll do this for three or four years but every time I looked at another job or was offered one there were so many better reasons to stay.
This is a really awesome place. You always think the grass is greener and every time it comes back to what I am looking for that I don’t have and there is really nothing outside of a bigger school. But bigger isn’t always better.”
Looking back to the start of his time in the classroom, Luther has a funny story about his thought on the internet. While it is such an integral part of life now, in the mid-1990s the world wide web wasn’t quite the need as it is now.
“I was at Goodrell Middle School in 1993-1994 and I got a sheet in my box that said we have an after school professional development on this thing called the internet. I was talking to a couple of my coaching friends on if we were going to go to it and I said, ‘No, I have to go coach football. This is goofy, we’re never going to be able to communicate with people on these computer things,’” Luther said. “Then, I look back and think what a dumb comment. The Chrome- book, phones, now we are battling AI. Technology has changed. Some for way the better, but it takes up a lot of time to make sure we’re getting technology right.”
Luther has seen a lot in his time in Baxter. From coaching
as the CMB Raiders to splitting and creating the Baxter Bolts, it has always been a challenge. With the district in a good place, Luther finally felt it was time for him to pass the reins.
“I could have went last year but there was some changes were happening. I talked to the board and they said we want you to do what you want to do but if you go one more it lets us prepare,” Luther said. “I wasn’t in a hurry to get out of here but I started on my first principal job when I was 30, and I’ll be 58 in July. That’s a lot. Thirty is really young. It is a really rewarding job, but it can be a grind.”
Thankfully, the highs have more than outweighed the lows. Serving in Baxter has been a great experience for Luther and he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“I feel like I have been on 28 years of the honeymoon period,” Luther said. “There have been mistakes and a million things but I always feel like I have been treated fairly here and right and supported.”
Even as great as it has been, Luther knows it’s time to move on to the next phase of his life. With all five of his kids now graduated from college and his first kid’s wedding just taking place, he is ready for the next
adventures waiting for him in retirement.
“I am ready to do some other things. My wife (who teaches at Baxter), she’s going to go for a semester, then we’re going to travel,” Luther said. “It is a stressful position and I want to spend some time without the stress. We put in a lot of time on this end so why not enjoy it on the back end. I’m ready for the next stage.” As he begins to reflect, Luther sees that it isn’t about the accolades or the wins on the scoreboard that kept him going. It is the people, the kids that he will remember from his time at Baxter.
“You come here to give back. You go into education to give back to kids and hopefully help teachers become better. What you realize in this process is they have changed you,” Luther said. “It is the private single little moments that affected me the most. Whether it be a kid that walked across the stage that I know I worked extremely hard to get there. The invitation to the wedding you get in the mail. It’s a teacher that asks you to be a part of their personal life, some of my best friends have worked with me and for me. That’s the things they gave me, the day in and day out relationships.”
not fun.”
towns all across Central Iowa.
“There was no buzz or enthusiasm at that time,” WHO-TV 13 Sports Director Keith Murphy said about the start of RVTV.
“Iowa fans knew they were going to win and Iowa State fans tried to be excited but knew what was coming. I came up with the idea because the Cyclones had started to win and the game became a bigger deal in the state. I decided to camp out at the stadium. It was called Cyclone Stadium at the time.”
Murphy recalls parking the RV right by the field and being the only one of his three-person crew who actually stayed in the RV. When Murphy made the switch to WHO-TV 13, they began rotating between stadiums in Ames and Iowa City.
The RVTV brand has expanded into a weeklong journey that takes the WHO-TV 13 “Soundoff” crew into small towns across Central Iowa who are excited to host the year’s best street party. This year, the team chose four new sites, including a pair of Jasper County towns. They drove into Baxter on Thursday and ended their week Friday in Newton. According to Murphy, it was the crew’s first time in both places. RVTV did make a stop at Iowa Speedway several years ago though. Murphy said choosing the route each year is a team effort, but WHO-TV 13 sports reporter John Sears is largely involved in the process. Sears said around 50 towns apply for consideration each year. But only about 20 of those are real options.
Amanda Moorman, the Baxter Chamber of Commerce Treasurer, said a restaurant in town called
Benolas asked her team to apply for consideration.
“It’s incredible. We are a really small community,” Moorman said. “It’s been really cool to see this all come together. There were people out here at 9:30 in the morning getting things set up.”
Baxter’s street party officially started at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Main Street was packed before the 4 p.m. newscast that featured Murphy’s interview with Baxter head football coach Rob Luther. The RVTV crew also made its way out to the football stadium for a promo video that might have been used to motivate other football teams across Iowa on Friday night. Fans in Baxter donned Hawkeye black and gold, Cyclone red and gold or Bolts purple to support their favorite team. There was a pep rally for the 5 p.m. newscast and the party continued through the 10 p.m. newscast.
“It’s a great way to bring
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small towns together,” Baxter Mayor Doug Bishop said. “I want to give a big shoutout to all of the volunteers that made this happen. We are excited and having a great time. It’s a great event for the City of Baxter.”
A typical day on RVTV starts at 9 a.m. when the crew exits one town and heads to another. Most nights end no earlier than midnight. Even though the smart decision is always to go to bed and get a good night’s sleep.
“There’s usually a pub on the town square to hang out at at the end of the night,” Murphy said. “I don’t always enjoy the next morning, but the best part is staying up late with the guys and folks from the town and reminiscing about the day and how great things went.
Murphy said he slept in the camper for the first 15 years of RVTV, but the group no longer stays in it during the week. They rely
on hotels in the towns they are in or someone in the community lets them stay at their house, like was the case in Baxter.
The RVTV crew returned to their homes during the overnight in Mitchellville because there were no hotels there to stay in.
Staying in the RV was a point of pride for Murphy during the early stages of RVTV, but it’s not the best decision for adult men in their 40s and 50s to stay in a camper for an entire week.
“They stopped staying in the RV about 10 years ago. Reality is, guys in their 40s and 50s staying in an RV for five or six days in a week is not healthy and not good for your body,” said Sears, who finished up his 12th year on RVTV this week. “It also got to the point where the school band or someone with a loud car would show up at 6 a.m. outside the RV. They think it’s funny. But it became
Wilson was asked to do RVTV when Fales moved to the morning newscast at WHO-TV 13. Fales said he spent two years on RVTV when he went to mornings but often had to go to bed after the 6 p.m. newscast.
He even recalls sleeping on the closet floor of the RV one year because he couldn’t get his body out of that brutal schedule.
Fales’ work schedule has since changed, which allowed him to return to the event and they got to keep Wilson, too.
“Andy couldn’t be out here and that kind of kills it because Murph and Andy go together,” Wilson said. “Now we are all on here and it works out even better.
“The best part to me is meeting people you wouldn’t meet otherwise. And we are not here for a bank robbery, or a fire or severe weather. It’s for something positive. You meet some great people. It’s the best thing we do every year.”
The consensus from the RVTV crew is that the week is hard. But also very rewarding.
Freund is most proud of being able to put out a good TV product despite being pulled in many different directions and staying up way past their bedtimes.
“The quality could drop off simply because we are running around with our hair on fire,” Freund said. “But for the most part, the product still looks great. That’s a point of pride for all of us.”
Sears has spent more than a decade on TV. But is still surprised to see so much support from people who know him only from watching him on the news every night.
But he also stresses to the towns during the selection process that it’s about them.
“We want the communities to build the day around their town and the people and don’t focus on us,” Sears said. “We want them to plan a big party that we happen to show up for. We want it to be about the town. And not about us.
“We can promote this, and market it but it’s all about the towns.
I’m the last of eight children, i.e. the baby of the family, and I was spoiled. I didn’t realize it at the time, but as I look back now through the lens of a father and grandfather, I was spoiled rotten. My next oldest sibling, my sister, three years older than me, knew it full well, you can believe it. But I was in denial.
I was always given the best of everything — toys, clothes, food, you name it. And we didn’t have that much to start with. But I guess by the time the folks got to little ole me, and the rest of the brood was far-flung, there was more to go around.
Christmas was a good example. I remember getting this huge red fire truck with a ladder that cranked up and took two men to drive — one in the front and one in the rear. I was the envy of the neighborhood kids who were still playing
Curt Swarm Empty Nest
with sticks and mud. Then there was the Erector Set. My mother took me to Merle Hay Plaza in Des Monies. This was when Merle Hay was new and was one of the first malls in Iowa. I was flabbergasted at all these stores lined up in a row. Christmas music was playing and the colored lights and decorations made people want to spend, buy, spend, buy. There was one store that was completely dedicated to Erector Sets. It was called “Erector.” I couldn’t believe it. All kinds of contraptions could be made with Erector pieces, like robots, bridges, and dragons. The granddad of them all was this red Erector Set in a metal box full of every conceivable Erector piece and gadget there was. I was attracted to it like a magnet. But I knew it was way too expensive.
Guess what was under the tree Christmas morning? Yep, you guessed
I read with interest the opinion of Thomas Knapp about ending the “Spring Forward, Fall Behind” madness we endure twice every year. I agree, we should stick to a standard and be done with it. And it seems science also agrees with us. But while Knapp, along with much of Congress and many Americans, says they prefer DST to be all year round, I prefer early morning daylight as opposed to having daylight until 9 p.m. or later in the summer, and there is history to back me up on this.
In late 1973, 79 percent of Americans said they preferred year-round DST, and President Nixon, wanting to curb energy consumption during the energy crisis, signed it into law for two years.
it. That big red Erector Set. I got right to work building things. One of the contraptions I built was a robot that walked, and its eyes lit up and flashed. I used that Erector set a couple of times for Science Fair projects at school, and won some awards. I still have that Erector Set. It’s out in the barn gathering dust and memories. The other Christmas present that comes to mind is The Train Set. My sister and I climbed off the school bus and came into the house. There in the middle of the living room floor was a huge table covered with blankets. Under the blankets were mounds, dips, and objects of varying size and dimensions. It was obvious that the blankets were covering something secret. I looked at Mom. She looked at me, winked and said, “Santa.”
I wondered, “What in tarnation could it be?” But like any enterprising young man, when no one was around, I lifted up the edge of the blankets that were hanging down over the table and peeked under. I could see wires running everywhere and poking up through the table bottom.
Christmas morning arrived and
there was this huge train set in the living room. And it was all mine. There were tunnels, mountains and rivers to cross, a depot, a conductor, and an engine that smoked and sounded a whistle. The works. Oh, my. What a delight for a boy: an unbelievable Christmas present. Was I spoiled? Yup. Today, at 76, I’m still spoiled. Two of my grandsons gave me an Advent Calendar for Christmas. There are 25 brown paper sacks, marked Dec. 1 through Dec. 25. I am to open one each day starting with Dec. 1, which I have been doing. In each one there is a special little present from my grandsons, followed by a reading assignment. For example, on Dec. 5 there was a little butterfly band-aid, with the message, “Jesus Heals” (boy does He) and instructions to read Luke Chapter 5. We took the butterfly bandaid with us to Arlington, Texas and the Big 12 Conference Championship. I also took the Advent Calendar with me so I wouldn’t miss a day. Am I spoiled? Yes, with the best Christmas present ever! Contact Curt Swarm at curtswarm@ yahoo.com
There was a notable increase in traffic accidents. And eight children in Florida, and others elsewhere, were killed while walking to school in the dark. And it proved to have little to no effect on energy consumption and may have actually increased gasoline consumption.
So while I know many who prefer more daylight in the evening, we seem to have forgotten we tried this once before. People ended up hating it, parents were outraged, and it ended up failing miserably. By all means, let’s stop having to turn our clocks back and forth. But let’s pick the better option of ending DST permanently and remember that what may have sounded like a great idea in the summer won’t be so great in the winter, when the sun won’t come up until 8:30 a.m. and it will still get dark again by 6 p.m. We need to learn from history, not repeat the mistakes of the past.
John Moore Newton
However, in 1973 President Ford repealed that law, as public approval for year-round DST had plummeted to 42 percent. Here are some of the real world consequences of year-round DST that we experienced: Many schools ended up delaying start times because of the early morning darkness, forcing families to scramble to change their schedules.
I’m a resident of Jasper County living on a family farm just outside of Mingo.
I just want to say I’m amazed out how Christopher Braunschweig is able to cover so much news! I really appreciate it. As a supporter of local news it can feel sparse outside of the Des Moines area so it’s refreshing to see Newton News keep going. But yeah, huge shoutout to Christopher and his ability to keep so many of us up to date with what is happening around us.
Happy holidays all!
Travis Hanson-Pollock Mingo
Letters to the Jasper County Tribune will be edited for libel, grammar and length and should not exceed 400 words. We reserve the right to shorten letters and reject those deemed libelous, in poor taste or of a personal nature. Include your full name, address and a daytime phone number for verification.
Signed columns as well as letters to the editor and editorial cartoons represent the personal opinion of the writer or artist. Submit letters to news@jaspercountytribune.com or Newton News, P.O. Box 967, Newton, Iowa 50208
By Steve Corbin Professor Emeritus of Marketing, University
of Northern Iowa
American voters were under a lot of stress leading up to the Nov. 5 presidential election. That stress has continued since Donald Trump received less than 50 percent voter support. Hence, the majority of citizens are not wed to his unending plethora of promises.
Research is replete Americans – as well as USA’s 118 trading partners – don’t know what to expect starting Jan. 20, 2025 when Trump takes office. Trump’s cabinet picks alone caused one comedian to say: “One could get a better cabinet at IKEA than what Trump has chosen.”
Angst over our Constitution also prevails. The following have proposed abolishing the separation of church and state concept that’s enshrined in America’s First Amendment, wanting to make Christianity the exclusive religion: GOP’s 2024 election platform, QAnon, conservative Supreme Court justices and many Congressional Republicans. Christian nationalism has also been supported by 91 state legislature bills and is found in the far right-wing Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a 922-page detailed blueprint for Trump to follow in his first 180 days of office (Jan. 20-July 17).
Trump’s allies support the concept of Christian nationalism whereby they believe America was founded as a Christian nation and ONLY Christians have the power to infuse their theology within our laws. However, USA’s separation of church and state does at least three things: 1) frees us from the possible oppression of an established church, 2) permits you to believe as you choose and 3) protects secular public education.
Andra Watkins, best selling author who was raised in a
Christian nationalist family, feels GOP Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (La.), Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito are a sample of Christian nationalists who “have infiltrated our legislative and judicial branches” (The Fulcrum, Aug. 19).
It’s sad these right-wing entities weren’t good students of American history. As a quick review, America’s 13 original colonies belonged to the British Empire and were subservient to an imperial church. The British monarchy formally lost control over its American subjects during the Revolutionary War. On July 4, 1776 and every fourth of July since then, patriotic citizens celebrate religious freedom as well as political independence.
For those who support the concept of Christian nationalism, it can only mean they want America to abandon democracy and become a monarchy or authoritarian like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Hungary, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Afghanistan, Syria and 49 other countries.
It’s interesting the United States is one of the most diverse religious nations in the world yet we know almost nothing about others’ beliefs. The Christian nationalists want to reduce America’s 372 distinct faith groups down to one!
As stated by Rev. Dr. Barry Howard, Church at Wieuca (Atlanta, Ga.), “The principle of separation of church and state is not an attack on religion but a protection of religious freedom and individual rights. By maintaining this distinction, we uphold the values of democracy and equality” (Baptist News Global).
Here’s a partial list of cultural and religious holidays between now and the first part of 2025 we ought to reflect on and be thankful for America’s funda-
mental principle of separation of church and state. After all, who knows what will happen after Jan. 20 with Supreme Court rulings, GOP dominated House and Senate legislation, presidential cabinet member dictums and Trump’s executive orders:
Dec. 8 – On Bodhi Day, Buddhist take time to praise the principles of kindness, compassion and wisdom, the three main features of their teachings.
Dec. 12 – Feast Day of Our Lady Guadalupe is when Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and people of Latin descent celebrate the patron saint of Mexico, who symbolizes devotion, identify and patriotism.
Dec. 21 – Yule, first celebrated in Scandinavia as a Norse festival, celebrates the winter solstice, the darkest day and longest night of the year.
Dec. 25 – Christmas is celebrated by Christians to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Dec. 25-Jan. 2 – Hanukkah, the eight day Jewish holiday entails the lighting of a menorah each night to commemorate how a battle between a small group of Jewish people survived against the powerful Greek-Syrian army in 165 B.C.
Dec. 26 – Boxing Day is a British tradition that dates back to the 1800s when Queen Victoria ruled the throne.
Dec. 26 – Zarthosht No-Diso, honors prophet Zoroaster, the founder – more than 3,000 years ago -- of Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest monotheistic and smallest religions.
Dec. 26-Jan. 1 – Kwanzaa is a week-long cultural holiday that honors African-American heritage and the seven key principles of unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
Happy Holidays! Contact Steve Corbin at Steven.B.Corbin@gmail.com
MAXWELL — Emie Tuhn
scored her 1,000th career point, three players reached double figures and the Baxter girls basketball team dominated the final three quarters during a 54-25 road win over rival Collins-Maxwell on Dec. 20.
The Bolts led by five after the first quarter but outscored the host Spartans 11-2 in the second, 17-4 in the third and 10-5 in the fourth.
The win snapped a two-game skid against Collins-Maxwell, which is 12-6 against Baxter since 2017.
Tuhn needed 11 points to hit the 1,000 mark. She scored 12 points and added two rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Kamdyn Krampe tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, three
steals and two blocks and Karlee Koehler had a game-high 15 points with two rebounds and three assists.
Avery Wonders’ best game of the season produced eight points, five boards and six steals and Kendall Brummel chipped in five points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Hannah Huffaker collected four rebounds, two steals and two blocks and Kaylyn Krampe posted two assists and two steals.
The Bolts (5-2, 4-1 in the conference) shot 37 percent from the floor, made 6-of-25 from 3-point range and missed 14 of their 20 attempts from the foul line. They also committed 19 turnovers.
Collins-Maxwell (1-6, 1-3) shot 26 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 23 times.
By Troy Hyde Sports Editor
DES MOINES — Col-
fax-Mingo’s Lily Webster found herself down big in her final two matches at the Saydel Girls Wrestling Invitational on Dec. 16.
But a pair of late reversals in both matches set up dramatic finishes and Webster’s pair of rallies moved her to the top of the 100-pound bracket for the second straight season.
“I just needed to get my confidence up,” Webster said. “I didn’t take many shots and waited for something to happen. Eventually I realized I needed to do something so I tried my best to get back in it.” Webster’s title at 100 was the only first-place finish from the area, but Emma Cook placed second at 235.
Most of Colfax-Mingo’s girls entered the junior varsity tournament, which took place in Saydel’s smaller gym. But six Tigerhawks produced 83 points and an eighth-place finish in the 19-team field. Newton scored 78.5 points and finished ninth with its nine wrestlers.
Class 2A No. 4 Southeast Polk won the tournament with 234 points. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont was next with 158 and the rest of the top five included Clarinda (143), Des Moines Public Schools (132.5) and the Ankeny junior varsity (120).
Perry (112.5) led the next five in sixth and Raccoon River Northwest’s junior varsity was seventh with 90 points. Host Saydel (66) finished behind Newton in 10th.
“The girls did great,” Colfax-Mingo head girls wrestling
coach Erin Hume said. “Yes, as a coach we’d love to have some matches back, but we wrestled six girls on the varsity side and placed in the top 10. We won some great matches and even in those matches we want back, we saw great things and they gave us some things we can work on.”
Webster, who is ranked sixth in 1A at 100, was 3-0 for the day with two pins, while 1A No. 6 Cook was 1-1 with one pin at 235. Cook, who had two byes to the semifinals, lost 5-3 to 1A No. 8 Ella Ray of EBF in the finals.
Devan Chadwick and Hadley Millang both finished fifth for Colfax-Mingo at 110 and 145, respectively, and the rest of its lineup featured Brianna Freerksen at 130, Alauna Wells at 155 and Emmalyn Buchman at 190. Webster trailed Des Moines Public School’s Lemuna Gurisho 3-1 after one and 6-1 after two. Her rally started with an escape and then she was given a pair of stalling call points
with 47 and 23 seconds to go in regulation.
Gurisho extended her lead to 9-4 with a takedown with 13 seconds to go, but Webster used a headlock to score a fivepoint move in the final 3 seconds to force overtime.
Webster needed just 18 seconds to get the winning takedown in SV-1. It was her only takedown in the match.
“I definitely saw it coming the whole match. I was waiting for the right time to do it,” Webster said. “I needed to catch my breath, stay focused, be more energetic and show her that I was the stronger wrestler.”
In the championship match, Webster fell down 7-2 after one to EBF’s Hollie Roberts. The deficit grew to 9-2 in the second, but Webster (242) again used a headlock to turn her fortune. She eventually got Roberts to her back and scored the pin in the second period.
Cook (21-3) finished second at 235 after a 1-1 day. All three of her losses have come
to ranked opponents.
Chadwick (22-5) was 3-1 with two pins and finished fifth at 110 and Millang (227) was 2-1 with two pins and took fifth at 145. Like Webster, one of Millang’s wins came after facing a large deficit in the match.
“One thing that has stuck with me as a coach was something my high school coaches (Bryan Poulter, Bill Edgar and Jim Jenkins) told us, ‘get six or go six,’” Hume said. “That means, go get the pin or continue wrestling hard for six minutes. That’s how we train, and I’m very proud of our girls for living that on the mat. If you’re always wrestling hard, you’re never out of it.” Chadwick’s lone loss was a 9-1 setback to 2A No. 7 December Paw of DMPS.
Buchman made her season debut and was sixth at 190 after going 2-2 with two pins. One of her losses was 6-5. Freerksen (14-10) was 1-2 with one pin at 130.
NORTH ENGLISH — Too many turnovers and a slow start plagued the Colfax-Mingo girls basketball team on Dec. 20.
English Valleys led by eight after one quarter and that was enough to clinch a 44-37 home win in South Iowa Cedar League action.
The Tigerhawks shot better from the floor and made more 3-pointers but committed 31 turnovers and English Valleys made seven more free throws in the game.
Isabelle Foglesong scored a gamehigh 14 points and Blain Houseman added nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Lydia Hansen chipped in seven points and seven boards, Dakota Allen scored four points and grabbed five rebounds and Mallory Sipma pulled down seven boards, dished out two assists and swiped three steals.
The Tigerhawks (2-7, 1-5 in the conference) shot 33.3 percent from the floor, made 5-of-20 from 3-point range and connected on 4-of-8 from the free-throw line.
The Bears (4-2, 4-2) made 32 percent of their shots and hit 3-of13 from 3 but were 11-of-24 from the foul line and committed 17 turnovers.
Ava Gehrking had 10 points and four steals and Anna Lewis chipped in seven points, seven rebounds and six steals in the win.
English Valleys has won six in a row against Colfax-Mingo.
North Mahaska 54, Colfax-Mingo 28 NEW SHARON — The Tigerhawks played even for two quarters against 2A No. 2 North Mahaska on Dec. 17.
Unfortunately, the Warhawks controlled the other two frames and a significant advantages in the first and third quarters led North Mahaska to a 54-28 home win during SICL play.
The Warhawks, who defeated the Tigerhawks for a 15th straight time, led 18-7 after one and outscored C-M 17-2 in the third. Both teams scored 19 points in the other two frames.
Foglesong’s 11 points and three rebounds and Hansen’s six points and 10 rebounds led Colfax-Mingo, which faced a ranked team for a third straight game.
Houseman added six rebounds, two assists and two steals, Sipma grabbed six boards and two assists and Allen finished with four points and three rebounds. Katelyn Steenhoek grabbed two boards, too.
Colfax-Mingo shot 37.5 percent from the floor, made 3-of-8 from 3 and turned the ball over 34 times.
Breckyn Schilling led North Mahaska with 10 points, six rebounds.
The Warhawks (6-0, 5-0) shot 30 percent from the floor, made 5-of25 from 3 and turned the ball over eight times. They swiped 23 steals and made 5-of-10 from the foul line.
SULLY — The Lynnville-Sully wrestling team dominated on the mat, scored 12 wins by pin and finished second at its home dual tournament on Dec. 21.
The Hawks defeated Moravia 42-24 and downed Baxter 39-12 before losing 41-30 to Ankeny Centennial’s JV. Baxter fell short of the win column but mostly because the Bolts are down to just five wrestlers due to injuries and off-themat issues.
“We wrestled well today. We won more contested matches than we lost,” Baxter head wrestling coach Dwight Gliem said. “We’re young and we knew that coming into the year but now we’re plagued with injuries.”
The Bolts were 7-6 in contested matches but lost 42-24 to Moravia and dropped their dual 53-17 to Centennial.
Lynnville-Sully (2-9) was 3-0 in contested matches against Baxter and the Hawks had a 4-2 advantage in forfeits.
NORTH ENGLISH —
Isaiah Lewis scored a career high, Jace Lewis did the same while also recording his first career double-double and Harrison Rhone filled up the stat sheet during the Colfax-Mingo boys basketball team’s 52-44 road win over English Valleys on Dec. 20.
The Tigerhawks led by nine after one quarter and stayed in front with a 14-9 fourth in the South Iowa Cedar League victory.
Colfax-Mingo won the game despite shooting 38 percent from the floor, missing all five of its 3-point attempts and turning the ball over 35 times.
Maddox Peters and Ruger Kincaid took Baxter’s forfeits at 150 and 157, respectively.
Baxter (2-6) was 4-1 in contested wins against Moravia.
The Mohawks won the dual because they took all six forfeits.
Alex Dille, Derek Rominger, Anderson and Peters (7-4) all
Jett Kramer and Burt Johnson scored wins by pin in less than 1 minute at 113 and 132 pounds, respectively. Matthew Mintle also defeated Jack Anderson, 3-2, in their match at 138.
won by fall at 120, 132, 138 and 150, respectively.
The Bolts were 3-2 in contested wins against the Centennial JV. Dille and Class 1A No. 9 Kincaid (9-2) won by fall, while Anderson was a 15-0 technical fall winner at 138.
Dille, Anderson (9-2), Peters and Kincaid all were 2-1 for the day for Baxter.
The Bolts were missing Skyler Stoll and Porter Kincaid due to injuries and Kolton Hurd also was not in Baxter’s lineup.
“I’m OK working with eight,” Gliem said. “I knew we’d be short this year, and I can take eight to battle and be successful by moving guys around. Five makes us change how we do things though.”
NORTH ENGLISH — The Tigerhawks took advantage of six forfeits during a win over English Valleys, but Colfax-Mingo’s boys wrestling team split a South Iowa Cedar League triangular on Dec. 17.
Colfax-Mingo defeated host English Valleys 43-29 but fell 42-25 to Sigourney/Keota.
The Tigerhawks were 4-5 in contested matches against Sigourney/Keota and 1-2 in forfeit wins.
But all five wins for S/K ended in pins, while C-M’s four wins featured two pins, one major decision and one decision.
Jayden Cherveny and Cason Fitch scored the wins by pin at 126 and 132, respectively, while Kyle Wood won 9-4 at 165 and Caden Sykes scored a 13-2 major decision at 175.
Logan Roam accepted C-M’s forfeit at 106. There were two double forfeits.
In the win over English Valleys, Sykes won 11-7 at 175 and Allan Bregar scored a 10-1 major decision at 215. The Tigerhawks were 2-2 in contested matches and had a 6-3 advantage in forfeit wins. There was one double forfeit.
Roam, Cherveny, Fitch, Xavier Cross (144), Wood and Konner Bennett (285) took forfeits at their weights.
Fitch, Cherveny, Wood and Sykes all were 2-0 while Roam
was 2-0 with two forfeits.
Fitch, who is ranked 11th in Class 1A at 120, is 17-2 with eight pins this season. He hasn’t wrestled a single match at 120 though.
Tigerhawks defeat West Central Valley at Trojan Duals
PLEASANTVILLE — Colfax-Mingo managed only one win at the Trojan Dual Tournament on Dec. 21.
The Tigerhawks couldn’t overcome a disadvantage in forfeits and went 1-4 on the day.
The team’s win came against West Central Valley. The Tigerhawks were 1-1 in contested matches against the Wildcats and used seven forfeits to win 48-18.
Colfax-Mingo came up short in its duals against Panorama, Albia, host Pleasantville and 2A No. 10 Williamsburg.
Fitch gave C-M its only contested win against West Central Valley. He won by fall at 132, while Todd Phillips (106), Roam (113), Cherveny (126), Cross (138), Sykes (175), Nathan Endersbe (190) and Alex Hartson (215) all accepted forfeits. There were three double forfeits in the dual.
In the 54-29 loss to Panorama, the Tigerhawks were 3-3 in contested matches but were 2-6 in forfeits.
Fitch won by fall at 126, Bregar scored a win by pin at 215 and Cherveny (12-6) won 20-2 at 132. Sykes and Endersbe won by forfeit.
In the 54-23 loss to Albia, Colfax-Mingo was 4-4 in contested matches, but the Blue Demons took all six forfeits.
Roam (113), Sykes and Endersbe all won by fall and Fitch scored a 17-0 technical
Colfax-Mingo senior Caden Sykes, top, won four times at the Pleasantville dual tournament on Dec. 21.
fall at 126.
Pleasantville defeated Colfax-Mingo 64-12. Sykes had the team’s only contested win as he won by injury time at 175. Roam accepted a forfeit at 106. The Trojans were 5-1 in contested matches and had a 7-1 advantage in forfeits.
Williamsburg shut out the Tigerhawks 83-0 as the stateranked Raiders were 7-0 in both contested matches and forfeits.
Sykes (15-4) finished the day 4-1 with two forfeits, while Fitch was 3-2 with two pins. Roam (12-6) and Endersbe both were 3-2 with two forfeits.
Fitch wrestled four times at 126 and once at 132. He lost 8-3 to 1A No. 9 Tommy Booth of Pleasantville in his first match of the day and then suffered a 20-4 loss to Williamsburg’s Lincoln Schropp, who is ranked sixth in 2A at 126.
MAXWELL — For the first time since 2021, the Baxter boys basketball team lost a conference game on Dec. 20.
The Bolts started slow and never recovered during a 71-55 road loss to rival Collins-Maxwell during Iowa Star Conference South Division play.
It was the first conference loss since falling 43-42 to Colo-NESCO back on Feb. 5, 2021. The win streak is snapped at 40 games.
It also was the first win for Collins-Maxwell over the Bolts in nine tries. Baxter is 14-2 in the series since 2017.
The Spartans led 21-8 after one quarter and went into halftime with a 15-point lead. A 21-13 advantage in the third extended the lead, but the Bolts
closed the gap with an 18-11 fourth.
Cainan Travis led the Bolts (5-2, 4-1 in the conference) with a career-high 21 points and four rebounds, while Eli Dee added 21 points and three boards.
Perrin Sulzle finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, Maddux Tuhn grabbed five boards and Stadan Vansice swiped three steals.
Logan Rainsbarger grabbed three rebounds and Dakota Parker finished with two rebounds.
The Bolts shot 45.2 percent from the floor, made 6-of-16
from 3-point range and connected on 11-of-18 from the free-throw line.
They turned the ball over 17 times.
Paden Myers led Collins-Maxwell (8-0, 6-0) with 27 points and seven rebounds and Josef Dvorak added 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Spartans shot 45.6 percent from the floor, made 7-of23 from 3 and turned the ball over only nine times. They also drained 12-of-21 from the foul line.
Martensdale-St. Marys 62, Baxter 36
MARTENSDALE — The Bolts couldn’t overcome severe disadvantages in the second and third frames during a 6236 non-conference road loss to
Martensdale-St. Marys on Dec. 19.
Baxter trailed 18-12 after one but was outscored 34-10 in the second and third. Dee led the Bolts with 18 points and three rebounds, while Travis added eight points, four boards and two steals. Sulzle collected six points and two rebounds and Vansice chipped in three rebounds and two steals.
The Bolts shot 32.6 percent from the floor, made 2-of-14 from 3 and buried 6-of-10 from the foul line.
Colton Wright led the Blue Devils (6-1) with 16 points, while Trey Wright added eight points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Martensdale-St. Marys shot 53 percent from the floor and made 6-of-20 from 3.
The Tigerhawks did make 16-of-29 from the free-throw line. The 52 points scored were a season high and the visitors matched a season low in points against with 44.
Harrison Rhone led Colfax-Mingo (2-5, 2-4 in the SICL) with 15 points, six rebounds, seven assists and nine steals.
Isaiah Lewis collected a career-high 16 points and grabbed two rebounds and Jace Lewis added a career-best 13 points, a career-high 10 boards, three assists and two steals.
Shane Hostetter finished with four points, three rebounds and three steals, Wyatt Carpenter chipped in two assists and three steals and Wyatt Jay grabbed six boards off the bench. Chase Trotter also grabbed five rebounds. It was the Tigerhawks’ second straight win over English Valleys (0-7, 0-6) and they are 7-3 against the Bears since 2015.
North Mahaska 70, Colfax-Mingo 33 NEW SHARON — North Mahaska dominated the boards, made nine 3s and shot nearly 60 percent from the floor during a 70-33 road win over Colfax-Mingo on Dec. 17.
The Tigerhawks trailed 24-10 after one and were outscored 19-9 in the second and 18-4 in the third.
Rhone led the Tigerhawks with 15 points, four rebounds and three steals and Jay finished with five points and two rebounds.
Isaiah Lewis and Jace Lewis both had four points and three boards, Carpenter chipped in three points, two boards and two steals and Trotter grabbed four rebounds.
The Tigerhawks shot 27.3 percent from the floor and committed 16 turnovers.
The Warhawks (6-1, 5-0) out-rebounded their hosts 33-20.
Montezuma 65, Colfax-Mingo 28
COLFAX — Twenty-one turnovers and a tough second quarter plagued the Tigerhawks against Montezuma on Dec. 13.
Colfax-Mingo also shot 18.4 percent from the floor during a 65-28 home loss to the Braves during SICL play. The Tigerhawks trailed 20-10 after one and were outscored 27-3 in the second.
Rhone led Colfax-Mingo with 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks and Carpenter collected six points and three rebounds.
Gage Byal scored four points, Hostetter, Isaiah Lewis and Jace Lewis all grabbed three rebounds and Jay pulled down two boards. Jasper County Tribune