February 2019

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Feb

Traditions HW

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Feb

SW boys go to the wire with No. 7 Dunkerton

 

South Winn guard Jaron Todd looks for an open teammate during recent Warrior basketball action. Todd and the Warriors saw their season come to an end Tuesday, Feb. 19, with a 60-58 loss to No. 7-ranked Dunkerton. (Zakary Kriener photo)

 

SW boys go to the wire with No. 7 Dunkerton

 

 

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

 

 

 

The South Winneshiek boys’ basketball team had its season officially come to an end Tuesday, Feb. 19, as the Warriors fell by a mere two points to No. 7-ranked Dunkerton.

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Feb

AcenTek bringing fiber optics to Clermont and Ossian

AcenTek bringing fiber optics to Clermont and Ossian

 

 

AcenTek is investing in the communities of Clermont and Ossian and businesses and residents stand to benefit. 

 

The provider of Internet, voice, and video services for the area is replacing their copper facility within the city limits with fiber optic cabling. This upgrade to fiber will provide much faster Internet speeds, starting at 200Mbps and going up to 1Gig. This upgrade will include 432 homes and businesses in the town of Clermont  and 463 homes and businesses in Ossian. 

 

While faster Internet speed is the biggest, most obvious benefit of a community being upgraded to fiber, it is not the only one. A fiber connection is more reliable than copper so customers can expect far less disruptions to AcenTek services during storms. In addition, a community that offers future residents (and potential businesses) connectivity to fiber optics is more attractive, encouraging their relocating to the area. 

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Feb

Foxwell completes Indoor Ironman Challenge

 

Mary Foxwell of rural Elgin runs in place in the pool at the Northeast Iowa Wellness Center in Postville to complete the running portion of the Indoor Ironman Challenge. She does this because walking on a treadmill causes her back pain.  (Chris DeBack photo)

 

Foxwell completes Indoor Ironman Challenge

 

 

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

 

 

 

The Ironman Triathlon is a grueling race that has contestants swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run 26.2 miles in that order without stopping. 

This endurance race tests even the most physically fit men and women. While Mary Foxwell of rural Elgin won’t be participating in an Ironman Triathlon anytime soon, she is the latest to complete the Indoor Ironman Challenge at the Northeast Iowa Wellness Center in Postville. What makes Foxwell’s accomplishment unique is her uphill battle with back issues that she has had to overcome to reach this point. 

Foxwell’s back issues started approximately 12 years ago when she was living in Monona. She was on the Monona ambulance crew and had just gotten home from a call. While she was taking a shower she slipped.

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27
Feb

Bringing big city amenities to small town Iowa

 

T’s Brick City Pub is set to open on Saturday, March 2, in Clermont. The new craft beer pub is owned by Tanya Tysland (right) and managed by Whitney Guyer (left). It will feature craft beer and wine from a number of Iowa breweries including the popular Toppling Goliath in Decorah, SingleSpeed Brewing in Waterloo, and Eagles Landing Winery in Marquette. (LeAnn Larson photo)

 

Bringing big city amenities to small town Iowa

 

 

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

 

 

 

T’s Brick City Pub will be bringing Clermont some of Iowa’s finest craft brews and wine.

Owner Tanya Tysland wants to make Clermont a tourist attraction, and noted that having a craft brew pub is just one more business to help make that happen. She stayed with the “Brick City” theme of her other business, T’s Brick City Spa, because she likes the history surrounding Clermont’s nickname, “The Brick City.” 

“We are trying to make Clermont a tourist town, and it is easy for people to remember to come to the Brick City,” she said. “Traveling throughout the U.S. and seven different countries, having a place with good craft beer on tap and some good wines is something that people look for in a tourist town.”

Opening on Saturday, March 2, those visiting the local craft brew pub will find six beers on tap, all from Iowa brewing companies including Toppling Goliath in Decorah, Millstream Brewing Company in Amana, Backpocket Brewing in Coralville, Singlespeed Brewing in Waterloo, Exile Brewing Company in Des Moines, and ReUnion Brewery in Coralville.

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27
Feb

Kudos and Lessons

Kudos and Lessons

 

 

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

 

Being a reporter, I try to stick to telling what happened, and let the coaches explain the whys and technical explanations. However, I’m going to editorialize a bit because the end of the winter sports season seems to need some kudos passed out that won’t come out any other way. And, there are lessons for younger athletes and those considering extracurricular.

  As a kudos, consider the fact that Abby Reichter is the first TigerHawk to earn First Team All-UIC honors in NFV history! And, Emma Ney made the second team. The duo measures – somewhat generously for Reichter? – as 5’6” and 5’2,” respectively. In a sport dominated by six- and seven-footers, the two girls look small; yet, rival coaches elected them to the All-UIC Team. 

  I suppose the lesson for young athletes is: you don’t have to be tall to be successful in basketball! 

  For Honorable Mention, Makenna Koch personifies senior leadership! And a freshman, Alyssa Bohr (5’8”), made it, as well. Her stats are not earth shattering, seven points and four-plus rebounds per game. However, watch her play defense, and how she uses her feet to stop the other team’s scoring leader.

  I guess you don’t have to be the big scorer, or even big, to be successful.

  As for boy’s basketball, kudos to Lance Butikofer, the first TigerHawk to make First Team All-UIC, since Austin Callahan did it in the 2015-16 season; quite an accomplishment. A good, but not great, scorer at 9.5 points per game, the 6’4” senior also averaged 5.1 rebounds, led the team with 85 assists, and also blocked a shot per game. 

  Kole Johnson has always been instant offense leading the team with 12 points per game without attempting a trey, but this season he also led the team in rebounding, and added an assist per contest.

  It looks like doing a number of things well, can get be rewarding.

  The other second-team performer came off the bench! Brennan Imoehl was the sixth-man for NFV. He   just kept working and working, and before long the minutes just kept piling up. So did the stats, and by season’s end he was averaging 9.6 points per game and finished just one rebound behind Johnson.

  Kids, don’t worry about starting, just keep working, keep hustling, and you’ll get to play; maybe even make the UIC All-Conference Team.

  As for wrestling, Gunner Rodgers earned a second trip to the State Meet, winning a match. He was also a First-Team All-District performer last football season. In fact, he made the First-Team on defense AND as a kick returner! He’s also all of 138 pounds. 

What’s the old adage, “It’s not the size of the body, but the size of the heart.”

  Weston Fantz not only made it to State Wrestling, and won a match, the 160-pounder also ran cross country. He started because “it might be a cool thing to do.” Soon, he realized that XC was a great conditioning sport for wrestling. Not long after that he came to love the sport. By the end of his senior season, Fantz was a two-time All-UIC runner.

 Perhaps it pays to try something new like a sport, band, the arts, or speech because you never know what you might like and what other abilities you might have.

 One other winter season note came across the desk last week, a question about how many points Valley basketball star Kate Cline scored in her career. 

I had to total all of her points once she hit 1000; it came to 1140! A neat sidebar: When she started the sport in seventh grade, she could only make the B team!

  It must be true that if you work hard, listen to the coaches, and buy into the system, who knows how good you can be.

 

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27
Feb

NFV proposes school makeup dates

NFV proposes school makeup dates

 

 

 

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

Mother nature hasn’t been kind to northeast Iowa this winter, which has led to a large amount of snow days in many school districts. 

In fact, including Monday, Feb. 25, North Fayette Valley has had 12 snow days, which accounts for approximately 88.75 hours of school missed. Remember, the NFV school calendar is based on hours of school not days of school. With only 44.2 extra hours built into the calendar as a buffer to winter weather, NFV students are going to have to make up for missed time. 

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Vernon Arthur

Vernon Arthur

 

 

Vernon H. Arthur, 68, of Waverly, Iowa, passed away suddenly on Thursday evening, February 21, 2019 at his home, of natural causes.

       Vern was born on December 15, 1950 in Oelwein, Iowa, the son of Donna (Meyer) and Earl Arthur.  He grew up on the Arthur family dairy farm near Maynard, Iowa.  He was confirmed at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Maynard and was active in 4-H, FFA, football, basketball and baseball.  Following graduation from West Central High School, in 1969, Vern attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha where he received a baseball scholarship as a pitcher.  Following his education, Vern began his lifelong career in the concrete construction industry.  He worked for Hawkins and Kiewit in Omaha before moving to Waverly Iowa in 1989.  In Waverly, Vern worked for Cedar Valley Corp., Rainbow Concrete and finally Croell Redi-Mix, where he was employed at the time of his passing.

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27
Feb

Myron Nagle

Myron Nagle

 

 

Mick Nagle, 69, of Wadena, died unexpectedly Sunday, February 24, 2019, at his home in rural Wadena.

Memorial Mass will be held 10:00 a.m. Saturday, March 2, 2019, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Volga with Rev. John Haugen officiating. Inurnment will follow at Wadena Cemetery with military rites provided by the American Legion of Wadena. Visitation will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, March 1st at Becker-Milnes Funeral Home in Fayette and for one hour preceding services at the church on Saturday. Memorials may be made to the family for later designation. Online condolences may be left at www.beckermilnesrettig.com.

 

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