Beef Banquet Saturday

The 2016 Winneshiek County Cattlemen’s Annual Beef Banquet is set for Saturday, Feb. 27, at Nob Hill near Decorah. Tickets for the event can be purchased from any Cattlemen director in advance for $15. Tickets will also be available at the door. 

The evening is set to begin at 5 p.m. with a trade show and the opening of the silent auction. All proceeds will go to the annual scholarship auction.

A beef tips dinner will be served beginning at 6:45 p.m. with guest speaker Trent Loos following.

Living in England also affords the Griebenows the opportunity to travel to many different places in Europe, including Croatia. Enjoying their time in the eastern European country are (front, l-r) Addison, Alex; (back) Jill and Andrew.

Iowans upon the River Thames

            Soaking in the history of “Merry Old England,” following the Chelsea Football Club, and taking a stroll along the River Thames are all things one might imagine doing on a visit to London. For the Griebenow family, such activities have become a part of everyday life. Andrew and Jill Griebenow and their two children, Addison (8) and Alex (5), have been experiencing the culture of London, England, firsthand since moving there in January 2014.

           So how did a couple of native Iowans end up living in Chiswick, located in West London along the Thames? Well, it wasn’t the original plan, but it turned out to be an opportunity the young Midwestern couple couldn’t refuse.

Clayton County Recorder Sue Ellen (Krieg) Meyer is a leap-day baby born on Feb. 29. She resides with her husband, Jeff, on Highway 13 outside of Elkader, but what makes this story unique is the fact that her neighbor, Karl Johnson, who lives 1 1/2 miles down Highway 13 from her, is also a leap-day baby! 

First leap-day baby born at Palmer

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

Sue Ellen (Krieg) Meyer was the first baby to be born on a leap day since West Union’s Palmer Memorial Hospital opened its new facility in 1951.

Born on Feb. 29, 1960, being a leap-day baby and only getting to celebrate ones birthday onc every four years can be a hard concept for most people to understand.

Chris Kragnes Sr., UIU Honors Program freshman orientation instructor and assistant professor of business (far right), is pictured with four of the seven students in the freshman Honors class, (l-r) Caleb Robbins, Jacquelyn Arbegast, Lauren Wombles, and Shay Lierman. (Janell Bradley photo)

UIU Honors Program pushes students to new level

Janell Bradley

Contributing Writer

A select number of Upper Iowa University students from freshman through senior have chosen to adhere to a higher standard of learning designed to bring out their best.

In choosing to enroll in the Honors Program, the students experience a broad, interconnected view of the world while honing leadership and critical-thinking skills.

In May, Upper Iowa University will recognize its first Honors graduates – individuals it’s encouraged to be self-motivated, adaptable leaders who regularly challenge their assumptions about the world and their roles in it.

Leaping forward

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

Kristy (Bodensteiner) Dietzenbach and Carie (Miller) Brooks will forever be connected by the birthday they share.

Both were born on Feb. 29, 1976, about seven hours apart at Palmer Memorial Hospital in West Union, they are the only two people to have been born on the same leap day in Palmer’s history. What makes the birth date even more rare was the fact that it fell on a fifth Sunday in February, which occurs only once every 200 years!

During the four decades Ken Iliff spent at NASA, he often worked on revolutionary aircraft and spacecraft. One such aircraft is the X-29 Forward Swept Wing, seen behind him in this photo. (NASA photo)

Iliff's dreams took flight at NASA

Brian Smith
Contributing Writer
bsmith@fayettepublishing.com

Kenneth W. Iliff, a driving force of modern methods of parameter identification and estimation and a pioneer in hypersonic research, died at the age of 75 on Jan. 4, 2016. Iliff, a native of West Union, was one of the world’s foremost practitioners of flight research.            "Dr. Ken Iliff was amazing, insightful and brilliant," said Al Bowers, chief scientist at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. "He was my friend. Ken was a key player in the X-15 and the lifting-body flight research, and he had a deep love of hypersonic (4,000 mph or greater) flight. Ken’s greatest work was his parameter identification techniques, which are still used today. His sense of humor and mischievous smile will be sorely missed."

Mike Tieskoetter holds a more than 100-page screenplay he has written entitled “King of Thieves,” which is about a group of professional bank robbers and the rookie FBI agents who are hoping to make a name for themselves in the world. The 18-year-old hopes to attend filmmaking school one day. (Janell Bradley photo)

Lifelong film buff hopes he has the 'write' stuff

Janell Bradley

Contributing Writer

Eighteen-year-old Michael Tieskoetter says he’s always loved movies. From the time he was 3 or 4 years of age and learned how to use a DVD player, the Ossian area youth began watching some of his favorite movies – for the third, fourth and even fifth time or more.

South Winneshiek Felicity Taylor is making waves in the wrestling world. The sophomore 106-pounder made history this winter as she became the first girl in Upper Iowa Conference history to be crowned champion. For the hardworking Warrior athlete, that accomplishment is not nearly satisfying enough as she is ready to take her game to the next level. (Zakary Kriener photo)

A new meaning to 'fight like a girl'

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

When most people think of Iowa high school wrestling, they think of one of the toughest and most physical sports in the country. People think of the hundreds of hours that grapplers train each and every year to reach their goals. People think about the hours of dedication that go into a successful season. 

However, when people think of girls in the sport of wrestling, they often think of the spirited cheerleaders that sit matside to help cheer on their school’s wrestlers as they battle it out, but South Winneshiek sophomore Felicity Taylor is determined to change that perceptio.

Valley to lease 0.3 acre to NFVCC

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

The North Fayette and Valley school boards held a joint meeting on Monday, Feb. 15.

The Valley school board held a public hearing on the sale, lease, grant or gift of 0.3 acre of land to the North Fayette Valley Community Coalition for its Youth and Family Learning Center.