Juvenile stabbing in Festina

On Thursday afternoon, the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 9-1-1 report of a stabbing that occurred in Festina. Upon arrival, deputies located a victim still impaled with a knife.

It was determined that 15-year-old Nathan Sutton had stabbed his mother during an altercation.

Sutton was taken into custody and transported to Northeast Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in Black Hawk County.

Sutton was referred to Juvenile Court Services and charged with Class C felony willful injury.

The victim was transported by ambulance to Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah with serious, non-life threatening injuries.

Ethan Adams

Adams excited to be back at South Winn

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The 2019-2020 South Winneshiek school year officially got underway last Friday as students and teachers returned to the classrooms. While one of those teachers is new this fall to the South Winneshiek teaching roster, he is far from unfamiliar with the South Winneshiek school system.

“I am actually a 2010 graduate of South Winn and grew up in Spillville,” said Ethan Adams, the new high school special education instructor for the district. “I am looking forward to coming back to South Winn to continue my teaching career.”

While he is new to the teaching staff, Adams is quite familiar with the school in recent years as well as he has coached multiple sports for the Warriors.

Easton Halverson (left) proudly shows off his purple ribbons at the 2019 Iowa State Fair alongside Ryan Holthaus, North Fayette Valley FFA advisor. Halverson’s Fair project this year included the complete restoration of an 1850 Oliver Diesel which earned him Grand Champion status in the tractor restoration competition. (subitted photo)

Halverson's Oliver 1850 earns Grand Champion status

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

When 18-year-old Easton Halverson returned home from the 2019 Iowa State Fair, he was one happy man. After nearly a year of hard work and dedication that went into his project, Halverson returned home with a Grand Champion ribbon in the tractor restoration category after renovated 1966 Oliver 1850 diesel tractor took top honors at the Fair.

“It was really cool to see the project when I finally completed it,” said Halverson, who spent over 450 hours working on the project over a 9-month period that began in October 2018. “It was satisfying to see all of the work finally pay off!”

After earning purple ribbon honors at the 2019 Fayette County Fair, Halverson brought his tractor to Des Moines and entered it into the “1959 and Newer” division.

“There were about seven tractors in my class and they all earned purple ribbons,” explained Halverson. “I think this is the first year that every tractor in a class earned a purple ribbon, so that speaks for the quality of competition this year.”

Halverson’s prized Oliver went on to take the top honors in his class as his project displayed excellence in each of the judge’s criteria.

“You are judged on your interview with the judges, the looks of the tractor, the amount of mechanical work done on the tractor, and your overall knowledge of the tractor,” pointed out Halverson. “Going into the fair, I knew that I had a quality tractor and knew how much time and effort I spent on it, but I didn’t expect to have a shot at winning my class.”

Entertainment, activities planned for upcoming Watermelon Days

Fayette Watermelon Days will be Friday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 8.

The event will have lots of free activities and entertainment.

Watermelon Days Committee Chair Linda Tenney said one of the newest events will be an Escape Room.

“The newest event we will be doing is an escape room this year for $5 a person for groups of five on Friday and Saturday (see times below). It's called ‘The Disappearance of Mr. George’ and will be housed on Main Street at the old dentist’s office at 143 S. Main St. We are encouraging people to register ahead of time. This will ensure a smoother transition between groups and no waiting in long lines. Payment will need to be made at the door,” Tenney pointed out.

Vincent Otdoerfer (left) and Kevin Bemiss with the hardware they won at the Iowa State Fair Weight Lifting Contest.

Local duo faces the odds and blows away the competition

By Jack Swanson
jswanson@fayettecountynewspapers.com

Batman and Robin, Tango and Cash, Sigfrid and Roy, Kobie and Shaq, Starsky and Hutch, were all famous duos who overcame the odds when it looked like they couldn’t.

Now the North Fayette Valley family has a duo to rank in their membership: Vincent and Kevin.

These two weightlifting powerhouses faced the odds for the first time together and beat them, each capturing first place titles in the Bench Press and Dead Lift Weightlifting Contest at this year’s Iowa State Fair.

Vincent Otdoerfer was the winner of the Novice Raw Bench Press in the 178-pound division with a lift of 350 pounds. He also won the Dead Lift Natural competition with a lift of 575 pounds.

Kevin Bemiss won the Masters II Raw Bench Press age 50-59 Division with a lift of 370 pounds.

Like some of the other famous duos mentioned earlier, Vincent and Kevin don’t seem like they would be a perfect match from initial appearances.

Mikah Opperman (center) tests out a cardboard box while lifeguard Dane Schott (left) and West Union Parks and Recreation director, Kathy Guyer (right) give her some tips on a boat design for the West Union Aquatic Center’s upcoming Cardboard Regatta on Monday, September 2. (Megan Molseed photo) 

Get ready to float your boat!

By Meagan Molseed
mmolseed@thefayettecountyunion.com

School may have started but for the West Union Aquatic center, summer isn’t over quite as it prepares to host their first ever Cardboard Regatta on Monday, September 2.

“It will be fun to see what creative ideas people come up with,” smiled West Union Parks and Recreation director, Kathy Guyer.  “We do have a few guidelines to make sure everything is fair, but for the most part wherever your imagination takes you when building your boat is as far as it can go!” 

The event is intended to bring families and teams together as they work together to design, name, and build, and race their own sailboat.

PRES Real Estate Services recently expanded to northeast Iowa as licensed realtors (l-r) Mike and Sarah Buchheit (Pella office), Sharon Kleve, and Tina Barness are looking forward to serving local communities. (Zakary Kriener photo)

PRES Real Estate Services comes to Ossian

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

A new realty service has officially arrived in northeast Iowa as PRES Real Estate Services has expanded its company from its Pella roots to the town of Ossian. The company, which was started by Winneshiek County natives Mike and Sarah (Hageman) Buchheit in 2016, will be managed at the northeast Iowa location by licensed realtors Sharon Kleve of Clermont and Tina Barness of Ossian.

“It’s a process that began about a year ago,” said Sarah. “There were a lot of pieces that had to fall into place to make this happen and we are excited to finally get moving on being in business.”

The original name of the realty company was Pella Real Estate Services, which is now changed to PRES Real Estate Services to better fit the northeast Iowa area.

When students return to classrooms this fall, one of the new faces at South Winneshiek will be that of Dakota Gray. The new elementary special education instructor is a graduate of Luther College who received his teaching endorsement from Upper Iowa University. (Zakary Kriener photo)

Meet new South Winn teacher Dakota Gray

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

As school bells will soon be ringing in area classrooms to mark the beginning of a new school year, there will be several new teachers joining the teaching staff at South Winneshiek. One of those teachers will be Dakota Gray who will teach elementary special education.

“I am really looking forward to getting going and starting my teaching career,” said Gray, who will begin his first teaching job this fall. “I am excited to meet the kids and start building relationships with them! I am also looking forward to learning from the many other great teachers at South Winn.”

Bill Dohrmann (right) was inducted into the 4H Hall of Fame at the Iowa State Fair, Sunday, Aug. 18.  He is shown here after receiving the honor, with his brother, Boyd Dohrmann, who had previously been inducted.  

Former Fayette Mayor Inducted into 4-H Hall of Fame

By Jack Swanson
jswanson@fayettecountynewspapers.com

Bill Dohrman has hit some of the highest pinnacles a person can hit when it comes to the 4-H organization but to him his crowning achievement came last weekend when he was inducted into the 4-H Hall of Fame at the Iowa State Fair.

The former long-time Mayor of Fayette and bank director is this year’s Fayette County recipient.

For 42 years, St. Lucas natives John and Jann Kuehner have owned and operated The White House Supper Club in St. Lucas. The well-known establishment, which attracted customers from all throughout northeast Iowa on a nightly basis, officially closed its doors Friday evening. (Zakary Kriener photo)

The White House closes after 54 years

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

One of the most iconic establishments in northeast Iowa and certainly in the small town of St. Lucas – The White House Supper Club – is officially closed as of Friday. Longtime owners and operators John and Jann Kuehner of West Union admitted that it was a tough decision to close, but they are looking forward to retirement after 42 years.

“The final week was a very emotional one for us. There were a lot of tears shed,” explained Jann. “I think the thing that we are going to miss the most is the regular interactions with so many of our great customers.”

Sitting alongside husband John, the couple went on to reminisce about the history of The White House and how it became known as one of the region’s finest dining experiences.

“My mom and dad  (Mark and Marge Mihm) originally started The White House in 1965. It was managed by Jim Perry back then,” explained Jann. “Dad also had his jewelry store and a barber shop at the same location.”

Jann went on to explain that the jewelry story was originally located in the party room area of The White House and the barber shop area was located near the entrance to the building.

“My mother is the one who named it ‘The White House,’” recalled Jann. “The building was originally just a white house, so it was fitting.”