Stories from Monday, May 23, 2016

Volunteerism is alive and well in rural America. People of all ages from elementary school students to retired individuals serve communities and the country in a variety of ways and more people are potential volunteers when they are informed about a need...

MacKenzie Koeppen and Ben Rabbass of Cushing are happy to announce the birth of their baby daughter, who was born on May 18, 2016. Kara-Jo Lynne Rabbass was born at 7:41 p.m., weighed 6 lb. 3 oz., and measured 18 inches long. Kara-Jo was welcomed home by her three siblings - brothers Maddox and Payton and sister Siri. Grandparents are Jill and Mark of Cushing and Dorothy of Robbinsdale, Minnesota...

Vickie and Brian Freed of Cherokee are happy to announce the engagement of their son, Kristian Brian Freed, to Stephanie Mae Shever of Cushing. The groom-to-be is a 2011 graduate of Cherokee Washington High School who then attended Iowa State University. He currently works as a Sales Associate for Pioneer Dupont and also farms...

Jim Adamson was feeling both relief and gratitude as he presented checks recently to the Cherokee Music Boosters and the Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Music Boosters. The relief was due to the fact that this was the successful conclusion of a major project that began back in 2015. The gratitude was from all the donations, both in time and financial, that made the Simon Estes Concert a success for the community...

SPENCER - The Class 1A Boys District Golf meet was held here Thursday at the Spencer Golf and Country Club. The weather was warm and a bit breezy and the wind picked up throughout the day which made the greens roll faster and faster and it was tough to get anything to stick. Most shots had to be left short, which made judging the wind a challenge...

The Cherokee County Cattlemen Association presented scholarships to four county high school seniors who are going on to study in an agriculture discipline. Pictured (left to right) are Brian Tuttle, president of the Cherokee County Cattlemen; Kirk Stowater of WHS; Brooklyn Treinen of MMC and Bailey Gaydo of WHS. Not pictured is Jacob Spieler of MMC...

During the band and choir solo ensemble contest held in early April, Cherokee Washington High School had three groups named "Best in Center". Those groups performed on Wednesday May 11 at the Music Hall on the Iowa State campus in Ames at the "Outstanding Performer's Showcase"...

Well it's happened. I've reached another milestone in my life. No, not a special birthday or anniversary... no new grandkids, either. Here's what happened that made me realize that maybe I've "crossed over" to the "older" generation (not "old" ... "older")...