News

Wed
07
Feb

Car insurance notes 120 years

 

George Woodard and his son, Dick, peruse one of the original Woodard Insurance ledgers, handwritten by George’s grandfather, Ritchie (R.O.) Woodard, who started the family business in West Union in 1856. The large leather-bound books, some of which are displayed at Woodard Insurance Service Co., now run by Dick, are an accurate depiction of how insurance, including auto coverage, has expanded and changed over the years. (photo by Megan Molseed)

 

Car insurance notes 120 years

 

 

By Megan Molseed
mmolseed@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

 

It was 1898, and the world was changing fast. The Industrial Revolution had changed the world, and life would never be the same.  New inventions were coming fast, changing how people operated on a daily basis. 

One of these many life-altering inventions was that of the automobile.  

Originally steam-powered, the revolution saw the invention of the much more practical electric car and later, in the 1890s, the first gasoline-operated automobile. In 1898, the first auto insurance policy was issued to cover the automobile drivers and their properties.   

As the world was changing by leaps and bounds, a young businessman had settled into our neck of the woods, ready to set out on a new business venture – selling insurance.

Known to many as R.O., Ritchie Ogden Woodard in 1856 established one of West Union’s longest-running businesses and named it for his family. Woodard Insurance started out offering the basics, farm loans and insurance.

Wed
07
Feb

Ingels announces run for ag secretary

Chad Ingels

 

 

Ingels announces run for ag secretary 

 

 

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

Chad Ingels of rural Randalia recently announced his candidacy for Iowa secretary of agriculture.

Ingels is a 1987 graduate of West Central High School, grows corn and soybeans on his 600-acre family farm. He attended Iowa State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in professional agriculture.

For 16 years, he has been involved with water quality projects in northeast Iowa through Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. He is also a member of the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, which oversees the regulatory side of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on air, soil and water quality. He has been a member of the West Central school board for 21 years, serving as president for the last six years. 

Ingels is bidding to replace Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) undersecretary for farm production and conservation.

Wed
07
Feb

Barbara celebrates 100th birthday

 

Barbara Temple (front, center) celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday, Feb. 2, surrounded by family and friends at the Good Samaritan Society — West Union. Family members who attended the birthday celebration include (front, l-r) David and Jeff Kamm; (back) Barry, Kris, Nancy and Becky Kamm. Megan Molseed photo

 

Barabara celebrates 100th birthday

 

 

 

 

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

Anna Barbara (Kamm) Temple will forever be known for three things: being an accomplished pianist/organist and piano teacher, her stylish high heels, and fancy cars. 

For over half a century, Temple taught thousands of children in the West Union area how to play the piano. It was a rare occasion that she wasn’t out in public in her high heels, and she always drove some of the “fancier” cars available.   

Born on Feb. 2, 1918, to Balthasar “Balz” and Amelia Kamm of rural West Union, Temple hit the century mark last Friday surrounded by friends and family at the Good Samaritan Society — West Union. To this day, she will occasionally regale her fellow residents with a performance on the piano in the chapel as she did many times as a visitor there over the years. Temple frequented many of the different nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in the area to provide entertainment to the residents. When the residents heard the click-clack of her ever-present high heels coming down the hall, they all knew they were in for a treat that afternoon. 

Thu
01
Feb

REC launches Skyways in Fayette County

Paul Foxwell, Allamakee-Clayton Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) general manager and vice president, holds an antenna that is placed on vertical properties as part of the Skyways fixed-wireless Internet service the company recently launched in Fayette County. One such antenna is located on the water tower in downtown West Union. (Chris DeBack photo)

 

 

 

 

REC launches Skyways in Fayette County

 

Chris DeBack
Contributing Writer

 

Rural Americans typically get the short end of the stick with technology. 

Here in rural northeast Iowa, it always seems as though this area is playing catch-up when it comes to the latest and greatest technological breakthrough. It’s especially true for people who live out “in the country” on gravel roads with the Internet. Those Fayette County citizens have few options when it comes to getting broadband Internet service. 

The options that are available, like satellite Internet, can’t keep up with the high bandwidth requirements most people are looking for when selecting an Internet provider. While speed may be an issue, so, too, are data caps that severely limit what someone can do on the Internet. In today’s day and age, 10 gigabytes doesn’t go very far when utilizing all that the Internet has to offer. 

Allamakee-Clayton Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) is trying to change that with the introduction of Skyways, a fixed-wireless Internet service that can reach up to 25MB download speeds and won’t have a data limit. 

“[REC] gets bandwidth [for the fixed-wireless system] from a [fiber-optic network backbone] and then we distribute that over a network of wireless equipment that then goes to the subscriber at his or her home,” said Paul Foxwell, REC executive vice president and general manager. “We have found pretty early on that it is a good technology. It is line of sight so there are limitations with terrain and things like that, but we are able to deliver a product without some of the constraints we saw from the satellite business.”

This isn’t the first time the rural electric cooperative has diversified its brand. When DIRECTV first took off, REC became a DIRECTV provider and installer through a national affiliate organization. At its height, the company had 4,000 DIRECTV subscribers until the satellite TV company saw how successful the program was and bought REC out. Foxwell noted that customers still call REC to sign up for DIRECTV.  

Through its dealing with the national affiliate organization, REC also got involved in providing satellite Internet. Foxwell noted that satellite Internet service has always had limitations. The first satellite that was launched into space to provide the service only allowed for basic Web functions such as checking email. As the Internet began to grow and the need for higher bandwidth grew with it, so, too, did the satellite technology. Today, satellite Internet is capable of providing connections that will allow for streaming applications such as Netflix, but a major limitation has always been data limits. A customer gets a set amount of bandwidth to use per month — for instance 10 gigabytes — and once he or she has reached that allotment, the customer will either be charged overage fees or have speeds throttled back until the next month’s billing cycle.  

 

Thu
01
Feb

Niemann & Atkins to headline 2018 Winneshiek County Fair

2018 Winneshiek County Fair Headliners

 

 

 

Niemann & Atkins to headline 
2018 Winneshiek County Fair

 

 

By Zakary Kriener
Contributing Writer

** See complete story in the Feb. 7 issue of The Ossian Bee **

 

The Winneshiek County Fair Board is happy to officially announce that country music stars Jerrod Niemann and Rodney Atkins will highlight the 2018 Winneshiek County Fair.

This year’s annual county fair will begin Tuesday, July 10, and continue through Saturday, July 14.

Niemann will highlight the Friday night Grandstand entertainment at 9 p.m. after opener The Last Ride with Tony Winkler gets the party started at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday night, Atkins will crank up the action at 9 p.m. following opener Walker McGuire, who will take the stage at 7:30 p.m.

Wed
31
Jan

Lightning Legends on the path to success

 

South Winneshiek students (l-r) Carter Meyer, a junior, and Brady Jaster, an eighth-grader, represent the school’s Lightning Legends, a First Tech Challenge team that competes against other schools across the country. (submitted photo)

 

Lightning Legends on the path to success

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

 

 

 

For the second consecutive year, South Winneshiek’s FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team, the Lightning Legends, is on its way to the North Super Regional competition.

The team of junior Carter Meyer and eighth-grader Brady Jaster, along with coaches John Erickson and Kristy Meyer, will load up their custom robot and head to Sioux City on Saturday, Feb. 10, to compete for a chance to advance to the State competition. For the young team, it has been a busy season of preparing and fine-tuning their robot to get to this point.

Wed
31
Jan

Local fans tout Eagles 'loud & proud'

 

Philadelphia Eagles fans Damian Harnisch (front) and his parents, Tim and Colletta Harnisch of Elgin, might just be the only Eagles fans in the soon-to-be North Fayette Valley school district. What the family lacks in numbers, it makes up for in enthusiasm as it can’t wait to root on the Eagles in the Super Bowl on Sunday.  Chris DeBack photo

 

Local fans tout Eagles 'loud & proud'

 

 

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

 

 

 

Being a Philadelphia Eagles fan in northeast Iowa is a lonely proposition. 

Surrounded by Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and some Kansas City Chiefs fans, Tim and Colletta Harnisch and their kids may just be the lone Eagles fans in the soon-to-be North Fayette Valley school district. 

On Sunday evening, Jan. 21, if you listened closely enough, you could just hear the Harnisches’ cheer over the drone of downtrodden Vikings fans as the Eagles defeated the Vikings, 38-7, in the NFC Championship Game and earned a trip to Super Bowl LII. The loss cost the Vikings the chance to be the first team to play in its home stadium during the big game. 

Wed
31
Jan

'A visionary and innovative program'

 

Upper Iowa University President Dr. William R. Duffy (left) and Northeast Iowa Community College President Dr. Liang Chee Wee display the recently signed Bridge to Success parternship agreement between the two institutions. (Zakary Kriener photo)

 

'A visionary and innovative program'

 

 

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

 

 

 

Upper Iowa University (UIU) in Fayette and Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) in Calmar signed a Letter of Understanding Tuesday, Jan. 23, that will create a new Bridge to Success Program for first-year college students. The four-year private university and community college agreement, which is set to begin this fall, is believed to be the first such scenario in the nation.

Through the Bridge to Success Program, first-year students who have not met entrance requirements for Upper Iowa University will enroll as NICC students. While attending classes at UIU, the students will complete general education requirements, enhance their college-ready skills, and complete college credits that fully transfer to Upper Iowa University. Students in the cohort will live on the university’s Fayette campus, receive academic and advising services from both institutions, and attend classes taught by visiting NICC faculty.

Wed
31
Jan

Lifelong Pats fans gearing up for SB LII

 

West Union natives Tanner and Trey Kuhens (l-r), both 19 and lifelong New England Patriots fans, are looking forward to rooting on their team as it pursues its sixth Super Bowl win of the twins’ lifetimes. (Zakary Kriener photo)

 

Lifelong Pats fans gearing up for SB LII

 

 

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

 

 

 

“Sometimes, I think about how much fun it would be if we each liked a different team and could make it into a little more of a brotherly rivalry,” laughed West Union native Trey Kuhens as he looked over at his twin brother, Tanner. “But then it’s times like this that I’m grateful that we can look on and cheer for our Patriots in the Super Bowl together.”

For the 19-year-old brothers, who are both freshmen at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, becoming a part of the New England Patriots fandom dates back to some of their earliest memories.

“I couldn’t have been older than 3 or 4. The first Pats game that I ever remember was the 2001 AFC Championship game, which is now referred to as the ‘Tuck Rule Game,’” recalled Trey. “I didn’t know a whole lot about football at that age, but I can remember being so mad at that original call. Luckily, it worked out in our favor, and we were able to go on and win the game.”

Wed
31
Jan

Supervisors discuss moving County Attorney to courthouse

Supervisors discuss moving County Attorney to courthouse

 

 

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

 

 

 

At their regular Monday meeting, Jan. 29, the Fayette County Supervisors and Oelwein City officials discussed moving the County Attorney’s Office to the Fayette County Courthouse in West Union. 

The Oelwein City officials with whom the Supervisors met were Peggy Sherrets, mayor; Dylan Mulfinger, city administrator; and Jeremy Logan, police chief.  

Sherrets opened the discussion by asking how the Supervisors came to the conclusion of moving the County Attorney’s Office to the courthouse. 

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