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Official Paper of Calmar, Fort Atkinson, Ridgeway, Waucoma, Winneshiek County & Turkey Valley Community Schools
Volume 37, Issue 11
P.O. Box 507, Calmar, IA 52132 | (563) 562-3488 | www.calmarcourier.com | USPS: 335-690
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Get Your Irish on at The Irish Shanti
EVENTS Turkey Valley presents “Once Upon a Mattress” Turkey Valley will present “Once Upon a Mattress”, an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea” on March 19, 20 & 21! For more information visit www.turkeyvalleyschool.com
South Winn presents “You Could Die Laughing” South Winn presents “You Could Die Laughing” on March 19, 20 & 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Television mogul Jacque St. Yves invites eleven has been comics to his island lodge off the Canadian coast to audition for the central role in his new TV series. It’s an opportunity to die for ... and that is someone’s intention! Shortly after arriving, the comics find they are stranded along with the pilot of St. Yves’s private jet, the attractive flight attendant and the couple employed as housekeeper and handyman. That night, the housekeeper disappears during a violent thunderstorm and her husband drops dead after ingesting candy that any of them could have sampled. Laughs and chills abound and the tension mounts until the startling truth emerges.
By Joyce Meyer If you are looking for a great place to eat on St. Paddy’s Day or any day, check out The Irish Shanti. The food is so good that it made the “15 restaurants in Iowa that will blow your mind” list. At 17455 Gunder Road by Elgin is where you can find The Irish Shanti, the home of the Gunderburger. The famous Gunderburger was started in the late 1970’s as a means of putting Gunder on the map. The first Gunderburgers were a smaller version of the one served today. The Gunderburger started growing in its size in the 1990’s and also gained notoriety. The Shanti also offers a variety of delicious menu items besides hamburgers. Fresh pork loins, turkey tenders, boiled cod (Poor Man’s Lobster) and ribeye steaks are house favorites. They are also pleased to offer a variety of import beers and Guinness on tap. On Sunday, March 15 they had their St. Paddy’s Party where Wind in the Barley performed. You could also have your corn beef dinner or order off the menu. Review from the “15 restaurants in Iowa that will blow your mind” said “If you’re in the mood to eat a full pound of ground beef, head to the Irish Shanti, home of the Gunderburger. This massive sandwich can only be found in rural Iowa, but it’s worth the trip. Other favorites include the corned beef and cabbage and the fried pork tenderloin, but, trust me, the entire menu is loaded with some of the tastiest things you’ll ever stick in your mouth.” If you haven’t been there yet, put it on your bucket list of great food to enjoy. IRISH SHANTI to page 2
Newspapers piling up since 2009 while State Historical Society decides how to preserve them
ABOVE: Jim and Margaret Elsbernd of Ossian enjoyed their meal at the Irish Shanti with us in 2011. (Photo by Joyce Meyer) RIGHT: Shanti’s corn beef and cabbage from their website.
Free grief support group sessions offered at Winneshiek Medical Center Losing a loved one brings on a series of complex emotions. Confronting the pain and other aspects of grief with the support of others can be an effective way to deal with loss. Winneshiek Medical Center Hospice is offering a free eightweek grief support group beginning Thursday, April 2 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The sessions will be held in the Home Health and Hospice meeting room. The sessions are open to the public with prior registration. “Grief is a natural and healthy reaction to loss; however, due to the emotional pain of death, people may ignore grief rather than embrace this necessary process,” said Karen Nielsen, LMSW, Winneshiek Medical Center Social Worker and coordinator of the grief support program. “The grief support group is safe and confidential - it is an opportunity for people to share their experience with loss and to express their feelings, reactions and thoughts with others who truly understand what they are going through.” Registration is required to participate in the grief support group. Call 563-387-3024 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. for more information or to register. Online registration is available by visiting www.winmedical.org/grief-support-group. There is no charge for the program.
In this Issue: Obituary ....................................4 Worship/Opinion ...................4, 8 Legals .................................... 4-5 Classifieds .................................6 Sports ........................................8
Theodora on the porch
Aase Haugen Home
Aase Haugen Senior Services Celebrates 100 years! 2015 is an auspicious year for the folks at Aase Haugen Senior Services, marking 100 years of care, comfort, compassion, healing and hope in our community thanks to the visionary dream of our founder, Aase Haugen, who left her 240 acre family farm for the purpose of building a Home for seniors, where they wouldn’t have to go through the aging process alone. To help celebrate, Aase Haugen Senior Services will be planning a series of events throughout the year, coinciding with historic dates from 1915. The Celebration Kick-off, Cornucopia of Concertinas was held Feb. 15th, the same day the doors opened at the original Aase Haugen Home, started the celebrations which run through June
30th, 2015, the same day the original Home dedication was held. In March, Aase Haugen Senior Services pairs with the Decorah Lutheran Church in hosting a duo of Concerts by Michael and Bonnie Jorgensen, who perform the works of Theodora Cormontan; a Norwegian Composer and resident of Aase Haugen Home, with her sister, in the 1920’s. The first performance is scheduled for March 28, at 7 pm, at Decorah Lutheran Church in the Sanctuary. Decorah Lutheran Church was Aase Haugen’s home church, and they sacrificed their pastor as the first administrator to the home in 1915. The second concert will be held March 29 at 1:30 pm, also at the Dec-
orah Lutheran Church in the Sanctuary. Admission both days is free, sponsored by Aase Haugen Senior Services in celebration of the centennial. There will be a reception for the performers following the concerts, hosted by Decorah Lutheran church members. Many of Theodora’s works were re-discovered, having never been previously published, just a few years ago by the Jorgensen’s, who have made their mission to spread her musical gifts today. At the March concerts, in honor of the Aase Haugen Centennial, the Jorgensen’s will even be premiering a few new pieces composed by Theodora that have never before been played in public! How wonderful that Theodora’s works can continue
to inspire and entertain almost 100 years later! Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. For more details, contact Kate Klimesh, Business Development, Aase Haugen Senior Services, (563) 382-6521. Stop by Aase Haugen Homes front office to pick up your raffle tickets for three hand-made items: Night Sky Quilt by Carolyn Solberg, Living Silos pottery by Dean Schwarz, and Phelp’s Park original drawing by Doug Eckheart. There are also a selection of commemorative items available for purchase as well, including a hand-thrown pottery mug, copper or fine silver commemorative coin, and T-shirts in almost every AASE HAUGEN to page 3
DuPont Pioneer Commits $45,000 to Food and Agricultural Education in Iowa JOHNSTON, Iowa, Feb. 11, 2015 — DuPont and the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) has announced that DuPont Pioneer awarded more than $45,000 through multiple grants to agriscience educators in Iowa. The grants will fund training and classroom resources to help implement advanced agriculture curriculum. Teachers who received a grant are implementing Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) in their classrooms and will attend training in 2015. Iowa teachers receiving grants include: Jenny Lichty, Ballard High School; Rosa Sondag, Central Decatur Community School; Kristen Rutherford, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton High School; Caryn Caye Graham, Graettinger-Terril High School; Jon Doese, Jesup Community School District; Bridget Mahoney, Lone Tree Community School; Susie Catanzareti, Mount Ayr ComPat Tekippe, DuPont Pioneer sales rep; Melissa Brincks, South Winneshiek Ag Instructor; munity School District; Eric PIONEER to page 7 Mitch Hemesath, DuPont Pioneer Associate sales rep.
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NEWSPAPERS to page 3
UPS Honors Iowa Drivers For 25 Years Of Safe Driving UPS (NYSE:UPS) recently announced 11 elite drivers from Iowa are among 1,445 newly inducted worldwide into the Circle of Honor, an honorary organization for UPS drivers who have achieved 25 or more years of accident-free driving. Iowa boasts 71 active Circle of Honor drivers with a combined 2,041 years of accident-free driving. Cleo Underwood of Des Moines is the state’s senior safe driver, with 39 years of accident-free driving under his belt. There are 1,029 total UPS drivers in Iowa. Globally, 7,878 active UPS drivers are members of the Circle of Honor. Collectively they’ve racked up more than 221,000 years and more than 5.3 billion safe miles during their careers. That’s enough miles to travel to Mars and back 36 times. “My thanks goes to all of them for their dedication and focus, and for the countless lives they’ve saved,” said Jerry Mattes, president, UPS West Region. Globally, the most seasoned UPS Circle of Honor driver is Thomas UPS to page 3
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By Lauren Mills, IowaWatch.org Bundled stacks of newspaper fill shelves and overflow onto the floor in the archives of the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines. Traditionally, the papers would have been sent off for preservation, but a 2009 budget cut ended that 50-year practice. Some historians and activists are anxious to have the papers preserved to ensure the so-called first draft of Iowa history is available to future generations. A bill proposed last year would have provided funds for the backlog, but the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees the historical society, put on the breaks. It rejected the proposed funding citing pending completion of a master planning process and assessment study to evaluate what it has in the archives and how to preserve those materials in the future. The moves come as newspapers increasingly are adopting digital means of producing and publishing their work, and while historians and preservationists debate whether
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*Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) accurate as of 02/25/2015. Rates may change after account is opened. Minimum to open is $100. No monthly fees. If qualifications are met each statement cycle: (1) Balances up to $25,000.00 receive APY of 2.04%; (2) The portion of balances $25,000.01 or more earn an interest rate of 0.10%, resulting in 2.04% - 0.10% APY, depending on the balance. If qualifications are not met, all balances earn 0.10% APY. Qualifying transactions must post to and settle during the statement cycle. Transactions may take one or more banking days from the date transaction was made to post and settle. ATM transactions do not count toward qualifying debit card transactions. See a bank employee for more details.