Inside today’s Grundy Thursday, September 3, 2015
The Grundy Register Serving Grundy County since 1928
Grundy Center, Iowa
www.TheGrundyRegister.com
Volume 91 – Number 36
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Grundy Center named Main Street Iowa Community
Soren Cleveland sought to discover what type of wind turbine blades are most effective in a project that earned him a Future Discovery Award at the Iowa State Fair. (John Jensen/The Grundy Register photo)
Holland youth receives State Fair science award
By JOHN JENSEN The Grundy Register HOLLAND — Eleven-year-old Soren Cleveland admits that he never thought a lot about the wind turbines that have popped up throughout the northwest quarter of Grundy County over the past two years. Yet an experiment relating to those very turbines earned the Grundy Center Middle Schooler a scholarship should he decide to attend Iowa State. Cleveland’s project about what shape and material would make more efficient wind turbine blades earned him a Future Discovery Award at the Iowa State Fair last month. “At first I didn’t even know they were going to hand (the awards) out,” Cleveland said. “Then I just saw that I won it. There were only two other projects that got this award.” Soren said he first became interested in wind turbine blades when he attended a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) camp. “But we only had one blade (at the camp). I wanted to see if there were any other blade designs that we could do,” he said. Cleveland found three different blade designs to work with — one round and wide, one narrow and sharp and one in between. He tried the designs with both corrugated cardboard and balsa wood and admitted that the results surprised him. “I did not think (the one that was) would be the best,” he said. Cleveland hypothesized that the larger blade made of heavier material would be the most efficient. Instead it was the narrower design. “That was probably because it
was a little more aerodynamic and lighter weight,” he said. Cleveland also found that the cardboard, which was a little heavier and more rigid, worked better than the balsa wood. “I learned that some things that you don’t think will be the best, he said. Cleveland was the youngest recipient among the 10 awardees and one of only four award winners with science-based experiments. “We looked for blue ribbon 4-H projects that exemplified the values inherent in a liberal arts education,” Dan Rice, the college’s Director of Recruiting and a judge, said. “In addition, quality and creativity in presentation were evaluated. “Judging was no easy task,” Rice said. “But it is fantastically rewarding to see the wealth of talent, knowledge, and potential we have from all ages and corners of the state. These participants show strong intellectual promise, and we are pleased to present them with a Future Discovery Award.” Nearly 3,000 participants presented exhibits, which were first reviewed by 4-H judges. Afterward, Liberal Arts and Sciences staff selected 10 award recipients from about 1,500 blue ribbon-holding exhibits. Cleveland said he hopes to take the project up a notch next year, designing three-dimensional blades on the computer and comparing them to the blades he used this year, which were largely two dimensional. “I want to make it a 3-D shape and do the same thing with the same designs and see if I generate more energy than the blades now.”
By JOHN JENSEN The Grundy Register WEST DES MOINES — All their hard work paid off. Last Thursday members of the Grundy Center Main Street Committee received the news they had hoped to, learning that Grundy Center had been one of two communities selected by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Main Street Iowa as the newest Main Street Iowa Communities. “It felt awesome to finally be able to share this with the community and with everyone that we were accepted as a Main Street Iowa Community,” Committee Chair John Schuler, who had known the good news for a couple of weeks, said. “It’s just overwhelming the dozens of people that were involved in this with broad community support and to see it come to success like this is just awesome.” Mayor Brian Buhrow, who is also a Main Street Grundy Center committee member and attended Thursday’s announcement, cited the countless volunteer hours as a reason that the community had been successful in its venture. “When they looked at us, the amount of volunteer time between the committee, the young students categorizing all the history and then the Beck-Brunks who worked over 900 hours of volunteer time putting that video together, it truly is the essence of Grundy Center,” he said. “If there’s something that we want to accomplish, we can get a committee together and accomplish it.” Main Street Iowa Coordinator
Grundy Center Main Street Committee members receive a plaque from Governor Terry Branstad naming Grundy Center an official Main Street Iowa community. Grundy Center and Centerville are the 52th and 53rd communities named to the program since its inception in 1986. (John Jensen/The Grundy Register photo)
Celebration Planned
A public press conference and celebration of Grundy Center’s Main Street Iowa designation will be held Thursday, Sept. 10 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The press conference and celebration will be held from 10:30 to 11 at the Grundy Community Center and will be followed by a showing of Grundy Center’s Main Street Iowa presentation video at the Center Theatre from 11 to 11:30. Michael Wagler cited three major areas that helped Grundy Center accomplish its goal, noting its broad base of support demonstrated in financial and human investment into the program application process, its clearly articulated goals with the Main Street partnership and its demonstrated community and economic development success in the
past and a public-private partnership shift towards future downtown revitalization focus. Grundy Center was one of two communities selected to the Main Street Program last week. Centerville, which had unsuccessfully applied for the program last year, was accepted this year. Sioux City also applied for the Main Street program
Touch the Truck
this year but was unsuccessful. Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds presented the awards to both communities. “Iowa’s historic main streets are the heart and soul of our communities,” Branstad said. “We will continue to do whatever we can to keep Iowa’s downtowns strong and vibrant for business owners, workers, residents and visitors. I am pleased to welcome each of these communities into the Main Street family, and wish them much success in the future.” “I know how well the Main Street Iowa program can work since I was a founding member of the Osceola Main Street program,” Reynolds. “The process was not easy, nor was it quick, but it certainly showed re-
What’s Happening
Thursday, September 3 Grundy Center Farmer’s Market Courthouse Square 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
State and County Offices Closed
Saturday, September 5 Community Night of Prayer 305 Lincoln Ave, Holland
Thursday, September 10 Grundy Center Farmer’s Market Courthouse Square 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Friday, September 4 Spartan Booster Club Tailgate Supper • 5:30 - 7 Spartan Stadium
Monday, September 7
Labor Day
Tuesday, September 8 Grundy County Supervisors Courthouse • 9 a.m.
The Grundy Center Chamber of Commerce hosted a “Touch the Truck” event last Thursday during the Farmer’s Market. Large refuse trucks, above, drew a large crowd as children were able to climb aboard and honk the trucks’ various loud horns. Right, Gage Nagel takes a seat at the controls of the Grundy Center Fire Department’s old pumper. (John Jensen/The Grundy Register photos)
Touchdown = $25 STATE
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Throughout the season, each Wolverine touchdown will make the D-NH Dollars for Scholars program an “eligible receiver” for $25.00 from State Bank! The Grundy Register, P.O. Box 245, Grundy Center, IA 50638 Phone: (319) 824-6958 • Fax: (319) 824-6288 • E-mail: publisher@gcmuni.net, registerads@gcmuni.net, editor@gcmuni.net
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