IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU’LL LOSE BUT WHAT YOU’LL GAIN
WEEKEND EDITION
Friday
March 28, 2014
Go to www.crestonnews.com for Breaking News as it happens
Now is as good of time as any to get fit. Try a fitness class, swim in the pool or get on a cardio machine. All will help you toward a healthier lifestyle. Land and water fitness classes are all FREE with your YMCA Membership! Get started today!
RENEW, REFRESH, RESTORE YOUR HOME
Panther girls return state meet experience
Home and Garden Show Saturday, March 29 10am-3pm SOUTHERN PRAIRIE YMCA SOUTHERN PRAIRIE YMCA
SPORTS, page 5A 1201 W Townline, Creston
641-782-9622 www.southernprairieymca.com
• Presentation by Jerry Kluver • E-Waste Recycling • Concession stand • Tickets $5 at the door
The Early Bird of Mount Ayr BY SARAH BROWN
CNA staff reporter sbrown@crestonnews.com
MOUNT AYR — As the old saying goes, “The early bird catches the worm.” In the case of Mount Ayr’s newest restaurant, the proverbial worm is a steaming cup of coffee and a choice of breakfast staples such as pancakes, biscuits and gravy and Belgian waffles or a grab-and-go treat like fresh baked lemon poppy seed muffins or apple turnovers. After the success of her first business, Jaime’s Coffee Mill and Deli, 118 W. Adams St., in Mount Ayr, owner Jaime Miller decided to pursue a second business venture. On March 17, Miller opened the doors to The Early
Bird, 115 N. Taylor St., in Mount Ayr. “There weren’t many places for breakfast in town,” Miller said. “I thought I’d help out.” The menu Miller said, with so many options for lunch in town, she wanted to focus on breakfast food. “We serve anything you could want for breakfast,” Miller said. The Early Bird menu offers eight morning combos served with coffee, for example biscuits and gravy, French toast or an omelet. Miller, who is also the cook, makes waffles that are almost as large as the plates and stacks of pancakes, that can be topped off with chocolate chips, strawberries, pecans or bananas. Miller, the main cook at The Early
Bird, said she “just enjoys making people’s tummy feel good.” The cafe also offers baked goods — sandwich and sweet bread loaves, cupcakes, cake, pies, pastries and cake pops — made from scratch by Jan Rusk of Mount Ayr. Many are recipes she learned cooking alongside her grandmother as a child. The team Miller and Rusk have been friends since high school. When a dialysis clinic that Rusk worked at closed, Miller was simultaneously looking for additional staff at the deli. “I just said I was looking for someone and she (Rusk) said, ‘what about
CNA photo by SARAH BROWN
The Early Bird, 115 N. Taylor St., in Mount Ayr is the newPlease see est breakfast joint in Ringgold County and owned and EARLY BIRD, Page 2 operated by Jamie Miller of Mount Ayr.
Nodaway Diner demolished to make way for Casey’s expansion
KSIB Radio moves to news talk format
By BAILEY POOLMAN
CNA staff reporter
bpoolman@crestonnews.com
By KYLE WILSON
GREENFIELD — Vicki and Jerry Eshelman of Greenfield is going from a diner demolition to a new dining nook. The Eshelmans sold Greenfield’s Nodaway Diner, 502 SE Kent St., to Casey’s General Store. “We tore it completely down, so all is there is an empty lot now,” Vicki said. The Eshelmans bought a space in Atlantic, which they began remodeling in 2013. Farmers Walnut Street Diner, 319 Walnut St., Atlantic, will tentatively open in late summer. Sell The Eshelmans decided to sell Nodaway Diner after being approached by Casey’s General Stores February 2013. The company purchased Kum and Go stores in June 2011, and one of those stores was next door to Nodaway Diner. Casey’s General Stores plans to expand the store with the added space from the diner’s demolition. Farmers Walnut Street Diner still has work to be done to it. The Eshelmans couldn’t work on the restaurant until the deal with Casey’s was finished, and equipment is being kept in trailers until enough work is done to start moving it in to the Atlantic property. “We’ve got a lot of people that’s been asking us ever since we bought it in April of last year, when we are going to be open and this and that,” Vicki said. “People are excited for us to get up there.” Because the new restaurant is a 45-mile trek from Greenfield, the Eshelmans will use an apartment above the building to stay in part of the time, instead of traveling. “I think, down the road, it will be (the right decision),” Vicki said.
Next week, a new era will begin at KSIB Radio in Creston. Chad Rieck, general manager at the station, announced starting Monday KSIB listeners will no longer hear country music on their FM dial. “We’re moving to a news talk format,” Rieck said. Replacing country music will be the Dennis Miller show each weekday from 1 to 4 p.m. and Herman Cain show from 4 to 6 p.m. Other news talk programming being introduced includes the Clark Howard show, Jim Bohannon show, Overnight America and First Light. “We wanted “We wanted to try to try something something different. different,” Rieck We know we will said. “We know we will have some have some people people turn us off turn us off because because they want the music. But, we they want music. But, think we will also we think we will also pick up some people who didn’t like pick up some people the music, but like who didn’t like the talk radio.” music, but More local Rieck said this like talk new era will also radio.” include more local information each — Chad Rieck day. The morning KSIB General show from 6 to Manager 8:30 a.m. will continue and will not see many changes. The Trading Post will begin at 8:30 a.m. Then at 9 a.m., The Grapevine Show will be featured on Mondays and Thursdays. Rieck said new programming will be added in that 9 a.m. slot on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesday’s show will be The Koffee Klatch with Kathy Rieck. This programming is tailored toward listeners nearing retirement. There will be a wide range of topics discussed, some of which may include insurance, healthy living, credit card fraud and more. Wednesday will be the Radio Ranch show with Chad Rieck. “We will have guests on to talk about new technology and new farming practices,” Rieck said. “It’s geared toward our farming listeners, but I also want to have some entry level information that can be educational for all listeners.” Fridays will be Level “B” with Ben Walter. This show is an outdoors-type show for men and women with topics such as grilling, camping, fishing, hunting, motorcycles and other related information. The Agri Talk show will start at 10 a.m. and the new, expanded mid-day show will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include more local sports with Gary Bucklin. For a full schedule lineup, see KSIB’s ad on page 2B in today’s paper.
CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com
CNA photo by Teresa Pendegraft
Demolition is partly finished on Nodaway Diner in Greenfield March 20. Vicki and Jerry Eshelman, owners of the diner, sold the property to Casey’s General Stores. The Eschelmans also purchased property in Atlantic, where their new restaurant will tentatively open in late summer.
New diner location Vicki and Jerry Eshelman will be renaming and relocating their business. The new diner will be Farmers Walnut Street Diner, 319 Walnut St., Atlantic. The decision to sell the Nodaway Diner came after being approached by Casey’s General Stores in February 2013. Issue Unfortunately, an issue arose during the sale to Casey’s. “I guess the time was right. I mean, it was and it wasn’t. But, if we could have finished the deal last year, it would have been a better deal for us because we lost a lot of business because people thought we were already closed,” Vicki said. “But, they (Casey’s) drug their feet out, but we got them nailed down.” After Casey’s approached the Eshelmans about selling the property, the Eshelmans approached the former owner of Farmers Kitchen in Atlantic and purchased it. They gutted it and started a remodel into Farmers Walnut Street Diner, but had to stop work temporarily because of the issue with Casey’s. “If we’d have known that
this was going to drag out for over a year, we probably never would have done it,” Vicki said. “We would have stayed where we were at.” According to Vicki, Casey’s kept giving them a “runaround” by delaying the deal. The deal was supposed to go through in November, but the convenience store company asked for a 90-day extension, which was granted. Then, in February, the company asked for another 90day extension, which was not granted. However, the company waited until the final 15 minutes of the purchase window to complete the deal. Part of the deal included payment to the Eshelmans for demolishing the building themselves, which occurred March 20. “I had mixed emotions all along,” Vicki said. “I still do.”
Diner The Eshelmans purchased the property for Nodaway Diner in 1995 from John and Wanda Scott. “We were running one (restaurant) in Bridgewater,” said Vicki. “We just weren’t able to do anything because we rented the building, and this building became available. So, we bought it.” Eventually, the couple opened Nodaway Diner. “When we got it all put together and opened on the 15th of March, 1995, we got a huge response,” Vicki said. “It was a lot more than what we were used to in Bridgewater.” For the following six months, the Eshelmans ran their Bridgewater restaurant, Bridgewater Cafe, before selling. Then, their time was spent running Nodaway Diner and improving it. “We did a lot of remodeling on the building on the inside,” Vicki said. The inside of the building was remodeled in 2004, a pitched roof was added in 2010 to prevent leaks and the entrance was also changed. Vicki said service came from all over, including Creston, Stuart and Earlham.
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Volume 130 No. 204 Copyright 2014
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Contents
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3B Community . . . . . . . . . 1B-2B Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3B Deaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Heloise Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . 3B Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Weekend weather High 70 Low 37 Full weather report, 3A