THROWBACK NEWS
PANTHER PREVIEW
Twenty years ago, Creston Police Chief Robert Kessler announced his retirement effective Nov. 1, after almost 30 years with the force. More Throwback news on page 2A.
The Creston/O-M Panther football team battles weather in preparing for unbeaten homecoming foe. Learn more about Creston’s opponent on page 1S. >>
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SHAW MEDIA GROUP SERVING SW IOWA SINCE 1879 BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE AT WWW.CRESTONNEWS.COM
Young YMCA director helped keep Peterson in SW Iowa
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
Tireless CNA journalist to be inducted in CHS Hall of Fame ine the notebooks that guy has filled? He probably has a whole carload of them somewhere.” Bucklin said, over the years, their respect for one another has grown into a lasting friendship. “Our old eyes have seen Bucklin a lot of games together. It’s been a real gratifying experience covering Creston athletics with him,” Bucklin said.
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series on 2015 inductees into the Creston Community Schools Hall of Fame at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the CHS auditorium. By KYLE WILSON
CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com
P
By KYLE WILSON
icture this. Dinner is on the table. His family files in, starts to eat and there — on one of those vintage kitchen nook benches of the 1960s — is a young Larry Peterson with his head buried inside the sports section of the latest edition of the Fort Dodge Messenger. The problem? “I wasn’t supposed to be reading at the dinner table,” Peterson recalls. “My mom and my older sister were always chewing me out for that. But, I was just an addict for reading that stuff (newspaper articles).” It’s doubtful this scene shocks anyone in southwest Iowa that’s had the chance to meet Peterson, longtime Creston News Advertiser journalist who will be inducted into the Creston Community Schools Hall of Fame as a distinguished contributor Friday in the CHS auditorium. Even at an early age, Peterson lived and breathed sports. He was active in basketball at Fort Dodge Senior High School, played baseball there for Hall of Fame coach Ed McNeil and idolized Bob Brown, legendary Messenger sports editor who often wrote columns about Iowa Hawkeyes athletics. Add that all up, and it only took until his sophomore year of high school before the “light bulb” went off and Peterson knew he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing. “I realized pretty early I was never going to be a professional athlete,” Peterson said, “but I wanted to find a way to stay in it (sports). I remember being assigned a movie review in a high school composition class. I did the assignment and for whatever reason the teacher told me in front of the whole
CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com
Truth be told, prior to 1979, Larry Peterson had never been to a single town in southwest Iowa. He graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High School in 1975, then attended Iowa Central Community College, where he worked on the college newspaper staff. There, he also landed a part-time job in the Fort Dodge Messenger sports department while attending community college. His boss would be none other than the man he idolized, Bob Brown. “It was a little intimidating at first (working for Brown),” Peterson said. “He had a standard and that standard was met. But, I got real-life experience there and it was great to learn from him.” Peterson left Iowa Central after one year to attend the University of Iowa. There, he did internships with the university’s sports information department and was the Hawkeye correspondent for the Waterloo Courier until he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in sociology from the university in December 1979.
Atlantic bound
After graduation, Peterson struggled to find available positions in the newspaper business. He had his degree, but the only job he could find was busing tables at a restaurant in Iowa City. That was until a reporter opening became available a couple of weeks later at the Atlantic News Telegraph. “I’d never been to southwest Iowa or lived in a town as small as Atlantic, but I wasn’t going to bus tables at that restaurant,” Peterson said. At the News Telegraph, he wrote news and sports stories, covered the local school board, adjusted news releases and a whole “hodgepodge” of other tasks. It was good experience, but he didn’t plan Please see PATH, Page 2
State titles
CNA file photo by SCOTT VICKER
Creston News Advertiser sports writer Larry Peterson interviews Creston coach Mike McCabe at the 2015 State Softball Tournament. Peterson, to be inducted into the Creston High School Hall of Fame Friday, has held the positions of assistant editor, feature writer, sports editor and sports writer during his 30-year career at the News Advertiser.
class that it was well done and said ‘Larry, I think you may have a future in this.’” That teacher couldn’t have been more right. Peterson has been writing for daily newspapers since the day he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Iowa in December 1979. He’s currently in his 35th year in the newspaper business with 30 of those years coming at the Creston News Advertiser where he has served as sports editor, assistant editor, feature writer and sports writer. In sports, Peterson has covered more than 3,000 high school games, numerous state championship teams and more than 100 individual champions during his time at the CNA. And, it’s only fitting he will be inducted into the CHS Hall of Fame Friday with Dick Bergstrom. Peterson covered a large majority of Bergstrom’s coaching career, whereby Bergstrom notched more than 200 victories and successfully turned Creston into a peren-
nial football contender. “Larry has always been a great professional and great friend, and those are two pretty important things to me,” Bergstrom said. “He takes his job seriously. He has put more Bergstrom hours in promoting kids than anyone will ever know, and that’s been to the benefit of everyone in the Creston area.” Gary Bucklin, longtime sports broadcaster for KSIB Radio in Creston, was inducted into the Creston High School Hall of Fame last year. He arrived in Creston the same year as Peterson, and both raised their kids in the school district. “I obviously have total respect for Larry,” Bucklin said. “He’s been so dedicated to the kids of Creston from the time they are young and even writes about them when they head off to college. Can you imag-
Peterson said there is no way he could rank the best games he’s covered in his career. But, he said the three Creston team championships he’s covered —the 1997 boys basketball team, 2007 wrestling (dual and individuals) and 2013 boys state golf — were all special in their own way. He said the community support for the 1997 basketball team was unbelievable. “My kids were growing up and idolized that team with guys like (Kyle) McCann and (Ben) Gerleman,” Peterson said. “So, that was fun. I just remember Veterans Auditorium full of red. I remember the trail of cars coming home after winning the title and cars parked, honking their horns.” He remembers the dominance of the 2007 wrestling team. Peterson said that team and coach Darrell Frain has made Creston a wrestling town. “Just go around the state. That’s what Creston is known for,” Peterson said. Peterson said the 2013 Creston/O-M golf championship was unique in that it was pouring rain during that tournament, there was standing water from the previous day and cold for that time of year. “I don’t know if it was Please see PETERSON, Page 14
Woods to resign when boards consolidate By IAN RICHARDSON
CNA staff reporter irichardson@crestonnews.com
Judy Woods, who joined the Creston Community School Board Monday after winning a write-in campaign in the Sept. 8 election, announced Wednesday she will step down from the board in July 2016. Woods’ decision solved the issue of how to eventually narrow
a five-member school board to four when the Creston and Prescott school districts consolidate July 1. The consolidated board will com- Woods prise four Creston members and one Prescott member. Don Gee will be Prescott’s represen-
tative. Woods’ announcement also helped the board avert a situation in which the five members would have had to vote which members to keep — or which member to ask to resign. Woods called Board President Sharon Snodgrass Tuesday with her decision and announced it to the board during a special meeting Wednesday afternoon. The board had scheduled the special meeting during Monday’s regu-
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lar meeting to allow members time to consider the best solution to the problem. “I thought it was only fair since I was a write-in, and I got to even vote as a write-in, that I should probably just serve out the year term and let everyone else stay on,” Woods said during the meeting. “It just seemed logical to me.” Snodgrass applauded Woods’ decision.
“I think you probably all agree that that’s a gracious, gracious thing for her to do for us,” Snodgrass said to the board. “It helps us out of this situation.” Woods will serve on the board for nine more months. Gee will then serve from July 1 until the 2019 elections. “I’ll just do the best job I can for the year I am on there,” Woods said.
46TH ANNUAL MADISON COUNTY
COVERED BRIDGE FESTIVAL
October 10 & 11, 2015
* Live Music * Covered Bridge Tours * Arts & Crafts * Parade * Craft Beer Garden & Wine Sampling www.MCCoveredBridgeFestival.org