NDN-MAG-12-14-18

Jasper County

Living Deck the shelves!

Decorations arrive for the holiday season

One of the Midwest’s largest independent clinics... because you deserve a choice in health care

Paul Ruggle, M.D. family practice

Zack Alexander, M.D., CCD family practice

Steve Hill, M.D. family practice

Pat Edwards, M.D. family practice with OB

Orville Bunker, M.D. family practice

T. Y. Chan, D.O. internal medicine

Min Pak, M.D. family practice

Mureema Solberg, M.D. family practice

Duane Jolivette, M.D. family practice

Andrew Cope, D.O. family practice with OB

Darryl Johnson, OBGYN

Esgar Guarin, M.D., FAAFP family practice with OB

Janice Gates, DPM podiatry

Laurie Siddall, ARNP, FNP-C family practice

Beth Preston, ARNP, FNP-C family practice

Jodi Holloway. ARNP, FNP-C family practice

Jeff Olson, DPM foot/ankle surgeon

Kelsey Tish, ARNP, CNP-C Family Practice

Angela Nelson, PA-C family practice

Past

Our roots were established as far back as the 1920s.

The providers of Newton Clinic have been caring for this community for more than 80 years.

Present

Future

Our clinic continues to grow to meet your needs. Whether you want a male provider or a female one, a new graduate or a veteran doc, we have the right health-care provider for you.

Always

Every patient has a choice. Thank you for turning to Newton We want to make you better when you are sick, keep you healthy when you are well, help you grow your family when Clinic. Thank you for letting us treat you ... like family. a little one is on the way, and help you say goodbye in peace when your journey is done.

Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. • Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon Same-day appointments always available!

(641) 792-2112 • 300 N. 4th Ave. E., Newton • www.newtonclinic.com • www.facebook.com/newtonclinic

Volume 6 • Issue 4

calender

page 5................

all about pies

page 9...............

Monroe sisters create tasty, handmade desserts

deck the shelves

page 10...........

Holiday decor on display in local shops

police academy

page 14............

DMACC works to bring Iowa Law Enforcement Academy to Newton

what’s in

page 17.............

racks and tracks

page 19............

Local taxidermist Jeremy Lee has a passion for wildlife

Dan Goetz

Mike Mendenhall

Pam Pratt & Jamee A. Pierson

Publisher

Editor

Graphic Design

Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

3

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501 W. 3rd St. N., Newton, IA 50208 Hours: Friday/Saturday 10am-2pm 641-792-1391

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We are booking projects for the 2019 season.

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• Retaining Walls • Custom Fencing • Patios • Outdoor Lighting • Landscape Design • Installation James Moon, Owner

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Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

calendar

Mark your

with these local upcoming events

December Dec. 7-15 “A Christmas Story” Newton Community Theatre

By Philip Grecian, based on the motion picture “A Christmas Story,” written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark; and on the book “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” by Jean Shepherd.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for youth. For reservations, call the Box Office at 641-792-1230. The box office is staffed weekdays, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m., and one hour before each performance. Directed

by Sandy Olsthoorn and assisted by Jeff Carter. Showtime is at 7 p.m. Dec. 7-8, 13-15 and at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 9.

Dec. 12 Brown Bag Lunch and Learn Jasper County Museum The Jasper County Museum, 1700 S. 15th Ave. W., will host a Lunch and Learn on the second Wednesday of each month from noon until 1 p.m. U.S. President and Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant will be here to talk about his life and exploits. Pete Grady of the Marshalltown Community Theatre will be bearded and in full dress as he characterizes this major historical figure.

For more information, please contact the Museum at 641Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

Brown Bag Lunch and Learn

792-9118. Participants will need to bring their own lunch.

18 and older. Program begins at 6 p.m.

Dec. 13 DIY @ the Library: Holiday House Ornaments Newton Public Library

Dec. 15 Dueling Pianos Christmas Party Fore Seasons

Decorate your own festive paper mache holiday house ornament. Attendees are encouraged to bring an apron, all other materials will be provided. There is no fee to attend.

This class requires a ticket to attend. Tickets may be picked up at the library circulation desk beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 13, and will be given out on a first come, first served basis. Participants must be present to claim a ticket. Ages

Need something fun to do for your company Christmas party? Let Fore Seasons do the work for you. The event will have a catered meal. Tables can be reserved in groups of eight. All reservations must be paid for in advance. Single tickets also available. Only 200 tickets to be sold. Contact the Fore Seasons for more details.

Dec. 15 Music Jam Jasper County Senior

Center Newton Fiddle & Musician’s Club host an event for those who want to play and those who want to come and listen. Coffee provided and treats welcome. Music will be acoustic with some exceptions. Runs from 1 to 4 p.m.

Dec. 18 Tuesday Tea with Austen Newton Public Library

Join the Jane Austen book club for a discussion of Northanger Abbey at 10 a.m.

Copies of the book may be requested at the library information desk. Tea and light refreshments will be served. All are welcome to attend.

Continued on page 7 5

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Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

Continued from page 5

Dec. 22 Washer City Agitators Cellar Peanut Pub in Newton The Washer City Agitators feature Newton’s own John Mattingly, Jim Robinson, Elaine Mattingly and Lee Eckles. This evening’s guitar slinging is compliments of the super-charged talent of Dan Nicholson. Never a cover charge at the Peanut Pub. Event is from 7 to 10 p.m.

January Jan. 5 Nature Tots Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge Children ages 3-5 are invited to bring their favorite adult and join staff as they read stories, go outside, make nature crafts and much more from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. To register or for more information, call 515994-3400.

Jan. 5 Annual Christmas Bird Count Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge

Annual Christmas Bird Count

guide each group. Register by calling 515-994-3400 or Karen_vistesparkman@fws.gov

by Dec. 27 if you wish to participate. There is no charge for participation.

Jan. 9 Brown Bag Lunch and Learn Jasper County Historical Museum

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer to clean seeds to assist with tallgrass prairie restoration on the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.

Event will be from 9 a.m. to noon.

Jan. 21 Free Knitting & Crochet Class In the summer of 2018, the Jasper County Church The annual Christmas Bird famed clock in the tower of of Christ

Count at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge will be from 8 a.m. to noon. Meet at the Prairie Learning and Visitor Center at 8 a.m., where volunteer birders will be divided into groups to count birds on the Refuge. Birders of all ages and skill levels are welcome and encouraged to participate; an experienced birder will help Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

Jasper County’s courthouse was re-started and re-dedicated. Jasper County’s Director of Maintenance Adam Sparks will talk about how he made that happen. Begins at noon.

Jan. 11 Second Saturday Stewardship

Bring your yarn and needles or hooks to the Jasper County Church of Christ, 1813 First St. N. (Newton UAW Hall) and have some fun. Held the third Monday of the month.

Event begins at 7 p.m.

February Feb. 2 Tyler Richton & The High Bank Boys Fore Seasons Golf in Newton These young high School boys are amazing. They opened up for Brett Young and Jordan Davis in Ames just recently. Show starts at 8pm.

Show up early to get a table.

Feb. 2 Cosmic Bowling Cardinal Lanes Cosmic light bowling every Saturday starts at 6 p.m. Grab your friends or bring the family an have a great time. Three hour all you can bowl only $12 per person (includes shoes).

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All About Pies

by Jamee A. Pierson

Working as a team, sisters Elaine Keuning and Amy Barton methodically work the dough, scoop the filling and crimp the crust. Owners of All About Pies in Monroe, for more than two decades they have created the tasty pastries to the delight of anyone who gets a chance to take a taste.

Each sister has a role in the pie making process. Barton starts with the dough, a secret family recipe, by kneading it, rolling it thin and placing it in the pie tin. Keuning then takes over by placing the tin on a scale and putting scoops full fruit filling in until it tips to just the right weight.

The finishing touches belong to Barton who learned the crimping technique from her mom. She does have a slight twist to her method, doing it “backwards” according to her mom, since she learned by mirroring her mom’s work.

A crowd favorite, apple is the top seller for the sisters. Their favorite is the triple berry pie.

“When that is all mixed up it just looks really good, without tasting it, you just know it is going to be good,” Keuning said.

Apple crumb, blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry, cherry, fruits

Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

of the forest, gooseberry, peach, red raspberry, rhubarb and strawberry rhubarb are also available along with seasonal selections including apricot, cran-raspberry, pecan, pumpkin and rhubarb crumb.

“Pumpkin and pecan are popular for Thanksgiving,” Keuning said “I think we sell more berry and cherry at Christmas because people are looking for a little more color on the table.”

The woman also take special requests, having filled orders that have tested their skills, and patience, sometimes.

“We had a guy that wanted double thick crusts on the top and the bottom,” Barton said. “It was tricky because it was hard to not roll it thinner, but he loved it.”

The sisters also gave away one trade secret to those looking to make their own pie: chill the dough before making the crust.

“We used to just make it and do it but if it is a warm, humidity is a big factor and you can’t mold the dough,” Barton said.

For more information on All About Pies visit their website at allaboutpies.net or their shop at 210 N. Monroe St. in Monroe.

9

10

Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

Deck the shelves

by Christopher Braunschweig

Holiday trinkets arrive early; but that’s what customers want

By mid-October every year, Bonnie Terpstra fills her store with decorations for three different kinds of holidays. Ornaments and keepsakes for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are packed on shelves, placed into buckets and adorned onto the walls of The Farmer’s Wife. Every bare surface is covered in the home decorating shop located along the Newton town square.

Fall season decor fills the front entrance of the store before tapering off midway through, making way for snowmen, vibrant red cardinals and miniature reindeer and Santas. Before long, the winter holiday inventory will take up space once occupied by miniature wooden pumpkin decorations and homey, autumnal trinkets.

“As things sell, I readjust,” Terpstra said of the 16-year-old store.

“I’m always playing around. My main goal is that the store looks presentable and designed.”

Just as The Farmer’s Wife’s inventory constantly rotates and changes, so do the interests of holiday shoppers. When it comes to securing those holiday decorations, Terpstra said shoppers start early and continue looking for other items well into December for Christmas gifts.

Terpstra’s observations through the years have told her that guests’ decor tastes vary from person to person, part of which may be credited to the shop’s wide selection of goods. But she has noticed specific age groups gravitating toward certain trinkets in her store.

For instance, Terpstra said retirees love getting their hands on novelty bird trinkets (especially cardinals) and small wreaths to post onto their doors. Smaller knickknacks tend to be a safe bet with this age group, she added.

It’s also quite common for grandkids to tag along with grandparents to find holiday gifts for their mom and dad at The Farmer’s Wife throughout November and December. Since there is much to choose from, Terpstra is interested to see what they eventually decide to purchase.

Having been in business so long, Terpstra said she’s watched regular customers’ kids rummage through her store for holiday gifts for many consecutive years. Each time they pick out something a little bit different.

“An 8-year-old boy is definitely going to buy something different than a 12-year-old or a 14-year-old would,” Terpstra said.

Making sure The Farmer’s Wife Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

has plenty of fun, holiday-themed goodies scattered throughout the store take a lot of preparation; something Julia Prendergast knows all too well at Fine Things Reclaimed.

“I start preparing in January,” Prendergast laughed. “Basically a year in advance. To get the cool, new stuff, you have to order a year in advance so that you actually can get it.”

Like The Farmer’s Wife, Fine Things Reclaimed is packed full of seasonal items — like glittery snow globes, light-up winter landscape frames and tons of tree ornaments — well into the fall season.

Prendergast said regulars tend to know what they want or are certain they will find something that fits their style. For the totally intimidated, first-time holiday shoppers, she recommends solid go-to presents like gift cards, seasonal greeting cards and candles — items also available at The Farmer’s Wife.

But Prendergast is convinced there’s something the find for everyone at Fine Things Reclaimed.

“Anybody who is looking for a hard person to shop for but also want something different and unique, we can usually put something together,” she said. “We usually can find something for that hard-to-shopfor person.”

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13

Police Academy

Newton partnership plays hard ball to get ILEA

By Mike Mendenhall With the midterm election behind and the 2019 legislative session approaching, a partnership between Newton Development Corporation, the City of Newton and Des Moines Area Community College — Newton Campus is continuing an 11th-hour push to save a proposal that would relocate the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy from Camp Dodge in Johnston to Newton’s Legacy Plaza.

The existing training center at Camp Dodge is aging — battling mold and moisture infiltration. According to ILEA Director Judy Bradshaw, funding has been set aside to demolish and remodel a new “state of the art” facility on the Camp Dodge site. The money was incorporated in an Iowa House Transportation and Infrastructure Budget Subcommittee bill during the 2018 Legislative session, appropriating $1.4 million to put toward the academy facilities this year and $10 million for the bulk of the work in 2019.

“It’s safe to say it’s been voted on by the lawmakers — legislation supporting demolish and remodel,” Bradshaw said.

Joe Pugel, president of the DMACC board of directors, and NDC Director Frank Libel said in an interview Sept. 9, despite recent developments, their partnership is not ready to take no for an answer. They’ve been working behind the scenes with members of the Iowa House and Senate to convince state appropriators, the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Bradshaw to slow the process and give Newton DMACC a second look.

In a letter sent to the Newton Daily News, Aug. 30, Bradshaw responded to an Aug. 29 article covering then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred Hubbell’s Newton DMACC tour, where he endorsed an ILEA move to Newton. Bradshaw said her statement pulled for the piece from a 2017 Des Moines Register story saying Newton was the “ideal” location for the academy was outdated and her comments were made before multiple proposals from DMACC were turned down by the ILEA. When it all started However, DMACC’s interest in bringing the ILEA to Legacy Plaza in Newton goes back before 2017. According to a memo prepared by the ILEA, DMACC President Denson Rob Denson approached academy officials in the fall of 2016, informing them DMACC would be taking control of the former Maytag corporate headquarters in Newton and suggesting it could be a good location for the academy’s multi-agency training center.

Denson and ILEA management had several meetings, including visits to Newton by “nearly all of the (ILEA) staff,” and informed the academy council about opportunities at Newton DMACC. The memo states discussions were held periodically over the next year with Newton DMACC staff, city officials and academy personnel, including an official visit from then-Gov. Terry Branstad.

In 2017, the ILEA teamed with DAS to conduct “due diligence visits” to several vacant state facilities looking for a possible new home for the academy. The ILEA’s options were to build a new training facility; demolish and remodel the existing facility; or identify a suitable facility off-site and relocate ILEA. During the ILEA’s search for a new home, five sites were considered: • The Toledo Training Facility — Toledo • Vinton School of the Blind — Vinton • Former AIB College campus — Des Moines

14

• R&R Donnelly Warehouse — Des Moines • Newton DMACC Campus — Newton Bradshaw said the team also held conversations with Southridge Mall to determine if that space would be suitable to house a training academy.

“The (ILEA) also participated in a multistate agency needs assessment session to determine the feasibility of building a multi-agency training facility that would be located on Camp Dodge in Johnston,” her memo stated.

During the search, Bradshaw said talks with DMACC remained slow and plans largely conceptual, while in her last two budget cycles, the ILEA director said Branstad and Gov. Kim Reynolds were asking for a study for possible relocation.

The Newton partnership did, however, submit three proposals and a letter outlining its vision from October 2016 to February 2018. Bradshaw said the Newton partnership’s refined proposals were reviewed by the ILEA and staff determined the Newton DMACC did not meet the need of the Academy. Bradshaw said DMACC lacked adequate housing, dining facilities, existing firearms training facilities, a “general overall lack of specificity of financial obligations to the state” and “no timeline for completion.”

Pugel asserts every effort was made to address those shortcomings in the partnership’s proposals.

“Each one of those points she pointed out has been covered and covered in some detail,” Pugel said. “In all the changes to the building itself to accommodate her.”

Although Bradshaw admits each of these concerns “may have been addressed individually in various proposals,” she said too much uncertainty exists for the ILEA to support the move to Newton.

First look: ILEA in Newton The Newton Daily News obtained copies of the proposals from Newton DMACC officials and a joint-letter signed by Newton Mayor Mike Hansen and Jasper County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Cupples to Gov. Kim Reynolds dated Feb. 26, 2018.

Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

The letter was Jasper County biggest push to date to bring ILEA to Newton.

The letter outlines an estimated $10 million proposal. Newton DMACC would donate 50,000 square feet of office and training room space to the academy in the Maytag Legacy Plaza buildings 17 and 18. The city would also donate land south of DMACC for ILEA to build a new 100-bed cadet dormitory.

In the proposal, the ILEA would be responsible for building the estimated $7 million housing complex, and local officials estimate it would cost ILEA a rough total of $3 million to make improvements, including expanding the cafeteria and roof repairs, to ready the existing buildings at Legacy Plaza.

Using figures from Shive-Hattary, officials estimate ongoing annual expenses for ILEA at Newton DMACC would be $151,500 for the first three years, $187,500 from years four to six and $275,000 from years seven to 10. The estimated increases are tied to inflation.

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors tried to address DMACC’s lack of a shooting range by offering to build a new 25-lane by 100-yard indoor range located near the future site of the Traffic Incident Management Center under development by the IDOT, near Interstate 80 and the Jasper County Law Center. The range would be built to ILEA specs and the academy would be given priority to rent the facility, according to the letter.

The city also offered ILEA $200,000 per year in a community development grant for up to 10 years. This would be used on temporary hotel housing as the new dorm is built or to offset other expenses.

A PowerPoint with another outline proposal was given to Bradshaw and ILEA early in February, containing slightly different cost figures. In it, the partnership estimates a $9.2 million one-time expense for the state, with the biggest difference coming from the cost of constructing housing — a minimum $6.2 million as opposed to the $7 million estimated in the Hansen-Cupples letter.

Bradshaw said unknowns, such as costs for routine and future major maintenance, gave her reservations of the proposals.

Slight discrepancies between the February PowerPoint proposal and the Hansen-Cupples letter, and receiving them so far into the 2018 Iowa Legislative Session, also gave her pause.

“The bottom line is there was not enough certainty our appropriation could be susWinter 2018 • Jasper County Living

tained in Newton,” Bradshaw said.

The Newton partnership argues their proposals offer a better fiscal deal for the state than demolishing and renovating the failing building on Camp Dodge.

“If you really look at the figure, it was a little over $10 million, but actually it was going to be less than that with the city’s contribution and some of that other stuff. So, the question all along has been can they build the facility she wants for that kind of money, and that’s why we’re trying to get that apples to apples comparison,” Libel said.

Expectations dimmed Bradshaw testified in front of a joint-Iowa Senate/House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing in March.

Several representatives from Newton were invited including Hansen, Libel, Cupples and DMACC Business and Resource Executive Director Kim Didier.

Bradshaw outlined the deteriorating conditions at Camp Dodge and discussed her due diligence with the various sites.

“And nothing was said about Newton,” Libel said. “The day we went there to see the testimony, she greeted us, we had a nice chat. Before it started she said, ‘why don’t you sit here in the front row,’ and nothing was mentioned about Newton.”

All they are looking for, Libel said, is “a fair hearing.” Pugel said members from the partnership met with appropriators from the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee Sept. 11 to keep talks going.

Politics at play In a September phone interview, State Rep. Wes Breckenridge, a Newton Democrat who toured the DMACC facility with Hubbell in August, said he has not seen a true analysis of the costs associated with repairing the Camp Dodge facility.

Breckenridge said the $1.4 million was necessary for the immediate critical repairs to the Camp Dodge site. Although the additional $10 million has been approved, Breckenridge is hoping Bradshaw and the Reynolds’ administration will present a public analysis and breakdown of the costs associated with repairing ILEA at Camp Dodge and a comparison to retrofitting the Newton DMACC site.

The Newton legislator argues the $10 million has been set aside but not spent.

“Our hope is to bring attention to the fact there was no assessment done and it’s inappropriate to throw money at something if we don’t know what it’s actually going to cost,” Breckenridge said. “We need to identify that, yes, this is both the best di-

rection to go for the academy and for the taxpayers.”

Breckenridge, a former Newton police lieutenant, said he has “a lot of respect for Director Bradshaw, and she’s done an outstanding job.” Breckenridge co-authored a letter to Bradshaw earlier this year with retiring State Senator and Director of the Jasper County Economic Corporation Chaz Allen, asking the academy chief for clarity on what the $1.4 million appropriated for FY 2018 is supposed to do.

The Newton lawmaker said there’s either been a miscommunication with DMACC or no analysis has been done.

“It will be an uphill battle with the current administration. We need to bring a fair analysis before that money is spent ...

I’d love to see the materials and the costs,” Breckenridge said.

Bradshaw argues the process was fair and now set in Iowa Code. ILEA is planning for a move-out from Camp Dodge for construction by May 2019.

“I’m not going to play into the politics they’re using, whoever they is, to undo what’s already done,” Bradshaw said in an Oct. 23 interview.

But there is still a lot of planning to do before the $10 million is ready to be spent.

Bradshaw said site visits are planned for the various state agencies who would participate in the new academy facility and talks with DAS about classroom space needs and the overall ILEA building renovation.

State officials began pre-proposal meetings with designers in late October, and Bradshaw said this process, led by the DAS, will take several months. All this needs to happen before the ILEA can put out requests for proposals to contractors and break ground.

Pugel said, until Bradshaw’s response to the August article in the NDN, he was not aware that a Camp Dodge site remodel was set in stone.

Despite the tension, for Libel, getting the law enforcement academy in Newton is still worth the effort.

“I’d like to keep pushing forward because we were told on numerous occasions this $1.4 million that was allocated for a study was just to be that, a study,” Libel said. “We thought once this was going to be allocated by the legislature, it would be a true study bill. We had an indication from several people this is why we kept pursuing it. Then all of the sudden when it didn’t happen that way, we became a little concerned about what happened to the study.”

15

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175 Highway aay 6 . Grinnell, IA 50112 www.wagonwheelswest.com www.w w agonw w.w go heelswest.com

Find u us on

- Beckman Gall Gallery & Gif Gifts

Something for Ev S Everyone verry ver ryone yone

912 Main St • Grinnell • 641-236-3344

Gift Giving Spirit This holiday season treat the ones you love with something they will enjoy.

Gift of Entertainment

Give a friend or family member the best kind of gift, a nice relaxing evening at home. As the temperatures drop, it’s time to curl up on the couch with some buttery popcorn and one of the latest hit movies.

— Family Video

Gift of Giving

Give back to those in need this holiday season.

While many people have all they could ever want this time of year, there are many who do not have what they need to get by. Consider lending a helping hand this year. Contact the United Way of Jasper County at 641-792-1684 or The Salvation Army at 641-792-2684 for volunteer opportunities or consider signing up to help a family thorough the St. Nick’s Christmas Club.

Gift of Reading

No matter what age you are giving to, you can always bestow on someone the gift of reading. Share one of your favorite books with a loved one or get them a new release to try. The gift of reading is an adventure for the imagination. — Mattingly Music and Books Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

Gift of Treasures

A shiny gift for a special someone is just the ticket this holiday season. Find an incredible selection of handcrafted jewelry or get something personalized to add a heartfelt touch. — Silverado Jewelry

Gift of Relaxation

Bring the spa home with this assortment of beauty products or a gift basket for that special someone. Life is so busy at times. Remind your loved one to take a moment to relax and enjoy some pampering. — Walgreens

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• Meat Market • Complete Processing & Meat Curing Services • Now carrying Local & Grass Fed Beef

Tea Room Hours: Mon-Sat 7:30am-4:00pm Now Serving Breakfast

309 1st Ave W • Newton • 641-792-2970 Call or Email for Reservations megan@huntermansion.com www.lemontreeteahouse.com

SM-NE3384727-1231

ServiceMaster of Newton

DRIVE THRU

Fire & Water Restoration Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning

Wine • Energy Drinks

STATE MINIMUM LOW CIGARETTES Mixers • Hard Liquor COLDEST • Ice • Pop • Snacks BEER IN TOWN

• E-Cigs • Iowa Lottery

Kerry Walker - Owner Newton, IA

1324 1st Ave., Newton

641-792-9580

(Across From Pizza Hut)

Hours of Business: Monday – Thursday 9:00 am – 10:00 pm Friday and Saturday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm Sunday 9:00 am – 8:00 pm

kerry@newtonsm.com

SM-NE5794749-1231

1101010..1

Visit our model homes 8 Hwy 5 sey, IA 50044 10 miles south of Knoxville on 433 8673 Highway 5 or tour any time at devorehomes.com

We build it all:

No matter what you value, I’m here to protect it with respect and professionalism.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

CALL ME TODAY.

SM-NE5794746-1231

Lonnie Portner, Agent 123 E 2nd Street S Newton, IA 50208 Bus: 641-792-6000 lonnieportner.com

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It’s our differences that make us great.

on

2108 Hwy 5 Bussey, IA 50044 21 877-433-8673

®

State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL

CD BODYSHOP

Choose from hundreds of standard plans or let us help you design the home of your dreams! We handle everything!!

• Commercial • Cape Cod • 2-story • Ranch • Chalet

Vanderwaal Insurance

Owner Randy “Slim” Vanderwaal • Commercial • Home Owners

DoesYour Bod Body dy Need Some

• Automobile • Farm Hail

SM-NE5794758-1231

Owner Cary Diekema 641.259.2344 • P.O. Box 900 202 E. Grant St. • Monroe

SM-NE5794743-1231

Work?

641-259-3076 slimvan@iowatelecom.net PO Box 692 • 102 S. Jasper St. Monroe

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Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

Get to know:

Jeremy Lee, taxidermist of Racks and Tracks

by Orrin Shawl

Q: How long have you been in business and what made you want to become a taxidermist?

A: I’ve been in business for 3.5 years.

We’re a hunting and fishing family, and we just enjoy being in the outdoors. I’ve always been interested in taxidermy, so I decided a couple of years ago to start doing it. I like helping people, so it’s nice to be in this kind of business, and I’ve been able to help a bunch of people out.

Q: What do you do on a daily basis and how many customers do you get weekly?

A: These are all customer mounts (on my wall). We can sell. I know a few places where we can buy stuff and we can sell stuff. Most of all this is customer-done stuff. Customers bring in their deer, we do the work and they come and pick it Winter 2018 • Jasper County Living

up. Anytime a deer gets harvested, they’ll bring the whole thing in to us. And then we’ll cape it out, and then it’s all put on a form, and then we tan the hides and it’s all put back over. We put the eyes and all that back into it, and then pretty much make it look like it did when it was still alive.

Q: What are the most common animals you work with?

A: Here in central Iowa, we get a lot of deer. That’s my biggest one. This year, we’re doing a lot of antelope, and we got a boar. We do quite a few turkeys. We also do a lot of bobcats since there’s starting to be a lot of bobcats in the area.

Q: What do you enjoy the most about being a taxidermist in Knoxville and Monroe?

A: Our biggest passion is wildlife. We

love being around wildlife. It’s awesome to be able to see these big deer that get shot in the Midwest, and meet a lot of nice and interesting people. You make a lot of friends doing this. We used to be at a place just west of Monroe. We’ve only been here (in Knoxville) for one year. We were just west of Monroe for two years.

We do a lot in Jasper County. We pretty much do a lot for all over the state of Iowa. We even do some stuff in Missouri.

Q: What advice do you have for people wanting to become a taxidermist?

A: Do a lot of research, get a hold of some taxidermists and talk to them about it. There’s a couple really good schools here in Iowa where you could learn to do it, such as Hutton Valley School of Taxidermy in St. Charles and Matuska Taxidermy in northwestern Iowa.

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The Cisia Confrnce Cnt 5064 Lincoln Street Newton, IA 50208

Beautiful Wedding Venues New Indoor & Outdoor

Settings for ceremonies/receptions, Including chapels

Family Reunion Destination Summer Camp for all ages Hotel-Style Rooms Family & Dorm Style Cabins Large & Small Meeting Spaces Great for Company meetings, parties, showers or retreat groups

Hiking Trails, Pool, Playground,

Sand Volleyball & Mini Golf

641.792.1266 newtonccc.org

Call to schedule a tour today!