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Loebsack tours small farms in Jasper County
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Two nights of music headline Old Settlers 2017 By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News
because it requires so little land to get started. With a single acre Boehm said that a young farmer could raise as many as a thousand chickens. “You’re really only limited by your imagination and your willingness to work,” Boehm said. As they toured the Floss farm Richard Floss pointed out the many differences between a small family farm and large operations involving thousands of acres. “We’ve got a lot of prairie here, it’s so alive, you can hear all of these sounds,” Floss said. “You don’t find that in the row crop.” This summer lack of rain and warm temperatures mean that farmers like Floss and Boehm are
The sites and sounds of Old Settlers will be back in Monroe, as the annual community celebration kicks off Thursday. Living on the Farm is the theme for the 2017 edition which features two nights of live music in downtown Monroe. “The entertainment is great this year,” organizer Alicia Hansen said. “One thing that will be different is that normally Friday night, the band is set up in the street. This year it will be on the bandstand.” Tapped to perform Friday night is Des Moines based Standing Hampton, a dynamic group who performs the best of music from the 70s, 80s and beyond. Standing Hampton is set to begin at 9 p.m. Taking the stage Saturday night following the parade at approximately 8:30 p.m. is the Dueling Pianos of Andy Anderson and Mike Leeds. The high-energy, engaging duet plays songs for all ages and delivers a oneoff-kind, unique show that gets people on their feet singing and dancing along. A change this year during evening activities is the ability to bring alcoholic drinks into the park. The drinks will be allowed between 7 and 11 p.m. and must be purchased from one of the local bars. The celebration kicks off Thursday evening with a pitch tournament at CJ’s Bar and Grill. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday with pony rides, followed by the children’s parade at 6 p.m. Back for its second year, the popular Greased Pig Contest will once again be at Madsen Field with registration starting at 6 p.m. and the contest beginning at 7 p.m. Additional activities and entertainment Friday are performances by Jazz Creation and PCM Cheerleaders, Steppin Out Dance Studio, doubles horseshoes, water fights and night volleyball. Early risers Saturday can grab a bite to eat starting at 6:30 a.m. at the Methodist Church Pancake Breakfast. Registration for the Monroe Annual Micro Marathon is at 7 a.m. with the race starting at 8 a.m. Children’s activities start at 9 a.m. and include foot races, bicycle races, the money toss, frog jumping contest
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David Dolmage/Daily News Congressman Dave Loebsack visits with Jasper county farmers Wade Boehm and Richard Floss on Monday at the Floss Farm in rural Jasper county.
Congressman Dave Loebsack meet with local farmers in Jasper County Monday By David Dolmage Newton Daily News Congressman Dave Loebsack was in Jasper County yesterday to meet with several local farmers. The visit, part of the Congressman’s “Iowa First” tour, is part of Loebsack’s focus on Iowa during the August work period. Loebsack visited with several small farmers, including Richard and Bev Floss. During Loebsack’s visit, Richard Floss took the Congressman on a tour of their farm to showcase the different types of agriculture that they participate in. The Floss’s are one of several families in Jasper county that operate a small farm, something Congressman Loebsack said is an important part of the state economy. “I think there’s space
in Iowa for small farms,” Loebsack said. “I think that we need to do more to help them, I’m a huge supporter of small farms.” What makes the Floss farm unique is it’s diversity, in addition to row crops like corn and soybeans, the Floss’s also have a considerable amount of timber, livestock, and CRP land. CRP, which stands for Conservation Reserve Program, is a program that pays farmers to take farmland out of circulation and restore it to it’s natural state. The CRP land on the Floss farm is in it’s native prairie state. Diversifying is an important skill for small farmers Richard Floss said. He stressed to Loebsack that farmers needed to look beyond just corn and soybeans, and consider alternative crops, like hemp.
During WWII local farmers grew hemp to produce ropes for the Navy, and Floss thinks there’s still a market. “We just need to get past that attitude that we’re going to have a bunch of potheads running around,” Floss said. Wade Boehm, another Jasper county farmer said that creating opportunities for small farmers also opens door for younger farmers to have a chance to get into the business as well. He credited the Floss’s with supporting him when he was starting out. Boehm, who has taught agriculture classes at DMACC as well as at the Baxter school district is a passionate advocate for younger farmers. He pointed out that creating an interest in livestock was a gateway to farming, in part
Jasper County Historical Museum executive director to retire By Kayla Langmaid Newton Daily News Over the past three years, the Jasper County Historical Museum has seen many positive changes while under the direction of Ken Barthelman. The executive director announced his retirement last month, citing health related reasons. Even after his retirement, Barthelman plans to pick up where he left off by volunteering on the historical society committee. Home to the Washing Machine Center of the World, the museum displays exhibits related to the industrial, agricultural, and commercial and societal efforts of those living
uate, moved back to the area when he accepted the position in 2014 at the museum. He said he was excited by all the possibilities that were in front of him with rearranging and creating exhibits. “The first thing we did was rearrange the washing machines and that freed up some space,” Barthelman said. “Then we wanted to make an exhibit featuring the Korean and Vietnam wars and then what civilians did in World War II.” Barthelman said those projects took several years to Submitted Photo complete even with the colKen Barathelman is set to retire from his position as executive direclaboration of the committee tor at the Jasper County Historical Museum. and volunteers. in Newton and in the county Barthelman, a 1967 New“We started from scratch, in the 1900’s. ton Senior High School grad- and we have an inter-genera-
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tional feel with not only people who went to war but people who stayed behind and worked in the factories and on the farms,” Barthelman said. Through exhibits and while learning about Newton’s history, Barthelman said you can really see the resiliency of Newton. “Newton Manufacturing burned down and they stayed in business for quite some time, and there have been some others that have failed to bankruptcy and then come back,” Barthelman said. “That’s something to do with the people who have been in Newton over the years.”
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Volume No. 116 No. 50 2 sections 10 pages
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