NEWTON
THE FINAL SECONDS
Newton High falls to Knoxville in season opener / 1B
DAILY NEWS MONDAY, AUG. 31, 2015 • WHERE TO GO WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW
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Aviation boom
Editor’s Note: This is part one of a two-part series. Part two will publish in Tuesday’s Newton Daily News. An economic tool, a community asset, an airport. The Newton Municipal Airport has been around for more than 60 years, and during that time has been a vital piece of Newton’s growth throughout the 20th century and its resurgence in the past 10 years. The airport, in its current location, opened in the early 1950s and in the mid-50s the current runway was built. “It was Earl Johnson and Fred Maytag that took off from Newton’s grass strip in 1952 to find the location for Newton’s current airport,” said Ethan Nasalroad, president of Midland Aircraft Sales and Services, Inc. “They set out from the old facility over by Cline Tool to look for some ground to put the new airport on.” Johnson is the founder of Johnson Aviation, established in October 1949. It has served as the
United Way of Jasper County to kick off annual campaign By Kate Malott Newton Daily News It’s hard to grasp just how much United Way of Jasper County affects local residents and impacts the community. From heat assistance to literacy programs, UWJC helps a large number and wide variety of local citizens. This week, the organization will begin its annual fundraising campaign by hosting its 2016 UWJC Kickoff Campaign luncheon at noon Thursday at the Newton DMACC Campus. The goal for the coming year is to raise $330,000. The campaign runs through Nov. 13. The kickoff is an informational event to explain what agencies receive funding, how they use funding and why it’s important for the community. Forty people are plan-
ning on attending representing agencies and local businesses which partner with the campaign. Packets of information, included brochures and pledge cards, will be distributed to allow employees to give donations in small increments to the UWJC on a regular basis. There are several ways to give to UNJC, with proceeds distributed to all programs within the county, such as individual donations and payroll and bank withdraw. There will also be an autograph auction fundraiser in November. “The overall goal in the programs we support, specifically with the agencies, is to really try to help people get back on their feet and to break that generational cycle, to prevent UNITED WAY | 3A
ed to replace it and build what is the current terminal building. “It was a very unique project in that you had private and public money going toward this new facility. Maytag was a big donor with a matching grant but for a $1.4 million project, the private sector gave $800,000 to build it,” Nasalroad said. Nasalroad came to the airport in 1999 as a manager, and in 2000 he bought the company. “I bought it from Bill Smothers, who had previously bought it from Earl Johnson. I feel like I am third-generation, non-related,” Nasalroad said. “The company and the way we have done things have been this way and have been in place for us. I feel very fortunate to have had that upbringing in the company before I purchased it. There is a tradition that we try to uphold, that is always over me, saying — this was Earl’s, this was Bill’s, you need to maintain this. There is a lot of pride in that.” Now, with what Nasalroad calls AVIATION | 3A
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A Belmond man was arrested after allegedly stabbing a man in the arm at Sugar Grove Vineyards on Saturday night. S loan Z i l l e r, 23, is c harged Ziller w i t h willful injury and assault with a dangerous weapon after the Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office was called to the scene at 10:30 p.m. Upon arriving, officers found the victim,
who had been stabbed in the arm. Ziller had fled the scene on foot prior to officers arriving. He was apprehended at 1:09 a.m. in the 3000 block of Highway S52 North. The Newton Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and treated the victim’s non-life threatening injury. He was then transported to the hospital by private vehicle where he was further treated and released. Ziller was taken to the Jasper County Jail where he is held on a $5,000 bond. Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com
‘Pawn Stars’ celebrity endorses Rubio for president By Alex Olp Newton Daily News Rick Harrison from the TV show “Pawn Stars” made an appearance Saturday morning at Bridgehouse Coffee in Newton to stump for presidential candidate Marco Rubio. Harrison arrived to a packed coffee house at 9:15 a.m. in his first trip to Iowa. After a short introduction he explained how he knew Rubio, and why the candidate should be considered in his run for president. He talked about a two-hour long breakfast he had with Rubio a few months back. “That’s the first time
I had ever in my life I sat down with a politician for that amount of time, and not once did he mention the party or the party’s success,” Harrison said. “All we talked about was all the American people and let’s make it better for them.” Harrison also talked about his life and that he only has a ninth-grade education and has children who also didn’t go to college. “We have an administration that looks down on anybody that doesn’t have a college education,” Harrison said. “Marco wants to HARRISON | 3A
Weather, low turnout dampens Colfax Mineral Springs Days By Alex Olp Jasper County Tribune COLFAX — A low turnout from weather, competition of other level area events and what organizers see as a lack of community engagement plagued Friday and Saturday’s Mineral Springs Days in downtown Colfax. The annual Colfax town festival, Mineral Springs was a weekend for the kids. Those who did attend appeared to embrace this year’s superhero theme and were enthusiastic in the comic book inspired activities. “The whole point of this event was to make sure people smile and I think that happened today,” Colfax Main Street Director Betsy Penisten said. But the low turnout downtown was bal-
Mike Mendenhall/Jasper County Tribune Driver Kenny Albright in the 11A car rolls during heat I of the small stock car division of the Gettin’ Smashed in Colfax Demolition Derby Saturday at the Jasper County Fairgrounds after making contact with the Team B-S car. Part of Colfax Mineral Springs Days, derby organizers saw a record number of cars participate this year.
anced Saturday night by the continuing success of the Gettin’ Smashed in Colfax Demolition Derby at the Jasper County Fairgrounds. Derby organizer and Colfax Main Street Vice President Brad Magg said the stands and pickup beds surrounding the dirt track were filled with more than 2,500 spectators — this despite a reduced
marketing effort to limit attendance from last year’s over-capacity crowds. For seven years, the derby has been the bookend for the annual twoday Mineral Springs Days celebration and one of the primary fundraising events from the nonprofit Main Street. Magg said 65 drivers twisted metal in four divisions this year,
topping the derby’s record by 20 cars. As vehicles with modified exhaust and custom roll cages tore each other apart during the second heat of the full size division Saturday night, Magg said the derby brought drivers from throughout central Iowa. SPRINGS | 3A
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WHERE IT’S AT Astrograph......................5B Calendar..........................5A Classifieds......................4B
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By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News
Newton’s quality facility sees increase in traffic, satisfaction fixed-base operation in Newton since 1951. The company, along with Marshalltown Aviation, is now under the Midland Aircraft, Inc. umbrella — the sales, services and management operator. “Maytag was a big influence. We’re a town of 15,000 people and I can show you all kinds of towns around of similar size that don’t have near the facilities that we do,” Nasalroad said. Maytag started out as a customer of Johnson’s. Johnson, along with his pilots, flew the Maytag corporate airplane, and when the company got large enough, opened its own hangar and had its own pilots. Max Jay, one of Johnson’s pilots, even became the Maytag chief corporate pilot. In the late 1960s, Maytag funded the construction of the facility at the airport. When Maytag wanted more runway, the amount of money it brought to the town gave justification to build it. In the 1970s, a new terminal building was continued and it was not until 2000 that the city decid-
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Man stabbed at Sugar Grove Vineyards
Jamee A. Pierson/Daily News Called a hidden gem, the Newton Municipal Airport has had a long history in Newton dating back to Earl Johnson and Fred Maytag searching for its current location in the early 1950s. Since then, it has undergone additions and changes and has grown to be an asset to community.
By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News
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Comics & Puzzles...........6A Dear Abby........................6A Local News......................2A
Obituaries.......................5A Opinion............................4A State News......................7A
Hometown Hearing opens
New hearing clinic now serving Newton / 2A
Volume No. 114 No. 75 2 sections 16 pages
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