Dennis Freking has taught band and choir at Ridge View middle school for the past seven years, and has been in education for 43 years at various schools. The longtime instructor is setting down his director’s baton for good after this past school year. Freking talked about his duties at Ridge View.
“Here at Ridge View, I taught fifth grade band, sixth grade band, seventh and eighth grade band, sixth grade choir, seventh and eighth grade choir, and this year, a sixth grade skills class.”
Freking explained why he chose music instruction as a career choice.
Scott Phelps, a longtime teacher and coach in the Ridge View school system, is a big believer in working at skills until you get them right. Phelps, who has taught various industrial technology classes and coached a variety of sports, discussed his duties with the school.
Teresa Hunt, owner of A & A Food & Fuel on North Main Street in Holstein, enjoys running her own business, even though it’s not easy. Hunt shared some insight into her operation, starting with how she came to own the store.
“My husband Mark and I purchased the old Pronto,” she stated, “and we opened in December of 2017. We made the decision to purchase Pronto when John Perrettt was ready to sell, because we didn’t want to see another building sit empty, and we didn’t want someone to purchase it and make it a storage unit.”
Mark Leonard has had an interest in the Civil War period since he was a little boy when his father gave him toy soldiers from that civil war era. His father having had served in WWII, cued his boy to ask,
“Dad, Which ones are the Americans?”
“They are all Americans.”
“Who are the bad guys?”
“They are all good guys?”
“So why are Americans who are all good guys fighting each other?”
“Study the history and see if you can figure out what many men could not.”
Ida County substantially beat the state average as unemployment numbers for Iowa continue to best the national average.
With Iowa’s unemployment rate falling to 2.7 percent in the latest figures made available by Iowa Workforce Development, improvement was seen in many counties with Ida County’s 1.5 percent nearly topping the state.
Osceola County led the state at 1.4 percent, just barely ahead of Ida County.
The state average is a decline of .1 percent from the month before while the national rate was at 3.4 percent.
The P.E.O. Star Scholarship recognizes the accomplishments of graduating high school young women planning to pursue post-secondary education. The $2,500 scholarship is given to honorees who demonstrate excellence in leadership, extracurricular activities, community service, academics and potential for success.
Kiara was nominated for the scholarship by the members of Chapter CB in Ida Grove.
Kiara plans to pursue her degree at Iowa State University in an agriculture field and one of her future goals is to combine her passions of farming and helping others.
Christina Kjar Hanson of Holstein is a multi-talented entrepreneur. Not only does she own and operate Christina Kjar Photography, she also has a blooming flower business, Sunshine & Flora, in downtown Holstein as well. Christina has been an established photographer for 20 years, but is just as passionate about her relatively new flower business. She explained how she runs her operation.
Holstein American Legion Post 225 will be having Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday May 29. Cemetery services will begin at 10:30 am. Legion Members are asked to be at the Legion at 9:30. In case of inclement weather, services will be held inside.
Avenue of Flags will be going up Thursday, May 25 at 6 p.m., taken down Tuesday, May 30 at 6 p.m.
Cemetery Flags will be going up Saturday, May 27 at 9 a.m.
Seniors Awards Night presents to Class of 2023 on May 16, following a Baccalaureate presented by ministers from local churches. Class of 2023 class colors were Orange, Gold and Black, as how they were dressed in their robes and stoles. Their Class Motto is “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory” - Dr. Suess. The Class Officials are President: Jake Breyfogle, Vice President: Beth Mentzter, Secretary: Grace Naberhaus, and Treasurer: Shania Graybill.
This year's Market on Main will take place each Tuesday during the months of June - September from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. It will once again be downtown Holstein, just west of the main stoplight intersection. There will be a great group of returning vendors from last year along with quite a few new vendors for this year. Vendors will have a great assortment of products, not only including home grown veggies, but also baked goods, farm fresh eggs, fresh cut flowers, jams, jellies, honey and more!
