| | YOUR NOON-TIME NEWS | FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2024 | |
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| | Back to work
When I talk with local business owners, most of them tell me that the No. 1 thing that is holding them back from growth is the inability to find people to work.
As such, after the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment benefits were cut in hopes of getting the unemployed back to work. The results have not been what many had hoped for, as employers are still struggling to find people. Why didn’t the cut in unemployment benefits solve the problem? There are many theories to this, but one that makes sense is that some people are now choosing to “work by the job” with contract positions or “Uber”-type jobs. A growing number of people don’t want to work the traditional 40 hours per week, and some couples have even learned to get by on one income. Others are simply not concerned about having health insurance, retirement plans or other employee benefits. And still others prefer the non-employee types of jobs to avoid drug testing. These are all concerning, and they are all real, at least to some degree. Meanwhile, the jobs — many with good pay and benefits — are aplenty. So now what? Well, what if…
What if all unemployment payments and payouts were eliminated completely for a period of time? Maybe a test for a year, or six months, or three months. Would some Americans starve? Would our economy crumble? Or would our taxable revenues skyrocket with a full workforce, providing opportunities for better wages? Other social programs may need to step up to address child care and other issues, but what if?
What if young people were not allowed to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26 and had to find full-time jobs to gain employee benefits? Would we have an abundance of unemployed and uninsured youth, or would they be readily employed with full-time jobs and insurance plans? Would they stick with jobs longer to keep their benefits? Or would they keep job-hopping? Could they go to college and work some at the same time? Or is that too much to ask? What if?
What if retired and disabled people who were capable could work more hours without risking the loss of health insurance and benefits? What if there was an incentive to work more, for both the employer and the employee?
What if it were easier for non-residents to become tax-paying Americans and not have to deal with the time and money currently involved in becoming a U.S. citizen? And what if their employers actually paid full taxes on what could be now-legal residents, too? What if?
Unfortunately, the solutions to these and most other problems all too often become political. In reality, building the economic engine of our country should be something we all support, as we all benefit from it. There are no easy answers, but that shouldn’t keep us from asking, “What if?”
Have a fantastic Friday, and, as always, thank you for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115
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| | Guthrie Center Community Easter Egg Hunt set for March 30
Special to the Times Vedette
The Guthrie Center Community Easter Egg Hunt will be held at the Guthrie Center Elementary School Playground on Saturday, March 30. The Easter Bunny will visit from 10-10:50 a.m., instructions will be given at 10:55 a.m., and the hunt will begin at 11 a.m. Age groups and areas will be as follows:
- Infant – 2 years old (in front grass area)
- Special Needs – Up to sixth grade (in grass area behind infant area), Support
- Person / Helper welcome
- Preschool (on the hill)
- Kindergarten to first grade (on the hill )
- Second – sixth grade (all together on playground)
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| | Whiterock Conservancy hosts educational egg hunt
Special to the Times Vedette
Whiterock Conservancy will host a fun take on the classic spring-time egg hunt on March 24 from 1-2 p.m. at River Campground, 1314 Fig Ave. at Whiterock Conservancy. Learn all about basic bird and egg identification and enjoy a traditional egg hunt. This program is aimed for students third grade and younger. Participants should bring their own basket to collect eggs. An “egg cracking” station will be set up to collect eggs for sustainable reuse and waste reduction. Call the Whiterock Conservancy office at 712-790-8221 or email guestinfo@whiterockconservancy.org for more information. | |
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| | Keep Iowa Beautiful announces annual Pick-Up Iowa Program
Special to the Times Vedette
Keep Iowa Beautiful invites Iowans to join the Great American Cleanup and an estimated 3 million volunteers across the nation by removing litter from public spaces during Pick-Up Iowa from March 11 through July 31.
Pick-Up Iowa, a Keep Iowa Beautiful program, creates focused efforts to clean up trash along Iowa’s roadsides, neighborhoods, streets, school grounds, parks, forests and streams. In 2022 and 2023, Pick-Up Iowa saw 48 pick-up events across the state, totaling 7,000-plus volunteer hours and resulting in 3,000-plus trash bags of litter and debris collected.
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| | Celebrate Iowa Ag Week March 17-23
Special to the Times Vedette
Iowa Ag Week celebrates Iowa agriculture’s immense contributions to the state
while also highlighting efforts to give back to the communities we call home
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today encouraged all Iowans to celebrate Iowa Ag Week from Sunday, March 17 through Saturday, March 23. The weeklong statewide celebration, which includes National Ag Day on March 19, will highlight the immense importance of agriculture to the state, its people, economy and way of life. The week will also highlight ways that Iowa agriculture gives back, positively impacting fellow Iowans through community involvement and volunteer service.
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| | Help Iowa DNR expand walleye collection data
Special to the Times Vedette
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is partnering for a third year with MyCatch by Angler’s Atlas to conduct a statewide walleye fishing challenge from March 30 through June 30.
The MyCatch mobile app maintains anonymous location data, so anglers’ secret spots stay secret. Iowa DNR fisheries biologists receive only generalized lake and river catch data entered to assess and manage walleye populations. Specific catch locations from anglers are not listed on public leaderboards.
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| | Great gardening on the Great Plains
Broaden your botanical palette at Iowa Arboretum Spring Symposium
Special to the Times Vedette
Iowans working to create resilient, natural landscapes can explore plants that have broad geographic ranges amid current weather extremes at the Iowa Arboretum and Garden’s Spring Symposium, Saturday, April 6, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“If your gardens have been struggling amid recent Iowa weather, this symposium provides you a broad range of strategies and a whole bunch of plants to consider incorporating into your landscape,” said David McKinney, curator of collections and grounds at the Iowa Arboretum and Gardens, organizer of the event.
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| | Sunshine Club meets on March 12
Special to the Times Vedette
On Tuesday, March 12, a total of 11 Sunshine Club members and one guest met at the home of Linda Thompson. The meeting was opened with Linda reading a devotion from the Daily Bread and then asked that the roll call be something you would like to do for yourself or for someone else. Trudy called the meeting to order by mentioning birthdays and anniversaries.
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| | Cribbage results from March 13
Special to the Times Vedette
The Guthrie Center cribbage players meet at Guthrie Center Library on Mondays at 8 a.m., at the assisted living rec room at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays, and at the Guthrie Center Activity Center at 1 p.m. on Fridays. Organizers say there is always room for more, and they will be glad to teach you how to play.
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| | Acadia backs into man at gas pumps
Special to the Times Vedette
Guthrie County Deputy Sheriff Todd Thorn reported a vehicle/pedestrian accident that occurred on March 12 at 6:43 p.m. in Guthrie Center. Tara Lynn Reed, 40, of Guthrie Center was backing up a 2020 GMC Acadia and backed into a non-motorist, Dennis Dean Ludwig Jr., 51, of Guthrie Center, who was at the gas pumps at 301 Main St. standing by his motorcycle with his back to Reed’s vehicle. The report stated possible injury for Ludwig, who had a complaint of pain/injury. | |
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| | Panorama boys track and field compete at Central College today
By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
The Panthers look to improve off their season debut in Cedar Falls as they travel to Pella today to compete against 27 other schools at the 2024 Central College Indoor meet.
While their first competition this season at the Dickinson Relays didn’t result in a great deal of success, albeit against more than 100 other schools, their times stack up well against the other early participants in the WCAC.
Braylon Dawes and Cruz Crandall have two of the top five fastest times for the 200-meter dash thus far when compared to other WCAC schools, second for Dawes and fifth for Crandall. In addition, their 4x800 meter relay team consisting of Dawes, Crandall, Blake Schwartz and Noah Poldberg has been the second fastest.
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| | Panther girls track and field make season debut at Central College Indoor meet
By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
The Panorama girls track and field team hope to hit the ground running as they travel to Pella tomorrow for their first taste of competition this season against 28 other schools.
Jaidyn Sellers looks to return to the dominance she had last season. The senior, who is fresh off a state finals basketball game, put up some of the most impressive performances across the state last track season. Sellers ran the fastest 100-meter dash time across all classes in 2022-2023 with a time of 12.05. She also had the fourth fastest 200-meter dash at 24.96 and the third fastest 400-meter dash at 56.34. Compared locally, these were all the fastest times in the WCAC.
Arilyan Steenblock is also back this season. She had the longest discus toss of any WCAC athlete last season, hurling 124-00. | |
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 | | | MJB Memorial Library urges families to sign up for Read, Renew, Repeat | | | | | | | | Special to the Times Vedette
Mary J Barnett Memorial Library launches its Read, Renew, Repeat summer reading program during the month of June. During June, the library will host a range of free activities for children to encourage and support a love of reading. Participants can win prizes for reaching their reading goals.
“We’ve planned a wonderful program for kids to make the library a great place to read, learn, and discover what’s available for their enjoyment,” said Library Director Jerri Hawkins. “Karen, Cass, Ava and I are planning some exciting programs and creation stations.”
[...] | | | | | | | | Read the full story | |
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| | More than just books
Special to the Times Vedette
Spring is on the way, which means the MJB Library Summer Reading Program is just around the corner. The month of June will be jam-packed with fun reading activities, so plan to spend some quality time at the library. This year’s theme is “Read, Renew, Repeat.”
In the meantime, MJB Library has many exciting events planned for all ages. For preschoolers and their caretakers, Story Hour is every Friday morning at 10 a.m. On Friday, March 15, our special guest will be Miss Iowa.
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| | Congregate Meals are served at Sneakers Café, Monday through Friday, in the Guthrie County Hospital. No meals are available on major holidays or during inclement weather. This service is available for seniors ages 60 and older. No reservation is needed. All menus follow Elderbridge-approved menus and provide at least one-third of the nutritional needs of individuals 60 and older. Menus are subject to change. For more information on these services, call 641-332-3818. | |
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 | | | 10 years ago | | | | | | | | From the archives of The Guthrie County Vedette, March 6, 2014
GOOD STUFF. Alyssa Stanley licks a big gob of whipped cream that was available for waffle eaters at Farmers State Bank’s annual open house and breakfast in Yale Saturday morning. She’s held by her mother, Allison. Providing the treat was Alyssa’s uncle, Derek Hemphill. | | | | | | | | See more Yester Years | |
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 | | | 'Lisa Frankenstein' | | | | | | | | By Michael C. Woody | Times Vedette
I drove across Des Moines from the south-side Fleur Cinema to Waukee and The Palms Theatres to see the second movie of the day, a modern twist on the Frankenstein story. My expectations were low, but the film managed to surprise me. It was entertaining and, at times, charming. A high school girl hanging out with a guy who literally pulled himself from his grave during a lightning storm is a unique story, but Diablo Cody, who wrote the great movie “Juno” back in 2007, shows that she still has the chops to write a funny and clever film. Grade: C+ | |
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 | | | Panorama Marine preps for 2024 season at Lake Panorama | | | | | | | | Phil and Cindy Watson are working to ensure a smooth transition.
By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
The Lake Panorama Association (LPA) began operating a small marina in 1970. Over the next few years, it was leased to four different operators, but none lasted. That changed in the summer of 1982 when Lyn Coulter and his brother, John, leased the gas dock from the LPA for $1. The agreement called for the pair to stock the dock with some basic marine accessories and keep consistent business hours.
Coulter Panorama Marine was founded in 1983 with the $7,000 profit from that first year running the gas dock.
[...] | | | | | | | | Read the full story | |
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| | SERVICES: Do you need any Sewing, Alterations or Mending done? I have lots of experience. Call Bernice 641-740-1146.
FREE: Free older wood desk. 24" x 54" with center drawer, 4 other drawers and file drawer. Sturdy. See at 111 E. Main St. in Panora. Call 641-755-2115 to schedule a viewing. | |
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| | How do lumberjacks know how many trees they've cut down?
They keep a log! | |
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| | Vote in the 2024 Best of Guthrie County Poll | | | | | | | | Vote in up to 82 different categories to help us to recognize the people, places, businesses and events that make Guthrie County so great. | | | | | | | | Vote Here | |
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