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Upcoming events in the area

Apr 17, 2026 | Events

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Glow Parties at Panorama April 18

Panorama Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) will host two glow parties at the Panorama middle school gym on Saturday, April 18. The first is a mom and son party from 2-3:30 p.m. The second is a dad and daughter party from 4:30-6 p.m. Each event will include music, games and glow fun.

Odd Fellows/Rebekah’s Breakfast April 19 in Stuart

On Sunday, April 19, from 7:30 a.m. to noon, the Odd Fellows and Rebekah’s pancake breakfast will be held at the IOOF Hall (121 North Gaines St., Stuart). The meal costs $10 for all you can eat and includes pancakes, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and beverages.

Bridal Show in Stuart April 19

Forever in Love Bridal Show will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 19 at the Saints Center (320 North Fremont St. Stuart). General admission tickets are free. VIP tickets cost $10.70 and include a glass of champagne and front-row seating. Tickets can be claimed online.

 

Panora Spring Boutique April 25

The seventh annual Spring Boutique will be held 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Vets/Community Center on the Panora square. A variety of vendors and crafters are expected.

 

Bagley Breakfast April 26

The pancake breakfast fundraiser for the Bagley Firefighters will be held on Sunday, April 26 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bagley Fire Station. The freewill donation meal will include pancakes, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, coffee, milk and juice.

Mothers’ Day Tea at Art on State May 9

On Saturday, May 9, Art on State (320 State St., Guthrie Center) will host its annual Mothers’ Day Tea, beginning at 2 p.m. For $20 per person, attendees will enjoy refreshments, storytelling and music. Reservations are required. To make a reservation, call 641-332-2267.

Fin and Feather Banquet May 9

Lake Panorama Fin and Feather banquet will be Saturday, May 9 at the Lake Panorama National Clubhouse with social hour beginning at 5 p.m. A dinner plus silent and live auctions will follow at 6 p.m. All ages are welcome. Funds raised are used to stock fish in Lake Panorama. The group also helps improve fish habitat and sponsors an annual fishing derby for children during Panorama Days.

Dinner tickets are $50 each, with children 12 and younger $25. Another option is to join the Big Skipper Club for $150. This covers two dinner tickets, Big Skipper raffle ticket and an annual family membership. The cost of an annual family membership is $50. Supporters can mail a check or register online with a credit card or PayPal at the group’s website.

WSO Home Tour features 5 lake locations

The Women’s Service Organization (WSO) 2026 fundraising home tour is Friday, June 5. Five Lake Panorama homes will be featured, with three on the west side of the lake and two on the east side. Tickets are $30 and include the tour and lunch at The Captain’s Pick at Lake Panorama National Resort, 5071 Clover Ridge Road. Tickets will be available beginning May 1 and can be reserved by calling or texting Toni Wright at 641-757-0886 or Sue Merryman at 641-751-5956. There will be a maximum of 260 tickets available, which organizers expect to sell out quickly.

Send your event information to rich@gctimesnews.com. 

The NBA’s Play-In Tournament has been awesome

Apr 17, 2026 | Cyote's Den

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The NBA has faced a lot of internal and external criticism this season. Fans, players, the media and others have complained about the new 65-game rule. Some are complaining about tanking, and how too many teams are intentionally losing, and how the league is doing a poor job at stopping it. It has been mostly annoying following this discourse. But one change the league made several years ago, the Play-In Tournament, has provided some outstanding basketball games this week.

The Play-In Tournament was conceived as one way to keep games entertaining toward the end of the season. The league and fans felt that toward the end of the season, once many of the playoff spots were locked in, teams stopped trying as much, leading to some less than stellar basketball being played for the final weeks of the season. Previously, the top-eight teams in each conference advanced to the playoffs. Now, teams 7-10 enter the Play-In. The 7 and 8 seeds, and the 9 and 10 seeds play each other. The winner of the 7/8 game advances and is officially the 7 seed. The loser of the 7/8 game plays the winner of the 9/10 game. The winner of that game then becomes the final No. 8 seed.

This is meant to keep the teams in the four, five and six seeds engaged, with fear of slipping into the play-in and losing their guaranteed spot. It also gives the teams in ninth and 10th place a reason to keep trying till the very end of the season. So far, this year’s Play-In has delivered.

Three of the first four games went to down to the wire. A one-point win, a four-point win, and a five-point win. In the fourth game, the Sixers defeated the Magic in a good contest, but nowhere near as crazy as the other three. Here are some of the highlights from the other three.

The most enthralling game was certainly between the Hornets and the Heat. I lost track of how many times my jaw dropped while watching this one. Coby White exploded for 14 points in the third quarter. I mean, just listen to that crowd. Then, in the fourth quarter, time winding down, the Hornets needed three points to send it to OT. White stepped up again. To cap it all off, the team’s star, Lamelo Ball, despite a rough night overall, wins the game with a layup. The game then was quickly sealed by an insane block by teammate Miles Bridges. The Charlotte crowd did not disappoint.

Starting right after that game was Suns vs. Blazers in the West. Now, while this game didn’t have quite as many highlight worthy plays, it was close from start to finish. The main standout? The Deni Avdija of the Blazers, who capped off his 41-point night with a game winner, stunning the Suns fans in attendance.

Also in the west, the Warriors and the Clippers battled back and forth all game long. Kristaps Porzingis, despite hardly playing this season, was fantastic. Al Horford, the oldest player in the league behind only LeBron James, shot the lights out. He hit four straight threes to give the Warriors a late lead. Draymond Green locked up Clippers star Kawhi Leonardwith two steals in the final minute. And, Stephen Curry reminded everyone why he is the greatest shooter to ever touch a basketball floor.

Tomorrow, the Hornets look to continue their storybook season to defeat the Magic and advance to the playoffs. The Warriors face the Suns for the same opportunity. Will the Hornets and Warriors be able to ride the momentum after their unreal games, or will the Magic and Suns bounce back after devastating loses? We will find out Saturday night.

Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

Cribbage results from April 13

Apr 17, 2026 | News

Special to the Times Vedette 

On April 13, a total of 10 players participated. Chet Vaughan, Wayne Nickel and Sue Mozingo each got a 16; Bill Sheeder got a 21; Rhonda Titus, who is back from the snowy east with drifts way above her head, got a 20; and lucky Dave Richter got a 28. 

The Guthrie Center cribbage players generally meet at Guthrie Center Library, 400 Grand St., on Mondays at 8 a.m. and at the New Homestead independent living dining hall, 2306 State St., at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and 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. They play for quarters on Wednesday and Friday.

Panorama School Board approves $590,523 elementary roof contract

Apr 17, 2026 | News

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the April 13 regular monthly meeting of the Panorama School Board, a public hearing was held regarding the 2026-2027 Public Tax Notice. No written nor verbal comments were received, so the hearing was promptly closed.

The board unanimously approved a contract of $590,523 with Rigid Edge Exteriors LLC for the roof repair at the elementary school building.

As part of the consent agenda, the board unanimously approved contract recommendations including the resignations of Danielle Beasley (effective 3/10/2026); Girls Basketball Coach Randy Miller (effective end of this school year); Dean of Students and Football Coach Taylor Morris (contract not returned for 2026-27 year); Driver Scott Calmer (effective end of this school year); Driver Michael Artist (effective end of this school year); and Basketball Scorer Amy Block (effective end of this school year).

Contract recommendations approved for the 2026-2027 school year included Wyatt Clark (PE teacher, Assistant Football Coach); Jim Demers (Dean of Students, Head Football Coach); Angela Mincy (Head Volleyball Coach); Maddison Lynch (Assistant Volleyball Coach); and Aly Dalhauser (Head Girls Basketball Coach).

The board also approved 10 to 15 speech/drama students and three chaperones for an overnight trip to see “Wicked” in Omaha on July 12.

The board went into a closed session to discuss the superintendent’s contract, then reconvened in open session and approved a two-year continuing contract with Superintendent Huebner (July 1, 2026 through July 30, 2028) with a 2.1% raise in salary to $157,775 effective July 1.

Graduation for the class of 2026 is set for 1 p.m. on May 17. The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Monday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m. The public is welcome.

Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards return to consolidation discussion 

Apr 17, 2026 | News

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the April 15 joint meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards, members discussed for an hour the possibility of the two districts merging.

In late 2024 and early 2025, the AC and GC boards were moving to preliminary steps of consolidation. However, the state’s reorganizational incentives expired at the end of fiscal year 2024. The districts would lose out on a combined total of approximately $400,000 in operation sharing after consolidation, making the plan no longer financially viable.

AC board member Randy Carney said he doubts the Iowa Legislature will restore funding for the reorganization incentive previously factored into consolidation plans. He said that because most of Iowa’s population lives in larger urban districts, there is likely little legislative support for funding that would primarily benefit small rural districts.

Carney, who has served on the AC board for many years, also expressed frustration that the boards have not formally discussed consolidation in more than a year. He recommended the topic be addressed at least quarterly.

“With the steady to declining enrollment and the amount of new money we get, we’re going to start tapping into our savings,” Carney said. “It worries me a little bit. I don’t want this to go under the rug. I don’t want to wait too long.”

GC board member Matt Van Meter said both districts’ enrollment has declined significantly since 2000.

“The walls are closing in faster than people might realize,” he said.

Van Meter said that because the $400,000 in incentive funding is no longer available and may not return, the districts should look for ways to reduce expenses by that amount.

Superintendent Josh Rasmussen emphasized the importance of fully evaluating all options to help ensure a successful outcome.

“You want to measure multiple times before you cut,” he said.

The boards reached a consensus to revisit the topic at their July meeting.

The Guthrie Center board voted unanimously to return to a five-block master schedule for the high school next school year.

As part of the consent agenda, the board accepted resignations from Daniel Woods, social studies teacher and wrestling and cross-country coach, and Jess Fridley, speech coach. Approved contract recommendations included Tyler Merical, physical education; Joe Bennett, custodian; Kellie Lewis, counselor; and Eric West, business teacher.

Students Cam Richter and Ava Sneller, with support from teachers Jen and Joel Betterton, shared a slideshow and details from the recent senior trip to Washington, D.C. Thirty-two of the 43 seniors participated in the trip, traveling through seven states. They departed March 15 and returned March 22. Students described their favorite historic sites and said the trip was enjoyable.

Upcoming dates include graduation on May 17 at 1 p.m. and the last day of school on May 22.

The next regular meeting — a joint meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards — will be held Wednesday, May 20, at 7 p.m. at ACGC High School in Guthrie Center. The public is welcome.