Special to the Times Vedette
More than 35 golfers participated in the Tuesday night men’s league on May 5. Bruce Bailey had the longest putt. Bill Pierce had the fewest putts with 14. John Worth was closest to the pin. Curt Anderson shot a 30 for the lowest score. Paul Brewster, Curtis Twigg, Dave Minturn and Kevin McClatchey won the scramble with one under par 26.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
Guthrie Center Chaplains will host an appreciation event honoring all local law enforcement staff (including police, sheriff, deputies and state troopers) at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13 at the Freedom Rock on the western edge of Guthrie Center (across Highway 44 from the fairgrounds). Everyone is welcome to attend.
Midwest Partnership is hosting an educational lunchtime event on Thursday, May 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Pioneers Pub and Grub in Casey. CIRAS Strategic Advisor Jason Armstong will provide ideas to help businesses grow, improve operations and develop leaders. There is no cost to attend, but attendees buy their own lunch. To register, go to https://form.jotform.com/260974635831061
On May 28, a Hunter Education Field Day class will be offered from 5-8 p.m. at Panorama High School. Those signing up for the Field Day must have first completed the entire online Hunter Education course and must bring a printed course completion certificate. Start here and choose Option 2: Online Course + Field Day:
https://www.iowadnr.gov/things-do/hunting-trapping/hunter-education-safety
If questions, call 515-454-0892 or email: Donise@raisedatfulldraw.com
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.
Panora citywide garage sales are set for June 12-13. Guthrie Center’s citywide garage sales will be June 19-20 with citywide cleanup to follow on June 24.
The Guthrie Center Fire Department will host an event called “Heroes and Hot Dogs” from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday, June 20 at Mitchell Park. There will be hot dogs and refreshments, bounce houses, demonstrations by members of the fire department, and the opportunity for youngsters to meet local firefighters. To help raise funds for the fire department, sponsorships for the event are still available. If interested, contact any member of the fire crew.
Save the date of Friday, June 26 for the 31st annual Midwest Partnership golf outing. The event will be held at the Lake Panorama National course. More details and registration information will be shared in the coming weeks.
The fourth annual Friends of the Guthrie Center Public Library golf tournament will be held on Saturday, June 27 at the Guthrie Center Golf Course (2604 State St.). Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and a shotgun start will kick off the tourney at 9 a.m. The tourney is a four-person scramble format. Cost is $60 per person, which include cart and lunch. To sign up, go to https://www.guthriecenter.lib.ia.us/golf-tournament-fundraiser. Anyone interested in becoming a $100 sponsor may call the library at 641-747-8110.
Send your event information to rich@gctimesnews.com.
Released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time.
“Farmers made a lot of planting progress last week thanks to drier conditions across the state,” Secretary Naig said. “Although parts of northern Iowa had a few mornings of frost, the forecast through-mid May indicates warmer temperatures and the potential for more near-normal rainfall. As long as conditions are favorable, farmers will keep the planters rolling this week.”
There were 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 10, 2026, which is 0.1 day more than last year, when there were 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture conditions rated 3 percent very short, 23 percent short, 68 percent adequate and 6 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture conditions rated 3 percent very short, 18 percent short, 74 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus. Corn planting in Iowa reached 72 percent complete, which is even with last year and 9 percentage points above the five-year average. Corn emergence reached 19 percent, 8 percentage points below last year but even with the five-year average. Soybean planting reached 60 percent, which is the same as 2025 and 12 percentage points above the five-year average. 7 percent of the soybean crop has emerged. Oats planted in Iowa reached 94 percent, 2 percentage points behind last year when 96 percent of the crop had been planted.
The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at https://www.nass.usda.gov/.
Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
For the first time in several weeks, rainfall was sparse across most of Iowa, with all stations reporting unseasonably dry conditions. Only the southeastern corner of the state recorded near-normal precipitation totals. Temperatures also remained cooler than normal throughout the week, with the coldest conditions occurring in northern Iowa. The statewide average temperature was 54.1 degrees, 2.4 degrees below normal.
Gusty northwesterly winds died down into Sunday (3rd) afternoon under sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. Winds shifted back to a southerly direction into early Monday (4th) with morning lows in the upper 40s and low 50s at most locations; temperatures were several degrees cooler over portions of western Iowa. Isolated showers developed in northwest Iowa early in the day, though rainfall totals were minimal. Stronger thunderstorms fired in southeastern Iowa later in the day as a cold front dropped through the state. Afternoon conditions were warm with mid 60s over northern Iowa and upper 70s to low 80s across the south. A few storms were severe warned due to small hail and a few 60 mph wind gusts. Several stations in Lee County reported heavier rainfall, varying from 0.33 inch in Fort Madison to 0.74 inch in Hillsboro and 0.96 inch in Augusta. Many other southeastern stations registered a few tenths of an inch at most. Tuesday (5th) and Wednesday (6th) were generally pleasant days with northwesterly winds, partly cloudy skies and daytime temperatures in the 50s. Thursday (7th) dawned with variable winds and cloudy skies for much of southern and eastern Iowa. Morning lows under cloud cover were in the 40s while clear skies in the northwest allowed for more radiational cooling, allowing temperatures to drop into the mid to upper 30s. Spotty showers pushed through central to eastern Iowa from the morning to early afternoon, leaving behind widespread totals under 0.10 inch. Higher totals were observed farther east from additional showers later in the evening; North English (Iowa County) reported 0.21 inch with 0.30 inch in Muscatine (Muscatine County). Southwestern Iowa started Friday (8th) under cloud cover with partly cloudy skies developing through the day statewide. Winds shifted westerly later in the day as temperatures rose into the 70s. Gusty northwesterly winds built in on Saturday (9th) with daylight conditions in the mid to upper 60s for most of the state; southern Iowa stations made it back into the mid to upper 70s. Winds turned more northerly towards midnight before swinging back to the west by daybreak with Sunday (10th) morning temperatures in the 30s west to 40s east.
Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation across northern Iowa to 0.96 inch at Augusta. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.03 inch; the normal is 1.04 inches. Davenport (Scott County) reported the week’s high temperature of 86 degrees on the 4th, 18 degrees above normal. Sioux City Airport (Woodbury County) reported the week’s low temperature of 22 degrees on the 7th, 21 degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures were in the low 50s north to upper 50s south as of Sunday.
By Shane Goodman | Times Vedette
The annual Lake Panorama Fin and Feather Banquet and Fundraiser was held Saturday, May 9 at The Captain’s Pick at Lake Panorama National Resort. The event included a live auction, silent auction and numerous banquet games.
Fin and Feather was formed in 1984 by a group of LPA members who wanted to improve fishing at Lake Panorama. The dam was completed in 1970, and the lake filled from the flow of the Middle Raccoon River. At that time, the naturally occurring species of fish in the Middle Raccoon were largemouth bass, crappie, catfish and carp. Members wanted to expand fishing options to include walleye, which are widely considered the best fish to eat.
The group has continued ever since and experimented with various fish stocking strategies, which has led to stocking just shy of 311,000 fish in the lake. Walleye do not naturally reproduce in Lake Panorama, which is why annual stocking is undertaken. Fin and Feather will continue to look at ways to increase the fishery, such as completing an electrofishing audit to determine the health and numbers of different species of fish.
The formation of this independent group has provided a significant boost to fishing conditions at Lake Panorama. Members should note that Fin and Feather’s efforts extend not only to Lake Panorama but also to the section of the Middle Raccoon River that is below the LPA dam. This area represents some of the best river fishing that can be found in central Iowa. In addition, Fin and Feather is the only sponsor of the Panorama Days Kid’s Fishing Derby. In 2025, 114 kids participated and received trophies, cash prizes and general raffle prizes in excess of $2,500.
Barry Monaghan and Nancy Peters
Brian Johnson and Carter Nordman
Carol and Jim Wendl
Neil Erickson and Drew Erickson
JoAnn Johnson and Lori Hammer
Josh Eike and Kristen Crouthamel
Brian Oeffner and Patti Oeffner
Ben Hayes and Troy Stoelk
Barry Tofteland
Lane Rumelhart and Galen Redshaw
Karen Eby and Bill Eby
Fin and Feather Chairperson Scott Stanley
Lake Panorama Fin and Feather committee members: Front row Galen Redshaw, Rick Schumacher, Doug Hemphill, Adam Hackfort, Galen Johnson and Gary Evans. Back row: John Rutledge, Scott Stanley, Barry Tofteland, John Muenzenberger, Ben Hayes, Jacob Bendickson and Mark Buster.