By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
For those who enjoy food, drink and eye-catching vehicles, Stuart’s Scoop the Loop is coming up soon. Classic and tricked-out vehicles will be on display in downtown Stuart at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 16. The second and final Scoop the Loop for 2026 will be Aug. 29 at 3 p.m.
A variety of cool cars will be in downtown Stuart on May 16.
Cars, food and drink. What could be better?
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
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.
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, or $25 for children 12 and younger. 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.
Lifeserve Blood Center is holding a mobile blood drive from noon to 5 p.m. on Monday, May 11 at the Casey Community Center (104 West Sherman St.). To further encourage donations, Colleen Conrad will give each donor at the event a $10 gift card to Pioneers Pub and Grub. To schedule a donation time, go to www.lifeservebloodcenter.org or call 800-287-4903.
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.
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.
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 4-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.
By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
This week, ACGC’s and Panorama’s golf and track and field teams have been competing for bragging rights within the West Central Activities Conference. One thing I have learned since covering sports for the two schools is that the competition level within the WCAC is no joke.
During the interviews for our various sports guides, I used to ask each coach what the competition level was like this year within the conference. Every single one, across each sport, boys and girls, always produced a similar response that boils down to, everyone’s good, all the time. So, when the conference meets roll around, it is typically a good litmus test for these teams on how they will perform come the postseason.
ACGC boys track and field has not quite reached the height of last season’s state runner-up season yet, but there have been some solid moments. One of the team’s best performances at state came from their shuttle hurdle relay squad. The revamped group won at the conference meet and looks like they are on pace to return to state this year. Preston Kent has been excellent in the distance runs, earning third at the conference meet, and could join them.
The ACGC girls track team has seen solid performances from Cadence Petersen in the hurdling events. Plus, Cayden Boals picked up a silver medal in the shot put and has been throwing well all season.
The Panorama girls track team under Greg Thompson has made it a habit to send events to the state meet. Star distance runner Kylie Rochholz has been slowly but surely returning from an injury and ramping up her involvement. She earned two bronze medals at the conference meet in the 1,500- and 3,000-meter runs, signaling a return to form. Not to mention, Emma Walker’s performances in the shot put and discus (bronze at conference meet) have been solid this year.
As for the Panorama boys, Syler Shaffer has been excellent in the 400-meter hurdles this year and continued to impress, earning silver at the conference meet. Another standout for the boys has been Reed Draper in the long jump, who took home gold at the conference meet. Draper has been leaping like a fish out of water all season and looks primed for a run at state this year.
The ACGC boys golf team is led by Sayer Bireline-Huss. He is among some of the best young golfers in the conference and continues to show that week-in and week-out, including at the conference meet where he placed 21st out of 65 golfers.
The Charger girls team has also put together some solid scores this season, including a win in their first meet of the season. They haven’t quite returned to that form since then but are still consistently shoot well as a squad. A DQ kept them out of placing at the conference meet, but the 399 they shot would have put them at fifth place, finishing in the top-half of the WCAC.
The Panorama boys golf team has qualified for the state meet the last two seasons. Losing their best golfer from last season to transfer stung, but the team is still scoring well. Brayden Galvan has been doing his best to pick up the slack by medaling at the conference meet. The team placed fourth, just two strokes shy of third place.
The Panorama girls golf team is being led by some young golfers with three of their best scores normally coming from freshmen like Anabel Pudenz, Alyssa Stanley and Avery Ambrose. Add in some solid juniors, and the future looks bright for this team after an eighth-place finish at the conference meet.
There’s no dedicated conference meet for soccer, but if there was, the Panorama girls soccer team would have a great shot at winning it. The girls are 9-1 this season and are technically leading the four-team WCAC. They slightly edge No. 3 Des Moines Christian, which is 9-1-1. It still surprises me the girls haven’t snuck into the top 15 thus far. They face No. 3 DM-C next week on Monday and then No. 9 Tri-Center (7-3-1) the next day. It will show how good the girls stack up against some of the best talent in 1A.
Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
Each Friday in the Times Vedette, we share birthdays and anniversaries for the following week of people with past or present ties to the area. To submit yours, or for corrections, email rich@gctimesnews.com.
Most people have either interviewed someone for a job or been on the receiving end of an interview themselves. Neither experience ranks highly on anyone’s “favorite things I’ve done this week” list.
If you are the candidate, your mission is basically: “I am uniquely brilliant; ignore the fact that I panic when printers jam.” If you are the interviewer, your mission is the opposite: “Please reveal the hidden chaos before I accidentally hire it.”
I recently came across a headline that stopped my scrolling: “This Is the Best Job Interview Question.” Naturally, I clicked. The article pointed to a question: “What are the open tabs in your internet browser right now?” The idea is that browser tabs are basically your brain’s browser history in real time with unfiltered curiosity, half-finished intentions and at least one tab you opened three days ago and are now emotionally committed to finishing “later.”
According to the article, it is useful because it reveals what people are actually interested in rather than what they think sounds impressive in a suit under fluorescent lighting.
I asked our management team the question. The answers ranged from “about 10 tabs, all essential” (a lie), to “just a few for focus” (also a lie, but calmer), to my own honest admission that I keep one tab open at a time like I’m living in 2004 and afraid of emotional overwhelm.
The article then helpfully notes that the “right” number of tabs depends. Too many might signal curiosity and digital fluency. Or it might signal the person has lost control of his or her life and is now just hosting a small, chaotic browser convention.
That explanation, and the question itself, felt incomplete. A better question, I think, is this: “If I looked inside your vehicle right now, what would I find?” People react immediately. There is laughter, nervous deflection and the sudden realization that their car is a rolling autobiography of snack choices, optimism and unresolved errands.
As much as we want hiring to be precise and data-driven, it often comes down to something closer to weather forecasting with vibes, especially when you only have two candidates to choose from.
Job seekers aren’t off the hook either. You can optimize your resume, rehearse your answers and still have your future determined by whether your browser tabs suggest “strategic thinker” or your car says “mobile evidence of a long week.”
Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707