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Happy birthday to you!

May 1, 2026 | Birthdays

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.

Birthdays

  • May 1: Corbyn Atwell, Desmond Hardstein
  • May 2: Taylor Gross, Joel Baxter, Kade Killmer, Bailey McAllister
  • May 3: Jean Higgins, Marsha Richter, Beth Hougham, Bob Walker, Gavin Frantum
  • May 4: Carol Van Gundy, Steve Smith
  • May 5: Garth Stout, Korbyn Hein, Conner Stensland, Isai Sipe, Laura Radebaugh, Carley Trotter
  • May 6: Dan Laughery, Shannon O’Rourke, Dan Quinlin, Mary Rose Shelley, Brandy Weaver
  • May 7: Pauline Irwin, Myles McNeil

Upcoming events in the area

May 1, 2026 | Events

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Historical Village opens for the season May 1

The Guthrie County Historical Village (206 West South St., Panora) will open for the season (through Oct. 15) this Friday. Cost of admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children 6-17 years of age. Children younger than 6 are admitted for free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 1-4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and holidays. The GCHV also serves as the site of the 2026 Panora farmers market on every other Saturday morning, beginning June 6.

Pasta dinner and more May 1 in Panora

A pasta dinner will be offered 4-8 p.m. on Friday, May 1 at the Panora Community Center. The freewill donation event will raise funds to help send the Stark’s Performance Horses team to the Color Breed Congress in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Bingo will be played 5-7 p.m., and there will also be a bake sale.

Shred your documents free this Saturday

On Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m. to noon, paper and documents can be brought to the Panora Library for free shredding.

Lace Painting at Jamaica May 7

The Jamaica Public Library invites everyone to a free event from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, May 7. Attendees will create beautiful lace paintings (which could be a unique Mother’s Day gift).

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, 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.

Law Enforcement Appreciation event May 13

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.

WSO Home Tour features 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.

Plan ahead for citywide garage sales

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.

Heroes and Hot Dogs June 20 in Guthrie Center

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.

Send your event information to rich@gctimesnews.com. 

March Madness is expanding from 68 to 76 teams

May 1, 2026 | Cyote's Den

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

That phrase seems to be one of the most common and heralded of all time. Or is it?

The origin is attributed to Bert Lance, director of Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter. The saying is likely older than that, but that was its first mainstream use (as mainstream as budget management gets, anyway).

Either way, it is deeply rooted in truth. However, no one seemed to tell the NCAA. Either that, or, more likely, they just aren’t listening. The college football playoff has been needlessly expanded twice with more expansions possibly on the way. Now, they have brought the same mindset to the college basketball national tournament. It already expanded slightly a few years back when it added the First Four to take it from 64 to 68.

ESPN stated: “The primary driver of this move hasn’t been money, but rather access for at-large bids for power conferences. The expansion has been pushed by power conferences, which have grown throughout the course of the current deal.” This just two paragraphs after the source who broke the news stressed that there would be a profit.

Even still, the NCAA will try to sell this as a win for the little guy. More teams in the tournament means the potential for overlooked teams to get into the big dance. But that is clearly not the case. The first four games are currently played by two 16-seed teams and two 11-seed teams. The 16 seeds, which lose 99% of the time, do see some benefit from making the big dance. The payouts can sometimes fund the programs’ athletic departments in a massive way. The 11-seed games last year were played by NC State, Texas, SMU and Miami of Ohio. Three of those team’s aren’t exactly hurting for cash. Miami of Ohio was the only undefeated team heading into the tournament and had to win a play-in game just to be the 11 seed.

Just like the expansion of the College Football Playoff, this is only happening to benefit the major conferences that have lucrative TV deals with major broadcasters. At least in college football, it is presented as being as beneficial to the Group of Five schools. But, at least so far, neither the NCAA nor ESPN have shown an ounce of dignity to pretend like this expansion is anything but giving a handout to a team like Auburn that couldn’t stop complaining about missing the tournament despite finishing in the bottom half of its conference.

Major conferences will benefit from better seeding and more guaranteed spots while mid-majors will get the raw end of the deal and have to play even more games to advance further in the tournament. Mid-majors, which are already disproportionally affected by the transfer portal, are having their sporting lives made more difficult by the decision-makers at the NCAA. All this still has to go through committee votes, but it is being reported as a formality.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the NCAA to cave to public pressure and fix this anytime soon, even if it is clearly broken.

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

Cribbage results from April 28 and April 29

May 1, 2026 | News

Special to the Times Vedette

On April 28, Sue Mozingo sponsored Bagley’s second annual cribbage tournament. Sue Mozingo got first and Robert Klever got second. Clint Malbon placed third, Gary Hanson placed fourth and Julie Kipp placed fifth.

On April 29, a total of 11 players participated. Dick Ellis and Robert Klever both got two 16s and a 20; Wayne Nickel and Chet Vaughan both got a 16; Sandy Rumelhart got two 16s and a 24; and Allen Pierce got a 16 and a 24.

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.

Procrastinators beware: Best of Guthrie County voting is live

May 1, 2026 | Publisher's Column

If you haven’t noticed yet, the Best of Guthrie County poll is back. If you have already voted, you are a rock star. If not, what are you waiting for? Yes, the poll will be open for a few more weeks — but we all know how that goes. “I’ll do it later” turns into “Oh no, it’s over.”

People love knowing who and what are the “best.” That’s why they scroll reviews and search online. Unfortunately, those results are often cluttered with scammers and companies polishing reputations like a used car on a sunny day.

So how do you really know what is best around here? Simple. You ask the people who live here. That is exactly what our Best of Guthrie County poll does, and we are bringing it back for round three.

And just to be clear (because someone always asks), the winners are not picked by us. No smoke-filled back rooms. No secret handshakes. Just votes from readers like you. It is a detail the occasional naysayer somehow misses.

We have trimmed a few categories, added some new ones and landed at 91 total. Best pizza. Best pastor. Best park. You get the idea. Vote in one category or go for glory and tackle all 91.

We are spreading the word everywhere — print, email, social media, mailboxes — basically, if you can see it, we are probably there. In Year No. 1, we had 471 votes. Year No. 2 jumped to 642. This year? We are already at 343 and climbing. A record is within reach.

Voting is easy. Really easy. You can answer one question or all 91. Just remember that once you hit submit, that’s it. No do-overs. And for the would-be ballot stuffers — we see you. We catch you. We delete your extra votes. Save yourself the trouble.

So go ahead — cast your votes, share the link with your friends, family, neighbors and that one coworker who has very strong opinions about pizza. Help us celebrate the people, places and businesses that make Guthrie County such a great place to call home. Click here for the poll rules and the link to vote.

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707