Special to the Times Vedette
A total of 41 golfers participated in the Tuesday night men’s league on May 26 at Lake Panorama West Golf Gourse. Trent Crawmer shot a 1 over par 28 for the low score. Ted Ericson made the longest putt. Jay Ganske was closest to the pin. Kevin Koengberg needed just 14 putts. The scramble was on by the team of Ryan Smith, Dave Breitbach, Mike Moore and Andy Harreson with a score of 3 under par.
By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
Panorama and ACGC’s baseball and softball seasons are officially underway. Baseball players hit the diamonds last week, and the softball players did so this week. Just like we do at the Guthrie County Times Vedette each season, our summer sports guide will be releasing soon with interviews from the respective coaches of both schools. They both have their teams, and me, excited for the summer.
The ACGC baseball team is led by Nick McCool. His Chargers reached double-digit wins at 10-14 after only winning two games the previous season. Plus, against 1A competition, the Chargers went 10-2. That’s the unfortunate reality in the West Central, as you are going to up against some bigger schools. The team did get some solid production out of seniors, but ACGC returns its two best hitters in Tommy and Will Skram. It will be fun to see how the rest of the season goes for them.
For ACGC softball, the girls had a down season last year, finishing 2-21. This was partly expected, due to losing a large and talented senior class heading into the year. With those seniors gone, a young crop of talent stepped into their places and gained plenty of worthwhile experience that should help them greatly this season. Karli Kautzky was the team’s best hitter last season and is expecting another great year. Tyler Merical’s team could improve a great deal this season, and it will be enjoyable to follow along.
On the Panorama side, the baseball team had its own struggles, and they happened in a similar manner to the ACGC softball team. The Panthers had many talented seniors in 2023-2024 who led them to double-digit wins. Replacing them was difficult. The team went 5-18 with several close losses. With fewer seniors to replace this season, and younger players gaining plenty of experience last season, Coach Brian Bahrenfuss says the Panthers could start to right the ship this season.
Panorama softball struggled in the West Central last year, finishing at the bottom of the conference despite winning nine games. The WCAC is no joke, plus the Panthers were leaning on young talent. But that young talent absolutely produced. The four best hitters for the Panthers were an eighth-grader, two freshman and a sophomore — all who put up solid stats, all who are returning. Plus, two of those great hitters, Lexi Galvan and Andrea Knode, were the team’s best pitchers last season. Head Coach Ismael Galvan told me his seniors are leading the way, and his younger players are following along. With plenty of playing time gained last season, and with few players to replace, it is entirely possible that these Panthers hit double-digit wins for the first time since 2021.
Baseball and softball were not my favorite sports growing up, but as time has gone on, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for both. Baseball is America’s past time after all, and softball brings its own charm to the plate as well. It will be fun to follow along this summer.
Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.
Special to the Times Vedette
Joy Neal Kidney’s new novel, “The Immigrant and the Outlaw,” gathers some of her most compelling work — stories rooted in Iowa soil yet echoing far beyond it. Tales of grit, heritage, sacrifice and the quiet heroism woven through everyday lives.
Joy’s grandmother, Leora Goff Wilson, was born in Guthrie County. She grew up, married and had six children who were born here. After the devastation of WWII, she returned to live in Guthrie Center for four more decades. Five chapters of the book have stories about Guthrie County.
Joy has published dozens of narratives in newspapers, magazines and through the podcast “Our American Stories.” She is also the author of the “Leora” books.
You can find more information about Joy and her books on her website joynealkidney.com.
Autographed copies of her books are available at Art on State in Guthrie Center, the Urbandale Machine Shed Restaurant and Beaverdale Books in Des Moines. Books may ordered in paperback, hardback, eBook and audiobook formats from Amazon.com.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
During the May 28 meeting of the Guthrie County Hospital Board of Trustees, Clinical Safety and Quality Coordinator Danielle Lauzon shared information about a recently completed “drill.”
“We participated in an exercise with Public Health, longterm care, and Emergency Management about a month ago. It was for extreme heat,” Lauzon said. “We identified some areas for improvement. It was a good exercise.”
Lauzon also talked about an upcoming drill.
“June 10 we are going to participate in a big exercise with Adair County Hospital, EMS, Public Health, long-term care, and the law enforcement. It’s going to be at the school. It’s going to be an active threat,” Lauzon said. “It will start at 12:30 p.m. and go until about 6:30 p.m.”
Chief Human Resources Officer Mary Anderson provided a report on hiring and staffing. She noted that employee retention rate is now 89.2%. She also noted a recent achievement.
“Thanks to our great increase on our employee engagement survey score, we have been named a ‘Top Workplace.’ It’s sponsored by The Des Moines Register,” Anderson said. “We scored well enough in six categories to be given that award.”
Chief Operations Officer Travis Martin reported on the construction progress at the hospital.
“Tuesday of next week (June 2), we’ll start work on some storm sewer, and that will reduce 12th Street to a single lane,” he said. “So, they’ll be working in the east half of that, and there will only be passage on the west half.”
The next regular meeting of the trustees is set for Thursday, June 25 at 4 p.m. The public is welcome.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
During the May 26 meeting of the Panora City Council, the councilmembers reviewed and approved Resolution 26-27, setting the date and fees for citywide cleanup. The official date is June 12, although residents who have signed up to participate may begin placing items on the curb beginning Monday, June 8.
Those wishing to participate must sign up and prepay at City Hall by Friday, June 5. The basic fee is $30. Additionally, certain items require a specific fee and sticker. Those include appliances, computers, TVs, and vehicle tires and rims. Details are available by visiting or calling City Hall at 641-755-2164.
City Administrator Lisa Grossman noted that a ribbon-cutting event will be held on Monday, June 1 at 3 p.m. for the new Adirondack chair in the town square.
Grossman also shared information on the upcoming “pre-ride for RAGBRAI” that will come through Panora on Tuesday, June 2.
“Basically, all of the RAGBRAI committee members and about 20 people will ride the whole route,” she said. “They’ve asked that we kind of display some of the things that we’ll be doing when the whole RAGBRAI comes through.”
The council approved paying Pay Application No. 1 to Dirt Teck for work on the East Clay Street Sanitary Sewer project in the amount of $75,723.51. This payment represents approximately the first half of the project.
Following a public hearing on the matter (with no written or oral comments), the council approved the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget amendment as proposed.
Consideration of purchasing a 2019 Cummings diesel truck (approximately 34,000 miles) for just less than $130,000 will be held at the council’s next meeting.
The next regular council meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 8. The public is welcome.