By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

 On Friday, May 16, a LifeServe Blood Center mobile blood drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the activity room at The New Homestead, 2306 State St., in Guthrie Center. Prize drawings will be held, and post-donation snacks will be provided.

Brandy Clark, community relations director at The New Homestead, tells how blood donation impacted her family in 2016.

“On May 9, I will be celebrating nine years since the gift of blood saved my life following the sudden premature birth of our Miss Cailynn at 28 weeks. That’s three months early, if you’re doing the math. She weighed 2 pounds, 7 ounces at birth,” Clark said. “I was bleeding out from my uterus tearing away from its wall. The blood loss caused my hemoglobin level to fall to 4.5, and my body was shutting down; I was not able to breath on my own. At that moment, I was hanging on with a machine breathing for me.”

Because of generous blood donors, blood was available in Clark’s time of need. She received seven units.

“I will forever be grateful to those able and willing to donate. Without their generosity, my children would be growing up without a mother. Cailynn would have no memory of her mother. I can’t imagine that for them, not even today,” Clark said. “So, when I see you donating at our blood drive and offer my appreciation, understand it truly is from the bottom of my heart. Please join us on May 16.”

Anyone interested in reserving a donation timeslot can call LifeServe at 800-287-4903 or visit lifeservebloodceenter.org or text “lifeserve” to 999-777. Walk-in donations are also welcome.

From the Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Gardening fever has broken out across the state with homeowners digging, planting, weeding and mulching to avoid missing out on spring rains. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is encouraging homeowners to include pollinator friendly native plants as part of the landscape.

Native Iowa plants are the most beneficial for pollinators and can be designed to look nice, Stephanie Shepherd, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Diversity Program said.

“We prefer native plants over plants that have been genetically modified as the modified versions may or may not produce the same levels of pollen or nectar as the natives,” she said. “Native plants also bloom at the right times, just when our native pollinators are relying on them.”

Part of the design plan should include a mix of plants that bloom during different seasons in order to maximize opportunities for pollinators. Consider a mix of plants like golden alexanders, large flowering beard tongue, or foxglove beard tongue that bloom in spring; butterfly milkweed, which is also a host plant for monarchs, pale purple coneflower and wild bergamot, aka bee balm, that bloom in summer; and prairie blazing star, New England aster and the goldenrods that bloom late summer and fall.

For more information on pollinators, lists of plants and tips for planting a backyard prairie and more, go to https://www.iowadnr.gov/pollinators. Plantings this spring can be supporting bees and butterflies later this summer during National Pollinator Week, June 16-22.

“If the thought of what to plant is too much, then plan to limit the number of different kinds of plants to 6 to 9; 2-3 early spring blooming, 2-3 summer blooming and 2-3 late summer/fall blooming,” she said. Including native grasses like prairie dropseed, little bluestem, and side-oats gramma are useful as host plants for butterflies and moths.

And don’t overlook redbud trees or serviceberry shrubs, in the spring blooming category if there’s space, Shepherd said.

These pollinator plants are likely to attract monarchs, and common eastern and brown-belted bumble bees. Most bees aren’t aggressive; just foraging and want to be left alone,” Shepherd said.

Homeowners who have bumble bees visiting their flowers can help the Iowa DNR with data collection by contributing to Iowa’s Bumble Bee Atlas.

The Bumble Bee Atlas is a volunteer community science project with a goal of learning more about bumble bees in Iowa, particularly what species are here, where they are in the state and what kind of habitat and flowers they like.

Anyone interested in participating will need to complete an online training and optional hands on field training to practice catching and handling bumble bees. The Iowa DNR has Bumble Bee Atlas video online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BTk70i96uw.

More information is available online at https://www.bumblebeeatlas.org/pages/iowa

Special to the Times Vedette

On May 7, a total of 13 players participated. Kathy Mahoney, Dan Webb and Robert Klever each got a 16, Sandy Rumelhart got a 20 and Chet Vaughan had a 21.

The Guthrie Center cribbage players generally meet at Guthrie Center Library on Mondays at 8 a.m., at the New Homestead independent living rec room at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays, and at the Guthrie Center Activity Center 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.

Special to the Times Vedette 

Kelsey Laabs (Panorama), Malia Fuller (West Central Valley) and Emmarae Ellis (ACGC) were recognized by Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer for outstanding academic achievement at the 23rd Annual Governor’s Scholar Recognition Ceremony on April 27 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

The statewide program, sponsored by the Iowa Governor’s Office, Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and its title sponsor the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF), honored 424 high school seniors from across Iowa.

“Iowa Farm Bureau has a long history of supporting students in their educational journey knowing they represent the leaders of tomorrow,” IFBF President Brent Johnson said.  “From providing more than a half-million dollars in college scholarships annually to our long-time title sponsorship of the Annual Governor’s Scholar Recognition Ceremony, we’re honored to support and celebrate Iowa’s outstanding students.”

Each high school was invited to select a senior student with the highest academic ranking for their first seven semesters. Students selected for the award also had the opportunity to recognize their favorite/most influential teacher and will receive a photo plaque of their meeting with Gov. Reynolds.

“The principles learned through academic success, like those learned from participation in education-based activities, help develop outstanding leaders and citizens,” IHSAA Executive Director Tom Keating said.  “The partnership between the IHSAA and the Iowa Farm Bureau, along with the great cooperation of the Governor’s Office has made this event possible for many years.”

Ninety-eight percent of those recognized participate in extra-curricular school activities, with more than 82% participating in at least one interscholastic sport. More than 63% of the group plan to continue their education in Iowa.

Special to the Times Vedette

Aureon, a technology solution provider of connectivity, managed IT, staffing consulting and contact center services, announced the recipients of its 2025 Scholarship Programs. Ten Iowa high school students have been awarded a total of $13,000 in scholarships in recognition of their academic achievements, leadership and community involvement.

Building on the announcement of Aureon’s expanded 2025 Scholarship Programs, the company continues to support Iowa students through two distinct opportunities: the Aureon STEM Scholarship Program, available to students residing in communities served by Aureon’s Iowa Telecommunications Company (ITC) partners and pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), and the Aureon Scholarship for Technology Students, open to students living in metro areas directly served by Aureon who are planning to pursue technology degrees at Iowa colleges, universities, or trade schools.

“Each year, we are inspired by the drive and potential of students across Iowa,” said George O’Neal, CEO of Aureon. “Our scholarship programs reflect Aureon’s ongoing commitment to empowering the next generation of innovators and industry leaders. Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients; we look forward to seeing all you will accomplish.”

The recipients of the 2025 Aureon STEM Scholarship Program are:

• Elliott Eiler, New Hampton – $3,000 scholarship, attending Iowa State University (Software Engineering)
• Blaine Benjamin, Keosauqua – $2,000 scholarship, attending Iowa State University (Mechanical Engineering)
• Savannah Feenstra, Hull – $2,000 scholarship, attending Iowa State University (Civil Engineering)
• Kolter Good, Peru – $1,000 scholarship, attending DMACC (Engineering)
• Baylyn Herring, Panora – $1,000 scholarship, attending the University of Iowa (Biomedical Engineering)
• Kamden Nusbaum, Birmingham – $1,000 scholarship, attending the University of Iowa (Computer Science & Engineering) 

Recipients of the 2025 Aureon Scholarship for Technology Students are:

• Tannen Bell, Waterloo – $1,000 scholarship, attending college to study Industrial Engineering
• Finian Huggins, Des Moines – $1,000 scholarship, attending Iowa State University (Cyber Security Engineering)
• Dominic Channon, Waukee – $1,000 scholarship, attending the University of Iowa (Technology)

Applications for the 2025–2026 Aureon Scholarship Program will open in December, continuing Aureon’s commitment to supporting Iowa students pursuing careers in STEM and technology. Through these programs, Aureon invests in the educational and professional success of future leaders across the state.

For more information about Aureon and its community programs, visit aureon.com.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met May 6 in regular session. As part of the consent agenda, the supervisors approved payroll status changes for Jerri Christman and Alexi Steiner. Both have been part-time employees in Public Health and are moving to fulltime status.

As he had the prior week, County Engineer Josh Sebern addressed the supervisors regarding the Five-Year Construction Plan.

“We talked about three of them last week; this is the fourth, for the active projects that will be going on,” Sebern said.

Sebern told of a bridge to be replaced near the intersection of Monteith Road and Tank Avenue.

It’s a bridge currently; we’re going to replace it with a box culvert,” Sebern said. “Estimating $400,000.”

The supervisors approved the funding agreement with Iowa DOT for the project.

Discussion was held regarding a request for the county to send a letter of support for some programs provided through New Opportunities.

“I did have a conversation with Chad, the New Opportunities executive director,” Board Chair Maggie Armstrong said. “Funding has not yet been pulled, but perhaps there’s writing on the wall. These programs are the partially federally funded programs.”

Armstrong explained that New Opportunities is requesting each applicable county to send a letter of support in hopes of averting cuts to programs, including LIHEAP, Head Start and Weatherization Assistance.

“We’re talking about our low-income heating program, Head Start, some really fundamental programs that we have a ton of utilization in Guthrie County,” Armstrong said.

Supervisor Brian Johnson voiced his position on the matter.

“I’m going to vote against this, and I want to make it very clear it’s not that I don’t support these programs, but we’re reminded every day that this is what people voted for, and it seems a bit gratuitous to try to play both ends against each other, but I fully support these programs,” Johnson said.

The supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of the letter of support.

Armstrong recommended the supervisors spend time at the next meeting prioritizing items for the 2025 Strategy & Project Plan.

“We can take some time to group things, what are some low-hanging fruit, what are some things that are going to take more time and effort,” Armstrong said.

The supervisors meet regularly Tuesdays at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend in person or via remote technology. To join remotely, call 323-792-6123, then use meeting code 547029216#.