By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the June 9 meeting of the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors, the supervisors unanimously voted to appoint Charles Abel to fill the vacancy created by Dana Minteer’s resignation from the role of County Attorney.

County Auditor Dani Fink also read the unofficial results of last week’s Primary election.

“On Election Day, we had a total of 1,693 people vote at the polls. We had 410 absentee ballots that were accepted for counting, so we had a total of 2,103 people who voted,” Fink said.

No changes were noted from the unofficial results. The supervisors approved the canvas of the results, which are now considered official.

Health Services Director Jotham Arber discussed a proposed Health Services Agency Vehicle Use policy, which he explained would help standardize the expectation for all employees and the nine vehicles used by the department. The supervisors approved the policy as proposed.

The supervisors approved two recommendations from County Engineer Josh Sebern. The first was the awarding of the contract to Murphy Contracting for the bridge replacement project L-CA226-73-39. The second was to award the contract to Genco Construction for the culvert replacement project on 150^th Street.

The supervisors discussed the planning for RAGBRAI, including designating the courthouse as an option to be used in case of dangerous weather so that all bicyclists would have shelter available. EMS and law enforcement personnel will have the ability to open the courthouse as needed during RAGBRAI.

The supervisors also discussed whether or not to have the courthouse open for business on July 20, due to the influx of thousands of bicyclists and others. The consensus was to remain open as usual on that date.

Supervisor Maggie Armstrong shared information on the community survey being rolled out by the EMS Advisory Council to gauge county residents’ opinions about EMS services. She said the survey will be roughly 20 questions. She noted that when the survey is opened, communication will be made through a variety of means to inform citizens of the availability of the survey.

“That will be on our county website and will be pushed out. I encourage everybody to take the survey. It’s easy; it takes about 10 minutes,” Armstrong said.

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

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the June 8 regular meeting of the Guthrie Center City Council, City Administrator Kris Arrasmith reported on the planning for RAGBRAI and vendor participation.

“So far we have, between our local food participants and regular food vendors, we have mapped about forty-some,” she said.

Arrasmith noted the committee did a good job assuring a wide variety of food vendors will be on hand.

“They had over 100 applications from food trucks, so they narrowed it down,” Arrasmith said.

Arrasmith also reported on plans for citywide garage sales and citywide cleanup.

“For the garage sales, we have 13 signed up so far,” she said. “For the cleanup, we have 46 so far.”

The council discussed concerns related to the apartment building at 303 Prairie St. An inspector was brought in to make recommendations on what needs to be done at the property. At this time, no structural problems with the building were noted. The main concern has been the need for cleanup.

Councilmember Ian Steensen shared his concern that some citizens park with vehicles blocking sidewalks. The consensus was to ask the Sheriff’s department officers to address any such situations seen.

Building/Fence permits were approved for 901 Grand St. (M. Reinhart, garage), 204 S. Fifth St. (A. Scroggins, four season porch), and 602 N. 12^th St. (T. Masters, portable shed).

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the city council is set for June 22 at 6:30 p.m. The public is welcome.

Special to the Times Vedette

Curtis and Angie Clark at 105 North 12th St. in Guthrie Center are the winner of $100 in chamber bucks from the Guthrie Center Lions Club and the Guthrie Center Chamber of Commerce for the Yard of the Month contest for May. These two organizations have teamed up to award citizens who maintain and take pride in their yard with this monthly contest.

Special to the Times Vedette

The Panora Citizen of the Year nominations are now being accepted. The Panora Chamber of Commerce has recognized an outstanding member of the Panora/Lake Panorama community since 1989. The year 2020 was the only year the recognition did not take place.

Criteria for Citizen of the Year:

• Any service performed for the betterment of Panora that the nominator deems worthy.
• No restrictions on the number of years a person can be nominated.
• Winners cannot be considered again for 10 years.
• Nominees must be a citizen of Panora or Lake Panorama.
• Nominees must be nominated in writing, signed by the nominator.

Paid city employees are eligible, but their nomination must not be for their regular duties.

The following statement applies to all nominees:  Anyone who works for the promotion and betterment of our community rather than excellence in profession or job.

Nominations must be received by July 10, 2026.  Please mail nomination letters to the Panora Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 73, Panora, IA 50216.

The 2026 Citizen of the Year will be announced at Panorama Days on Friday, July 31.

Special to the Times Vedette

Whiterock Conservancy announced it was recently awarded the Neighborhood Beer Micro-grant on behalf of the Big Grove for Good Foundation. The grant will help fund the Whiterock Conservancy project and further the mission of Big Grove for Good by investing in neighborhoods and communities. Whiterock Conservancy says this partnership will provide opportunities for the public to experience and learn from this rare and unique landscape.

The grant provides significant improvements to the Whiterock team and volunteer safety for habitat restoration capacity that will provide opportunities to increase efforts to restore and preserve Iowa’s natural resources.

Fire is heavily utilized for habitat management at Whiterock. The management of aggressive non-native species through fire will help encourage the growth of a healthy woodland and remnant prairie area with native plant species through these varied methods. These native plant species will boost the quality of contiguous habitat and wildlife at Whiterock and improve the number of species of greatest conservation need in the area.

Whiterock boasts many rare and sensitive communities throughout its 5,500-acre land trust including rare sand prairies, prairie remnants, prairie pothole region and oak savannas. Land protection and management efforts in Iowa should continue to focus on the preservation of rare and sensitive ecological communities, which, in turn, support rare wildlife species.

Call the Whiterock Conservancy office at 712-790-8221 or email executivedirector@whiterockconservancy.org for more information.

Special to the Times Vedette

Whiterock Conservancy announced it is offering free STEM summer adventures as new ways to learn and grow. Saturday, June 20, is the next STEM Adventure of 2026 with Eco Explorers. Adventure goers will learn about leave not trace and participate in a nature scavenger hunt. The program is for students ages 6-12 and must be accompanied by an adult or babysitter. Join in for some science fun. Register for one or more of these FREE events by calling 712-790-8221 ext. 1 or emailing guestinfo@whiterockconservancy.org.