Special to the Times Vedette
Approximately 80 displays were set up as part of the 32nd annual Guthrie Center Park Holiday Lights at Mitchell Park during the holiday season.
“Many thanks to you all for putting up your displays to help make our city park ‘shine’ more than ever. The 32nd year turned out to be our best ever,” Mary Jo Laughery said on behalf of the committee that put on the event.
Special to the Times Vedette
Origin Homes, a homebuilder based out of West Des Moines, is breaking ground on five homes in Panora’s Dream Acres on Jan. 21.
“We continue to be so encouraged by the outreach, support and excitement for our Rural Housing Initiative,” said Matt Daniels, director of operations for Origin. “Panora has been on our radar for a year or two thanks to their great leadership, community and economic development plans with local businesses and other builders in the area. The homes at Dream Acres will be just two blocks away from the Little Panther Daycare, Panorama Community Schools and five minutes from Lake Panorama, so we believe they’ll be a great fit for this neighborhood.”
Homes are expected to be completed in mid-summer 2026 and will start in the $300’s. The homes will all be three-and four-bedroom ranches with two car garages, some with finished basements, and a range from 1,300-2,400 square feet. The plans that will be constructed are the Harris, McDaniels and Whitley (all named after notable country singers).
“Like many rural Iowa towns, we’re facing the hard truth that our lack of housing is holding us back. Origin Homes has a proven track record across Iowa built on collaboration, local insight and long-term vision that I believe will only strengthen our local economy, expand our tax base and keep our town moving forward,” Panora Mayor Curtis Thornberry said.
If interested buyers reserve a home in the early stages of construction, Origin can customize finishes, siding colors and more inside and outside of the home. View all for sale homes HERE.
In 2026, Origin is building an additional five homes in Knoxville’s Veterans District as part of this years’ ongoing Rural Housing Initiative. The initiative is aimed at building homes in rural communities across Iowa to improve the housing market. Origin has previously built and sold 10 homes in two phases in Knoxville, as well as 18 additional homes in Conrad, Jefferson, Manning and Gowrie. As part of the initiative, Workforce housing tax credits, awarded from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, will be used to help offset the costs of the homes to homebuyers.
Origin is a primarily custom homebuilder specializing in building custom homes on land in any of Iowa’s 99 counties. You can see their custom work here.
Special to the Times Vedette
Weary Ramblers won the solo/duo category of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, on Jan. 17. In addition, Weary Ramblers member Chad Elliott won Best Guitarist in the solo/duo category.
“It was a surreal moment for the two of us. We both were honored and so proud to represent the great state of Iowa. We also felt overwhelmed with a sense of acceptance into the blues community. We know that we come from a non-traditional approach and are grateful for their support and acknowledgement,” Weary Ramblers member Kathryn Fox said.
Weary Ramblers first won the Iowa Blues Challenge in the solo/duo category. The Central Iowa Blues Society hosts the event each October to look for the best Iowa acts to send to the International Blues Challenge. Weary Ramblers were chosen to represent Iowa blues in the solo/duo category.
On Jan. 14, Weary Ramblers hit the streets of Memphis to compete in The Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge with more than 130 acts from around the world.
“It was inspiring to be walking Beale Street alongside musicians from all over the world. We had many wonderful conservations with folks from Montreal to Australia, and everywhere in between. They all brought their own interpretation of the blues,” Fox said.
During the four-day event, Weary Ramblers made the cut into the semi-finals and finals before battling for the top spot in the solo/duo category. Finals were held at the historic Orpheum Theater in downtown Memphis.
“It’s going to open up a lot of doors and get many more ears listening to our music. We can’t wait to see what’s to come and enjoy the ride,” Elliott said.
Not only did they win in the solo/duo category, but Elliott was singled out with an award for Best Guitarist.
“Being a self-taught guitar player, throughout the years, I’ve created a hybrid form of playing that fills out the soundscape for stripped down performances. I have five fingers to work with, and I treat each like a band member. There were a lot of amazing guitar players at this event. Receiving the award for best guitarist was shocking to me, but it also validated all of the years of work I’ve put into playing the guitar,” Elliott said.
This comes on the heels of several wins for the Weary Ramblers. Weary Ramblers won the 2025 Josie Music Award in the “Song of the Year – Americana Duo/Group/Collab” category. They are also winners of the 21st annual International Acoustic Music Awards in the “Best Group/Duo” category. Their self-titled debut album spent 7 weeks at the top of the Contemporary Folk Chart as well. Each of these honors is in a different genre of music — blues, Americana, folk and acoustic.
When asked if Weary Ramblers has a genre, Elliott said, “We consider ourselves to be Americana. This genre is an open one, including blues, country, folk, bluegrass — you name it. It’s made it easy for us to have a label for our sound without putting us in a box.”
Regardless of their genre, the music made by Weary Rambles is making waves. They have two albums currently available. Their most recent album, Driftwood, was released in October 2025.
“We’re planning tours throughout the country. If you’d like to stay up to date, sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website and follow us on social media,” Fox said.
Learn more about Weary Ramblers by visiting www.wearyramblers.com.
Weary Ramblers performing live at the International Blues Challenge. Photo courtesy of Alex Hjulbyhavn Petterson Weary Ramblers receiving their award on stage at the International Blues Challenge. Photo courtesy of Alex Hjulbyhavn Petterson
From the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Drought conditions improved in the summer months across the state but then degraded again with a dry fall, according to the latest Water Summary Update.
Iowa ended the year with a statewide average total of 33.60 inches of precipitation, or 1.95 inches below normal. December’s preliminary statewide precipitation was 1.00 inches, or 0.37 inches below normal. The wettest conditions occurred in the southeast this month, bringing some relief to the area.
In 2024, Iowa finally ended a historically lengthy drought, but rainfall deficits remained into the new year. The early months of 2025 were marked by drought and dryness due to these deficits and below-normal rainfall. However, the summer months saw additional wet weather, resulting in drought-free conditions across the state throughout much of the summer and early fall. However, dry conditions returned in the fall, resulting in two drought regions being placed under a drought watch.
Statewide temperatures for the year were just under a degree and a half warmer than normal. The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) shows that by the end of 2025, some areas of Iowa had slipped back into abnormally dry conditions or drought conditions, mostly in northwest and eastern Iowa.
“The dry start to 2025 subsided after the state experienced above-average rainfall during the summer. Initial concerns about drought expansion eased, leading to the removal of the Iowa Drought Plan Drought Watch designation statewide for a total of five months of the year. However, dry conditions returned in the fall. The state saw below-average rainfall for 2025, but National Weather Service outlooks are stable. Continued normal or above normal precipitation in January and February is important to maintain average conditions in the typically dry winter months,” said Jessica Reese McIntyre, DNR Environmental Specialist.
For a thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, visit www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.
The report is prepared by technical staff from Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR — Hydroscience and Engineering, and the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.
From the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Iowa’s 2025 hunting and fishing licenses expired on Jan. 10. Licenses are available at 650 locations across the state, and online at www.iowadnr.gov/GoOutdoorsIowa.
Iowa’s 2025-26 deer harvest through the late muzzleloader and archery seasons is currently just shy of 100,000, which is an increase of 1% over last year, but 4% lower than the five-year average. Iowa’s deer harvest is available in real time by county at https://gooutdoorsiowa.com/RealTimeHarvestReport.aspx. Iowa’s final two deer seasons — the Population Management January Antlerless Season and the Excess Tag January Antlerless Season — close on Jan. 25.
While most hunting seasons have closed, there are a few opportunities remaining. The southern Iowa goose zone season closes on Jan. 24; quail, partridge, ruffed grouse and fox and gray squirrel seasons closes on Jan. 31; and rabbit season closes on Feb. 28.
Furbearer seasons close on Feb. 28, except for beaver, which closes on April 15.
Fish Art Contest: The Art of Conservation The Iowa DNR and Wildlife Forever encourages all Iowans ages 5-18 to enter the Iowa Fish Art Contest. Winning submissions will be featured in the DNR building at the 2026 Iowa State Fair. The art must include one or more of the following fish species: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Walleye, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Bluegill, Crappie, Iowa Darter and/or Muskellunge. Deadline for submissions is Feb. 28. Only digital submissions are accepted.
The Iowa DNR is scheduling 20 public meetings across the state from March 2-5 to recap hunting seasons, discuss possible regulation changes and to accept feedback. Meeting dates and locations will be announced at the end of January.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
The Jan. 20 regular meeting of the Guthrie County Supervisors was canceled due to illness. No makeup date was announced. The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 9 a.m.
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#