By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette 

During the Feb. 26 meeting of the Guthrie County Hospital Board of Trustees, the trustees reviewed the seven bids received on the planned upgrade project at the Stuart Rehab building. The lowest bid was $289,000 from GTG Construction of Des Moines. The trustees voted to accept that bid. The project is expected to be completed by June 8. 

The trustees also voted to formally approve the purchase agreement for the Panora clinic and the loans related to that purchase.

CEO Chris Stipe shared the progress on the hospital’s new website. He added that the website will include updates on the status of the hospital’s construction project as it proceeds.

“Our new website will probably go live a week from today,” Stipe said. “It will continue to evolve and grow.”

Stipe added that, overall, the hospital is running very well.

“Pretty pleased with all of our organizational goals, our finances, our patient satisfaction, our quality indicators,” Stipe said. “We’re just in a good place. I kind of pinch myself that all of those things are going so well.”

Regarding the hospital construction project, Stipe said the kickoff is coming up soon.

“We’re eager to dig in, get the construction fence up and really start getting into the project,” he said. “Groundbreaking is March 11, 2 p.m.”

Chief Human Resources Officer Mary Anderson summarized results of the annual employment engagement survey.

“Our overall score was a 74. Last year it was a 61, so it came up 13 points, and that is amazing,” she said. “It really shows that some of the things we have implemented throughout the last year have really made a difference.”

The next regular meeting of the trustees is set for Thursday, March 26 at 4 p.m. The public is welcome.

Trish Whetstone, Matt Wedemeyer, Justin Davis and Mark Bentler show their chili winnings.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

On Sunday, Feb. 8, the Casey Service Club held a bingo and chili cook-off event at the Casey Community Center. Ten various chili entries from local cooks competed. Trish Whetstone won the People’s Choice award. Matt Wedemeyer won for Most Unique Chili. Pioneers Pub won the Spiciest Chili award. Mark Bentler’s chili was named Best Overall.

A tempting array of chili was available for most every taste.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the Feb. 23 joint meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards, a public hearing was set for March 18 at 7 p.m., to be held at the high school media center. The hearing will be on the 2026-2027 school calendar.

The boards also set a public hearing on the proposed 2026-2027 tax rate. The hearing will be March 25 at 7 p.m. at the Junior High library.

Joe Nichols and Nick Efkamp of Vibes Audio spoke regarding the new sound system to be considered for the high school gym. The Guthrie Center board voted to approve the system as described.

Principal Ed Den Beste noted that junior high students are working hard on the play “The Scene of the Driftless Swifter,” which will be performed on March 17 at 6 p.m. He also said a new handicap toilet was installed in the junior high women’s restroom.

Guthrie Center Elementary Principal Tandem Eischeid announced that the Presbyterian Church donated a piano to the elementary school.

High School Principal Cody Matthewson gave kudos to students who participated in the state wresting and All State Speech recently. He also noted that the senior trip will be March 15-22.

Superintendent Josh Rasmussen said he is reviewing candidates and will schedule interviews for head football coach and athletic director positions, as well as high school principal.

“High school principal interviews will take place at the end of the first or second week of March,” he said.

The Guthrie Center board approved the purchase of a 2024 Chevrolet Express 3500 12-passenger van from Bob Brown Chevrolet.

Adair-Casey board member Randy Carney noted that the booster club golf outing is set for June 26, starting at 10 a.m.

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be a joint meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at the high school in Guthrie Center. The public is welcome.

Megan Richter enjoys offering a variety of homemade items.

Megan Richter offers handmade goodness for your home, one small batch at a time.

By Rich Wicks | Guthrie Center Times, February 2026

Infused olive oils are in a variety of flavors.

If the thought of fresh-baked sourdough bread dipped in flavored oils sounds tasty, then Mama’s House Market is definitely worth a try. The motto of Mama’s House Market in Adair is “Offering wholesome ingredients for your family.” That explains the personal philosophy of owner Megan Richter, as well as the philosophy she brings to the products she makes and sells.

Richter explained how Mama’s House Market came about. 

“It started last spring, in April. I had been in the corporate world for 25 years, and I had the opportunity to stay home and help with the bar,” she said.

Richter and her husband, Tony, own and operate The Blue Goose bar in Adair, but she soon found that she needed something more to keep herself busy.

“I was talking to my cousin about how to make a sourdough starter, and somebody overheard me, and they asked if I could bake some for them. So, that led to me starting to make sourdough bread to sell,” Richter said. “Mama’s House Market came about as an extra outlet for me. I don’t sit still well.”

Richter explained that she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, and one of them always called her “Mama,” so that’s where the business name came from.

Granola is hearty and healthy.

Sourdough bread loaves and infused oils for bread-dipping are Richter’s best sellers, but she offers a variety of items.

“It’s the basic sourdough loaves with several inclusion options. There’s fruit, cheese, chocolate, marshmallows, that kind of stuff,” Richter said. “I also do dinner rolls and sometimes bread bowls. Apart from sourdough, I also do infused olive oils, seasoned salts, flavored sugars. I also offer nourishing goat milk soap, cocktail kits, fresh dryer ball sprays and room sprays, and effective natural cleaners — simple, toxin-free essentials for your home. I try to keep it interesting. I also have Heaton honey products available.”

Richter adjusts her offerings based on what customers like. For example, she previously offered vanilla extract but found that few people bought it, so it was dropped.

She says the Mama’s House Market page on Facebook is the best place for anyone interested in seeing her products and/or putting in an order. A website is currently in the works as well.

Having learned the process of making sourdough, Richter now finds it is not difficult, just time-consuming.

Sourdough loaves are a challenge to resist.

“What a lot of people don’t understand about sourdough is it’s a four-day process. You feed the starter one day, you make the dough the next day, and on day four, you bake,” Richter said. 

Throughout the year, Richter sets up at various farmers markets and similar events in the area to sell her products.

Richter has no plans to mass-produce her items. She says she enjoys focusing on quality rather than quantity.

“Everything I make is intentionally curated, minimally processed and rooted in quality, flavor and function,” she said. “I’m bringing handmade goodness to your home, one small batch at a time.”

When asked which of her offerings is most surprising to customers, Richter said the answer is simple.

“A lot of people don’t know that I do anything other than bread,” she said.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Feb. 24. No citizens addressed the supervisors during the Public Comments portion of the meeting.

County Auditor Dani Fink shared information she learned regarding the Bagley Public Library.

“I had a member of the Bagley Library reach out to me this morning and she okayed for me to share this with you guys,” Fink said. “She said that the city of Bagley has deemed the library building unsafe, changed the lock on the door, and at their noon meeting tomorrow will allow them to go in and remove any of their personal items, turn in any keys, and will take over any business the library needs to conduct and will start selling off the contents of the library at their discretion.”

Fink added that library staff asked to meet with Supervisor Brian Johnson and herself.

“Dani, they have a meeting at 5 o’clock tomorrow night. I’m going to go to that,” Supervisor Brian Johnson said. “They say the foundation is bad on the building, and it’s unsafe to go into. I can’t think of another place to go. I think it’s incredibly sad.”

In other news, a bid opening was held regarding Project LFM-P28(2)-7X-39, which is the Wagon Road project between Panora and Stuart. County Engineer Josh Sebern opened and read the bid amounts. The seven bids ranged from approximately $6 million to $7.5 million.

“We will take these documents, compile all the information and propose award of contract next week,” Sebern said.

“I’m glad to see that many bids come in and are very comparable,” Supervisor JD Kuster said.

The supervisors heard an update on improvement and repair projects at the county fairgrounds and the fiscal year 2027 funding request.

The supervisors also held a budget workshop discussion.

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 regular meeting of the Panora City Council on Feb. 23, a public hearing regarding the property tax levy was set. The hearing will occur at 5:30 p.m. on March 23 immediately prior to the regular city council meeting on that date. All are welcome.

The council, along with Public Works Director Ismael Galvan, discussed the city’s proposed Water Meter Access Policy. The proposed policy is meant to specify the process the city would take if/when city staff are unable to gain access to water meters and/or individual water shut-off valves in multi-unit buildings.

The proposed policy would allow the city, as a last resort, to shut off water for all customers at such a building if water charges for a particular account continue to be delinquent. Councilmember Brian Dorsett voiced his concern with the proposed policy.

“I’m still not sold on shutting all of them off,” he said.

City Administrator Lisa Grossman pointed out that the “last resort” step would only be taken after a lengthy process to attempt all other options first. After discussion, the council tabled the matter so the proposed policy can be made clearer.

After discussion, the council voted to approve pay raises of 4% for all city employees effective July 1. There will also be a 25-cent hourly increase for Dan Hagen due to additional duties as assistant electric superintendent.

The council approved the first reading of Ordinance 362, amending Title 111, specifically Chapter 4 Section 3-4-44 Parking During a Snow Emergency. The council then voted to waive the second and third readings. 

The next regular meeting is set for Monday, March 9 at 5:30 p.m. The public is welcome. Interested persons may attend in person or electronically by visiting the website https://meet.goto.com/cityofpanora or by phone 1-312-757-3121 (Access Code 295-099-701, Audio PIN 220#).