Local Business

Barn is hub for couple’s winery

STRATFORD — When Preston and Amber Gable came upon an acreage near Stratford in Hamilton County, they uncovered what would eventually become a dream come true — a barn to use as the center of their business — Back Country Winery. The couple purchased the property in 2014. Although it wasn’t their immediate plans to begin a business, things moved faster than they had anticipated. “It definitely was the barn that attracted us to the acreage. We knew a winery was something we wanted to do someday, but it wasn’t a concern,” said Amber Gable. “We both had full-time jobs ...

Elevator offers assistance to shareholders

There is little question that agriculture operates in cycles of “good” and “bad” years. The depressed ag economy of today, the years leading up to it and the fallout happening because of it has caused Rob Jacobs, CEO of Cooperative Farmers Elevator (CFE), to try and help the shareholder members of that company by offering them access to professional counseling and consulting services, free of charge to those members. They have teamed up with Connections Inc., Employee Assistance Program (EAP), an employee assistance firm based in Rock Valley, Iowa. This program is offering ...

New 2 You opens downtown

Joline Reyes has a pretty steady supply chain for the products she sells at New 2 You Second Hand Store. “I’ve got 22 grandkids,” Reyes said from her newly opened store at 1100 Central Ave. in downtown Fort Dodge. “I get a lot of clothes from the grandkids. When they outgrow them, ...

Messenger donates to Honor Flight

Dial barn remains in use for more than a century

LAKE CITY — When Hugh Sharkey built a new barn around 1904-05 on his farm northeast of Lake City, he probably never imagined it would remain in continuous use for more than 100 years. “The barn was in good shape when my late wife, Jane, and I moved here in the fall of 1977,” said Dwight Dial, who has owned the barn since 1986. “I still use the barn for lambing and for housing ewes in the winter.” The Calhoun Township building site was originally settled in 1900 by Hugh and Mattie Clark Sharkey as part of an 80-acre farm. Hugh built the 18-foot by 36-foot wooden ...

Agriculture Every Day

A new curriculum for educators who are wanting to incorporate agriculture and how it is involved in every day human life is now available through Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Maya Hayslett crop sciences youth education specialist, worked with Amy Powell, with the department of animal science at ISU in developing the Agriculture Every Day curriculum that became available in October. “One of our goals in creating this curriculum was to provide easy, shorter activities that you could do with youth and would help them learn about different aspects of agriculture,” ...