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Birkestrands announce new owner for Osweiler’s

WEBSTER CITY — Ron and Kathy Birkestrand announced in a press release Tuesday that they have sold Osweiler's Fashion store in Webster City. The new owner is Sonia Sosa Rodriguez. Rodriguez will take ownership February 1, 2026, and plans to have a grand opening in March when her spring merchandise arrives. Rodriguez has worked for the Birkestrands for the past 14 years. She has been working closely with them, accompanying them at market and managing the floor in recent years. The Birkestrands announced their retirement in September after 42 years when they first purchased the ...

Secretary Naig welcomes applications for Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced that the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is accepting applications for the next round of Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants. The highly competitive cost-share grant expands access to Iowa-grown, Iowa-made, and Iowa-raised food, beverages, and other agricultural products. It offers matching awards of up to $25,000 per project to help farmers, small businesses, and non-profit organizations add value to the agricultural goods they produce. “The demand for local Iowa products continues to grow rapidly, and Choose Iowa is ...

Van Diest manager graduates from IHA program

Jill Silver, the Van Diest Medical Center surgery and specialty clinic manager, recently graduated from the Iowa Hospital Association’s Leadership Development Program. That program develops critical leadership skills and competencies with the objective of increasing retention of ...

Rossmanith joins Berryhill Center

Erin Rossmanith has joined the staff of UnityPoint Health — Berryhill Center as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She is a Fort Dodge native with 25 years of nursing experience, including a decade as a school nurse. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the YWCA ...

UnityPoint Health first to join Mayo Clinic Platform — Insights

UnityPoint Health has announced a new collaboration with Mayo Clinic Platform, a strategic initiative of Mayo Clinic that enables data-driven innovation and health care transformation for clinicians across the globe. Through this collaboration, UnityPoint Health is the first health care organization to join a new program called Mayo Clinic Platform — Insights, giving clinicians and care teams access to Mayo Clinic resources like research and best practices to enhance patient experience and improve outcomes. “We look forward to collaborating with Mayo Clinic to enhance the expert ...

Stewart Memorial Hospital and Clinics recognized with 2025 Performance Leadership Award

LAKE CITY — Stewart Memorial Hospital and Clinics announced it has earned a 2025 Performance Leadership Award for excellence in patient perspective. Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, the Performance Leadership Awards program recognizes top quartile performance (i.e., 75th percentile or above) among rural hospitals in quality, outcomes, and/or patient perspective. “We are honored to be recognized for our strong patient perspective scores,” said Linn Block, chief executive officer of Stewart Memorial Hospital and Clinics. “This award reflects our team’s ongoing ...