GOWRIE — The colorful silk scarves created by Karen McCubbin, of Gowrie, go through a special process before they become a finished product. The scarves are put in a bowl of water and then heated up — in a microwave. “When I tell people I make the scarves in the microwave, they ...

AYRSHIRE — If one didn’t know it was there, a person would drive right past the acreage of David C. Loomis. West of Ayrshire on the Highway to Heaven (420th St), you can find a quarter-mile long lane that, when the corn is tall, seemingly goes nowhere. Follow that lane and you will ...

ALTOONA — Is your fuel killing you? It was no accident the 2020 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit raised this provocative question right before consumer advocate Erin Brockovich took the stage. “This is a price we shouldn’t be willing to pay, especially when there are accessible, affordable ...

Keenan Schuur, who has been an agent at Coldwell Banker Associated Realtors for five years, has joined Troy Anderson as co-owner of the Fort Dodge brokerage. Schuur, a 2007 St. Edmond High School graduate, obtained his broker’s license about a year ago. He became a co-owner on Jan. 2. ...

AUBURN — A walk through Jeff and Ellen Frank’s barn west of Auburn is like getting a glimpse of history up close, if you know how to interpret the clues. While the interior looks a lot different than when the barn was new in 1909, traces of the past remain. “Horses used to be on ...

Kelly and Heather Sayer have always felt a calling to help others connect and make positive changes in their lives. And they have been able to accomplish that through their work at Sayer Counseling, 1728 Central Ave., Suite 10. The couple opened their office in May of 2017. They ...

During a recent Iowa Learning Farms’ webinar, Randall Cass, Iowa State University Extension entomologist, gave an overview of some of the research that is being conducted in Iowa with bees, including the implications for farmers, beekeepers and landowners. Cass said oftentimes, people are ...

VARINA — Nancy Kelly has the privilege of working in her grandfather’s barn on a daily basis. Kelly, who partners with Dick Farrell, owns and operates “Grandpa’s Barn” in the town of Varina in Pocahontas County, where they have done extensive repair to the structure, turning it into ...

An elderly woman drove her van next to one of the gas pumps at Anderson Station on a mild winter day Thursday morning. And out from the office walked Colten Anderson, a mechanic who asked the woman how she was doing before he filled the tank of the vehicle with gas. He then popped the ...

LIDDERDALE — The letters, written in pencil more than a century ago, may seem more like diary entries from rural Iowa at first glance, with details of a blizzard that dumped a foot of snow and how corn yielded 30 bushels per acre the previous fall, despite dry conditions. But read a bit ...

SPENCER — For Ryan and Amanda Bare, entering into the distillery business means more than simply creating a brand of whiskey or vodka. The Bares own and operate Century Farms Distillery in Spencer where they pride themselves on celebrating the American farmer, using corn to make their ...

Although Bruce and Ed Shimkat have retired as owners of Shimkat Motor Co. — the longtime Fort Dodge car dealership — they are still very much a part of how the business operates, according to current owners Ed Shimkat Jr. and Bill Shimkat. Bruce Shimkat and Ed Shimkat serve as ...

HUMBOLDT — Heading west out of Humboldt on Iowa Highway 3 along the north side of the road sits a barn — which may not be an unusual site, but what some may not realize is, it’s not an old barn that has been restored, but rather a newer build. Roger Myers built the 60-by-40-foot barn ...

Nine prizes in addition to a hog raffle where two halves of a hog were given away as part of the 2019 Farm News Ag Show that was held Dec. 4-5 at the Iowa Central East Campus in Fort Dodge. In addition to the usual drawings for prizes, new to this year’s show was a $200 Fareway gift card ...

SPENCER—The 2019 edition of the Clay County Fair (CCF) was one that was noticed by others in the ‘fair world,’ as it scooped up 14 awards and cemented fair manager Jeremy Parsons into a leadership role in the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE). This all took place ...

Ryan Davis, of Fort Dodge, started driving for DoorDash, a mobile food order delivery service, in July to be able to spend more time with his grandmother, who was ill. Davis also owns First Source Cellular and being in the store all day kept him away from his grandmother at home. He heard ...

GOLDFIELD — It’s the last round barn standing in Wright County. In fact, it’s one of the last round barns in Iowa. It’s located southwest of Goldfield in Eagle Grove Township, and it’s close to the Boone River that inspired the name Riverview Farm, which can still be read in the ...

People aren’t buying as much gold jewelry as they were in previous decades, according to Marilyn Simonson, owner of Wicker Jewelers. And the rise of online retail companies like Amazon has certainly impacted the number of shoppers at brick and mortar stores. But Wicker, 700 Central Ave., ...

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 ...

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 ...