Cooper awarded Eagle Scout rank

Tyler Cooper of Greenfield reached the absolute pinnacle of what every Boy Scout aspires to reach Sunday night when he was awarded his Eagle Scout rank.

The honor was given to him at the Ohwanasee District Dinner, held at the German Hausbarn in Manning.

“I worked pretty hard for this and it has taken quite a few years to get to,” Cooper said. “I’m proud of myself for it.”

Eagle Scout awards are presented on a yearly basis, but Cooper completed the project that ultimately propelled him past the finish line for the award last summer. His chosen project was to make aesthetic improvements to the recreational slab in Fontanelle, where he and others painted lines on the basketball court.

“I built a small little [bench] with the names of those who helped,” Cooper said. Members of the local Boy Scout Troop 115 were those who helped.

Cooper attended a Fontanelle City Council meeting to gain approval for doing this project. He then had to acquire approval of it from Scoutmaster Jeremy Rohner and regional Boy Scout leaders. Doing the project also meant he had to draw up plans for the work that was going to be done. He also was required to document his work when it was finished.

“I spent a lot of time there in Fontanelle. It’s really the only thing to do,” Cooper said of the slab. “It’s something that needed improved. Over the years it never really had a lot of maintenance, so I decided that would be a perfect project.”

In addition to this project, Cooper needed 21 merit badges in the Boy Scouts organization to attain the Eagle Scout rank. There are requirements of which badges are qualifying badges for the increase in rank.

Cooper, who graduated from Nodaway Valley last spring, said his enduring involvement in Boy Scouts came at the encouragement of his parents.

“They highlighted all the benefits that it holds. I think a lot of kids don’t understand that getting this is actually a big achievement and can impact your life in a positive way,” Cooper said. “I decided to take that to the military, which is what I am doing at Iowa State.”

The Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps is a program designed to develop Air and Space Fore leaders of character whom the organization expects to fight and win our nation’s wars, the Iowa State Air Force ROTC website says. They accomplish this through an integrated training program that meshes academics, physical fitness and character development.

“Besides the morning [ROTC activities] I am [a normal student] and just go about my day and go to my classes,” Cooper said. “There’s some stuff on the side, but all the main ROTC stuff is in the mornings. Eagle Scout was my main goal, then doing this. My grandpa inspired me to the Air Force.”

While he isn’t sure yet if he’ll actually pursue enlisting in the Air Force someday, Cooper said he appreciates the right now-benefits of being a part of the ROTC program.

Cooper, the parents of Cori and Ryan Cooper, is studying electrical engineering at ISU.

Nodaway Valley High School senior Jayden Rohner recently completed a project that qualifies him for his Eagle Scout rank, which will be presented to him in March 2026.