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Today is Thursday, Jan. 23, the 23rd day of the year. There are 342 days remaining in 2025. Below is a collection of news items found in the Creston News Advertiser for this week in history.
8 years ago (2017)
Josh Alton of Des Moines brings a unique perspective to his stand-up comedy show. Alton is an athlete-turned-comedian, having played football at North Iowa Area Community College prior to the college shutting down its football program. Alton will provide the comedic entertainment Saturday, Feb. 11, at the annual Creston Parks and Recreation Board fundraiser event held at the Eagles Lodge. This year’s event is titled “A Night of Love and Comedy.”
Greater Regional Medical Center’s nursery saw more tiny fingers and toes in 2016 than in recent years. According to Greater Regional’s Obstetrics Manager Jill John, there was an increase in babies delivered at the hospital by 23, up to 169 in 2016. That compares to 146 babies delivered in 2015, and 165 in 2014.
Tom Lesan, Southwestern Community College (SWCC) vice president of economic development, was honored at the college’s all-staff in-service, held Friday, Jan. 13, for achieving 35 years of service to the institution. Lesan, a 1978 SWCC graduate, has been employed at the college since January 1981 when he was hired as SWCC’s coordinator of adult education. At the time, Lesan was a recent graduate of the University of Iowa where he earned his bachelor’s degree.
The Creston Community High School large group speech team entered 18 groups in Saturday’s district competition at Clarke Community High School in Osceola, with 13 of those entries receiving Division-I ratings and advancing to the state competition.
18 years ago (2007)
The Creston girls basketball team started off slow, but got things rolling in the second half of a 56-28 victory at Clarinda on Friday. Creston improved to 10-7 overall and 8-6 in the conference.
Flanked by cheering lawmakers and a couple low-wage workers, Gov. Chet Culver signed into law on Thursday a package raising the state’s hourly minimum wage to $7.25 by Jan. 1. The state’s minimum wage of $5.15 an hour will increase to $6.20 on April 1 and $7.25 on Jan. 1.
All 10 communities, as well as rural areas of Ringgold County, approved a 1-cent sales tax increase in a special election Tuesday to fund a new jail facility. Ringgold County Sheriff Mike Sobotka said he was “thrilled to death” with the election results after confirming a mistake in the preliminary numbers, which had Benton without any “yes” votes and two “no” votes.
28 years ago (1997)
What began as a protest over the Gibson Memorial Library may end up costing the city of Creston more than $185 in late charges. And the meter is still running. In a move that left city officials shaking their heads afterward, the council voted 3-3 at Tuesday’s regular meeting to pay/not pay the city’s regular claims.
The two-year-old boy lies helpless and fragile, his immune system destroyed by chemicals in preperation for one last chance at life. He’s awaiting a bone marrow transplant, one that may defeat the acute leukemia raging through his body. With no immediate family members able to provide a match for his bone marrow, the boy is relying on the generosity of a total stranger. Randy Roghair, 46, of Creston, as fate would have it, is this boy’s “total stranger.” Roghair recently took a journey to Iowa City Hospitals for the “harvesting” of his bone marrow.
38 years ago (1987)
In a game that featured more spills than thrills, Creston boys ran away from Red Oak 76-51 here Friday. Tony Kilkenny, who totaled 21 points, canned a pair of his 12 free throws at the end of the first quarter to give the Panthers a 17-15 lead that was threatened but never surrendered.
James Larkin of Larkin Funeral Home and Crematory presented a $250 scholarship to Joseph Ahnen, a 1986 graduate and a math and music major at Southwestern Community College. Ahnen is the son of Carolyn Miller of Creston.
Five Creston wrestlers are rated on the latest list of top southwest Iowa competitors by the Omaha World Herald as compiled by a panel of coaches. Heading the list of rated Panthers is John Sickels, second at 126, but currently sidelined by a knee injury. Others are Chuck Hulett fourth at 167, Mike Nelson fifth at 105, Doug Hartman fifth at 132 and John Ramsey seventh at 112.