Grinnell News

Developers update City Council on plans for Grinnell Promenade project Updates include pedestrian-friendly features such as sidewalk patios GRINNELL, Iowa — Principals of Grinnell Promenade LLC gave an updated presentation about the corporation’s proposed mixed-use development for the old McNally’s site during the Grinnell City Council meeting Monday night. Grinnell Promenade is Grinnell College’s selected development partner for the former …

Imagine Grinnell’s Gravel Tour and Annual Giving Gardens Family Ride July 7 On Saturday, July 7, Imagine Grinnell (IG) will combine its third annual Giving Gardens bike tour with a new offering—the first annual Grinnell Gravel Tour, a cycling option that is growing in popularity nationwide and within the community. The bike tour is being coordinated this year by IG …

Veterans Memorial Commission Selects RDG Architects By Michael McAllister The city of Grinnell, in 2013, enlisted the service of RDG Planning and Design, an architectural firm with offices throughout the Midwest, as part of the plan to improve the city’s downtown business district and Central Park. That association led to the façade rehabilitation project, the Central Park renovation, and the …

Ed Poush: Associate Director and Administrator of Mayflower Community, announces retirement after 30 years Associate Director and Administrator of The Mayflower Community for 30 years, Ed Poush, announces his retirement on June 29th. Ed and wife Sharon will continue to support the Mayflower Community as they became residents in February 2018. Ed graduated from Grace College in Indiana in 1970 …

Saints Rest Celebrates Family, Music, and Grinnell By Michael McAllister Writer and director Noga Ashkenazi paid tribute to Grinnell in two ways on Saturday evening, June 9, when her film, Saints Rest, premiered in Iowa at the Harris Cinema to a near-capacity crowd on the Grinnell College campus. First, she thanked all involved in the filming of the movie, which …

GPCF Introduces New Board Members, Annual Fund Drive The Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation’s (GPCF) annual fund drive for operations support is underway through June 30, with a goal of $5,000 to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the foundation’s board of directors. Established in 1989, GPCF is a nationally certified community foundation that manages more than 120 charitable funds for organizations and …

Grinnell College’s Summerfest on June 9 to celebrate discovery, fun, learning Free festivities for all ages include a performance by a Congolese dance and drum company  GRINNELL, Iowa — Grinnell College’s Summerfest — a free, daylong celebration of discovery and global learning for all ages — will take place on campus from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 9. …

Adult Community Exploration Series offers free summer courses Grinnell College faculty members will teach 4 classes on a wide array of topics   GRINNELL, Iowa — Delve into detective fiction, the definition of liberty, the meaning of the phrase “born to run,” and the impact of antibacterial products during free summer classes for adults in Grinnell. The Adult Community Exploration …

Rotary Chicken Eggspands on the Value of Rotary June 7 Barbecue By Michael McAllister   One year ago, Our Grinnell snagged an eggsclusive interview with Ishmael, Grinnell’s Rotary Chicken, prior to the annual Rotary Chicken Barbecue. This year is no eggception. Although a busy bird, Ishmael recently took time out of a demanding schedule to remind Our Grinnell readers of the …

By Michael McAllister In a brief but enthusiastic and altogether delightful presentation, the new playground equipment at Ahrens Park achieved official dedication Friday afternoon by those most served by it—the children of Grinnell, represented by all the second graders in the city. Such an event is never without its grown-ups, and of course adults were instrumental in the fund drive …

Grinnell, IOWA (May, 2018) Broker, Owner of RE/MAX Partners Realty Matthew Karjalahti of the Mid-Iowa Regional, and the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors has earned the Diamond Individual Achievement Award from the Iowa Association of Realtors® (IAR). This is the IAR’s highest achievement award and the second award that Karjalahti has received from the Iowa Association of Realtors including …

Grinnell College’s SPARK Innovation Challenge wins international award Ashoka U honored Grinnell with 2018 Award for Innovation in Community Partnership GRINNELL, Iowa — Grinnell College has won Ashoka U’s 2018 Innovation Award for Community Partnership for its SPARK Community Based Innovation Challenge in an international competition. The Innovation Award is Ashoka U’s top honor for premiere higher education programs in social …

Bikes to Art Two Mixes Tacos, Tunes, and Decorating Talent By Michel McAllister Hmmmmm—Royal Wedding or Bikes to Art? The royal couple was considerate enough to wrap things up early Saturday morning, Iowa time, thus sparing Grinnellians that conundrum. And those who took advantage of Prince Harry’s and Princess Meghan’s generosity found themselves treated to an entirely different—but no less …

By Abby Reding, Freelance Correspondent; For some individuals, road trips are boring, just a way to get frompoint A to point B. For Grinnell professor, and long time coach, Will Freeman, however, it is far more. For him, lengthy travels are about appreciating the different places, meeting new people, and trying new things. To date, he has written, or co-written, six books. His …

Mayor Dan Agnew—Four Months In   By Michael McAllister “Have you got a job yet?” “No.” “Do you want mine?” That, Mayor Dan Agnew recalls, is the exchange that led to his first job offer.  It came from Dudley Norris, the man who had coached him in football in Grinnell, then a teacher at Newton High School where Agnew, in …

Two Cyclists from the Rehabilitation Clinic at St. Francis Manor Cross the  State of Iowa in 2.5 Days for a Great Cause  (Grinnell, IA – May 15, 2018)Two Grinnell cyclists, Physical Therapist Assistant Tim Stahl and Physical Therapist Jon Duke, recently completed their LiteGait Fundraiser ride across Iowa in just two and a half days! In addition to accomplishing their …

Vets Commission Makes Plans to Vet Architectural Offerings By Michael McAllister At their regular monthly meeting on May 14, the five members of Grinnell’s Veterans Memorial Commission moved to set a plan in motion to yield two sets of architectural plans for the Veterans Memorial Building that will become—if the full campaign is successful—the Prairie Star Artist Residency in the …

Central Park Grand Opening on a “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood By Michael McAllister Recalling Fred Rodgers, the host of the popular PBS children’s program Mr. Rodgers’ Neighborhood,Grinnell’s Mayor Dan Agnew kicked off Central Park’s official grand opening with a quotation:  “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” And if the weather could not quite qualify as beautiful, the crowd …

Bikes to Art Set to Roll May 19 By Michael McAllister The Drake Community Library houses a variety of items, and among the most unusual are two recent temporary acquisitions—bicycles designed to call attention to the second annual Bikes to Art festival set to start at the library on Saturday, May 19. “Bring your bike and your imagination,” reads the …

Scenes from the Farmers Market—Opening Day, May 10 By Michael McAllister Mother Nature blessed Grinnell with a perfect day for the opening of the 2018 Farmers Market.  A quick count of tent tops showed that at least fifteen vendors were on hand.  A stroll through the market and around the beautiful new Central Park served up a lively tableau of …

Grinnell’s Richard Raridon and the Manhattan Project after 75 Years By Michael McAllister On August 9, 1945, the Oak Ridge Journal of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, carried this headline:  “Oak Ridge Attacks Japanese.” Three days earlier, the first atomic bomb had been dropped from the Enola Gay on the city of Hiroshima in Japan, but Oak Ridge, an integral part of the …

New CEO Appointed at UnityPoint Health® – Grinnell Regional Medical Center (Grinnell, Iowa) UnityPoint Health® – Des Moines announces the appointment of Jennifer Havens, RN, MHA, as the new chief executive officer at UnityPoint Health® – Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC). She will assume day-to-day leadership of the 49-bed not-for-profit medical center on July 30, 2018. “On behalf of the …

MICA Recognizes Volunteers at Special Brunch  Poweshiek County’s MICA (Mid-Iowa Community Action) appreciates the many hours of volunteer hours given weekly and monthly by its over thirty volunteers. These volunteers perform a myriad of jobs and tasks from cleaning out the flower beds around the building, stocking the food pantry shelves, logging in hundreds of pounds of donations and purchased …

St. Francis Manor Announces Assisted Living Informational Meeting on May 16   (Grinnell, IA – May 2, 2018) With a scheduled opening this November, construction is progressing on the Hammond Center for Assisted Living addition to the St. Francis Manor & Seeland Park Life Plan Community.  Framing of the Hammond Center’s first floor rooms has been completed and the second floor …

Music in the Park 2018 Lineup Announced   By Michael McAllister Two years can be a long time.  Grinnell’s Central Park last hosted Music in the Park in August of 2015. Not that the organizers didn’t do a fantastic job the past two summers, and not that the substitute venues—Ahrens Park, the Grinnell College campus, and the steps of Stewart …

Bikes to Art Speeds toward May 19 By Michael McAllister One event featuring wheels inspired another when, on March 11, 2017, the two art-and-bicycle enthusiasts pictured above, Melissa Berman and Ryan McGuire, attending the Grinnell Skate & BMX Park fundraising project, discussed possible combinations of art on wheels. Berman, then an eleven-year resident of Grinnell, former owner-operator of The Purple …

Annual GRMC Volunteer and Auxiliary Appreciation Unity Point Health® – Grinnell Regional Medical Center values the hours given by the volunteers and the GRMC Auxiliary. In 2017, 150 GRMC Auxiliary volunteers gave more than 7,000 hours of their time volunteering at the medical center. In appreciation for their time, talents and trust, GRMC hosted a recognition dinner for all volunteers …

Dear Grinnell-Newburg Board of Education, Staff, Family and Friends, Happy Friday as we enter the last weekend for the month of April! I hope that everyone has had an opportunity to enjoy our spring weather. It certainly has been a wonderful week. The next few weeks are going to be very busy and time will fly. This is the time …

DAR Chapter Installs Officers The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution – Grinnell Chapter, met on Saturday, April 14, for regular business and a presentation by the Honorable Terry Rickers on human trafficking. During the business meeting, officers were installed. The new regent is Gail Bonath, Grinnell; and vice-regent is Jane Cruchelow, Mingo. Other officers include chaplain, …

100 + PEOPLE WHO CARE – GRINNELL TO FUND LOCAL FOOD CONNECTION The April 24 meeting of 100 + People Who Care – Grinnell resulted in the decision to fund the Local Food Connection with the proceeds from this quarter’s selection process.  By pooling contributions of $ 100 per member, 100+ People Who Care – Grinnell will be contributing more …