The Herald’s Year in Review: Part 2
By Jeff Wilford – The Oskaloosa Herald, Iowa (TNS)
Dec. 27—APRIL
Abu Ibrahim wins Ward 4 race
OSKALOOSA — Abu Ibrahim won the special election in Ward 4 for a seat on the Oskaloosa City Council.
Ibrahim beat his opponent Jimmy Carter with 165 votes to 27.
Ibrahim is originally from Boston, and got his first master’s degree in 2013 for business and leadership from William Penn University. He is currently employed with WPU as director of sports medicine. Speaking after his victory, Ibrahim said that his ability to listen is the strongest asset he’ll bring to city hall.
The April special election was held to fill in the City Council seat filled by the retirement of Steve Burnett in February.
Fast action by Osky senior averts tragedy
OSKALOOSA — Amidst the cheers and competition of a track and field event at East Marshall High School on April 11, the spotlight unexpectedly shifted to an Oskaloosa student-athlete, whose quick actions, training and composure left spectators in awe.
As athletes assembled for their individual events, Cora Snakenberg, a track and field team member, encountered a scenario she had been trained for, but hadn’t expected to encounter during a school event.
The incident occurred as Snakenberg was warming up for the shot put, according to a press release from the Oskaloosa Community School District. Snakenberg said she noticed the young man kneeling in the discus ring and clutching the back of his head. He had just been hit by a wayward disc. When he moved his hand, Snakenberg could see blood dripping down it.
Despite the initial shock, Snakenberg’s lifeguard training kicked in. She quickly assessed the situation; the injured student was looking around, and she saw he was trying to walk back.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward to assist. Drawing on her lifeguarding expertise, the Osky High School student applied pressure to the wound, keeping the injured student calm and upright until help arrived.
Downtown Oskaloosa celebrates community, history
OSKALOOSA — It was double the celebrations downtown as the Oskaloosa Art Center celebrated its 10th anniversary and Trolley Stop Alley reopened and unveiled three new murals.
Festivities kicked off with Fine Arts and Cultural Events — Mahaska County (FACE) holding an open house for people to look at the displays from local artists, sign cards, converse and — as one does at any good party — have some cake.
According to Sarah Kargol, the director of the Oskaloosa Art Center, it’s a celebration for a place for local creators of various mediums to display and sell their works, and to get young people excited about art. Kargol says the support they’ve gotten over the last decade has been outstanding.
Across the street from the Oskaloosa Art Center, the Golden Goose Club celebrated the reopening of Trolley Stop Alley with the reveal of new displays. This includes the three murals, which depict scenes from Oskaloosa’s history. The paintings were done by Bollman.
The alley features a model trolley car festooned with old photos and images of Oskaloosa’s historic downtown area. The alley itself sits on the route the car drove through and made its scheduled stops.
MAY
Tulip Time a success despite early weather woes
PELLA — Tulip Time was a major success over the weekend despite a slow start due to poor weather.
Thousands came out for the three-day festival, which celebrates Pella’s history and Dutch heritage. Due to the El Nino climate conditions, the tulips started blooming earlier than usual this year, which resulted in many of them starting to fade earlier. Meanwhile, constant rainstorms dampened attendance on the first day. However, it was made up for on the second and third days with more favorable weather..
The early spring had the added effect of spreading out visitors to Pella throughout April. While it wasn’t ideal for nonprofits and food vendors operating solely during the festival, it was a boon to local retailers, who were able to enjoy the extra business.
Tulip Time commemorates the history of Pella, when Dominee Hendrik Scholtee brought 800 of his followers from the Netherlands to Iowa in 1847 and founded the city. Pella held its first Tulip Time in 1935 and over the course of nearly 90 years, it’s become one of the largest festivals in the state.
Children at OES receive pillows
OSKALOOSA — After gifting the kindergarteners of Oskaloosa Elementary School with new quilts in February, local seamstress Eileen Holub has returned for the second part of their gift — pillows.
Holub presented over nearly 200 pillows to the children in kindergarten and kinder prep. Letting nothing go to waste, she made them from the leftover scraps she made from the quilts. Though she did get some help with the project, as the children stuffed the pillows in class before she sewed them shut at home.
Holub, a self-admitted “fabriholic,” has made (by her estimation) over 1,000 quilts since she started her hobby nearly 50 years ago. And with more quilts than she’ll ever need or knows what to do with, Holub has taken to giving them away to people going through hardships, or to those who could just use a little extra care.
She started her tradition of giving her quilts to children when one of her grandsons started kindergarten. Everyone in his class got a quilt, but when she saw that the children in the other classes felt left out, she made the decision to sew one for every kindergartener in the School. She continued this most recently with her youngest granddaughter, Dakota Ver Steegh.
Holub says she made around 500 quilts in a six-year span — and that each of them is made with love.
Mahaska Health cardiology clinic rekindles professional partnership
OSKALOOSA — Mahaska Health cut the ribbon on its new cardiology clinic, celebrating expanded service in heart care to the community.
The new wing boasts four new examination rooms, two procedural rooms and two partners who have been working together for over two decades.
Cardiologist Dr. John Pargulski and Janelle Harmon, a certified medical assistant, previously worked side-by-side in Des Moines until 2018, when Pargulski took a job in St. Louis. However, the opportunity emerged for the two to start working together again in Oskaloosa, and both were more than happy to pick up where they left off.
According to Pargulski, the previous cardiologist only had two clinic days out of the month, whereas he is offering 24/7 availability. A full spectrum of testing is also available on a daily basis for patients.
But beyond the services, both believe it’s their time working together that will give them the biggest edge in combating heart disease in Mahaska County. And now they can look forward to extending that partnership to the other members of the cardiology team.
JUNE
Oskaloosa teacher releases third children’s book in series
OSKALOOSA — Merle Mann has found his muse; it has four legs, a long neck and thick, coarse fur.
Mann knew he wanted to write children’s books, but had a hard time finding inspiration, when he eventually fell onto the old advice of: “Write what you know.”
Mann knew his llamas — and he knew his seven foster children.
It was from that combination that Troy the Llama was born. Mann kicked off the series with “Troy the Llama Gets a Guitar for Christmas” in 2022, followed by “Troy the Llama Gets His Diploma” the next year. He released “Troy the Llama and His Nana,” the third book in the series, in May. Art for the books was done by Victoria Peterson Laird, the visual art director at William Penn University.
Troy himself gets his name from Mann’s youngest son, with recollections from Mann about how he got his first guitar and graduated from high school. With this latest book, he’s recruited all of his children.
According to Mann, the book was inspired by his mother-in-law, Barb Sievers, and contains a collection of stories from his children recalling their memories with their grandmother.
Sinkhole reopens near Knoxville
MARION COUNTY — A sinkhole reappeared on farmland south of Knoxville less than a year after it was filled in.
The sinkhole is on the edge of a 3-acre hayfield owned by Ben Shaw, at the fence line with the South 135th Place road. Shaw said he discovered the sinkhole’s reappearance while grilling on his back deck, when he looked over.
The sinkhole last opened up in April 2023. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Mines and Minerals Bureau ultimately concluded a collapse in the limestone mine below created the sinkhole.
Bruening Rock Products, based in Decorah, but operating limestone mines in the area, was held responsible for the repairs. They filled in the sinkhole last year.
Shaw said that last year, his kids were riding four-wheelers in that area two days before the sinkhole last appeared.
Shaw said he had seeded the ground for hay a month ago, but that’s lost now.
The gravel road that runs past the sinkhole has been closed since last spring. Large cracks from the area of the sinkhole form an arc to the other side of the road.
25 years in the making
OSKALOOSA — When Mahaska County supervisors voted to take out a $4.775 million bond on June 3, they put into motion a connector road project that has been discussed for at least 25 years.
The road will link U.S. Highway 63 with state Highway 23 south of town, to provide truck traffic better access between the industrial park on Highway 23 and the four-lane U.S. Highway 163. That would divert a “significant” portion of the truck traffic that drives through town, said Mahaska County Engineer Andrew McGuire.
The connector road is expected to be almost two miles long and will be classified as a minor arterial road, McGuire said.
The connector road will also open up the new Oskaloosa Innovation Park for development, said Oskaloosa City Manager Amal Eltahir.
The project secured a $10.1 million dollar state grant, from the Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) fund, in June 2023 — aided by the land’s certified site status, officials said. The project is expected to cost just over $15 million. The remainder will be split evenly by the city and the county, Eltahir said. Of the bond supervisors approved on June 3, $2.5 million is for the connector road project. County Supervisor Stever Wanders said the remaining $2.25 million will be used for other projects, “if we decide to do them.”
The Mahaska Chamber & Development Group (MCDG) continues to market the Oskaloosa Innovation Park to potential investors. The connector road project moving forward should help with those efforts, MCDG Executive Director Deann DeGroot said.
Jeff Wilford is a staff writer for the Oskaloosa Herald. He can be reached at jwilford@oskyherald.com.
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