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www.driftlessjournal.com | news@driftlessjournal.com | 563-382-4221 | Tuesday, April 25, 2023 | Vol. 5 Issue 17
Holly Schmitt elected H ME&Garden Series State FFA President
South Winneshiek High School graduate Holly Schmitt was recently elected president of the Iowa FFA Association at convention ceremonies in Ames. Currently a sophomore majoring in agriculture education and hospitality management at Iowa State University, the new State President is the daughter of Greg and Sara Schmitt of Waucoma. The election was held before a crowd of more than 6,000 FFA members at the 95th Iowa Leadership Conference, April 16-18, at Hilton Coliseum on the Iowa State University campus. Schmitt grew up on a dairy farm, where her family milks Holstein cattle and raises crops, steers and calves. She also raises her own flock of ducks and shows horses. During her years at South Winn, she was involved in many activities, including FFA, 4-H, State and County Councils, football and basketball cheerleading, drama, choir, swim team, dance, student government and track and field. She is a past State FFA Officer, holding the office of Iowa FFA Secretary for 2022-23. Other past South Winn FFA state officers include: Warren Clark, 1972-72, Northeast District Vice President; Carson Brincks, 2020-21, Northeast District Vice President. The motto “Learning to do,
Building a dream off Scenic Byway A26
Holly Schmitt doing to learn, earning to live, and living to serve” – that’s the goal for the nine young leaders who will live out their year of service speaking with FFA members from across the state, presenting leadership camps and workshops and traveling around Iowa and the United States. Schmitt and the other officers will have the opportunity to take part in Iowa FFA Foundation activities, FFA District Leadership Programs, Iowa FFA Legislative Symposium, the National FFA Convention and a wide variety of FFA Career Development Events. FFA organizers said their largest responsibility will be to coordinate and conduct the 96th Iowa FFA Leadership Conference for over 6,500 FFA members, advisors, parents and guests next year.
Nierling earns top award at State FFA Convention A Decorah High School student was among the 2023 Stars Over Iowa winners announced at the 95th Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference at Iowa State University on April 18. A Star Over Iowa was selected in each of the four different areas: Agricultural Placement, Agribusiness, Agriscience, and Agricultural Production. Justin Nierling, son of Matt and Jolene Nierling, of the Decorah FFA Chapter is the 2023 Star in Agribusiness winner. This award category is based on an entrepreneurship/ownership Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program in a non-production agriculture
area. Nierling is the owner and operator of Nierling Custom Farming, where he provides producers with services such as round baling and wrapping. In the summer of 2020, he was looking for something he could do to set himself up for a lifelong career. He looked at several options and ultimately decided to buy a round baler to start his own custom round baling business. Throughout the years, his business has grown significantly, and he has gained great responsibility and learned many
FFA award
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LEFT- Colton and Tessa Willie, in the kitchen of their new home constructed on a well-planned lookout (pictured above) over the Upper Iowa Resort, which they purchased and have operated for the past two years near Dorchester. The family is happy to have their dream home completed and have been living there since Feb., with interesting design elements to fit their family’s needs.
By Kate Klimesh Tessa and Colton Willie thought they had their dream home by Cresco. They had just finished renovating it to be exactly how they wanted for themselves and their two children, Raylan (9) and Harlan (6). Then an opportunity came along they simply couldn’t pass up. Tessa explained, “Colton’s always wanted to build his own campground, even when he owned and ran his tree care service, he still wanted to someday build a campground.” The couple heard that the Upper Iowa Resort, a 29-acre resort located between Dorchester and Waukon, was up for sale two years ago and struck while the iron was hot. “We had discussed the idea of building a campground with our banker, who was also the realtor for this place (the Upper Iowa Resort). Otherwise, we probably never would have known about it.” The family spent some time at the campground and fell in love. They’ve operated the campground and made several major improvements over the past two years, including a new bath house, modernized office and adding seasonal sites and a shed for campground equipment, like their tractor. Colton also sold his tree care business to focus his energies on the campground and resort. A hitch in the plans “Living near Cresco, we had to live in a camper at the resort each summer because we needed to be here when the campers were here,” Tessa recollected. “The boys loved being here in the summer, riding bikes all around the grounds and playing with other kids their age camp-
The large transom windows framing the entire wall of the Willie family’s open living room frame the gorgeous views they get each season, as they overlook the unique sand-bottom pond with graduated entrance at the campground, perfect for swimming in the hot Iowa summers. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Kate Klimesh) ing at the resort.” After two summers of living in a camper on-site all summer, the family made the decision to build a new home at the campground. “The campground checked all the boxes for what
we were hoping for, so we decided to build our home here.” In May 2022, their Cresco home was officially sold and they moved into a camper at the campground. But this time, there was a different kind of
anticipation. Only one more summer, fall and part of a winter in the camper while work was done at the campground.
Willie home
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DECORIDE fundraiser to benefit Decorah Free Clinic Luther College students are organizing a cycling fundraiser with all proceeds going to the Decorah Free Clinic (DFC). DECORIDE will take place Saturday, May 6, at 9 a.m., on the Trout Run Trail in Decorah. The DFC serves underinsured or uninsured patients who
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do not have access to professional health services, mainly because of cost. The patients in the clinic may have minor injuries or illnesses that need to be acutely attended to, or they may have chronic diseases that need long-term follow-up care. Souk Sengsaisouk is a se-
nior nursing major at Luther who volunteered at the clinic and now works as their interim director. He is one of the main organizers of DECORIDE as he sees the impact of the DFC firsthand and wants to raise awareness and provide some financial support.
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“Working closely with patients at the DFC allows me to gain insights about their primary health care needs. Having the DFC is a strength of our
DECORIDE May 6
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