THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2024 • VOLUME N0. 121 • ISSUE NO. 43 • 1 SECTION • 10 PAGES
Serving Colfax • Mingo • Baxter • Western Jasper County
Game night canceled By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune A night that was supposed to be filled with games, drinks, food and fun has been canceled. The Colfax Main Street Game Night fundraiser, planned for July 12, has been called off due to low
team registration. “Unfortunately, due to a low amount of team registrations, our organization team has decided to cancel the Game Night Fundraiser Party,” Colfax Main Street Director Stuart Patterson said. The event has teams of six ages 21 and over, or 18 or older for non-alcohol
Lack of teams causes Colfax Main Street to call off Game Night fundraiser
participants, completing a 550-piece puzzle, eating a large Georgioz pepperoni pizza and drinking a case of Busch Light beer over the span of four hours. Whoever got it done first would win their entry fee of $300 back with second place winning half of their registration fee back.
The funds raised would be used towards Colfax Main Street projects. “If you have registered a team, please check your email for registration reimbursement information,” Patterson said. Any questions about the reimbursement can be directed to colfaxmainstreet@gmail.com.
Jasper County to pursue Supervisors open to supplemental wage increase a bond vote for multiple projects this November for union workers Dialogue between county and union re-established, MOU to be drafted by staff Christopher Braunschweig/ Jasper County Tribune From left: AFSCME Local 2840 President Craig Keith and AFSCME Union Representative Adam Swihart speak to the Jasper County Board of Supervisors during a past meeting at the Jasper County Courthouse.
By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune Jasper County union employees who have contracts negotiated by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2840 and Public Profes-
sional and Maintenance Local 2003 (PPME) may yet see a supplemental wage increase, which was first attempted back in spring this year. When union representatives first reached out to UNION | 3
Funds would pay for secondary roads, conservation, sheriff’s office projects Christopher Braunschweig/ Jasper County Tribune The Jasper County Board of Supervisors is going to pursue a bond vote for multiple projects for secondary roads, conservation and the sheriff’s office.
By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune To pay for the second phase of the Liberty Avenue Yard, shop buildings in two Jasper County parks, outfitted classrooms in the nature center and extra facilities
for the sheriff ’s office, the supervisors are expected to pursue a bond vote this coming November and they claim they can do so without raising taxes. Supervisor Brandon Talsma BOND | 7
NEWTON RADIO STATIONS LOSE LOCAL VOICES
Syndicated satellite programming replaces on-air personalities at KCOB and Energy 106.7, leaving the community furious and at a loss without familiar figureheads By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune
Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series. THE VOICES WE LOST: JOE SWANSON Joe Swanson spends the first half of his days with his kids, but by early afternoon he leaves the house to find a quiet corner in the Newton Public Library to apply for jobs. At the radio stations, he was primarily the commercial production director, but he worked in many other on-air capacities during his 15-year stay. He had only stepped away from radio for about a month many years ago when he worked at a local credit union. It wasn’t a total loss. If any-
thing, the change in job only reinforced his love of radio. Swanson started out as an intern in 2008. He soon transitioned the gig to a full-time job. It was exactly what he wanted. At the time of his termination, Swanson had two, four-hour shows each weekday on KCOB and Energy 106.7. He worries these programs might be the last time he is ever on air. His radio career may be over. Unlike Grout, who has worked at several different stations over the years, Swanson stayed put. But he hasn’t given up looking for radio jobs. He’s applied to a few already. “I don’t know what’s going to RADIO | 3 CONTACT US
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Christopher Braunschweig/Jasper County Tribune From left: Joe Swanson, commercial production director, has been spending a great deal of his e s t . USA 1851 time at the library to apply for jobs after Alpha Media decided to terminate local on-air personalities for Newton’s radio stations; Jamie Grout, content manager, is spending more time at his part-time job in Hy-Vee after he was fired from what he has described in the past as his dream job; and Randy Van Roekel, news director, sits on the porch of his home in Newton, the market he was expecting to finish his radio career on his own terms.
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