THURSDAY, AUG. 15, 2024 • VOLUME N0. 123 • ISSUE NO. 48 • 1 SECTION • 6 PAGES
Serving Colfax • Mingo • Baxter • Western Jasper County
OPEN FOR TRAVEL By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune
After months of work, Highway F-48 west of Newton and east of Colfax is back open. The Jasper County Engineer’s Office announced it is open unofficially Aug. 8. “The road work should be completed, weather permitting by the end of the week,” the department released. “Markings will be completed soon, still waiting on a start date confirmation.” Work started on the rejuvenation project of what is locally known as “Old Highway 6” in mid-March. The 5.8 miles of roadway from the South Skunk River to the Newton city limits was the first phase of the project, which well see a total of 13.9 miles of highway addressed by the county. “Although this key link between the Polk County line and the west city limits of Newton
hasn’t seen any significant upgrades since the 1970s, we’re determined to change that with careful planning and stringent execution of a comprehensive resurfacing project,” the department said. “The resurfacing of this highway is a project that the Jasper County Engineer’s Office and Secondary Roads Department has made a priority. Due to the length of this highway, and a relatively short construction season here in Iowa, our current plan is to break this project into three phases over the next three years.” Work completed included the removal of the existing pavement and replacing it with 8 inches of concrete at the Interstate 80 interchange, the rural section of Highway F-48 milled three inches and replaced with a 3/8 inch base course asphalt mix and a 1/2 inch surface course asphalt mix and a 2-foot shoulder and safety edge will be constructed within the rural
Committee awards $284K among 4 groups in Jasper County Opioid settlement funds to go towards substance abuse treatment and prevention programs By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune Four local entities were awarded a combined total of $284,000 from the Jasper County Opioid Settlement Committee and the board of supervisors, and it will go towards substance treatment services, prevention programs in an area school district and an expansion for an already existing treatment facility. Becky Pryor, administrator of Jasper County Health Department and a member of the committee, told supervisors at their Aug. 6 meeting that applications had been accepted until June 30. The
committee then interviewed the applicants that it felt were qualified to move on and four recommendations were settled upon. Capstone Behavioral Healthcare received $70,000 for justice-involved substance treatment programs with the Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office. Julie Smith, executive director of Capstone Behavioral Healthcare, said the organization provides transitional services to county jail inmates. For instance, the staff member assigned to the program can help individuals with Medicaid applications, SETTLEMENT | 3
First phase of Highway F-48 West project completed by county
Jamee A. Pierson/Jasper County Tribune Highway F48 West is now open for travel including the exits on and off of Interstate 80.
section of this project. The urban section, from approximately 400 feet east of West 36th Street North to Thomas Jefferson Drive, was milled 3 inches and replaced with a 3/8 inch base course asphalt mix and a
1/2 inch surface course asphalt mix. The second phase of the Highway F-48 West project will see work from the east city limits of Colfax to the South Skunk River. It is set to take place be-
tween June and August 2025. The final phase will complete the work from the Polk County line to the west city limits of Colfax and will start in June 2026 and finalized, weather permitting, by August 2026.
HOMETOWN INSPIRATION Sara Haines returns to Newton for ‘Voices of Inspiration’ series by United Way of Jasper County By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune You can take the girl out of Iowa, but you can’t take the Iowa out of the girl. That is how television host and Newton native Sara Haines began her speech during the United Way of Jasper County’s “Voices of Inspiration” series on the evening of Aug. 6 inside the conference center of the DMACC Newton Campus. In an interview with Newton News afterwards, Haines said the Iowa values that she holds deep within her can be attributed to her success. Specifically, it is her strong work ethic and her “Iowa nice” kindness that have helped her journey from an NBC page to co-host of “The View” and host of the game show “The Chase.” “That’s more professional advice, but when I look at why my life feels so fulfilled it’s because there was a lot of simple life living in Iowa,” Haines said. “It was church and it was school and there wasn’t any-
Christopher Braunschweig/Jasper County Tribune Sara Haines, a TV host and Newton native, poses for pictues with residents and old friends after her speech during the United Way of Jasper County’s “Voices of Inspiration” series on Aug. 6 inside the conference center of the DMACC Newton Campus.
thing fabulous in town. It was who you were hanging with. And it’s made life so thrilling for me.” Throughout her career Haines has committed herself
to staying true to her values and her humble Midwestern upbringing. As a result, it makes all the lights and HAINES | 3
State Fair picks Jasper County 4-H’ers have their projects on display at the 4-H Building throughout the Iowa State Fair By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune
Jamee A. Pierson/Jasper County Tribune Sherman Sunbeam member Karly Spear restored an antique rocker which won the Quester Preservation and Restoration Award at the Jasper County Fair and was selected for the Iowa State Fair.
CONTACT US
Having a 4-H project selected for the Iowa State Fair is an honor. It means hundreds of thousands of people have a chance to see what the 4-H’er made while it on display in the 4-H Building throughout the 11-day fair. “When this project was selected for the State Fair, I was super excited, and it made the hard work even more rewarding,” Sherman Sunbeam member Karly Spear said. For her project, Spear restored an old wooden rocking chair. She got the idea when at an antique
store and after checking that it was structurally sound, purchased it for the project. “The first step of this project was to learn more about the chair’s past — what era it was from and what its purpose was. I soon found that this chair was likely a sewing or nursing rocker from the Victorian era,” Spear said. “Upon completing my research, I began sanding the chair. Shaw Media Next I stained the chair, then reupholstered the seat cushion.” At the Jasper County Fair, Spear received the Quester Preservation and Restoration Award for her work. At the state fair she received a red ribbon. est. 1851
est. 1851
Newsroom: 641-792-3121, ext. 7 • Advertising: 641-792-3121, ext. 2 Subscriptions/Delivery: 641-792-5320 • Billing: 641-792-3121, ext. 6
Along with her static exhibit, Spear is looking forward to showing off her animals at the state fair, too. “I am excited to exhibit my livestock at the fair,” Spear said. “I will be showing poultry, goats and cattle.” Also on display is a sculpture from Jasper County Farmhand member Kolby Clark. The intricate work put into his wire tree made it a shoe-in to move on to the next level. “I got the idea from a picture my mom sent me after I made a smaller one of a different type I saw on TikTok,” Clark said. “My steps to making it were cutting all the wires then wrapping PROJECTS | 3
est. 1851