Carroll Broadcasting
In the spring of 1917, when the United States entered WWI, anti-German sentiment became socially acceptable. According to the Executive Director of Traces Center for History and Culture in Mason City, Michael Luick-Thrams, this movement exploded overnight, and had deadly consequences for some. Luick-Thrams is sharing his insights on this topic in a free presentation and is traveling to 60 different venues in four states over the course of five weeks on a speaking tour. He will be presenting “Kickin’ the Kaiser: Anti-German Hysteria in the American Heartland During World War I” in Manning on Wednesday, Oct. 3, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Hausbarn Konferenze Centre. He will be sharing stories of the tensions that existed between Anglo elites and the “Krauts on the prairie.” Attendees will also be able to explore hidden connections between wartime anti-German sentiment and the subsequent enactment of Prohibition in 1920. The program, sponsored by the Hausbarn-Heritage Park, is open to the public.

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Earlier this month, Manning Mayor, Harvey Dales, signed a proclamation recognizing September as National Recovery Month. Representatives from The Recovery Center at Manning Regional Healthcare Center (MRHC) joined Dales at the official signing ceremony in support of those individuals in need of assistance, who are in recovery or who have recovered from alcohol or substance addictions. Following the ceremony, members of the Carroll County Substance Abuse and Mental Health team discussed the rising trends in addiction and identified effective treatment options for a successful recovery. “Our goal today was to emphasize that individuals in recovery and their support systems can be change agents in our communities,” says MRHC Recovery Director, Eric Weinkoetz. “It is critical that people experiencing substance and alcohol abuse receive the support they need. The reality is, that prevention works, treatment is effective and people can and do recover.” The Recovery Center is a 16-bed, co-ed chemical dependency facility in Manning that has for almost four decades been providing sound treatments to patients from around the country suffering from addictions to alcohol and drugs, including treatments for the rising number of addictions to prescription medications. “We understand that recovery from alcohol addiction and drug abuse is a long-term process that requires the appropriate level of treatment combined with ongoing support,” Weinkoetz says. “We can provide individuals the right medical care, behavioral therapy and social support to enable a healthy lifestyle free from drugs and alcohol.”

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After more than 16 years of service to Manning Regional Healthcare Center (MRHC), Certified Physician Assistant, Nancy Danner, will be retiring. Danner joined the healthcare team at MRHC in May of 2002 as a general family practitioner, with a focus in urgent care, chronic disease management and substance abuse and addiction. A special reception will be held from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the MRHC conference room on Wednesday, Sept. 26 to honor Danner and to introduce the newest incoming member of the MRHC medical team, Dr. Luong. Refreshments will be served.

Carroll Daily Times Herald, Rebecca McKinseyAn outspoken advocate of Manning, Carroll County and rural Iowa has been named to a statewide task force.
Ron Reischl, a Manning resident who currently serves on the IKM-Manning School Board and is the past board president of Main Street Manning, has been named to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Growing Rural Iowa Task Force.
There, he’ll work with other representatives from around the state to determine ways to lift up rural Iowa.
“I’m excited that our governor and lieutenant governor are specifically addressing economic development in rural Iowa,” Reischl said.
The task force is part of Reynolds’ Empower Rural Iowa Initiative, created via an executive order last month. She invited Iowa residents to apply to participate in one of the initiative’s three task forces (Connecting Rural Iowa, Growing Rural Iowa and Investing in Rural Iowa) and received about 180 applications.
On the Growing Rural Iowa Task Force, Reischl will work with representatives from Johnston, Algona, Ankeny, Fort Dodge, Cedar Falls, Dubuque, Clear Lake, Pella, Des Moines and elsewhere.
The task force representatives were announced Thursday.
“As a product of rural Iowa, it’s a passion of mine to preserve and celebrate our state’s rich rural heritage,” Reynolds said in a news release. “I’m very proud of the task force members I’m appointing today. They are solutions oriented, experienced and passionate about rural Iowa.”
The overall initiative will be co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg and Sandy Ehrig, chair of the Iowa Rural Development Council and leader of Iowa Farm Bureau’s Renew Rural Iowa program, according to the release.
“I strongly believe that community vitality starts and ends within the community — it is done by community members coming forward to improve quality of life and economic development,” Reischl said. “What I hope comes out of this is the state provides some tools and some framework that the community members can use. At the end of the day, the community has to be resolved to improve itself, but tools and framework at a state level would be most helpful.”
The task forces will begin holding “summits” in September, sitting down to develop proposals of how to boost rural Iowa. The summits are open to the public and will incorporate time for public comments, according to the release.
Reischl’s task force, Growing Rural Iowa, will meet at 1 p.m. Sept. 7 at Access Energy Cooperative in Mount Pleasant.
The other task forces will hold the following meetings: Connecting Rural Iowa will meet at 1 p.m. Sept. 6 at Boulders Inn & Suites in Holstein, and Investing in Rural Iowa will meet at 1 p.m. Sept. 14 at Bricker-Price Block in Earlham.
Those who can’t attend the meetings can submit ideas at www.iowa.gov/rural.
Reischl said he hopes that after his years in a city of 1,500 that regularly looks for new opportunities and initiatives, he’ll have ideas to bring to the table at the task force’s meetings, but he also hopes the initiative gives him ideas to bring back to western Iowa — for instance, incentives for budding entrepreneurs who are looking for a final push to open an ice cream shop or fabric store.
“I hope to bring a voice for western Iowa and specifically Carroll County to the initiative,” Reischl said. “And I also hope to bring additional ideas back to this area that Manning and Carroll County and western Iowa can use. I hope to provide some value to it with some of my own ideas, but my motivation is just as much to bring ideas and tools and framework back to our communities.”

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Manning Regional Healthcare Center’s Pharmacy Director, Jen Morris has been named a top 10 Emerging Leader in Iowa Pharmacy. These 10 were selected based on their leadership potential, involvement in professional and community activities and their clarity and vision for the future of the profession. The competitive selection process this year saw a record number of applications to the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA) Executive Committee and a representative of the IPA Foundation Board of Directors. She joined nine other pharmacists from Iowa and 10 from Wisconsin at a three-day retreat near Galena, Ill. “I love living here in a rural area and being able to care for the people of my community,” Morris says. “The opportunity to network at the conference with other pharmacists and brainstorm how others are meeting the daily work challenges of pharmacy was invaluable to me. I came back to work […] motivated and inspired to apply many of the skills taught.” Morris will be honored for her completion of Leadership Pharmacy during the 2019 IPA Annual Meeting leadership celebration in Cedar Rapids on June 20 and June 21, 2019.

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There is a 21st Century learning focus for the students at IKM-Manning as faculty and staff are spending these final days of the break preparing for their return on Thursday, Aug. 23. Superintendent, Trevor Miller, says that for the elementary students, this includes new, bright paint colors and different room set-ups at the Irwin building. In Manning, students will see new welcoming sayings on the wall and outlines of the expectations as they introduce a new initiative he calls PBIS.
Rewards include movie tickets, trinkets such as pencils or other little prizes, ice cream socials and more. Miller says the team has been training a couple of years already on this work-in-progress, and they will be holding all-day training for staff on Aug. 22. The district has received their second STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Best grant and it will be used to develop a special learning area for the middle school and expand programs for high school students.
Miller says they are offering transitional kindergarten classes this year for kids who are not quite ready to move into kindergarten. They already have 14 children enrolled in the class that will be limited to 15. And, like many other schools in the area, IKM-Manning has brought in more new staff members than in the recent past.
As the last few days of the summer wrap up, Miller says he is really looking forward to a continuation in building a culture of forward-thinking programs and initiatives in an environment of excitement.
An open house at the Irwin building will be on Tuesday, Aug. 21 and in Manning it will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 22. Both will run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. More information about the district, important dates and upcoming activities can be found through the link included below.
www.ikm-manning.k12.ia.us/
Link to story and audio interviews:

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With the goal of moving ever closer to construction of an outdoor aquatic center at the Rec Center in Manning, members of the Manning Hillside Splash fundraising committee are inviting everyone to a Wet & Wild, Sunday Fun Day for kids of all ages. This Sunday, Aug. 5, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., everyone can cool off at the hillside slip-n-slide or cheer for their favorite firefighters in the water wars. There will also be a kiddie car wash and a slip-n-slide kickball tournament for those in junior high or older. A free-will donation gets you into all the fun, with all proceeds going to the outdoor aquatic center.

Carroll Daily Times Herald - Annie Mehl
Manning was one of four Iowa cities this year to receive an AARP Community Challenge Grant.
The $5,000 award will help fund lighted structures along the city’s Main Street.
City officials and economic-development advocates gathered in Manning Monday morning to accept the award from Jeremy Barewin and Anthony Carroll from AARP in Des Moines.
This is the second year AARP has distributed the grants. This year, of the 1,600 cities and nonprofits across the country that applied, 129 recipients were named, and only four in Iowa — the others were Avoca, Keokuk and Woodbine.
The purpose of the grant is to increase methods of transportation in the town, improve a space such as a park or town amenity or increase housing options.
With the money, Main Street Manning worked with Iowa State University to design four icon boxes that will be made of corten steel. The structures will be placed along both sides of Main Street and will feature the four Manning -icons: the historic Trinity Church, the German Hausbarn, the railroad trestle and the Manning water tower. The icons will be built by Puck Custom Enterprises in Manning and have to be completed by Nov. 5.
Barewin, an associate state director for AARP, said cities like Manning that are always looking to bolster their downtowns are great candidates for the grant.
“We’re just excited that when you see an incredible Main Street like this,” he said. “Looking at communities like Manning that have Main Streets, making sure that Main Street serves as that centerpiece as more people are coming back here for business and entertainment and culture and arts — we’re excited to be able to bring this project that you’ve worked so hard on here, locally.”
Manning Mayor Harvey Dales, praised the people of Manning for their efforts in seeking out funding to keep improving and bettering the city.
“This proves that partnerships work, and it’s good for the whole community,” Dales said. “It’s good for everybody.”
Sarah Puck, Main Street Manning’s executive director, said she has been in Manning only about a year and that where she is from, she never saw this much involvement or life.
“It kind of just floors me how active and alive the Main Street is here,” Puck said. “I’m excited to see more improvements.”

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Substance abuse can tear apart families and test even the closest friendships, but it also has a dramatic impact in the workplace. Statistics show that more than 70 percent of people who are abusing alcohol or prescription or illegal drugs in the United States are employed. The Manning Family Recovery Center at Manning Regional Healthcare Center can not only provide support, assistance and treatment for the individual, they can help your business and employees recover from the effects of addiction and achieve a drug-free workplace. Everyone is invited to learn more about inpatient and outpatient consulting services, team support options and to tour the recovery facility from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 8. Lunch will be provided. There is no cost to attend, but an RSVP is requested by contacting Amy Blackwell at 712-655-2300.

Carroll Daily Times Herald, Annie Mehl
One after the other, Mandela fellows strutted up to the massive “Iowa” sign, each with a different pose in mind.
Each fellow took time having their photo taken in front of Manning’s IOWA sculpture. Some crawled in between the lines of the “W,” while others stood in front of the “A” and a few centered themselves beneath the “O,” all making sure they had their own unique Iowa photo.
A group of about 20 young businesspeople and entrepreneurs from all over Africa visited Manning July 19 to learn about the town’s economic development and public and private partnerships.
The day spent in Manning was part of a six-week stint in Iowa through the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Universities around the country host different groups of African leaders. This is the third year Drake University has hosted a group — and that Manning’s partnership with the university has led to a visit from the fellows to the city.
During their day in Manning, the fellows learned about what life is like in small-town Iowa, said Ron Reischl, the chairman of Main Street Manning’s Business Improvement Committee.
“They spend every day of their six weeks in Iowa (cities), except for one day in rural Iowa,” Reischl said. “We’re trying to show them what life is in rural Iowa.”
Their day in Manning included a tour of the historic Manning Hausbarn Heritage Park, guided by the Hausbarn’s director, Freda Dammann.
After the tour, fellows were taken to downtown Manning for a “traditional” Iowa lunch consisting of hamburgers, sweet corn, apple crisps and more at Deb’s Corner Cafe.
During the lunch, the fellows beat a drum and chanted songs as thank-you to not only Deb’s Corner Cafe but the entire city of Manning for hosting them for the day.
Doreen Noni, 29, from Tanzania, said she enjoyed learning about how the town of Manning figured out how to get people involved to help develop and better their town.
“It’s been incredible,” Noni said. “I love it. I’ve just met so many incredible people. I’ve learned how important it is to get people involved. I need to go and reach out to people to make the community better.”
Noni owns her own FM radio station in Tanzania called Lake FM. Her station’s focus is to shed light on the cycle of poverty in the city of Mwanza by working with low-income residents. She has a talk show called “Tena na Tena” which means “Again and Again,” she said.
“If first you do not succeed, you try again, again and again until you succeed,” Noni said.
She said the show has allowed her to meet many incredible young people who also want to get involved and make their country a better place.
During her visit to Iowa, Noni said, she has met many amazing business leaders and professionals. Her experience in Manning taught her to never be afraid to reach out and ask others for support.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help — that’s been my biggest takeaway of the day, is don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Noni said. “I love meeting new people. I like to watch and learn and listen, and I’m sure I’m going to make some new friends. It’s been a life-changing experience, and I’m happy that I came.”
After finishing lunch, the group headed to the IOWA sculpture for a photo shoot.
Then, they headed out to the Ranniger and Muhlbauer family farms to learn about agriculture in Iowa. The farms demonstrated grain handling and the beef industry, respectively.
Reischl said that Iowa is known as an agricultural state, and that it is important for people from African countries to see beyond tech and insurance companies in the state.
“Agriculture is a major survivor of our economy,” Reischl said. “It’s important for them to see how a small town in rural Iowa can succeed and what the elements of success are.”
When their afternoon on the farms was complete, the fellows headed back downtown to explore the shops on Main Street and ended their day at BrickHaus Brews, where they met with Manning locals and enjoyed pizza and drinks.
The day is about more than just introducing people from other countries to small-town Iowa — it’s about people from Manning getting to know people outside their circle and becoming acquainted with other cultures, Reischl said.
“We always look for opportunities to be able to tell the Manning story,” he said. “We’ve developed friendships with some of the past visitors. Manning is not a culturally diverse area. I think it’s important for the community to acquaint themselves with other cultures, and long-term, I would like to believe that one of these Mandela fellows will come back and start a business in Manning.”