News

Guttenberg's annual spring city-wide garage sales will be held Friday and Saturday, May 1-2. 

The Guttenberg Press is againserving as the sponsor of the event. This week's issue of The Press contains a page with all the garage sale ads grouped together. The ads will also appear in The Trader, an advertising publication with a circulation of more than 23,000. In addition, ads will appear on The Press website at www.guttenbergpress.com. 

There will be no maps this year; instead, those unfamiliar with city street locations can visit The Press  website and download a city map. 

By Molly Moser

“I never dreamed in a million years I’d be inducted into the hall of fame,” said Guttenberg Tang Soo Do instructor Jerry Trowbridge. “It’s pretty unheard of,” added his wife Nancy, also an instructor.

It may be a rare honor, but in the Trowbridge family, it’s a familiar one. Jerry and Nancy have seven children together, all of who practice martial arts. Their son Josh was inducted into the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame last year, and Josh’s wife, Abbey, was inducted along with her father-in-law Jerry at this year’s banquet on April 18.  

Jerry was given the Golden Life Award by the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame for his 41 years in practice. Instructors who have devoted their lives to teaching martial arts may be nominated for the hall of fame and honored for their commitment. Jerry is a sixth degree black belt in Tang Soo Do and has spent a combined three decades teaching in Dubuque, Monona, and Guttenberg. Currently, he estimates that he and Nancy have 75 to 100 students between their schools in Monona and Guttenberg.

“We decided to open a school because we saw what martial arts does for people,” Jerry explained. “Our ultimate goal is to build character. We are building the future leaders in our communities.” 

A public hearing for the 2015-2016 Clayton Ridge School District certified budget was held on Thursday, April 9, just two days after the school's bond referendum was rejected by voters.  Board members present were John Heying, Mike Finnegan, Christine Aulwes, Janice Andregg, Jason Reimer, and Jeff  Hoffmann. Kathy Ihde was absent.  Also in attendance were Allan Nelson, Kris Einck, Shane Wahls, Steve Hoff, David Schlueter and Mary Seifert. 

Business Manager David Schlueter presented the proposed 2015-2016 district certified budget with total expenditures of $12,926,688.  

By Molly Moser

Guttenberg resident Jane Kuhlman was elected president of the Iowa Limestone Producers Association (ILPA) during their 70th annual convention held earlier this year. Kuhlman attended her initial ILPA convention in 1981 and was the first female elected to the ILPA board in 2009. She acted in various positions on the board, including serving on environmental, convention planning, and scholarship selection committees, before becoming the organization’s first female president. 

“I do feel a special responsibility as the first female president, and I intend to do my best to make a difference and leave a legacy that makes it easier for other women to be part of this industry,” Kuhlman told The Press. “I also want to be seen and accepted as an aggregate producer. Mining has traditionally been a man’s field, but women have been taking more active roles over the years. One of my goals is to educate people about the mining industry and its necessary place in our world.”  

While limestone has been used for thousands of years as a raw material for building, it is a part of daily life in Iowa that often goes unnoticed. Limestone makes up roads, bridges, and as we know well in Guttenberg, some of our most distinguished architecture. The stone is also used in agriculture to maintain a neutral pH in soil, and aggregates in general are used to make other everyday products like paper, glass, cleansers, cosmetics, toothpaste, and medicines.