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Tue
21
Jul

Cabin Fever Soaps and Essentials opens in downtown McGregor


Patti Snodgrass recently opened Cabin Fever Soaps and Essentials at 238 Main St., in McGregor. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

Patti was introduced to soap making by her childhood neighbor. She then paired extensive research with her knowledge of herbs and other plants.

Cabin Fever offers a variety of bar soaps, sugar scrubs, body washes and other products that are all handmade with natural ingredients. Patti even has what she calls “fancy soaps,” colorful confections that look like perfectly-decorated cupcakes.

Walking into the homey, rustic-industrial space, where Patti said yesteryear meets the modern day world, visitors are surrounded by calming scents of lavender, oatmeal and honey, green tea, red clover and more.

Patti is happy to answer questions about her products and ingredients and offers advice for ailments. "I have a passion for helping people," she said.

Where yesteryear meets modern day

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

“Since I was a child, I wanted to make soap,” recalled Patti Snodgrass. “The neighbor lady made her own laundry soap, and she showed me how to make it in her basement. I was hooked.”

She began indulging that passion 20 years ago, fueled by a desire to help family members struggling with skin issues like eczema and psoriasis. She and her husband were full-time truck drivers then, and Patti would spend hours on the road combing through research, pairing that with her childhood knowledge of herbs and other plants.

Tue
21
Jul

Ernst makes stop at Pikes Peak


Senator Joni Ernst made a stop at Pikes Peak State Park, south of McGregor, on July 16. She’s pictured here at the Crows Nest overlook with campground host Steve Lewis and Pikes Peak seasonal staff members. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

Senator Joni Ernst made a stop at Pikes Peak State Park, south of McGregor, on July 16, as part of her 99-county tour of Iowa. The visit celebrated the 100th anniversary of Iowa state parks this year.

“This is the first official trip I’ve had to a state park,” Ernst said. “We wanted to be able to celebrate, hear a little bit about their structure and ways we can be supportive.”

It was not the senator’s first time at Pikes Peak, however. Around 10 years ago, Ernst said she and a group of fellow National Guard members stopped while on a motorcycle ride.

Tue
21
Jul

Sweet Corn Days cancelled following council decision, public backlash

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

In the aftermath of a contentious public debate, similar to those playing out across America, in town halls, community gathering spaces, and most notoriously, on social media, the Sweet Corn Days (SCD) Committee, “with heavy hearts,” made the controversial decision to cancel this year’s planned festival, in what could be a decision with a lasting impact on Elkader.

The decision seems to have fractured the community into opposing sides, as the SCD Committee, in a Facebook post, discussed their disappointment, anger and sadness at having “felt cornered” into the decision by the city council. 

Tue
21
Jul

MFL MarMac provides more details on Return to Learn plan

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

In a proclamation issued Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered Iowa’s school districts to “take all efforts” to resume in-person education for the upcoming school year. 

The expectation, she said, is that over 50 percent of subjects will be offered in the school building unless schools receive approval from the Iowa Department of Education, with consultation from the Iowa Department of Public Health, to implement remote learning either district- or building-wide, or for individual students or classrooms, in response to public health conditions in the community. The proclamation also allows parents to voluntarily select a remote learning opportunity from multiple options provided by the school district.

Tue
21
Jul

Marquette Council considers Central State Bank street requests

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

The Marquette Council held off on making a decision on a request from Central State Bank to vacate a portion of Second Street and make part of Edgar Street two way.

“There are no definite plans, but we’re trying to do long-range strategic planning,” Central State Bank President Robert Hauber told the council at its July 14 meeting. The current street set-up limits access to an undeveloped piece of property at the corner of Second and Edgar streets, next to the bank’s downtown Marquette location.

Tue
21
Jul

McGregor Council awards contract for Sixth Street Bridge Project

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

The McGregor Council, at its July 15 meeting, awarded the contract for the city’s Sixth Street Box Culvert Rubidoux Drainage Channel Project to Tschiggfrie Excavating Co.

The Dubuque-based company’s bid came in at $331,815.25, 1 percent under the engineer’s estimated cost of $336,379.

Project work will include taking out the Sixth Street bridge, which crosses the city’s storm sewer, and replacing it with a box culvert. Sanitary sewer will be replaced the length of the block, and the street will also be repaved.

Tue
21
Jul

Clayton County adds 11 COVID-19 cases over past week

Clayton County saw an increase of 11 confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past week, with the total jumping from 50 on July 13 to 61 as of Tuesday morning. According to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), 13 of those people have not yet recovered from the virus. 

Since March, three Clayton County residents have died as a result of COVID-19.

Iowa had 343 new cases Monday, according to IDPH, bringing the state’s total to 39,251. On July 17, Iowa reported 879 COVID-19 cases, a record for new cases in a single day since the pandemic began.

Tue
21
Jul

South Winn thwarts MFL MarMac’s bid for district title


In the victory over Kee, Max Havlicek’s stat line included a double, RBI, stolen base and run scored. (Photos by Audrey Posten)

Bulldog second baseman Trevor Jones played stellar defense against Kee, including this leaping catch.

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

The MFL MarMac baseball team defeated Central City, then Kee, in the first two rounds of postseason play last week, advancing to the district final for the first time since 2003. South Winneshiek dashed the Bulldogs’ hopes of a title, however, winning their 24th game. 

Central City

The Bulldogs faced off against Central City on July 13, two nights later than originally scheduled because of rain postponement. Despite accumulating just one hit to the Wildcats’ eight, MFL MarMac was able to take advantage of a combined four walks and hit by pitches, six stolen bases and four Central City errors to pull out a 5-2 victory.

Tue
21
Jul

After overpowering Pirates, Bulldogs drop second round game to North Linn


Jordan Schubert had two hits, an RBI, stolen base and two runs scored in MFL MarMac’s 15-3 first-round playoff win over Postville on July 13. (Photos by Audrey Posten)

Lauren Haberichter allowed just four hits and two earned runs against the Pirates.

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

After an easy opening-round playoff victory over Postville early in the week, the MFL MarMac softball team couldn’t keep the momentum rolling in a season-ending shutout loss to undefeated North Linn.

The Bulldogs hosted winless Postville July 13, dismantling the Pirates 15-3 in three innings. They racked up a combined 15 hits in the game—including at least one from each starter—and scored five times in the first inning and a whopping nine times in the second.

Tue
21
Jul

War Eagles’ season ends with hope for next year


Pitcher and shortstop Caleb Helle was named first team all-conference. (Photo by Bev Hamann)

Brandon Thiese, a pitcher and first baseman for the War Eagles, earned second team honors in the Upper Iowa Conference. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

Catcher Oakley Harbaugh also received second team all-conference recognition. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

Pitcher and center fielder Hazen Loan received honorable mention status. (Photo by Bev Hamann)

Also earning an all-conference honorable mention nod was pitcher and second baseman Drake Ostrander. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

The Clayton Ridge/Central baseball team took on the Bellevue Comets in the first round of postseason play July 13, losing 8-1.

The War Eagles finished the season with a 4-14 record (3-12 in the Upper Iowa Conference). 

While the team’s offensive MVP, Oakley Harbaugh, opened the game with an RBI, giving the War Eagles a short-lived lead, the Comets answered, scoring eight runs on seven hits. Bellevue also benefited from 11 walks by War Eagle pitchers, who struggled throughout the season to “find their groove,” in the words of head coach Zach Mueller. 

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