Author: Chris Baldus

Newspaperman, professionally, since 1991 Husband since 1992 Father since 2001, triplets plus two States I've lived in: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Idaho and Iowa Graduate of Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minn. An offensive lineman who dreamed big
Chickasaw County, Floyd County

28 tons of trash and more removed from Cedar River

Chris Baldus

A record 469 volunteers participated in year’s Project AWARE that cleaned trash out of the Cedar River beginning at the Minnesota state line and finishing at Howard’s Woods Recreation Area in Nashua.A summary by the organizers of the July 10-14 effort says 28 tons of trash was removed from the 55 miles of river. That mass tonnage was compiled of: 368 tires 14.9 tons of scrap metal 2.5 tons of recyclables  3.3 tons of trash “We are extremely grateful to Mitchell County Conservation and Floyd County Conservation who handled the scrap metal throughout the week,” said Lynette Seigley, Project AWARE … Continue reading 28 tons of trash and more removed from Cedar River

Obituaries

 Services for Gloria Schmidt are Monday

Chris Baldus

CHARLES CITY — Gloria Schmidt, 79, of Charles City, died Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at Floyd County Medical Center in Charles City. A funeral service for Gloria will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, July 24, 2017, at Hauser Funeral Home with Pastor Wendy Johannesen of Grace United Methodist Church in Floyd officiating. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Rudd, Iowa. Visitation will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Monday at the funeral home. Continue reading  Services for Gloria Schmidt are Monday

Comets

Comet softball advances at State

Chris Baldus

FORT DODGE —The Charles City High School softball team defeated Fairfield 5-4 today to advance in the state tournament. Their next game begins at 1:30 p.m. Thursday on Diamond 2 at the Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge. Shantel Van Hauen lifted the Comets to victory in the 7th inning with a two-strike single to center that scored Tayler Schmidt.  The Comets entered the Class 4A bracket as the No. 7 against No. 2 Fairfield. Continue reading Comet softball advances at State

Nashua

Floyd County Fair Royalty Day is Tuesday, July 18

Chris Baldus

CHARLES CITY — Sure, the Floyd County Fair’s opening day is Wednesday, but Tuesday, July 18, is Royalty Day, judgment day for non-livestock entries and show time for pets and 4-Hers. The new Youth Enrichment Center will open at 9 a.m. for booth set-up and agronomy comments are at noon. Judging for all non-livestock exhibits begins at 1 p.m. in the Brick Building. The static entry club schedule is: Llove Those Llamas and W. St. Charles Feeders at noon. Floyd Co. Marksmen and Floyd Farmers at 12:30 p.m. Riverton Lucky Clovers and Jolly Ranchers at 1 p.m. Ulster Future Leaders … Continue reading Floyd County Fair Royalty Day is Tuesday, July 18

Charles City

New pastor to begin in August at St. John Evangelical 

Chris Baldus

CHARLES CITY — St. John Evangelical Church has a new pastor. The Rev. Russ Leeper will begin in mid-August. According to the church’s website, Leeper has served congregations in Nebraska and Wisconsin. Before being called to Spooner, Wis., he was the pastor of Burke Lutheran Church in Madison, Wis., for nearly 10 years.  His wife, Susan, is a middle school math teacher. They’re both originally from Iowa and love canoeing and hiking in the north woods.  “I always challenge myself as a preacher and worship leader to proclaim the gospel in ways that are authentic, relevant and interesting while at … Continue reading New pastor to begin in August at St. John Evangelical 

Schools

Rockford, Charles City and Central Springs among students developing businesses 

Chris Baldus

The North Iowa Area Community College John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center  conducted the Youth Entrepreneurial Academy on June 19-23. The academy is offered annually and free to all high school students interested in entrepreneurship. Participants receive a $500 NIACC scholarship sponsored by John Pappajohn.  In it’s fifth year, the week-long academy included 15 participating high school students. They stayed in NIACC’s student housing or received gas cards to help cover the week’s travel from their homes. The participants and schools represented were: Sadie and Samuel Arickx, Rockford Senior High Carissa Blake and Bekka Reams, St. Ansgar High School Madison Daniels and … Continue reading Rockford, Charles City and Central Springs among students developing businesses 

Outdoors

Fishing tips from the DNR

Chris Baldus

Making plans for summer getaways with family and friends? Add fishing to your list. Plan a day trip or bring along fishing gear on your next weekend or camping trip. The best fishing is early in the morning or later in the evening and after dark. Like anglers, fish adjust to the heat. “Fish will move to deep water to cool off during the brightest, hottest part of the day,” said Joe Larscheid, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Bureau. Look for fish in the outside edge of weed beds or structure, near shade during the day. … Continue reading Fishing tips from the DNR

COLUMNS

Steinbach: Praying and staying between the lines on the high road of life

Chris Baldus

North Cedar Reports is proud to present its readers with this link to Chris Steinbach’s writings on his website Brome Hill.  He describes Brome Hill this way: “Brome Hill is the home for whatever is on my mind. I am an old farm boy and former reporter and editor at newspapers in Iowa, North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Idaho. My interests include reading, writing, bicycling and current events. The name Brome Hill comes from a field on the farm where I grew up …” Click here for his column “Praying and staying between the lines on the high road of … Continue reading Steinbach: Praying and staying between the lines on the high road of life

Comets

Comet softball tops No. 1 to go to State

Chris Baldus

Charles City softball not only is advancing to the State Tournament, the Comets did it by knocking off the top-ranked team. No. 14 Charles City defeated No. 1 Benton, 2-1, on Tuesday. “This team believed they could win and they did!” head coach Brian Bohlen said on Twitter. “I couldn’t be more proud.” Charles City’s first round game begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at Buena Vista University against second-seeded Fairfield (33-9). The Comets (32-6) are seeded seventh. Continue reading Comet softball tops No. 1 to go to State

Charles City, COLUMNS

CC Mayor: Charles City progress — Looking backward, looking forward

Chris Baldus

By James A. Erb, Charles City mayor  The Summer of 2017 has already seen quite a bit of progress in the Charles City area. Here are some of the highlights thus far: ​The Mark Kuhn Family has reopened the All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club which features a tennis court that resembles the famous Wimbledon. It has now been named, the “Alex J. Kuhn Court of Dreams” during a two day invitational at the court. As an extra bonus, the event was covered by CBS News which showcased the talents of top-ranked juniors from Iowa and Minnesota.   ​The McQuillen Place … Continue reading CC Mayor: Charles City progress — Looking backward, looking forward

Obituaries

Services for Logan Luft are Wednesday, July 12

Chris Baldus

CHARLES CITY — Logan Christian Luft, 15, was born April 21, 2002, at Floyd County Memorial Hospital in Charles City, Iowa. He was the beloved son of Leonard and Wendy Luft and big brother to Landon, 13, and Lilly, 12. Logan passed away July 5, 2017 following an ATV accident on July 4, 2017. Logan attended Charles City Middle school where he was a student ambassador, sang in the choir, and a member of the local fishing club. He excelled academically and was described as dynamic, polite and respectful by his teachers. Over the last year, he spent a great … Continue reading Services for Logan Luft are Wednesday, July 12

Arts, Charles City

Trinity to host Free chamber orchestra Czech music concert on July 15

Chris Baldus

CHARLES CITY — Trinity United Methodist Church will host the first concert of Cedar Valley Chamber Music’s “Shall We Dance” series at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 15.  Admission is free. The program for the “Dancing Czech to Czech” concert will be: Suk: String Quartet Movement (1915) Schulhoff: Concertino (1925) Dvorak: String Sextet, Op. 48 (1878) Continue reading Trinity to host Free chamber orchestra Czech music concert on July 15

Obituaries

Steven O. Gemaehlich passes away at age 58

Chris Baldus

CHARLES CITY — Steven O. Gemaehlich, 58, of Charles City, Iowa, died July 6, 2017, at Hospice of North Iowa. A celebration of life will be held at 4 p.m., Sunday, July 16, 2017, at Faith Bible Chapel in Charles City, Iowa For more information contact Fullerton-Hage Funeral Home, 401 Blunt St. Charles City, Iowa 50616, 641-228-4211 http://www.Fullertonfh.com, Facebook/Fullertonfuneralhomes Continue reading Steven O. Gemaehlich passes away at age 58

Obituaries

Dale Miller passes at age 71

Chris Baldus

Dale Miller, 71, of Charles City passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his loving family on July 5, 2017. A funeral service for Dale will be held 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 10, 2017 at Saint John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charles City with Pastor Bill Odermann officiating. Burial will follow at Sunnyside Memory Gardens in rural Charles City. A visitation will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 9, 2017 at Hauser Funeral Home. Dale Gene Miller was born January 28, 1946 in Charles City, Iowa to Victor and Helen (Horn) Miller. He … Continue reading Dale Miller passes at age 71

Charles City

CC murder suspect arrested in Chicago

Chris Baldus

Last night, the Chicago Police Department took Antoine Williams, age 36, into custody on a warrant for 1st degree murder issued from an incident which took place in Charles City on June 30 at 9:46 am in the 2100 block of Clarkview Drive, according to a Facebook post by the Charles City Police. The Chicago Police Department does not have any current charges of their own on the subject.  ” We would like to thank the public for their patience and assistance in the days following the incident,” the post says. Continue reading CC murder suspect arrested in Chicago

Charles City

McQuillen clock tower lifted into place

Chris Baldus

A new clock tower was lifted into place this morning in downtown Charles City.  Although not full, sidewalks facing McQuillen Place attracted spectators as a crane prepared for the big lift.  Early spectators got to watch an initial lift moving the tower from behind McQuillen to a staging point on the street. The crane was then repositioned for the final lift and the tower was in place before 9:30 a.m. Developer Charley Thompson, center in the black suit crosses Main Street to watch the final lift of the clocktower to the top of McQuillen Place. The final lift: Continue reading McQuillen clock tower lifted into place