Ethan Zobel started EZ Equipment Sales in 2013 when he was just 13 years old. “It started as just buying, repairing, and reselling farm equipment,” explained Zobel. “It quickly evolved into the parts business it is today, where our main focus is selling new, used, and rebuilt tractor and combine parts.” EZ Equipment is located half a mile east of Holstein on Highway 20 (5488 Hwy 20). Zobel currently employs two full-time employees and nearly a dozen part-time employees plus himself.
An effort at downtown revitalization is going ahead as the city is accepting bids for the work. A deadline for the façade work has been set at 2 p.m. Nov. 17.
Bids will be opened after that with the winning bidder notified on or after Nov. 18 following review by the architect. City council will need to approve the winning bid.
Cannon Moss Brygger & Associates has prepared plans for the work.
A pre-bid conference is set for 2 p.m. Nov. 3 ahead of the deadline for bid submission.
Todd Conover has a wealth of experience to offer in his bid to be elected to the Ida County Board of Supervisors. “I was born and raised here, a Galva-Holstein graduate,” said Conover. “I was a John Deere dealership employee for 27 years, as store manager and part owner. I’ve also been part of a farm operation the last 14 years, and worked at UBI for three years as a crop insurance specialist in the farm management department.”
The Ida Grove City Council met on Monday, Oct. 3 at the temporary City Hall in the Rec Center. In attendance were council members Gregor Ernst, Ange Johnson, Jeff Miesner, Jason Schable, Jared Bogue, and Mayor Devlun Whiteing. The council approved the purchase of a sewer jetting machine, not to exceed $84,000. The council then appointed Reynold McLead to the Planning and Zoning Committee, with a term expiring Dec. 31, 2024. The council also approved Kristy Gilbert as Rec Center Board President, with a term expiring June 30, 2025.
The Holstein City Council met on Oct. 3, at 5:30 p.m. In the public works report, the council learned that the storm sewer grate at the corner of Highway 59 and 2nd Street, by Cosgrove Law Firm, had been replaced. The high service pump at the water plant has also been replaced. Pete’s Tree Service checked several ash trees that will require removal over the next few years. Street patching has been completed on Kastner Drive and various other places.
Some of Ida County workers will finally get the raise they have been seeking including county roads workers. County Engineer Jeff Williams, Assistant Engineer Colin Ryan and Renee Von Bokern briefed the Ida County Board of Supervisors on wages in place in similar size areas to Ida County.
With inflation hitting hard, wages have been scrambling to respond in turn.
The Board approved $1.50 per hour in an increase for road workers and Tristian Senhen, Engineer Technician.
Editor’s note: The Board of Supervisors position is the only contested county election this year. Whiteing’s opponent, Todd Conover, will be featured next week.
Devlun Whiteing brings quite a bit of experience to the table in his campaign to be elected to the Ida County Board of Supervisors.
A frightening accident occurred in Ida Grove last Monday evening when a train collided with a pedestrian at the railway crossing of Washington Street.
A railway worker reported that a woman was walking across the tracks while the train was coming. The conductor pulled the emergency brake, but the train was going too fast to stop in time.
The woman was hit and dragged several feet. The railway worker relayed that while she was injured, the woman was still conscious after the crash. Emergency crews transported her to the hospital.
The story of Holstein’s CornerHaus 101 is, as co-owner Alyssa Dreeszen put it, one of “growing where you’re planted.”
The coffee house and cocktail bar was started in 2016 by Bobbi Jo Clausen and Jeff Neckhash, who were new to being baristas when they started. Adam and Alyssa Dreeszen, who bought CornerHaus in 2020, credit them with providing a solid foundation for both the individual business and the broader community downtown.
