News | Discover Adel Iowa

Sharing is Healing

DiscoverAdel.com would like to welcome Sharing Is Healing to the community! Owner Michelle Rolings has moved her private counseling practice from Ames to Adel and will be working out of her home.

Sharing is Caring provides a variety of services, specializing in Eating Disorders and Self- Harming Behaviors, with Eating Disorder meetings held year round. Meeting dates and times are available online at her website.

Michelle’s clinic helps those experiencing Trauma, Anxiety, Depression and Relationship Matters. She also works with individual’s coping with Long Term Illness, Grief, Loss, Family of Origin, Identity and LGBT Concerns.

For more information about Michelle Rolings, Sharing Is Caring or to set up an initial consultation to determine the best clinical care, please visit www.michelleroling.com

Volunteer of the Year Awards

Jan Price and Van VanBuren

Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce presented the 1st Annual Volunteer of the Year Awards to Jan Price and Van VanBuren at the annual members meeting on Tuesday, July 21.

Jan Price was honored as Community Volunteer of the Year for her work at the Adel Historical Museum in addition to being an active volunteer with the Adel Women’s Club, Partners Design Committee, and several other community organizations.

The Community Volunteer of the Year award is presented to recognize outstanding volunteer contributions throughout the Adel community.

Van VanBuren was chosen as the first recipient of the Chamber Volunteer of the Year Award for his extensive work as chair of the Adel Partners Economic Development Committee and as a member of the Iowa Book Festival Committee.

Van and the Economic Development committee organized and conducted several events supporting small business development in the Adel community over the past year and has generously donated his time and business expertise to further the goals of the chamber.

The Chamber Volunteer of the Year award is presented to an Adel Partners committee member in recognition of outstanding contributions to chamber goals and projects.

Adel Youth Wins at Regional Horse Show

Photo Courtesy Bar H Photography

Erin Tuil of Adel, Iowa, won the “First Time Exhibitor Youth Horsemanship” award at the 2009 Region Three Experience show in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Erin won showing, No Scotchin Chips.

Full story at- America’s Horse Daily

Nile Kinnick Museum Article

We’ve had several requests to re-run the March Newsletter article we ran on Nile Kinnick. With the passing of June and the anniversary of his death, it seems only fitting to honor one of Adel’s native sons. We hope that you enjoy. (July 17, 2009)

– Courtesy: Julie Bailey – Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce.

The community of Adel is well-known for its brick streets, beautiful County Courthouse, and the Sweet Corn Festival. Adel is also the hometown of Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr., the winner of the 1939 Heisman Trophy for the University of Iowa. The football stadium at the University of Iowa is named in his honor.

The Adel Historical Museum and Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce are pursuing a vision for a Nile Kinnick Wing of the current historical museum in Adel.

In April 2009, a few select pieces of Nile Kinnick memorabilia will be available through an online auction. The Adel Historical Museum is fundraising in an effort to purchase all or part of this memorabilia and bring it home to Kinnick’s community where he spent his childhood. This would also complement the Kinnick items currently held in the Adel community and support the beginnings of a museum addition to highlight Kinnick’s life.

Nile Kinnick was born on July 9, 1918, in Adel, Iowa, the grandson of a governor. His grandfather, George Clarke was Governor of Iowa from 1913 to 1917 and practiced law in Adel. Nile was a star athlete in football and basketball at Adel High School before the family moved to Omaha, Neb., after his junior year.

nile

In 1939, Irl Tubbs was out as coach, Eddie Anderson was in, and the path was cleared for Kinnick’s senior season at the University of Iowa. A halfback who was the team’s main passer, Kinnick threw for 638 yards and 11 touchdowns as well as rushing for 374 yards on 106 carries (3.5-yard average). He also made 11-of-17 dropkick conversion attempts and scored 41 points. By passing, running or kicking, Kinnick was directly involved in 107 of Iowa’s 130 points that season. He also made eight interceptions. He finished his career at Iowa with 1,674 yards rushing, 18 interceptions (an Iowa record that lasted half a century) and an average of 39.9 yards per punt.

The Chicago Tribune’s version of the Big Ten MVP award preceded Kinnick’s winning the Walter Camp and Maxwell awards, further validating the prevailing opinion he was the nation’s best football player. On Dec, 6, 1939, his acceptance of the Heisman Trophy became a seminal moment – both in athletics and in oratory. Kinnick’s celebrity became so strong, he was named 1939’s top male athlete in the country by the Associated Press. The honor was particularly noteworthy considering his competition included Joe DiMaggio, Joe Louis and Byron Nelson.

In August 1941, Kinnick decided war was imminent and joined the Naval Air Corps Reserve. While waiting to be called to active duty, he was an assistant coach for Iowa that fall. On December 4, three days before Pearl Harbor, he reported for duty. On June 2, 1943, Kinnick was flying a training mission from the U.S.S. Lexington off the coast of Venezuela when he experienced engine problems. Rescue parties searched for several hours, but Kinnick’s body was never found amid the oil slick. Nile Kinnick was 24.

“A Nile Kinnick wing of the Adel Historical Museum would be a tremendous asset to the Adel community and the state of Iowa.” says Julie Bailey, Program Director for the Adel Chamber of Commerce. “Kinnick’s legacy is so large and it only seems fitting to honor him in the town he loved so much.” she continued.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Kinnick museum planning process or is interested in making a tax deductible contribution toward the purchase of the memorabilia to begin the new museum effort can contact Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce via email at chamber@AdelPartners.Org or phone 515-993-5472.

2009 Brick Street Classic Has A Great Show!

The Brick Street Classic Car Show in Adel is an annual event put on by the Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce.

June 6th started as a rainy day. Nearly an inch of rain fell between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 am. John Standley was standing in his kitchen getting ready for the scheduled Brick Street Classic Car Show anyway. The rain cleared off, the doppler showed that it was moving out of the area and he headed to his NAPA store in Adel to start setting up for the day.

8:15 saw John and one of his store assistant’s putting up the tent for the band. The band, Voodoo3 had called several times to see if the day was still on. John in his usual cheery self said “Why not?”

By 9:00 all of the tents were up, the vendor spots remarked, the previous night’s rain had erased the previous markings. T-Shirts were being hung in the Registration tent at the corner of Nile Kinnic and Court St. just across from Brick Street muscle. Gary Curnes, from Brick Street Muscle, His wife Mary, and his sons were carried over boxes of this year’s shirts for the show participants.

John’s wife, Mary set up the NAPA tent on Main Street as volunteers helped set up the vendors. The band, located on the East side of street across from Cameo Rose could be heard tuning up for the day. The vendors moved in and around the barricades setting up their tents and wares. Granpa’s Gifts from Earlham was the first to show up, followed shortly by Knitting by Annette. Brick Street BBQ, Grace Lutheran and Cafe in the Park soon followed.

CoolBeans had a constant stream of traffic in and out of their store as folks got coffee and oriented.

Phone calls were still coming in to John and Gary from car owners as to what the weather was doing in Adel. Many of the cars were coming from surrounding areas that were still seeing rain. Reassurances were given as most vowed to still come out.

John and Gary were understanding of the concerns. As Gary mentioned, “Most of these guys have a small fortune into getting these cars just right, and it takes three days to clean the underside when they get dirty”.

Still the cars steadily showed up. Keith Soffa of the Lions Club had a crew of Lions helping park the cars. Starting at the corner of Court St. and Kinnick and slowly progressing around the Square and then back.

Mary Curnes from Brick Street Muscle and Lori Brocka of the Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce took registrations and handed out participant packs, shirts and hats to the registrants.

The Sun played hide and seek, but everyone was in good spirits. The Noon whistle blew and suddenly the crowds appeared. The vendors were busy and the band was well into their second hour.

Over 80 cars were parked as Bob Ockerman, a Lion and Dallas County Supervisor, manned the front barricade directing particpants.

The red shirts of the volunteers could be seen everywhere helping participants, vendors and show goers. The smell of BBQ pleasantly filled the air as Brick Street BBQ and Cafe in the Park served their tasty wares. Grace Lutheran served cookies and baked goods.

The sun popped in and out of the clouds as everyone had a great time. John and Gary traveled between the crowds and the cars making sure all continued to run smoothly.

At 4:00 Gary announced the awards. Door prizes of certificates donated by Casey’s general Store and Red Lobster, car care items donated by NAPA and Brick Street Muscle were given out. 2o awards were given for the various classes, all voted on by the registrants. Best of show was awarded, this year’s winner will have his car featured on next year’s advertising and T-shirt.

For a day that started off rainy, it proved to be a hit as the crowds remained large right through the Awards ceremony.

By 4:30, John, Gary and the volunteers had everything restored to the square and the trailer loaded up to return the tents and the supplies of the day. Both Gary and John were in the same good moods that they had started the day off with.

If you missed this year’s show, Check out the Slide Show of the 5th Annual Brick Street Classic. Don’t forget to mark the show for next year down on your calendar as it is truly a first class event show casing some of the sweetest rides.

This year’s sponsors were, Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce, CoolBeans, McAnnich, Adel Auto Parts/NAPA, Arnold’s Auto Store, and Brick Street Muscle.

Phil Keoghan’s Stop in Adel

Published: April 2009

The Amazing Race’s host, Phil Keoghan stopped at the Adel Library on Sunday, April 19th on his way to the Capital. Phil was greeted by fans who braved the rain and cold to cheer him on and get an autograph or two.

Phil braved the weather on his way to the Capital in Des Moines as he rides across the country to raise awareness for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

“I fly over 400,000 miles a year and I figured it was time to stretch my legs. I love to ride so I thought I’d see what this great country looks like up close instead of taking a bird’s eye view at 30,000 feet,” said Keoghan. “In this economic climate, bike riding makes a lot of sense – it’s good for your waistline and easy on your wallet.”

You can find more information on Phil’s ride at the Phil Rides Across America website.

Photos courtesy of Julie Bailey, Program Director for the Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce.

Amazing Race Host in Adel this Sunday

Published: April 2009

The Amazing Race’s host, Phil Keoghan will be coming to Adel on Sunday, April 19th on his way to the Capital. Phil is in the midst of a cross county bike ride for MS.

It is expected that he will be in Adel around 12:30pm and fans are encouraged to greet him at the Adel Library Parking Lot as he makes a brief pit stop in Adel.

Visit www.philridesacrossamerica.com for more information about the ride

Book Launch of Local Author

Saturday, April 18, 5:00 PM
Barnes & Noble University Ave.
West Des Moines

Iowa Book Festival Author Jan Blazanin, will have a book launch for her latest novel at the Barnes & Noble in West Des Moines.

She has been writing and teaching writing since the early nineties. “Fairest of Them All“ will mark the first published book for the Waukee author.

Jan is a featured presenting author at the Iowa Book Festival to be held in Adel on May 2nd. from 8:00 AM to 5:00PM.

Barnes & Noble has made available a Voucher for purchases made the night of the Launch. A percentage of the net sale will be donated to your local school/organization. Barnes & Noble is a sponsor of the Iowa Book Festival.

Brick Street Renovation Workshop: Financing the Project

The City of Adel is planning a workshop forum to continue the discussion of brick streets in our community.

This meeting will review the options available for financing the first project and explore options for future project financing. The meeting will focus on the history of brick streets in Adel, past models for financing street projects and options for financing the future brick street projects. The City Council is very interested in hearing public comment about this important project and having public discussion about how to proceed with brick street renovations.

You are invited to attend this open public meeting to be held on Thursday, April 2nd at 6:30pm at the Adel Public Library.

The meeting will be facilitated by an independent strategic planning facilitator. If you are interested in how the brick streets will be renovated and financed, this is the meeting for you.

Local Film Maker Wins Online Climate Change Contest

(Washington, DC – February 5, 2009) Today Environmental Defense Action Fund announced the winners of an ad competition challenging filmmakers to explain how capping greenhouse gas pollution will break America’s addiction to oil. Two winners were selected, one chosen by EDAF staff and one by thousands of online voters.

The winner of the Climate Activist´s Choice Award, selected by an online vote, is Scott Canney from Adel, Iowa. Scott´s video, Thinking Cap shows that a carbon cap is really a thinking cap- it helps keep money here at home.

You can view the winning entries at edf.org/climatevideos.

Read the full article at the Southern Maryland Online.

“Ticket Out” to be Filmed this Friday

The filming for the movie “Ticket Out”, which is partially shot in Adel, will be this Friday starting at 6AM.

“Ticket Out” is a feature film starring Ray Liotta and Alexandra Breckenridge.

Storyline – Jocelyn (Alexandra Breckenridge) flees with her children to protect them from an abusive father / ex-husband. Jim (Ray Liotta) helps her evade those who wish to stop her.

Main Street from 8th to 9th (southside of the Courthouse) will be blocked off during the filming. There will also be limited access to the alley and parking directly behind the businesses on the south side of the Square.

There is no way to know how long the filming will take but should be concluded by early afternoon. Most of the downtown filming will be the NAPA store (Adel Auto Parts) and then Friday afternoon the film crew is scheduled to move to the Cafe in the Park for additional footage.

This is a great opportunity to showcase Adel. The producers and film crew of “Ticket Out” have been very complimentary of Adel and the people who live here.

Please Direct any questions concerning the film or street closings to either Julie Bailey at the Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce or Chad Bird at City Hall.

Published January 21st, 2009