Tammy R. Lawson

April 10, 2008

By Tammy R. Lawson

MC Sun Staff Writer

Ladies and Gentlemen: Starchure engines!

With Marshalltown Speedway marking 44 years of Midwest racing, last Friday’s annual Frostbuster Event almost didn’t happen due to a wintery rain and snow blow-out that threatened to cancel the entire thing.

But instead, mud flew from tires, stands were sardine-packed, and history was made for the hometown dirt track.

A record 160 race teams came from four states to compete in 30 separate International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) races, which was a surprise to Susan Avery. “We have people here from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Missouri,” she said in between selling tickets to the dozens of people who waited in line. “I think the turnout is excellent for the first night of the year.”

And yes, according to staffer Kathy Link, “We have female drivers who race here, too…we have one here tonight.”

Incidentally, outside sponsors donated to the purse, and before all was said and done, the Modified Class would take home the largest payoff in speedway history-$2008 for the heat race.

Denny Grabenbauer kept with tradition, announcing that winner as Brian Mullen, who made his first appearance at the speedway, and by the sound of it, he was glad he made the trek from Wisconsin to participate. “The track was great! I’ve never won so much money in one race in my life!”

For the Stock Car division, Dustin Smith greeted the checkered flag first, while Luke Wanninger would be the Sport Mod Class winner.

Devin Smith joined his brother Dustin in victory lane by winning the Hobby Stock event, and Randy Bryan was also the front runner in the Dwarf Car feature, scoring his first win at the speedway in over two years.

In addition to several races lined up throughout the new season, the speedway is hosting several family events, including Faster Pastor Night on June 13th and the Cardboard Classic on August 15th.

After last Friday’s success, promoter Toby Kruse is gearing up with anticipation of tomorrow night’s Season Opener. “We [will] continue to grow this event into one of the premier events in the country.”

Marshall County Sun© Copyright 2008

April 10, 2008
By Tammy R. Lawson
MC Sun Staff Writer

With April 7th through April 12th being declared Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa, the timing for Marshall County couldn’t have been any better.

Meteorologist-In-Charge Brenda Brock, from the National Weather Service in Des Moines, recognized Marshall County as a StormReady® county by presenting Deanna Bachman, left, and Kimberly Elder, middle, on behalf of Marshall County Emergency Management, with a plaque and special StormReady® signs as recognition for a job very well done.

This makes Marshall only the fourth county out of 99 in the state to do so thus far, according to Warning Coordinator Specialist Jeff Johnson.

“One thing Marshall County has done-that I don’t think any other county nationwide has-was to [recently] provide every citizen with a weather radio,” Johnson said. “That stands out as a highlight in my career, observing a county who had gone the extra mile to try and make their citizens safe.”

According to the National Weather Service, a county or university must go through a rigorous process to receive StormReady® status by:

*Establishing a 24-hour warning point/emergency operations center;
*Having more than one way to receive severe weather forecasts and warnings in order to alert the public;
*Creating a system that monitors local weather conditions;
*Promoting the importance of public readiness through community seminars;
*Developing a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters, as well as holding emergency exercises.

“Actually, I’d like to thank everyone in the county because if they all didn’t cooperate, we couldn’t have done this county-wide, and this was a two-year process,” Elder said, addressing the audience. “We worked with 13 different cities and departments, including fire, and whatever we had to do to meet the criteria, everyone signed on and helped.”

In a whirlwind, the ceremony ended and weather spotter training began with approximately 100 people on hand at MCC’s DeJardin Hall, including members of Marshall County’s Board of Supervisors, listening as Johnson taught a two-hour class on recognizing an inclement weather threat, its effects, and the importance of weather spotters, especially when it comes to tornadic activity.

According to Bachman, between 60-80 weather spotters are trained each year in order to assist citizens in and outside the county with being prepared for emergency situations, and spotters have become a necessity to the system.

“We have to thank all of our spotters out in the area, because they are the eyes and ears for us,” Bachman remarked. “When they see something out in the county that maybe isn’t picked up by radar, they can call and get that information to the weather service in order to get warnings and information out.”

Ronald and Colette Benge of Marshalltown attended the class and couldn’t have agreed more, especially after last week’s episode of tornado sirens that were heard throughout the county. “I’ve been through a tornado, and when I looked out, it didn’t look as if one should even be around,” Ronald said, “but it didn’t change the fact that it was there!”

Welcome to Iowa.

Marshall County Sun© Copyright 2008