September 2019

“We are here because two children decided to tell. They told again and told again and told again.”
 
Grundy County Attorney Erika Allen uttered these words during her closing statements to the jury in the trial of Paul Ryan Knudsen, a 39-year-old rural Cedar Falls man who was convicted of three counts of Third Degree Sexual Abuse and one count of Lascivious Conduct with a Minor on Monday afternoon after a four day trial in Grundy Center. He now faces up to 80 years in prison.
 

The Grundy County Board of Supervisors got word on some recent road projects as well as an update on the courthouse from custodian Mark Jungling during Tuesday morning’s regular meeting.
           

Barn quilts are about as Iowan as corn and pork tenderloins, but they have a secret history that many residents may be unaware of: they were actually used as codes to help escaping slaves along the Underground Railroad during the 19th century. Danny Steiber of Waverly, informally known as the “barn quilt guy,” addressed a crowd of about 15 on Saturday morning at the Beaman Memorial Library to explain this process and show off many of the barn quilts around Grundy County.
           
“Some of these people love their barn quilts more than their John Deere tractors,” he said.

DES MOINES – Dike-New Hartford wrestler Trent Johnson will wrestle in the 145-pound championship match at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines after winning quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Friday.
Johnson won his semifinal match with Braydon Nunemaker of East Buchanan, 9-3. In the quarterfinals, he defeated ASHTW's Joel Becerra with a 5-3 decision.
The 145-pound championship match will pit Johnson against Sibley-Ocheyedan's Dylan Schuck, who is currently 51-0. Johnson pinned Schuck in last year's state semifinals in Johnson's runner-up bid in 2016.