January 15, 2026
Local NewsState & National

Remember when...

By Mandy McDowell
Mr. and Mrs. J. Eugene Miller and their family, of rural Creston, are presented a certificate by Rex Simpson, right, a member of the county F.H.A. Committee. With them are the two youngest of the 10 Miller children, Mat and Diane. The Miller family was named the Farmers Home Administration Family of the Year by the Creston F.H.A office.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Eugene Miller and their family, of rural Creston, are presented a certificate by Rex Simpson, right, a member of the county F.H.A. Committee. With them are the two youngest of the 10 Miller children, Mat and Diane. The Miller family was named the Farmers Home Administration Family of the Year by the Creston F.H.A office. (CNA 1970 Archived Photo)

Maybe you were there when it happened or read about it the first time around, but some things are just worth repeating.

Today is Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. There are 350 days remaining in the year. Here’s what the CNA reported on this week in history. Do you remember?

7 years ago (2019)

With two wins over two opponents ranked in the top 10 by The Predicament, Jackson Kinsella picked up a John J. Harris Invitational title at 170 pounds. Typically a two-day event, the historic wrestling tournament in Corning was shortened to one full-fledged afternoon in which Creston/Orient-Macksburg finished in fourth as a team.

The fifth winter sports South Central Iowa Athlete of the Week polls have been conducted with four winners. (Jan. 7 - Jan. 12). Boys basketball – Reece Held – Junior – Murray, in two games: 45 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists, a steal and a block; Girls basketball – Alli Masters – Senior – Central Decatur, in two games: 26 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists. six steals and seven blocks; Wrestling – Brant Looney – Junior – East Union, in two meets: posted a 2-2 record with two pins; Bowling – Abby Christensen – Sophomore – Nodaway Valley, in home meet: bowled a 154 and 159 for a 309 series score.

The Iowa State Patrol responded to 128 crashes within 48 hours last weekend due to the snow storm and Iowa State Troopers responded to 182 service calls due to the hazardous travel conditions.

The Creston girls basketball team were able to grab the lead early in the first quarter and not look back on Tuesday, rolling to a 66-34 win over Clarinda.

14 years ago (2012)

It wasn’t easy, but the Creston/O-M wrestling team finally shook Atlantic to claim the John Harris Invitational title. The Trojans had won the past three titles, including last season by a half point over the Panthers. The Panthers led by as many as 13.5 points during the place matches and as few as 4.5. Panther 195-pounder Keaton Hulett clinched the team title when he pinned top-seeded Tyler Doll of Atlantic in the second period of their title bout. Creston/O-M finished the two-day tournament with 216 points and Atlantic was second with 203.5.

The Creston City Council came to unanimous decisions on the co-city attorneys and building inspector. At the city council meeting Tuesday, the council approved the recommendation from the interview committee to hire Mike Bruce as building inspector. The council also approved the appointment of Arnold O. “Skip” Kenyon III and Todd Nielsen as co-city attorneys.

The Creston/O-M bowling teams hosted Hawkeye 10 Conference rival Red Oak Tuesday night and split the boys and girls matches. The Panther boys handed the Tigers a 2535-2464 loss, while the girls team fell five pins shy of a victory.

28 years ago (1998)

Thanks to ideal weather and market-driven decisions to plant more soybeans and less corn, Iowa farmers had a record soybean harvest last year, agricultural officials said. Iowa soybean production in 1997 was estimated at 484 million bushels, up 16% from 1996 and easily the highest ever.

School Administrators of Iowa named Curt Olson, assistant principal at Creston High School, as a finalist for the 1997-98 Iowa Assistant Principal of the Year award. He has been an assistant principal for 23 years and activities director in Creston for the past 16 years.

Tom Braymen, soil conservation technician with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Creston is retiring after 30 years of service in Creston. Braymen says he’ll continue to keep busy as he owns a farm and has a real estate license.

56 years ago (1970)

Greater Community Hospital provided treatment for 3,157 patients for a total of 23,195 days in 1969, D.V. Richardson, administrator, said today in his annual report on hospital occupancy. This was an average of 72.8% of capacity on each day of the year. The patients included 2,378 regular patients, 296 obstetrical patients, 279 newborn babies and 204 pediatric patients.

Nearly 500 farmers from Union and other counties in the Crestonland area are attending a corn and soybean Ideas Day clinic in Creston. The clinic is being held at the Strand Theatre.

Dr. and Mrs. Max Mekus of Mount Ayr are the parents of the first baby born Jan. 1 or after at the Ringgold County Hospital. Joel August Mekus didn’t make his appearance until 10:50 p.m. Jan. 10, but was the first New Year’s baby at the hospital. He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and has an 8 year old brother.

Appointment of Mrs. Ann Shearer as chairman of the women’s bureau of the Creston Chamber of Commerce was announced today by J. Howard Brown, chamber president. Shearer will succeed Geraldine Heessel, who was the 1969 chairman.

Creston