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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, May 28. There are 217 days remaining in 2026. Here’s what the CNA reported on this week in history. Do you remember?
Five years ago (2021)
Creston senior Maddie Frey battled through an injury in placing eighth in Class 1A singles at the Girls State Tennis Tournament at Byrnes Tennis Center Wednesday and Thursday. Frey became the school’s first state medal winner since 2016.
Scoring is good. Winning is better. After losing three games earlier this week, and not scoring in two of them, Creston exploded for 19 runs in a 19-8 win Thursday at Glenwood. Creston started off the game with a run in the first inning, it’s first run scored since Tuesday. More was to come. A lot more. Creston combined for 18 runs between the third and fourth innings, scoring 11 in the third.
Creston area residents will soon have one more full-service dining option. Willy’s Bar & Grill is set to open, “hopefully before July fourth returns,” owner Ryan Hayes said. “We’ve got a double stack oven and we’ve got a stovetop flat grill,” he said. “We can probably cook about anything… so it’s not just bar food.”
Creston softball split a doubleheader Tuesday, June 1 at Harlan winning the first game 6-3 and losing the second 4-3. In game one, the Panthers finished the game with 11 hits including four doubles. Keely Coen pitched the entire game for Creston and gave up four hits, a home run and struck out three. In game two, Creston had four hits, three walks and 10 strikeouts. Haylee Gillam pitched the entire game for Creston. She threw two walks and no strikeouts.
10 years ago (2016)
A slow start didn’t mar the evening as the Creston Panthers softball team put up seven runs in their last three trips to the plate and defeated the Clarinda Cardinals 8-2 Wednesday night.
Former Creston state champion golfer Carson Whittington thrives under pressure. The Kirkwood Community College sophomore was at his best when the pressure and circumstances said otherwise. Whittington placed second at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division II national tournament last week at the Swan Lake Resort - Black Course in Plymouth, Indiana.
Several area student-athletes received the surprise of a lifetime recently. The Des Moines Register partnered with Special Olympics Iowa to honor 12 of its top athletes by including them in the All-Iowa Elite program. Among the 12 Special Olympics athletes honored were East Union’s Dakota Williams and Lynn Singer as a unified team, Lenox’s Meghan Nordstrom and Bedford’s Bobby Argo.
Creston/O-M’s only two-time state qualifier in tennis singles play started strong in Friday’s Class 1A Boys State Tournament. Senior Ryan Kucera ended up 1-2 for the day in his final appearance for the Panthers.
20 years ago (2006)
Another big game between Creston and Harlan. Another bitter, disappointing ending for the Panthers. The circumstances after Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Harlan in the Class 1A substate soccer finals were eerily similar to the 42-41 defeat to the Cyclones in the boys state basketball semifinals in March.
Researchers were in Union County this week making it rain. They set up a complex machine called a rainfall simulator on dry corn fields owned by Chet Abel, Jim Walsh and Mark Ide, all of rural Creston. Dr. Mohammed Elhakeem, associate research engineer with the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research, was conducting rainfall research, along with Research Assistant Chris Buren. They are both associated with the University of Iowa College of Engineering. “We’re doing this research to try to understand the relation of rainfall, runoff and infiltration to soil and plants,” Elhakeem, a native of Egypt, said. “For this project we’re testing in six different counties with different soil types.”
The weatherman is calling for temps in the mid to upper 80s this weekend, so it will be good weather to go out and hit the lake or take in the great outdoors. A lot of people will be traveling. Even with $2.75-per-gallon gas it doesn’t look like it has slowed too many people down. (an excerpt from a column)
A hard-hitting Atlantic freshman baseball team took two games from Creston Friday, 6-1 and 11-1. The Trojans led just 2-1 after one inning in the opener, but pulled away with a three-run third. Seth Pals pitched three innings with five strikeouts and two walks.