TAG SEARCH RESULTS FOR: ""

July 31st: On this day

Posted on by Rick Watts

On this day in 1964, A private aircraft piloted by Jim Reeves crashed during a thunderstorm near Nashville, Tennessee. Both Reeves and business partner Dean Manuel were killed in the crash; their bodies are found two days later following a massive search for the two missing men. Reeves became known as a practitioner of the Nashville sound (a mixture of older country-style music with elements of popular music) and his songs continued to chart for years after his death.

JT Lewis was LIVE in -studio today

Posted on by Rick Watts
JT has made quite a journey from the heart of Cajun country in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to his new home in Nashville, Tennessee. Although the ride took a bit of time, his rock solid work ethic and his tough country nature led him to do whatever it would take to make it in this crazy business we call music.  Playing guitar came naturally for young JT, when he started around 12 years old. Through high school, he started writing and producing his own recordings and playing local gigs. It was no surprise that as young Lewis grew up, he would take his love for music to the next level.   As JT completed college, and was starting down a more serious artist path, he started writing in Nashville with industry professionals like Producer Billy Aerts (Kenny Chesney, Miley Cyrus, Joe Cocker) and Publisher/Writer Scott Lynch (Lee Brice, Faith Hill, Trace Adkins). JT wanted to write a song called “Shoot Straight,” which was an idea he got after a conversation he had with his grandfather about maintaining a strong work ethic and integrity. It ended up being the title track to his debut EP and found a happy home for a while on the Inspirational Country Music Charts and hit Top 10 late 2016.
Couch surfing the United States, JT started to tour more and more after his debut release, and slowly, but surely extending his fan base, state by state. Regardless of whether he was sleeping in a cozy guest room, or in the back seat of his car using a sweatshirt as a pillow, JT gave it all he got while playing his shows and always got invited back. All the while, he continued to give back to communities across the nation by playing fundraising concerts, and volunteering to take disabled youth into the outdoors to experience huntin’ and fishin’.  JT played over 80 shows in 2017 and gained huge exposure and loyal fans by touring with/opening for Logan Mize. He also has shared the stage with artists like Charles Esten who plays Deacon on CMT’s “Nashville”, Chris Bandi, and others. His influences of pure country lyrics, pop melodies, and hard rock riffs, is like a Cajun gumbo recipe for an energy filled show where the fans can’t help but dance and sing along to all their favorite songs. And originals like his new single, “Just A Truck,” grab the listener’s soul and keep them on the dance floor.

Osky places 7 players on all-LHC baseball team

Posted on by Rick Watts

Seven Oskaloosa Indians were named to the Little Hawkeye Conference’s all-conference baseball team. Senior Nick Harrington earned first team honors as a utility player, after hitting .320 and going 5-3 as a pitcher. Second team all-conference honors went to junior Riann Yates, senior Tyler Nunnikhoven and sophomores Tyler Miller and Wyatt Krier. Indians’ seniors Alex Dejong and Keaton Dekock received honorable mention.

‘Firenadoes’ fuel deadly Carr Fire in California

Posted on by Rick Watts

Firefighters battling intense heat and strong winds struggled Monday to gain control of a deadly Northern California wildfire that has killed six people and destroyed more than 800 homes. The fire had burned through 150 square miles by late Sunday and was growing, but Cal Fire Incident Commander Brett Gouvea said it was not moving deeper into this town of 92,000.  The fire was just 17 percent contained, however, and there was no end in sight to the blazing heat blamed for “firenadoes” – twisting, whirlwinds of flame and ash.

“We’re feeling a lot more optimistic today as we are starting to gain some ground rather than be in the defensive mode all the time,” Carr Fire incident commander Bret Gouvea said. “You’re going to see repopulation in the city of Redding very soon.”

AccuWeather meteorologist Evan Duffey said temperatures have consistently exceeded 100 degrees in Redding the last several days, reaching as high as 113. The area might not see a break in the heat until the middle of next week, he added. Low humidity has added to the problem.  “The dryness and extreme heat have led to the extreme fire weather,” Duffey said.

July 30th: On this day

Posted on by Rick Watts

On this day in 1955 Johnny Cash recorded his first version of “Folsom Prison Blues” at the Sun Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Cash was inspired to write this song after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force at Landsberg, Bavaria (itself the location of a famous prison).

RAGBRAI was a huge success in Sigourney

Posted on by Rick Watts

Thousands of cyclists on the RAGBRAI tour across lowa stopped for the night Thursday in Sigourney.  The riders starting pouring in around noon yesterday and the flow of riders coming in continued into the evening.  The town of 2000 turned into a town of 20,000 overnight.  They had five campgrounds available for riders: at the high school, at Legion Park, SEDNA, and the main campground was at the Expo. Cyrena Buschmann was the chair of our housing, and she did a phenomenal job getting a lot of riders into homes and into people’s yards.  There was also entertainment last night on the square with the Pork Tornadoes playing at 10pm.  Also out at the expo was 2 concerts:  The Boys played from 2:00-4:00 and Jake McVey played from 4:30-7:30 last night.

 

Sweet Corn Serenade today in Oskaloosa

Posted on by Rick Watts

Downtown Oskaloosa is in the mood to celebrate today.  Oskaloosa Main Street Executive Director Emily Brown talks about the annual Sweet Corn Serenade.  “We’ll have kids’ activities during the day, different food options, so if you want to do the beef burgers and sweet corn, you can do that.  We’ve got a couple food vendors that will be up there as well.  There’s a pie contest: we have a kids’ pedal pull contest…and then some live music, the Marshall County Hangmen will perform at 5:30  And then the Vanguard Cadets will perform at 7:30.  They are are a drum corps out of Santa Clara, CA that will be doing a quick performance right before the City Band concert at 8.”  Beef burgers from the Mahaska County Cattleman’s Assc. and sweet corn will be available fro 4-9 tonight.  All these events will take place on the Oskaloosa town square.

July 26th: On this day

Posted on by Rick Watts

On this day in 1969 Johnny Cash released the single, “A Boy Named Sue”, a song written by Shel Silverstein. Cash was at the height of his popularity when he recorded the song live at California’s San Quentin State Prison at a concert on February 24, 1969. The song tells the tale of a young man’s quest for revenge on a father who abandoned him at 3 years of age and whose only contribution to his entire life was naming him Sue.

NEWSLETTER

Stay updated, sign up for our newsletter.