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A community engagement initiative of Jasper CUD 1.

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LATEST ISSUE

Summer | 2025

"I started out spraying truck bed liners and DJing weddings. Now I’ve got 12 party buses, a full-scale event venue, a motorcoach company, and a van rental fleet. I don’t sit still very well." — Doug Weddell

"I get up every day asking: Can I take someone doing bad things off the streets or change a life in a way I’ll never even see?"

"Everybody gets the red carpet treatment here—no matter where they come from. That’s how you build trust in a place where everybody knows your name."

"People here are good folks. They’ll be the first to help you out, if trouble hits.' That’s this town." — Laura Klingler

"People I barely knew were texting, 'What yards need doing today?' That's when I realized—Dad didn't just build a business. He planted something that grew roots deep enough to hold us up when we were falling apart." — Ethan Griffith

"There’s a lot of people who can do massage—but I’ve learned that doing something nobody else does is how you grow. That’s how you make it work." – Jamie Goss

"I spent four or five years trying to get out of Newton—and the next ten trying to get back." — Ken Snyder

“I’d say: learn all you can, work with your hands, and be kind. Because when you treat people right, they remember.” — Don Geltz

We chose to live here. Not because we had to—but because this is the place that helps raise our kids. This is home." – Kara Weber

The Stories of Us.

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Wad It Up and Going Places
Doug Weddell’s Journey from Gas Station Cashier to Regional Transportation Mogul
Deputy Adam Bridges on Small-Town Roots and Second Chances
Small-Town Vision: Adam Wolf’s Journey from Jasper County Classrooms to Community Optometry
Shear Determination: Laura Klingler’s Journey of Passion, Perseverance, and the Power of Community
The Grass Keeps Growing: How Three Sibling Alumni Learned to Mow Through Grief and Keep Their Father's Legacy Alive
Hands That Heal, Roots That Hold: Jamie Goss’s Journey from Newton Band Kid to Entrepreneurial Force
Sundays, Soft-Serve, and Small-Town Strength: Ken Snyder’s Journey from Nursing Homes to Dairy Queens
Beneath the Hood, Behind the Helm
Don Geltz Didn’t Set Out to Build a Business—He Just Kept Making Things Better
Accountable to the Heart: Kara Weber’s Story of Roots, Resolve, and the Quiet Strength of Community
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