- Today in 1983, CMT made its cable debut with Faron Young’s video “It’s Four In The Morning.”
- Today in 1999, Sara Evans got her first #1 single with “No Place That Far.”
- Today in 1999, George Jones was driving home in Nashville when he tried to play his single “Choices” for his stepdaughter on his cellphone. His car crashed, seriously injuring him. Later, police found an opened vodka bottle in the car.
- Today in 2003, George W. Bush presented the National Medal of Arts at the White House to George Jones and Smokey Robinson.
- Today in 2006, Miranda Lambert got her first gold single with “Kerosene.”
- Today in 2010, Brad Paisley fell off the stage during a concert as he sang the last notes of his final song “Alcohol.” He was treated a local hospital for bruises – and no, he wasn’t tipsy.
- Today in 2012, the Country Music Association announced that Garth Brooks, Connie Smith, and session piano player Hargus “Pig” Robbins were the next to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
- Today in 2014, the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo announced an $18,000 scholarship in the name of Reba McEntire as she played Reliant Stadium. Her set list included “Whoever’s In New England,” “Consider Me Gone” and “Fancy.”
- Today in 2017, com reported that Blake Shelton’s mother, Dorothy Shelton, had placed the home where he grew up on the market. The asking price for the three-bedroom structure and quarter-acre of land is $250,000.
- Today in 2017, Kelsea Ballerini co-hosted the CBS daytime show, “The Talk,” for one day.
- Today in 2018, Cam teamed with Smokey Robinson to shoot an installment of “CMT Crossroads” at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The set included “The Tears Of A Clown,” “I Second That Emotion,” “Diane” and “Burning House.”
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H & S FEED & COUNTRY STORE PET OF THE WEEK: EVANGELINE
This week’s H&S Feed and Country Store Pet of the Week is “Evangeline”, a positively adorable 11 month old female pooch. Evangeline is great with other dogs, but she gets excited around cats. Evangeline loves kids and people in general, and would make an awesome family dog! Evangeline is fully vetted, vaccinated, microchipped, and neutered, and she is ready for her ‘furr-ever’ home!
And since Evangeline is the H & S Feed & Country Store Pet of the Week, her adoption fee is only $50 this week!
If you’d like to set up an appointment to meet Evangeline or any of the pets at Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter, visit https://www.stephenmemorial.org/ and fill out an adoption application.
Check out our visit about Evangeline with Izzy from Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter here:
Reba Lined Up For 2nd Annual Susan G. Komen Benefit
The battle against breast cancer has a new, formidable ally. Yesterday it was announced that Reba McEntire would be performing at the upcoming 2nd Annual Susan G. Komen event. The kicker: this is Reba’s only scheduled concert event for 2026. “Band As One Nashville Concert for the Cure: Trisha Yearwood & Friends” will feature Reba, Yearwood, Charles Kelley, The Band Loula, Ashley McBryde, Lukas Nelson, Rissi Palmer, War & Treaty, Hailey Whitters and more. The event takes place Sunday, March 22 at the Opry House in Nashville. You can purchase tickets at komen.org/bandasone.
This day in Country Music History
- Today in 1960, Elvis Presley was discharged from the Army.
- Today in 1963, a plane crash in Tennessee claimed the lives of Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins and pilot Randy Hughes as they returned to Nashville from a charity concert in Kansas City.
- Today in 1973, Alabama appeared for the first time as performers at the Bowery Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
- Today in 1976, Johnny Cash recorded “One Piece At A Time” at the House of Cash.
- Today in 1983, Ronnie Dunn debuted on the country charts as a solo act. Eight years later he returned to the charts as one half of the duo Brooks and Dunn with singing partner Kix Brooks.
- Today in 1986, MCA released Steve Earle’s album “Guitar Town.”
- Today in 1988, Alabama scored a number-one hit as “Face to Face,” the band’s duet with K.T. Oslin. topped “Billboard’s” country chart.
- Today in 1991, the “Pocket Full Of Gold” album by Vince Gill was released.
- Today in 2001, Montgomery Gentry were named national spokesmen for Jim Beam and the company’s “Country Band Search.” As part of the deal, the duo hit the road in a bus emblazoned with their name and the company’s logo during a club tour sponsored by the distillery.
- Today in 2003, Shania Twain was named as one of eleven inductees for Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto’s Theatre District. She attended the induction ceremonies that occurred in June.
- Today in 2004, Gretchen Wilson’s debut single, “Redneck Woman,” was released to radio.
- Today in 2004, Brad Paisley was named the 2004 Artist Humanitarian of the Year by the Country Radio Broadcasters at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.
- Today in 2005, Pat Green made his Grand Ole Opry debut at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House.
- Today in 2006, Dolly Parton, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her song “Travelin’ Thru” in the Original Song category, lost to “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” by Three 6 Mafia. When Dolly walked the red carpet for the 78th annual awards, she was wearing diamond jewelry worth more than two-million dollars.
- Today in 2006, Billy Ray Cyrus laid his father, Ron, to rest at a funeral in Wellington, Kentucky. The elder Cyrus had recently died of lung cancer.
- Today in 2007, George Strait racked up eight nominations to top the ballot at Academy of Country Music Awards, unveiled at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame. Brooks & Dunn collects seven, and Ronnie Dunn garner collected another on his own.
- Today in 2008, Trace Adkins, Garth Brooks, and Clay Walker were among the participants at the annual Country Radio Seminar in Nashville. Trace performed an invitation-only concert, and brought his “Celebrity Apprentice” co-stars Omarosa, Marilu Henner, Nely Galan, and Tiffany Fallon with him, quote, “just to show them a little about the music business here.” Garth performed as well, and discussed his life and career with the crowd. Meanwhile, Walker received the Humanitarian of the Year Award for his efforts in the fight against multiple sclerosis.
- Today in 2009, Taylor Swift made her first TV acting debut on CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” Her character was stabbed in the heart with scissors.
- Today in 2010, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook became parents with the birth of their first child, son Elijah Dylan Westbrook.
- Today in 2011, Blake Shelton hit the top of the Billboard country singles chart with “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking.”
- Today in 2013, Ashley Monroe’s “Like A Rose” was released.
- Today in 2016, “Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: 50 Years And Circlin’ Back” debuted on PBS. The fundraiser features Vince Gill, Jackson Browne, Alison Krauss, Jerry Jeff Walker, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Jimmy Ibbotson, all of whom joined the Dirt Band on the finale, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”
- Today in 2018, Katie Armiger took part in a Nashville press conference to voice support for a bill that would defend independent contractors in Tennessee’s music business against sexual harassment.
US soldiers who died in Iran war remembered as devoted parents and reservists
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor was just days away from returning home to her husband and two children when a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait killed her and five other U.S. service members.
“She was almost home,” her husband, Joey Amor, said from their home in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, on Tuesday. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts.”
Amor was one of four U.S. soldiers killed in the Iran war on Sunday and identified Tuesday by the Pentagon; two soldiers haven’t yet been publicly identified. The members of the Army Reserve worked in logistics and kept troops supplied with food and equipment.
They died just one day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces.
Those killed also included Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist. No other names were released.
“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said.
All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.
“Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is,” President Donald Trump said of deaths.
One of the youngest in his class
Coady had just told his father last week that he had been recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously.
He was one of the youngest people in his class but seemed to impress his instructors, his father Andrew Coady said Tuesday.
“He was very good at what he did,” he said.
Coady trained as an information technology specialist with the Army Reserves and was studying cybersecurity at Drake University in Des Moines. He was taking online classes while in Kuwait and wanted to become an officer.
“I still don’t fully think it’s real,” his sister Keira Coady said. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back.”
A mother of two who loved gardening
Amor, 39, was an avid gardener who enjoyed making salsa from the peppers and tomatoes in her garden with her son, a senior in high school. She also enjoyed rollerblading and bicycling with her fourth-grade daughter.
A week before the drone attack, Amor was moved off-base to a shipping container-style building that had no defenses, Joey Amor said.
“They were dispersing because they were in fear that the base they were on was going to get attacked and they felt it was safer in smaller groups in separate places,” he said.
He last spoke to her about two hours before she was killed. He said she was working long shifts and they had been messaging about her tripping and falling the night before.
“She just never responded in the morning,” he said.
A calling to serve his country
Khork was very patriotic and drawn from a young age to serving the U.S., his family said in a statement Tuesday.
He enlisted in the Army Reserve and joined Florida Southern College’s ROTC program.
“That commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the core of who he was,” said his mother, Donna Burhans, father, James Khork, and stepmother, Stacey Khork, in a statement.
Khork also loved history and had a degree in political science.
His family described him as “the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him.”
One of Khork’s friends, Abbas Jaffer, posted on Facebook on Monday that he had lost the best person he had ever known.
“My best friend, best man, and brother gave his life defending our country overseas,” Jaffer said. Khork and Jaffer had been friends for more than 16 years.
A loving father and husband
Tietjens lived with his family in the Washington Terrace mobile home park in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue, Nebraska. He was married with a son, according to a Facebook page.
Tietjens earned a black belt in Philippine Combatives and Taekwondo and was “an instructor who gave his time, discipline, and leadership to others,” the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance said in a Facebook post.
On the mat and as a soldier, “he carried the same values: honor, discipline, service, and commitment to others,” the organization said.
Nebraska Gov. Gov. Pillen paid tribute to the family Tuesday.
“Noah stepped up to serve and defend the American people from foreign enemies around the world — a sacrifice we must never forget,” he wrote.
“We are holding the Tietjens family close in our hearts during this unbelievably difficult time and will keep them in our prayers,” he said.
Spring community trout stocking starts March 16
DES MOINES — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries staff will release between 1,000 to 2,000 rainbow trout in 12 lakes across Iowa in March and April as part of its cool weather trout program.
The spring community trout stockings are a great place to take kids to catch their first fish. A small hook with a nightcrawler or corn under a small bobber to casting small simple spinners, such as a Panther Martin or Mepps, is all you need to get in on the fun.
Bringing trout to cities and towns offers a “close to home” option for Iowans who might not travel to northeast Iowa to experience trout fishing. Ottumwa Park Pond, Noelridge Park Pond, Ely Pond, North Ridge Park Pond, and North Prairie Lake will also host family-friendly events to help anglers catch trout and have fun while fishing.
The popular program is supported by the sales of the trout fee. Anglers need a valid fishing license and pay the trout fee to fish for or possess trout. The daily limit is five trout per licensed angler with a possession limit of 10.
Children age 15 or younger can fish for trout with a properly licensed adult, but together, they can only keep one daily limit. Children can pay the trout fee, allowing them to keep their own daily limit.
Once you buy your trout fee, you can fish for trout all year long at any of the community trout lakes and trout streams in northeast Iowa. Find more information about Iowa trout streams on the DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/trout.
2026 Spring Community Trout Stocking Schedule
March 16
Terra Lake, Johnston, at Noon
March 19
Jefferson Co. Park New Pond, Fairfield, at 10 a.m.
Wilson Lake, Donnellson, at Noon
Lake of the Hills, Davenport, at 10 a.m.
March 20
Liberty Centre Pond, North Liberty, at 10:30 a.m.
North Ridge Park Pond, Coralville, at 11:30 a.m.
March 21
Ottumwa Park Pond, Ottumwa, at 11 a.m.
Noelridge Park Pond, Cedar Rapids, at 9:30 a.m.
Ely Pond, Ely, at 11 a.m.
April 24
Sand Lake, Marshalltown, at Noon
April 25
North Prairie Lake, Cedar Falls, at 10 a.m.
Heritage Pond, Dubuque, at 10:30 a.m.
Chamber Scholarship Applications Available until April 1
OSKALOOSA — High school seniors living in Mahaska County and attending any high school are eligible to apply now for a Chamber Scholarship sponsored by the Mahaska Chamber & Development Group. Information is available from one’s school counselor or the web at https://www.mahaskachamber.
The application requests information such as participation in school and community activities and a short essay. Be prepared with a PDF of your transcript. Online applications and school transcripts are due no later than Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
“Area businesses and individuals are encouraged to contribute to the Chamber Scholars program to provide deserving students with financial support as they pursue their academic and career goals. This program would not be possible without the generous contributions we receive annually from local business leaders and individuals. We encourage more community members to get involved, as this program continues to strengthen the partnership between education and community,” Michelle Kent stated. “Another way to contribute to this special program is by participating in the annual Chamber Golf outing on Friday, May 15. Teams of four and hole sponsorships raise additional funds for the Chamber Scholars program.”
The Chamber Scholars program, now in its 30th year, continues to partner with the “52577 Scholarship.” Contributions to the program are tax deductible and can be made in any amount. If one chooses to donate $1,000 it will be awarded this year. If one wants to contribute to the perpetual scholarship fund through “52577”, any amount may be donated to be used in future years.
For further information to apply or to contribute to the fund contact the Mahaska Chamber at 641.672.2591 or email finance@mahaskachamber.org
Fairfield Tattoo Artist Arrested for Sexual Assault
FAIRFIELD – A Fairfield tattoo artist is behind bars after allegedly sexually assaulting a patron.
The Fairfield Police Department says that on February 11, officers took a report from a female victim who stated she had scheduled and paid for a tattoo appointment at “Ink Therapy.” During the course of the appointment, the victim reported that she was sexually assaulted by the individual performing the tattoo.
Officers initiated an investigation into the allegations, in which they gathered and reviewed related information, and on February 26, an arrest warrant was requested in connection with the case. The arrest warrant was granted on March 2, and later that same day, officers located 49-year-old Louis Stanley Fitzner II of Ollie, Iowa, and took him into custody without incident.
Fitzner II faces a charge of 3rd Degree Sexual Assault (class C felony) for his alleged actions. He is being held in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility on a $10,000 bond.
Travis Tritt Reveals 2026 Tour Dates
Yesterday Travis Tritt announced his 2026 tour plans. Kicking off next month, the 47-date trek includes festivals, opening slots for acts like the Red Clay Strays, Koe Wetzel, Jason Aldean and Zach Top, as well as shows with his kids Tristan Tritt and Tyler Reese Tritt. The tour begins April 16th in Memphis, with stops in Fort Worth, Biloxi and more before a final show November 13th in Atlanta. Visit Tritt’s website for tickets and more information. Check out the first ten dates on the tour below.
- April 16 – Memphis, TN – Graceland Soundstage
- April 17 – Bossier City, LA – Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana
- April 18 – Fort Worth, TX – Billy Bob’s Texas
- April 24 – Florence, SC – Florence Civic Center
- April 25 – Charleston, WV – Clay Center
- April 26 – Bowling Green, KY – SKyPAC
- May 14 – Augusta, GA – Bell Auditorium
- May 15 – Danville, VA – The Pantheon
- May 16 – Auburn, AL – Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center – Ham Amphitheatre
- May 28 – Midland, TX – Basin PBS
This day in Country Music History
- Today in 1967, Merle Haggard’s “The Fugitive” rose to #1 on the Billboard chart for the first time.
- Today in 1975, Mac Davis won Favorite Male Musical Performer and Olivia Newton-John won the female honor in the first People’s Choice Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Other winners included: Barbra Streisand, John Wayne, The Osmonds, and Mary Tyler Moore.
- Today in 1978, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson’s “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” sat at Billboard’s #1 spot for four weeks.
- Today in 1980, Sissy Spacek played the lead role of Loretta Lynn’s life in “Coal Miner’s Daughter” which premiered in Nashville on March 4th.
- Today in 1983, George Jones married Nancy Sepulveda at his sister’s home, Helen Scroggins, in Woodville, Texas. They ate their wedding-night dinner at a Burger King near Jasper, Texas.
- Today in 1994, “Reba McEntire’s Greatest Hits” became her fifth double-platinum album.
- Today in 2003, Toby Keith received eight nods to lead the competition when the Academy of Country Music announced its nominees in Los Angeles at Tiffany’s.
- Today in 2006, Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton’s “When I Get Where I’m Going” reached Billboard’s #1 spot.
- Today in 2008, Alan Jackson’s “Good Time” album was released.
- Today in 2010, Rascal Flatts played a guest role on CBS-TV’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
- Today in 2016, Joey Martin Feek, of the duo Joey+Rory, died after a lengthy battle with cancer in Alexandria, Indiana. Named Top New Duo by the Academy of Country Music in 2010, they will earn a Grammy in 2017 with “Hymns That Are Important To Us,” released just weeks before her passing.
- Today in 2018, the Band Perry’s Kimberly Perry revealed she’d filed for divorce from J.P. Arencibia, her baseball player husband of four years.
- Today in 2019, Eddie Montgomery, LoCash, RaeLynn and Chris Janson helped raise more than $120-thousand for at-risk youth during the 12th annual Jeffrey Steele & Friends concert at the Franklin Theatre in middle Tennessee. Also appearing: Steve Dorff, Travis Denning, and Steve Cropper.
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