One of the more intriguing industries on the rise will be firmly represented in the coming weeks in Oskaloosa. The industry is craft beer, and the man with the plan is Chuck Crabtree.

Crabtree is the Head Brewer at the new facility being housed in Mahaska, the bottling plant in Oskaloosa. While the unnamed brewery and Mahaska share a location, they are separate entities owned by Branden Muhl.

“It’s being manufactured in the Mahaska bottling facility, but it’s a separate company,” said Crabtree.

Crabtree began this process looking to start his own brewery with the funding of investors. Mahaska was one of the early investors he approached.

“Southern Iowa needs more breweries,” according to Crabtree. “So I started looking around for investors for my own brewery… I came to Mahaska looking for an investor, and I made the pitch to Branden, the owner.

“He read my business plan, and after quite a bit of discussion, he basically said ‘We’re not really interested in investing in somebody else’s brewery, but we’ve been thinking about getting into the beer business for a long time. How would you like to come work for us as our head brewer?’ I said make me an offer. They did, and so here we are.

“I didn’t have the money to make it happen, so I was looking for investors. Branden and Mahaska didn’t have the expertise to make it happen, but they had the money, so we came together,” stated Crabtree.

Figuring out a location was the next big step for the actual brewery and a tap room for people to enjoy the crafted beer. After looking around the city of Oskaloosa, including near the square, Crabtree and ownership agreed that the location should be within the building at Mahaska.

“There was an original plan to try to make it so that we could something on the square,” said Crabtree. “So we would bring some our beer in tanks to the square to try to promote a little more economic development. In the end, that didn’t turn out to be financially feasible. It just didn’t work out, so the tap room will be [at Mahaska].”

The brewery and the tap room are still under construction    but have come a long way in recent weeks. Crabtree is hopeful that there will be a full roll out by the end of the summer with all six of the original recipes that will be the backbone of the brewery’s offerings.

We will have weekly updates on the brewery, and we will feature different aspects of this unique venture taking place in Oskaloosa.
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Ottumwa, IA, June 16, 2016– Earn your high school equivalency diploma in as little as two months!

A new session of High School Equivalency Diploma courses begins in February. Attend an orientation meeting about earning your High School Equivalency Diploma on Tuesday, July 5th at 9:00 am or 1:00 pm in the Community Education Center at the North Campus of Indian Hills Community College (15260 Truman Street, Suite 2, Ottumwa, IA).

Classes will begin Monday, July 11th. Morning and afternoon classes are available, and students are encouraged to work at their own pace.

You are eligible to take the HiSET if you are 19 or older and not enrolled in high school OR if you are 17 or 18, out of school, and have parental permission.

Indian Hills Community College offers HISET (High School Equivalency Tests, formerly GED) preparation courses and materials at no cost.

Please sign-up by calling April Maldonado at 641.683.5189.

OSKALOOSA — Burglars are always on the prowl for the home that is the easiest prey. Most burglars simply want to get in, take their loot and get out. Most have absolutely no interest in running into the homeowner and would do everything possible to make sure they never did. Keeping your home well-lit is an excellent step in burglary prevention. As much as burglars don’t like to be “lit-up”, they also want to be sure your home is unoccupied. Here are some thoughts on illumination prevention:

Motion Detector Lighting — when motion detection lighting first made its debut in the home market it was heralded as a new tool in burglary prevention, a “surprise” to would-be-burglars. Certainly it is still a great tool, but no longer the surprise it once was.

However, a motion detector does provide three important components in the battle against theft. First, it does still hold some “surprise” value. If a trespasser walks into an area with a motion detector, the light activation could be a signal that someone is home and has turned on the lights. For many thieves, taking a risk on a home where possibly someone is home, is just not worth it.

Second, if you have educated your neighbors about your lighting systems, it will be a notice to them when it activates. It will alert them, especially when you are not home that someone may be in your yard.

Third, and most importantly, it alerts you. A light activating in your backyard is an alert to you that something or someone is in the yard.

Light up the House — As mentioned, lighting does indicate that a burglar’s worst nightmare might come true:

You are at home! Putting lights on timers outside of your residence, set for normal times you use your lights, will remind would be thieves that there are may just be someone home and it’s not worth the risk.

Lights on all the time— while every kilowatt of electricity adds up on the electric bill, it’s not always a bad investment to leave some lights on. It can be argued both ways that a light on at your front porch may indicate someone is not home; it can also be just the tool that is needed to expose and deter someone from standing at your door and attempting to force it open. The same goes for other areas of your yard, where they may be subject to a burglar looking for the right access. A well-lit yard may make it impossible for a thief to sneak up and begin his criminal acts of trying to get into your home.

Get to know your neighbors and let them know when you are gone. An extra set of eyes is always a good thing, possibly preventing a theft or burglary.

Don’t be afraid to report suspicious activity to the police. Being proactive might just prevent you or your neighbor from being the victim of a crime. If you see suspicious activity, report it to the police by calling 641-672-2557 or 911 if it is an emergency.

Story provided by The Oskaloosa Herald