Out And About With Jamie Grout

The lighting of The Jasper County Courthouse has become a tradition in Newton for the past several years. The tradition was actually started in the 1930's but was interrupted years later when the Jasper County Board Of Supervisors said they didn't have the funding to support the lighting of the courthouse anymore. A group of folks headed up by Don Knight got together and with time and money brough...

I was glad to be involved with WHO & KXNO'S Two Day's Of Compassion fund drive for Variety The Children's Charity last Thursday & Friday. Variety, as you will find out in this podcast, helps with a number of children's charities including the one the I helped to get started many years ago. In this podcast Allison explains all the different programs that Variety is involved in. The Compassi...

An article on Facebook caught my attention about a a student at Grinnell College who works at McNally's that did a food drive for Mi. I.C.A. which was real successful. This gave me the idea to replay a podcast I did earlier in the year about M.I.C.A. and organization that helps to fight food insecurity in many counties around Iowa. In this podcast I speak with the Communications Director of M.I.C....

For the 8th year The Newton, Iowa parks department in conjunction with Clemon-Maki Insurance Agency and other sponsors have presented Holiday Lights. Holiday Lights is a free light display at Maytag Park that is an absolutely beautiful presentation of holiday spirit. You can see Holiday Lights evenings at Maytag Park from dusk until midnight, weather permitting, through New Years Eve. Again, it is...

Evelyn is leaving her post as Mayor of Newton. In this podcast she talks about the accomplishments she and the Newton City Council have achieved in the time she has served as Mayor and on the City Council. She also talks about why she wanted to be on the City Council and become Mayor and what she plans on doing in retirement. You'll also find out if she plans on getting into politics again. Enjoy...

After the first of the year Grinnell will have a new Mayor. Her name is Sam Cox. Many know her as the owner of Saints Rest Coffee House in Grinnell. In this podcast she talks about why she wanted to become Mayor. She also discusses her goals in her tenure as Mayor and what projects she'll be cheering for as Mayor.

The Tour Of Homes is an event that has been going on for a number of years in Newton. It's an event that raises money for Dollars For Scholars in Newton. This money goes towards higher education for students who want to go to Colleges, Trade Schools or Universities. Today I chat with Shelly Fitzgerald who is representing The Tour Of Homes & Dollars For Scholars. She tells us about the homes yo...

Every Holiday season, for the past 3 years The Jasper County Historical Museum has put on The Tree-Mendous Christmas Experience. It seems to have grown every year. This year nearly 200 trees will be decorated beautifully all over the museum. My interview guest is Larry Hurto who is a member of the committee putting on the tree fest every year. If you have a chance to get to see the "tree fest" you...

The Nutcracker Ballet is coming to Grinnell over the Thanksgiving holiday. It's being presented by The Grinnell Area Arts Council, The Grinnell School Of Music and Grinnell College. In this podcast I speak with Monica Saint Angelo about The Nutcracker which is coming to Grinnell. I mentioned that when I was a little boy, I visited my sister who was living in San Francisco who told me that she was...

For a number of years Newton had lights on The Jasper County Courthouse. Then, in the 80's the Board Of Supervisors decided they were too expensive to run and maintain. They were replaced with less expensive, and shall we say, less impressive lights. Then a group of local Newton folks, headed by Don Knight had the idea to bring back the original Jasper County Courthouse lights. In this podcast I s...

The locally produced and directed movie "Little's" is projected to be released in January. The movie is being done by Tiffany Ketcham, her husband and others. It was very fascinating to me as the cast is all children. In this podcast Tiffany tells us how she came up with this idea and where the story came from. I think you'll find this interesting as I did. The movie is in porst production right n...

The huge Jingle Bell Holiday & Winter Farmers Market is coming up soon in Grinnell. It what in mind I chat with Grinnell Chamber of Commerce Director Racher Kinnick to talk about these events. As you listen to Rachel, make sure that you mark them on your calendar because they are family oriented fun filled activities that you will enjoy. Check out all the local stores and activities tied in wi...

The Newton Cardinal Football Team has punched their ticket to the UNI Dome for the High School playoffs for the first time since 1992. On this podcast I speak with Randy Van who is the play-by-play voice of the Cardinals about what is special with this team. What is special about the Coach of the team and how he gets the team motivated to win and what the Cardinals need to do to win in their big p...

This podcast is with Dr Patrick Edwards and Anna from Wesley Life Hospice. This is a "best of" podcast and I thought it only fitting with what I am going through with my sister now. I posted on Facebook earlier on Friday about how she had been in Hospice care for the past year battling Parkinson's Disease. For the past 3 weeks her health has been up and down. In the past few days her health has ta...

Grinnell State Bank has been around for 100 years now and I had a chance to have a chat with Austin Jones who is Chairman Of The Board Of GSB. The Jones family have been involved in the banking business for decades. In this best of podcast I speak with Austin about the banks past, present and future. Congratulations to Grinnell State Bank on their 100 years of service.

Childrens charities have always been important to me. That's why I'm excited to be a part of I-Heart radio and WHO plus KXNO's Radiothon in December for Variety The Children's Charity which will be held on December 11th and 12th broadcasting from Jordan Creek Mall. In this podcast I speak with Alison Hanner who is the PR person for Variety about what the organization is all about and what they do....

In this podcast I speak with Dave O'Hara who has an Iowa Hawkeye TV show that can be seen all around Iowa. He is also one of the host on "Sound Off" that can be heard on WHO, WMT and KXIC radio after Iowa Hawkeye Football Games. In this podcast I speak with Dave about the Iowa Hawkeye Football season so far and what he sees for the rest of the season. As you will hear this is a man that knows all...

In this podcast I speak with John Cox who is running for Grinnell City Council. He has several issues that is is concerned about and he tells us about them in this podcast. He is a native of Indiana but has made Grinnell his forever home and has several ideas on how he thinks it can be better.

If you've lived in the Dallas area for the past 30 to 40 years you've no doubt heard the name Dale Hansen. Dale is a sports icon in the Dallas area having been on TV as a sports anchor on the CBS TV station first and then moving over the the ABC station for the past several years. But, Dale started out at KCOB in Newton and he gave me my start in radio. In this "best of" podcast Dale looks back on...

This was one of my most listened to podcasts. So, with that in mind I thought that this podcast should be repeating. Unless he gets a huge amount of write in votes against him, Randy Ervin will become the next Mayor of Newton since he will be the only Mayoral candidate on the ballot. Randy has served on the Newton City Council for many years and now feels he is ready to step into the position of M...

The Newton Fire Department has a great program going on called called the Crisis K9 program. On this podcast I speak with Fire Marshall Jacob Halferty and Captain Ryan Volk about their Crisis Response Dogs Marshall and Kota. I speak to them about the history of the Crisis K9 program and how it got started. I ask what it's purpose is and how the dogs are trained and how the program is funded. Make...

In this podcast I chat with Captain Tim North of The Newton Salvation Army about their Quilt Auction coming up on Friday 10/10/25. Make sure you check out the video with Captain North to see many of the beautiful quilts that will be up for auction on Friday night at DMACC. You can see the video on my YouTube channel or on the video section of outandaboutwithjamiegrout.com The doors open at 6 and t...

In this podcast I speak with Sam Cox who is running f or Mayor of Grinnell. She owns Saint's Rest Coffee House. She talks about why she wants to be the Mayor of Grinnell and what her priorities would be if she became Mayor of Grinnell.

National Nite Out is coming up Tuesday, October 7th in Newton. It get's underway at 5 pm at Aurora Park. The Jasper County Sheriffs Department, The Newton Police Department and The Newton Fire Department will be on hand to meet and greet the public. They would love to have you come out to the park and ask you any questions you might have. In this podcast Chief Wellik talks about The Newton Fire De...

Unless there's a large write in vote against her, which is unlikely, Amy Roth will be representing the south west section of Newton next year after the city election in November. She and her husband have lived in Newton for about 5 years now. In the podcast she tells a bit about her history. Having come for Illinois she talks about why she want's to be on the Newton City Council and what her prior...