Out And About With Jamie Grout

In this podcast I speak with Grinnell candidate for Mayor, Russ Crawford. Russ has a long history of being involved in the community in various different projects. He's the former owner of KGRN radio, too. In this podcast he talks about some of the issues facing Grinnell, some of the positive aspects of living in Grinnell, and some of the goals for the future of Grinnell.

Jeff Holschuh came to Newton as The Sales Manager at The Newton Paper and has transitioned to The Marketing Manager at Advantage Credit Union. He is running unopposed for the At-Large seat on The Newton City Council which means he will be on the Council after the 1st of the year. In this podcast we discuss the issue of the dilapidated building in downtown Newton, which is coming down (but wasn't a...

As I continue to speak with the members of the Newton City government who are running unopposed for Mayor and City Council, today I speak with Melissa Dalton. I ask her many of the same questions I asked Randy Ervin who, unless there are a massive amount of write in votes for someone else, will become the next Newton Mayor. We talk about the issues facing Newton and the the positive aspects for th...

In this podcast I speak with Austin Jones about Grinnell State Bank's 100 Years Of Service. They will be having a big celebration at their Grinnell branch on October 3rd and they want to invite you to come on in to celebrate with them. In this podcast I talk to Austin about the history of Grinnell State Bank, about how the bank has gown over the years and how they look to the future.

Randy Ervin is a lifelong resident of Newton. I went to Newton High with him and even worked at the same radio station with him for a time. He's been on The Newton City Council for a number of years too. In the last Mayoral election he lost in his bit to become Mayor in a close vote to Evelyn George. This time he is running for Mayor unopposed, and it looks as though he will become Mayor of Newton...

Dale Hansen made a name for himself on TV in Dallas. Mostly as the nightly sports anchor at ABC-TV affiliate WFAA-TV where he's won Peabody awards, Emmy awards and has been inducted into The Texas Broadcasting Hall Of Fame. He's retired now but his career all started out at KCOB in Newton in 1972. In 1975 Dale had moved on to radio station KNIA in Knoxville, Iowa where he hired me while I was in H...

In this podcast I talk with Jed Pederson about Fire Safety Week and the Grinnell Fire Departments Pancake Breakfast coming up in conjunction with Fire Safety Week. Thanks again to Grinnell State Bank for signing up for another year of sponsorship of The Out And About With Jamie Grout Podcast.

The Heart Of Iowa Tour is a bus tour that visits various cities in Iowa has has visitors from not only Iowa but from all around the nation and the world. In this podcast I speak with tour guild Jessica Rufis. She talks about all the Iowa cities the tour goes on and why they chose those cities and what sites they visit in those cities. She also discusses how they chose the various cities and places...

He has won radio's highest honor, The Marconi Award 5 times, he and his former partner on The WHO Morning Show Bonnie Lucas are in The Iowa Broadcast Hall Of Fame and he's a heck of a nice guy! I am talking about the one and only Van Harden, a broadcast legend in the state of Iowa. This is a "best of" podcast that was recorded several months ago that I think you'll enjoy. As you'll tell in this po...

911 is coming up this Thursday and The Newton Fire Department has vowed to never forget. With that in mind they are once again having a ceremony at 5:30 this Thursday at the fire station in honor of those fire fighters who lost their lives on that tragic day. On this podcast I talk with Newton Fire Chief Jarrod Wellik about the ceremony and what it means to the fire fighters. We also talk about th...

The Jasper Concert Association has been going on for a number of years now. The association has been bringing a wide variety of talent to Jasper County and will be continuing to do it again this season. In this podcast Bob Lane tells us about the entertainers coming to Newton this season and how to obtain tickets for the various performances.

The Grinnell Farmers Market is held twice a week in the spring, summer and fall months. For the next few weeks The Grinnell Chamber Of Commerce will be adding in some extra features to The Farmers Market that I wanted you to know about. In this podcast I'll be talking with The Marketing Director of The Chamber who will be telling us about the extra added attractions to The Farmers Market for the n...

The Newton Community Theatre is presenting Brighton Beach Memoirs this weekend and next. It's a charming Neil Simon "coming of age family play" that you will certainly enjoy. In this podcast I speak with the Co-Directors of the play about what the story line is about, who the main characters are and who portrays them, the play dates and how folks can get tickets. Make sure you listen in the podcas...

The Bowlful Of Blues has been going on for many years in Newton and this year is no exception. The event is coming up this Sunday from Noon to 9 pm. On this podcast I speak with Mike Cooling who is President of The South Skunk Blues Society about The Bowlful Of Blues. The committee who put this on have worked very hard to make make this fun and entertaining for the entire family. Mike will not onl...

Much of Iowa's economy is built on the farm economy. That's why every year The Grinnell Lion's Club has Ag Appreciation Day. It's coming up Thursday August 28th at Central Park in Grinnell. They have many activities celebrating the Ag community. In this podcast I speak with Al Henderson about all those activities and about the sponsor of the event, The Grinnell Lion's Club.

This podcast is with long time Newton educator and nature lover Carol Kramer. Carol and her late husband Fritz recently had the park at The Jasper County Conservation Education and Nature Center named after them in their honor. Carol has been a long time member of The Jasper County Conservation Board. In this podcast she talks about why she's been involved in nature and how it goes back to her Nat...

If school hasn't started, it soon will be wherever you live. With that in mind, on this podcast I'll be speaking with Newton School Superintendent Tom Messinger. In this wide ranging interview we talk about everything from the Iowa Legislature's requirement of having a policy in place dealing with students cell phone usage along with how teachers are going to deal with AI, and school safety to bul...

Grinnell has a big car show coming up this weekend. On this podcast I speak with Bud Cox who is with the organization who is putting together the car show. The car show has grown over the years with many "classic cruisers" expected. The weather is supposed to be very nice for this event being held at Central Park this Saturday. Enjoy this podcast and the who, what, where, when, why of the event on...

For serveral decades John Carl owned KCOB AM & FM along with ENERGY 106.7 and other radio stations around the midwest. This "best of" podcast explores how he got into broadcasting in Atlantic, Iowa to ownership in Newton. He also talks about the ups and downs of radio station ownerships and the future of radio. I hope you enjoy this podcast with the one and only John Carl.

I must admit, I've had fun working at The WHO Crystal Studios during The Iowa State Fair. It's been great meeting all the listeners and giving out all the WHO/i-Heart Swag, working with the staff and personalities. In the meantime, Thursday, I had a chance to have a chat with co-workers and on-air personalities Jeff Angelo and Duane Murley. Jeff is host of the morning show on WHO and Duane is a Fa...

There are so many things to see and do in The Grinnell area just in the next 3 days! Make sure that you check them out in the podcast about all the Grinnell happenings. If you looking for something to see and do in Grinnell to see and do you're not going to have to look very far. For more details on these and other events go to the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce website.

With The Iowa State Fair in full swing I thought it only appropriate to speak farm on this podcast with Bob Quinn. Bob has been in the Farm Department for 43 years and for much of that time Farm Director at WHO Radio. He, along with Duane Murley and Nathan Fischer carry on a great tradition of farm broadcasting for the state of Iowa. In this podcast Bob tells us about how he got started in farm br...

The Blue Star Mon's Organization is a great group that supports Mothers who have had sons or daughters who have been in the military or are still in the military. It's kind of like a mentoring or support group. I could go into much more detail on that but I'll let April tell you more in this podcast. April Conway is my interview guest. If her name sounds familiar it's because she is the wife of WH...

This is a "best of" podcast with Greg Woods who will be giving a talk at The Newton Public Library about Alzheimer's and Dementia at 5:30 8/5/25. I think most people know of someone who is struggleing with this disease or has in the past. Greg works for the State Of Iowa where they are are always trying to be a resource for folks who are wanting more information about this health concern.

This podcast is with movie Writer, Producer, Director Tiffany Ketchum who, with her husband, and others, will be filming the movie "Littles" very soon. The movie has a cast of all children from central Iowa and has already been cast. Tiffany is looking for sponsors for the movie which will start filming in September. They hope to have the film premiere in January of 2026. If you want to support th...