Georgi Ivanov’s The Best Wrestler adds its 21st location in Montréal and aims for 200 locations in two years The Best Wrestler, the youth wrestling club that Olympian Georgi Ivanov and his father, Ivan, started in McClelland in 2020, has grown to 21 locations in 12 states and five countries. Its headquarters remains in Council Bluffs at the Iowa West Field House. The club’s newest location, Kartal Wrestling Club in Montréal, is its first in Canada. Ivanov said the club serves

Anthony Ashby, named Mercy’s president in August, points to partnerships with Jennie Edmundson and others in the community Anthony Ashby took over as president of CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs in August, and he wants the community to know that the hospital’s commitment to Council Bluffs has not changed, even as health care does. “The mission hasn’t changed. The commitment to Mercy hasn’t changed,” Ashby said. “Leadership may have changed, different services may have changed

Owner Jasmine Hernandez renovated the longtime Old Lincoln Highway building and found an early favorite in the pork tenderloin A building that has stood along Old Lincoln Highway in Crescent for years has a fresh coat of paint, a new name and, on most days, a full parking lot. Jazzy’s Bar & Grill opened in September in the former Crescent Roadhouse, the longtime biker bar on the busy route north of Council Bluffs. Owner Jasmine Hernandez, known to customers as Jazzy, said she

Voters in Council Bluffs precinct CB-1 will cast their ballots at a new location in Tuesday’s general election. The Pottawattamie County Auditor’s Office announced that a water main break at Northwest Christian Church, 714 Benson St., forced the move. CB-1 voters should instead report to Queen of Apostles Church, 3304 Fourth Ave., on Election Day, Nov. 3. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The change affects only voters assigned to CB-1. Voters who are unsure of their p

Treynor City Administrator Mike Holton does not believe any town in Pottawattamie County can make it on its own, including his own. “If Treynor was by itself, it would die on the vine,” Holton said. “I know that’s a harsh thing to say.” He said Treynor depends on neighboring towns such as Avoca, Oakland, Carson, Macedonia and Neola, and all of them depend on Council Bluffs. Council Bluffs, in turn, depends on the strength of the rural county. “It really is a symbiotic relatio

Absentee voting in Pottawattamie County has already passed the total for the entire 2022 midterm election, and voters have until 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, to cast an absentee ballot in person at the courthouse before Tuesday’s general election. County Auditor Mary Ann Hanusa, who also serves as the county’s commissioner of elections, said absentee ballots passed the 2022 total by the morning of Oct. 23, with more than a week of voting still remaining. In-person absentee votin

Mark Shoemaker spent more than 30 years with Pottawattamie County Conservation, about 26 of them as its executive director, and worked with every Board of Supervisors since 1997. Now he hopes to join one. Shoemaker is one of five candidates seeking three seats on the board in the Nov. 3 general election, along with Susan Miller, Jeff Jorgensen, Shawna Anderson and Dennis Gunderson. One seat is open because Supervisor Keith Jones, who was appointed to the board in December, is

For more than five years, Shawna Anderson has watched the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors from the public seating. Now she is asking voters to move her to the other side of the room. Anderson is one of five candidates seeking three seats on the board in the Nov. 3 general election, along with Susan Miller, Jeff Jorgensen, Mark Shoemaker and Dennis Gunderson. She said her interest began during community town halls on how the county should spend its federal American R

Pottawattamie County Supervisor Susan Miller says the hardest part of running for re-election has been deciding where to spend her time. Miller, first elected four years ago, is one of five candidates seeking three seats on the Board of Supervisors in the Nov. 3 general election, along with Jeff Jorgensen, Mark Shoemaker, Shawna Anderson and Dennis Gunderson. “Both of them could be full-time jobs, and I kind of lean towards I’m going to do what I was elected for, and I will c

Janna Selander has a simple explanation for how her photography business grew from two people to 10 in about a year and a half. “I’m a people pleaser,” Selander said. “If someone calls me and says, ‘Will you take my photos?’ and I can’t take their photos, it was stressing me out.” Selander, owner of J Selander Media, is one of five finalists who will present their businesses at REV Pitch 2026 on Thursday, Nov. 5, at PACE, where more than $21,000 in prize money is at stake. Ti

Council Bluffs author Michelle Cowan’s account of grief, faith and forgiveness is being developed as a feature film, with Lou Ferrigno among four actors attached to the project. The film, “Whispers from Heaven,” is based on Cowan’s memoir, “Better, Not Bitter: A Journey from Heartache to Healing.” It is expected to be filmed in Iowa, with a release tentatively planned for the first quarter of 2028. Cowan’s first husband, Joe, was killed by a drunken driver in Nebraska in 2009

A friendship that began about 20 years ago has grown into a local podcast for two Council Bluffs area women who decided the conversations that kept them laughing for hours might be worth sharing with everyone else. Lynette Petersen and Annette Bracker host “Wine, Wisdom and Wit,” using the names Net and Nettie on the show. The podcast combines a different wine with conversations about relationships, family, changing social habits and other parts of everyday life. Neither clai

What started with the purchase of two bicycles after they were married has turned into a decade-long tradition for Council Bluffs residents Cole and Robyn Epley, who completed their 10th RAGBRAI together this summer. The couple moved to Council Bluffs in 2013 and began looking for something they could enjoy together. Robyn, an optometrist in Council Bluffs, said neither of them knew much about cycling at the time, but they had noticed the local trail system and heard people t

A Masonic lodge that once stood along Highway 6 east of Council Bluffs can trace its history to the vanished community of Quick, Iowa, and a group of rural Masons who wanted a meeting place closer to home more than 120 years ago. Fred Gach, a member of Cobia Lodge No. 631 in Council Bluffs since 1980 and a former dual member of Cobia and Amber lodges, began researching Amber Lodge after being asked about its history. Much of what he found came from materials preserved in a ti

After 30 years in business, Bambi Wilson is looking for the right person to take over Bambi’s Green Acres Natural Market in Council Bluffs as she prepares for retirement. Wilson said she intends to continue operating the store while searching for a buyer who can maintain the relationships and services she has built over three decades. If she is unable to find that person, however, she plans to close the business by the end of March 2027. “I know my customers don’t want to hea

NAMI Southwest Iowa will have a new executive director at the end of 2026, when longtime leader Anna Killpack retires and current program coordinator Amy Sherer takes over the organization serving nine counties across southwest Iowa. Killpack announced that she will step down at the end of December after more than six years leading the organization. Sherer, who originally joined NAMI Southwest Iowa as a peer support specialist, will take over following Killpack’s retirement.

Carol Horner of Council Bluffs has added a second title to her list of published works with the release of “Bridging Our Divides: The Spiral Way.” The new book grew out of Horner’s own struggle with anger, disagreement and division. Horner’s first book is entitled “The Spiral of Accountability,” and was released in April of 2024. That was where she first introduced a framework designed to help people recognize destructive patterns in their own thinking and behavior. The local