Linda Joan Blanchard
Oskaloosa, Iowa | Age 63
Linda Joan Blanchard, 63, of Oskaloosa, Iowa, died Thursday, February 4, 2021, at Unity Point Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. She was born August 2, 1957, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Dale and Joan Ball Klauss.
While growing up the family moved to several states for her dad’s work. In 1965, they settled in Des Moines. Linda attended Franklin Junior High and graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in Des Moines in 1975.
Following high school graduation, she worked in the advertising field and as a model for a modeling agency. She found she enjoyed working in sales and during her sales career, she worked for a school fundraiser company and an audio/visual equipment company. Then she worked as a sales rep for Nordic Premiums, now known as American Recognition, a division of Gunderson Jewelry for 29 years. Her customers became some of her best friends.
Northern Star
DeKALB – The DeKalb Community Gardens will have their Grow Mobile Event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 830 N Annie Glidden Rd, to give free boxes of food to those that need it.
Grow Mobile is a program administered by DeKalb Community Gardens to bring fresh food into the food deserts of DeKalb County, according to the DeKalb Community Gardens website.
The Grow Mobile events have been taking place multiple times per week and across various areas since 2016, said Jackie BiNatale, Communications Director for DeKalb Community Gardens.
Due to the colder weather and current lack of fresh produce, DeKalb Community Gardens has partnered with the Northern Illinois Food Bank to get non-perishable products to those that need them, BiNatale said. When the growing season for produce begins, more fresh produce will be available.
As More Churches Approach Fiscal ‘Breaking Point,’ Housing Projects Are Providing A Lifeline
Churches in cities around the country have faced declining memberships and revenues over the last decade, a trend that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
As land becomes scarce in cities that are looking to build more housing, religious institutions are increasingly partnering with developers to build on their large pieces of valuable urban property, unlocking a long-term source of income for churches that are struggling financially. A rendering of the proposed redevelopment of the Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church site, including a new church building and 86 senior housing units.
Staff Report
SIU Medicine has new COVID-19 testing sites on Fridays during March.
It is keeping its testing site at Abundant Faith Christian Center, 2525 Taylor Ave. The testing is from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
On Fridays, the sites will rotate between four churches: Second Timothy Baptist Church, 1122 E. Pine St., on March 5; Westminster Presbyterian Church, 533 S. Walnut St., March 12; Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church, 501 S. Douglas Ave., March 19 and Mount Zion Apostolic Church, 2637 S. 10th St., March 26.
All Friday sites operate from 9 a.m. to noon.
Before getting tested, patients should wait at least four days from a possible exposure to get the most accurate test result and quarantine at home until a result has been given.