Home Care In Solon, IA

SOLON, IA — A Solon beer supply distributing company is mixing in a water - literally.

Buck Creek Distributing supplies numerous Iowa breweries with various beer-making ingredients like malt, hops, and cans for craft brews that many across the state have come to enjoy.

But now, they're making their own product, with no ID required: water, in a can.

"The situation with plastic water bottles is really picking up on the coast," said Buck Creek Distributing CEO Mark Pattison. "Here on the Midwest, no one is really taking a look at water in a can."

That's where Solas still water came to be.

"One of the great things is the sustainability," said Pattison. "Aluminum is 96% sustainable, which means it can be used over and over again. plastic is in that 4-6 range, so many times while we think we’re recycling, we’re not."

Pattison adds that he enjoys boating on the Mississippi, but hates seeing plastic left behind on waterways around Iowa. The cans, although still a foreign concept for some, provide an alternative to the daily plastic water bottle that's often left behind.

"We’re at the very forefront of eliminating plastic usage," he said. " So you’ll see tons of variation. We’re not reinventing water, we’re just reinventing the delivery device."

The company is proud of helping the environment, but it doesn't stop there: 5% of gross profits of Solas water sold goes to Make-A-Wish Iowa, something originally inspired by the Buck Creek teams' fandom of Hawkeye football.

"We wanted to give back back to the community, and as Hawkeye fans being at the games its very impactful to do the wave to the children’s hospital," said Michelle Arduser, the vice president of business development at Buck Creek Distributing. " so we decided we wanted to do something with kids."

Solas canned water can be found across six states, and in local Hyvee and Fareway stores across Iowa.

"It's a learning curve for a lot of people right now," said Brent O'Rourke, vice president of sales with Buck Creek. Canned water is very much in its infancy, and a lot of people aren't familiar with it."

He says once people try it, that hesitation quickly changes.

"Once they open it and taste it, their eyes light up," said O'Rourke.

Rayce Heitman scored 3 TDs in the Raiders’ revenge victory

K.J. Pilcher

CEDAR FALLS — Revenge and a return to the finals.

This time, Williamsburg’s ballhawk defense and big-play pass offense was too much for Solon.

The third-ranked Raiders forced eight turnovers and Derek Weisskopf passed for four touchdowns, including two to Rayce Heitman, to avenge their only loss of the season and defeat No. 2 Solon, 45-14, in a Class 3A state football semifinal game Saturday night at the UNI-Dome.

“We knew we were going to meet them in the playoffs somewhere,” Weisskopf said. “Beating them my this much is a great feeling. Like (Williamsburg) Coach (Curt) Ritchie said a couple days (ago) in the lockerr room, we were ready for this rematch.

The rematch with Solon may not have been circled on the calendar but it was one the Raiders anxiously awaited.

“We’re usually good with revenge games,” Heitman said. “We show them how much better we got and just go win it. Get another week.”

Williamsburg (11-1) advances to the 3A championship game against Sioux City Heelan (11-1) here Friday at 1 p.m. The Raiders were the 2A runner-up last year and are making their fourth finals appearance.

“You can’t miss that feeling too much,” Heitman said. “It’s a great feeling to be back in the state championship for the second year in a row.”

Ritchie said he believes the teams that won the first game is at a disadvantage. The Raiders have had an edge in rematch games.

“The big thing is we learned from the first time,” Ritchie said. “We made some changes. The guys stuck together. They were willing to accept it and take ownership of it and get better. That showed tonight.”

Williamsburg struck first, capitalizing on good field position. The Raiders went 55 yards on seven plays. Heitman ran a sweep left for a 1-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead. The score was set up by a 36-yard pass from Weisskopf to Heitman.

Weisskopf’s arm put Williamsburg up, 14-0, in the opening minute of the second quarter. Braylon Wetjen got behind a defender, who got turned around, and Weisskopf delivered the throw on the mark for a 68-yard TD.

“Everything in the middle of the field was working, so we were definitely targeting there,” Weisskopf said.

Turnovers and big plays powered Williamsburg to a 24-0 halftime lead. Specifically, the Raiders parlayed two Solon fumbles in the last six minutes of the second quarter into points.

Weisskopf had two interceptions, while Heitman and Kellen Cockrell had one apiece.

“We found a way to get eight turnovers,” Ritchie said with a laugh. “Obviously, that’s a huge thing. It changes any ballgame.”

The second of three total Spartan first-half fumbles gave the Raiders the ball at Solon’s 37. Three plays later, Weisskopf and Heitman connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass. Weisskopf pump-faked on Heitman’s double move. Heitman jumped and caught the ball in the back right corner of the end zone, sneaking one foot just in bounds as he caught it.

“Derek threw a perfect ball,” Heitman said. “I went up and got it. Thought I got it in, looked over at the ref, signaled in and it was great news.”

Weisskopf missed a lot of the long passes in the first meeting, but he completed 12 of 19 passes. He seemed to place it where his receivers were the only ones to reel in the ball. Weisskopf said he threw to Heitman more than any other game.

“Being friends, our team bonding is great,” Heitman said of his rapport with Weisskopf. “I think this is the closest our team has ever been with each other. Having that is phenomenal and makes us really close together, knowing what we need to know.”

The pair hooked up for an 18-yard TD pass in the back of the end zone and Weisskopf added a 75-yard TD pass to Wetjen in the fourth.

Weisskopf threw for 366 yards. Heitman had 165 yards on six catches. Wetjen added 158 on four receptions.

“It was awesome,” Weisskopf said. “You’ve got to stay humble, obviously, about it. I am thankful for the line to give me plenty of time and thankful for Rayce, Braylon and all the receivers, going up and getting the balls. It’s a great feeling.”

After exchanging punts, Solon took over at its 33 with 31 seconds left. Tyler Bell hit Grant Knipper for a 17-yard gain, but Wetjen chopped at the ball during the tackle. Cockrell recovered the loose ball at midfield with 23 seconds before the half.

Weisskopf hit John Eichhorn for a 41-yard pass that led to Logan Rethwisch’s 26-yard field goal with two ticks before the break.

Solon’s Conlan Poynton scored on a 5-yard TD run late in the third to put the Spartans on the board. Tyler Bell hit Grant Knipper for a 78-yard scoring strike with 6:08 to go in the game.

Bell finished with 224 passing yards, including six passes for 139 yards to Knipper.

Even though it wasn’t the finish the large group of Solon seniors wanted, they still managed a second trip to the semifinals in three seasons and entered Saturday with a 10-game win streak.

“It was fun,” White said. “Coming in (this season), we really didn’t know any expectations, especially after the Mount Vernon win and beating them (Williamsburg) in the regualr season. Honestly, I think they’re going to win it all now. It was fun to go out and compete.”

The Spartans closed the season 10-2. Solon Coach Lucas Stanton was proud of the effort but Williamsburg was the better team Saturday.

“I told them at the end tonight doesn’t define who they are as a team and who they are as people,” Stanton said. “You look back at Game 1 and where we went from there. They grew so much as individuals and as a team.

“They had some great battles with teams throughout the year. We were able to win some gritty games, so I think that speaks to their character. We have a bunch of tough kids and tonight wasn’t our night.”

WILLIAMSBURG 45

SOLON 14

AT UNI-DOME

WILL SOL

First Downs 15 13

Rushes-yards 38-82 26-69

Passing yards 366 224

Comp-att-int 12-20-0 15-25-4

Total yards 448 293

Fumbles-lost 1-1 5-4

Punts-avg. 5-36.0 2-39.5

Penalties-yards 6-40 6-40

Williamsburg 7 17 0 21 -- 45

Solon 0 0 7 7 -- 14

WILL – Rayce Heutman 1 run (Logan Rethwisch kick)

WILL – Braylon Wetjen 68 pass from Derek Weisskopf (Rethwisch kick)

WILL – Heitman 19 pass from Weisskopf (Rethwisch kick)

WILL – FG Rethwisch 26

SOL – Conlan Poynton 6 run (Grant Knipper kick)

WILL – Heitman 18 pass from Weisskopf (Rethwisch kick)

WILL – Wetjen 75 pass from Weisskopf (Rethwisch kick)

SOL – Knipper 78 pass from Tyler Bell (Knipper kick)

WILL – Cael Moore 52 fumble return (Rethwisch kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Williamsburg: Nile Sinn 15-34, Weisskopf 9-28, Grady Wetjen 6-11, Dylan Weisskopf 5-7, Heitman 3-2. Solon: Poynton 15-61, Eddie Johnson 6-21, Brayden Miller 1-9, Bell 4-(-22).

PASSING – Williamsburg: De. Weisskopf 12-19-0-366, Heitman 0-1-0-0. Solon: Bell 15-25-4-224.

RECEIVING – Williamsburg: Heitman 6-165, B. Wetjen 4-158, John Eichhorn 1-41, Clayten Steckly 1-2. Solon: Knipper 6-139, Johnson 2-27, Brett White 2-17, Nash Kotar 2-13, Jace Janssen 1-16, Oliver Owens 1-15, Poynton 1-(-3).

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SOLON — After growing up working in the kitchens of his relatives’ Iowa City restaurants, one man is introducing sushi and Vietnamese food to Solon with a place of his own.

Soon, owner Sang Tran hopes Uncle Sang’s Sushi & Kitchen brings to others the same kind of comfort that he’s known at home for decades.

Uncle Sang’s plans to open Sunday, July 2, 2023, starting with a small menu that will grow over time.

If you go

What: Uncle Sang’s

Address: 122 E. Main St., Solon

Hours: Opening on July 2, hours will be 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday

Phone: (319) 624-2099

Website: unclesangsushiandkitchensolon.com

Details: Soft opening scheduled for July 2. With a focused but growing menu of sushi, simple appetizers and Vietnamese classics, experience a mix of Asian comfort food alongside a full bar including warm sake and specialty Asian beers. Specialty sushi rolls start around $11; Vietnamese entrees start around $14.

The food

While this new restaurant may be starting with a small menu, your stomach won’t be leaving unsatisfied.

A simple appetizer section starts you out with familiar favorites plus a few new twists. Choose from scratch-made spring rolls, crab rangoons and shrimp or vegetable tempura. If you want to try something new, opt for the pineapple rangoons or Mama Eggrolls with juicy pork.

Next, take your pick from a fully realized Vietnamese section or sushi.

With one pho option so far, Tran has boiled the comfort food down to a fully-fledged classic that makes decisions easier. Soft rice noodles are served in a beef bone marrow broth cooked overnight and delivered to the table with a savory aroma.

Each bowl of broth with meatballs and steak is topped with onion, cilantro and sides like bean sprouts that offer a balancing crunch to each bite. Noticeably, this restaurant’s pho is made with higher quality ingredients, like a thicker New York strip steak that isn’t dry or chewy after being cooked.

“Pho and egg rolls are something we’re proud of,” Tran said. “It’s a comfort food for a lot of people.”

With time, he hopes Solon diners find comfort in them the way he does.

The New York strip steak also is available on its own, served teriyaki style with broccoli, bell peppers, onions and mushrooms over jasmine rice.

For another Vietnamese option that’s unfamiliar only in name, try the Co’m Ga Xoi Mo. The fried chicken quarter, served alongside savory fried rice and fresh slices of cucumber and tomato, features bites of crispy chicken skin that practically bring the taste buds to life through a honey-sweet drizzle of sauce.

Many of the classics that have brought his family joy over the years aren’t secrets by any means, he said. But they require time, attention and care to make properly. Vietnamese foods also tend to be more texture-oriented, he said, ensuring a lot of his favorites “go down easy.”

With input from Tran’s relatives, who own Three Samurai and Sumo in Iowa City, Uncle Sang’s offers a respectable sushi list with a variety that doesn’t stray far from popular reference points for the cuisine.

Add basics like the California roll to another entree, or make sushi a meal in itself with specialties like the Captain Crunch with fried shrimp and calamari, the Dragon Roll with shrimp and avocado, the Godzilla with crab and eel or the Sumo Roll with tuna, salmon and yellow tail fish.

Alongside nigiri rolls, five of the eight house specialty sushi rolls feature tempura fried shrimp, presenting an accessible entry point for those new or apprehensive to sushi.

A full bar complements the curated selection of authentic classics with warm sake and Asian imported beers.

Eventually, more hearty soups and classics like Bun Thit Nuong, a grilled pork with rice, will be added to the menu.

How it started

Originally from Can Tho in southern Vietnam, owner Sang Tran has lived in Iowa most of his life, growing up in Iowa City.

Brought to Iowa City as a seventh-grader in 1999, the 35-year-old spent his most formative years working in restaurants started by his brothers-in-law, including Three Samurai and Sumo in Iowa City.

Now with two children of his own, Tran left a job as a UPS supervisor to take his own restaurant plunge. After a lifetime of serving customers at other family businesses, he hopes to apply the care he’s honed to his endeavor.

With no saturation of Asian restaurants in Solon, he said the former space of the Brass Fountain on East Main Street presented the perfect opportunity. Much of the interior, newly renovated from the former, old-fashioned soda fountain, will remain the same.

Uncle Sang’s brings new life to the space for the first time since the Brass Fountain closed in December.

“I love the people,” Tran said. “It’s a new challenge for me. I always like to step into something new.”

He knows people in Iowa love sushi. Now, he hopes they’ll come to share his love for Vietnamese food, too.

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For the second straight season, the Solon girls track team has earned the title of Class 3A state champions.

This year's title comes after leading the pack with a team score of 79, 17 points ahead of state runner-up ADM.

"It feels really good to be champions again," said sophomore Aly Stahle. "We worked really hard in the offseason and everyone has been pushing themselves this year. It feels good to see it pay off."

Paving the way to victory for the Spartans were their nine finishes inside the top three, including state championships in the distance medley, 400m hurdles (Sophia Stahle) and 800m run (Gracie Federspiel).

Senior Sophia Stahle said that there hasn't been any dropoff in talent from last year's title team to this year's.

"We are all very close even though we lost a couple of our top runners," Sophia Stahle said. "We have been grinding in the offseason, so we have had a couple of people blossom to help fill those roles."

When the Spartans won last year, it came as a bit of a shock since they had not been considered a power in Class 3A. In fact, they had not claimed a team title since they were Class 2A co-champions with Gilbert back in 2010.

However, the Spartans learned quickly that as hard as it is to get to the top, the real battle is making sure that they stay there. This can be especially difficult because, in addition to having to compete against other hungry Class 3A teams who would gladly take your spot, expectations to win another title are high.

Those factors could easily bog a team down, but Sophia Stahle said that they welcomed the challenge.

"We are competitive as a team and individually," Sophia Stahle said. "So we knew that if we go out and do what we are supposed to do we would be fine."

Though they proved that they were capable of pushing through the in-season adversity, they now have another hurdle to overcome if they want to reach the mountaintop again next year.

The conclusion of the state track meet marks the end of the high school careers of the team's nine seniors. That includes program cornerstones like Sophia Stahle and Kayla Young, two competitors who have been key in both team state titles.

"I love this team," Sophia Stahle said. "We are all so supportive of each other. It's not like we have the hurdlers, then the long-distance runners and then the mid-distances runners. We are all together, which helps raise the vibe of the team and makes us so close. I am really going to miss being on this team."

Luckily for the Spartans, they will bring back several notable competitors like state qualifiers Aly Stahle, Gracie Federspiel and Mia Duckett.

"We are all riding the energy from this season, which is going to be big going into off-season workouts," Aly Stahle said. "Plus, I have heard a lot of people saying that they wanted to come out and start running track, so I think we are going to be a really good team next year."

SOLON, Iowa (KCRG) - Future Hawkeye Callie Levin started playing basketball competitively in second grade, with her father Nate as her first coach.

“I’ve always just lived and breathed basketball,” Levin, a junior at Solon, said.

As her first coach, Nate brought her to AAU events and practices, but pretty soon it was hard to tell who was bringing whom.

“The more you grow up the more you just wanna continue to go to the gym, and the more you wanna continue to be like ‘dad let’s go to the gym more!’” Callie said.

Nate starred at Oelwine, played a year at Central College before graduating from Iowa. He’s coached all five of his kids, including four daughters.

“Seeing a kid do something on the court that you taught them when it finally clicks that that makes it very enjoyable for me,” Nate said.

“It’s also a way I get to spend time with my kids,” he said. “It’s a lot of time, a lot of travel, but there’s a lot of bonding moments when you’re in the car, on the plane, on the bus.”

For Callie, fun on and off the court quickly turned into serious college offers

”My dad told me ‘Iowa, Iowa State, Drake they all wanna call you and I was just like ‘What? Lisa wants to call me!?”

And it was Lisa Bluder who convinced Callie to stay close to home.

Everything Callie’s learned from her parents and older sister McKinley, she’s passing her to her younger siblings.

Tenley’s in 6th grade, Mayley is in 4th, their brother McGuire in first.

“The sisters are all a great outlet and resource for each other and they support each other,” Nate said “We’re definitely a competitive family but in the end they celebrate each other’s successes.”

“I find it really neat to see how they can learn the game and translate it to their own game,” Callie said.

Callie’s Solon team is the 2-seed in the state tournament. They play Wahlert Catholic on Monday at 8:30 pm.

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