The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors visited Heritage House on Thursday, September 24th, to welcome Rose Jurgensen, the new Director of Food and Beverage, and learn more about the Rock Steady Boxing program offered at the senior living community.

Rose brings years of food service experience from schools, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in several states. Originally from Minnesota, she recently moved to Atlantic and told the Ambassadors she felt right at home when she arrived in southwest Iowa.

Heritage House is preparing to introduce a new restaurant-style dining experience for its assisted and independent living residents on October 5th. The new dining room, called The Hilltop, will offer a wider selection of meals, including chicken, pork, fish and beef options, along with daily chef specials. Meals will be served in courses, giving residents more choices and a dining experience similar to visiting a restaurant.

The Hilltop will also be open to the public, giving community members another place to enjoy a meal. Heritage House plans to expand its café hours and introduce additional dining options in the future.

The Ambassadors also met with Andrea Wiederstein, Wellness Coordinator, who leads Heritage House’s Rock Steady Boxing program for people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Rock Steady Boxing began in 2006 after founder Scott C. Newman was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 40. Newman began training with his friend and former Golden Gloves boxer Vince Perez and found that the workouts helped him manage his symptoms. What started as a personal effort to fight back against Parkinson’s grew into an international nonprofit organization offering non-contact boxing classes designed specifically for people with the disease.

Heritage House brought Rock Steady Boxing to Atlantic in 2016 through Jon Jordan, whose father was impacted by Parkinson’s. The program brought together Jon’s love of fitness and his desire to help others facing the same diagnosis. First Whitney Bank & Trust helped fund the program’s start and continues to support it, while Atlantic Rotary has also contributed equipment.

Andrea began helping Jon with classes before taking over as head coach in 2025. She now leads seven regular participants, some of whom have attended since the program began.

Classes combine non-contact boxing with strength training, balance exercises, cardio and activities that challenge coordination and mobility. Andrea adapts the exercises to each participant’s abilities so people at different stages of Parkinson’s can take part.

The workouts are only part of what keeps participants coming back. Andrea said the group has become like a little family, with members encouraging one another and building friendships along the way.

Rock Steady Boxing meets Mondays and Thursdays from 1:00 to 2:30 PM and is open to anyone in the community with a Parkinson’s diagnosis, not just Heritage House residents. The cost is $60 for an eight-class punch card.

Heritage House is located at 1200 Brookridge Circle in Atlantic. For more information about Rock Steady Boxing, The Hilltop dining room or other services, contact Heritage House at 712-243-1850 or visit their website and Facebook page.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors celebrated OakPoint Wealth Management during its Grand Opening on Thursday, September 17th, at its new building at 611 Spruce Street in Atlantic.

The celebration comes at a fitting time for owner and Certified Financial Planner Erin Freund, who marked 10 years of working in Atlantic earlier this month. Freund began building her financial advisory business in the community in September 2016.

Freund has worked in the financial industry for about 20 years. After graduating from the University of Iowa, she began her career with Wells Fargo Bank in West Des Moines, where she earned her securities licenses. She later spent seven years with Principal before moving back to southwest Iowa and transitioning into financial advising. Freund said Atlantic and the surrounding communities have been incredibly supportive of her business over the past decade, something she is grateful for as she celebrates this next step.

At OakPoint Wealth Management, Freund works with clients on financial planning, investment management, estate planning, tax planning and business planning. For Freund, one of the best parts of the job is getting to know her clients and being there for different stages of their lives.

That might mean helping a young person open a Roth IRA for the first time or working with someone who has spent years preparing for retirement. Freund told the Ambassadors those relationships are what make the career so rewarding.

Construction on the new building began in April 2025 after a house previously located on the property was removed. The new space gives OakPoint room to grow, including an additional office that Freund hopes will eventually be home to another financial advisor.

Freund is joined at OakPoint Wealth Management by Administrative Assistants Ashley Young and Chris Schuler. Ashley plans to pursue her securities licenses, which could allow her role with the business to grow in the future.

OakPoint Wealth Management is located at 611 Spruce Street in Atlantic. To learn more, call 712-207-3521 or visit www.oakpointwealth.com.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors celebrated Minor Detailing and owner Alex Minor with a ribbon cutting on Friday, September 11th, at the business’s new location at 605 W. 7th Street in Atlantic.

The new shop is an expansion for Minor Detailing, not a move. Alex plans to continue operating from the original location at 711 E. 7th Street, while using the additional space to take on more work and larger vehicles.

Alex started Minor Detailing in May 2019 after a longtime interest in cars turned into an unexpected business opportunity. He had planned to pick up some extra hours driving vehicles for another company when they instead hired him to detail their vans and buses. From there, the work took off.

Today, Minor Detailing offers automotive and commercial detailing, window tinting, paint correction, ceramic coatings and other vehicle services. The new building gives Alex room to bring in larger vehicles, including semis and RVs, rather than traveling to other shops to complete some of those jobs.

Alex purchased the W. 7th Street property last year and has spent much of the time since renovating it. A significant portion of the building was stripped down and rebuilt, including new electrical and lighting, as Alex worked to turn the space into a shop that fit the needs of the growing business.

For now, Alex said he plans to take the expansion one step at a time. Work will move between the two locations as he determines what setup works best, with the possibility of adding another employee as business at the new shop grows.

Minor Detailing kicked off the new space with a customer appreciation party Friday evening featuring free food and drinks, hot rods and live music from Gallivant. Local businesses also pitched in for the celebration, including Coca-Cola, which donated pop and water, and Henningsen’s, which provided the meat.

The new Minor Detailing location is at 605 W. 7th Street in Atlantic, with the original shop continuing to operate at 711 E. 7th Street. For more information and pricing, call 712-254-3240.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors celebrated Cook Sanitation on Thursday, September 10th, following the company’s recent purchase of Hepler Sanitation and expansion in the Atlantic community.

Cook Sanitation has been part of the area for more than 50 years. Dalton Cook shared that his grandfather, Don Cook Sr., took over the business in 1973 from his brother Darrell Cook. At one time, five sanitation businesses served Atlantic. Over the years, some closed while others were purchased as owners retired.

For Dalton, the latest expansion brought some reflection on just how much the family business has changed.

He said his grandfather would be proud to see what Cook Sanitation has become. Even with several competitors operating in Atlantic over the years, Dalton said the businesses weren’t out to take customers from one another. They were local families making a living, raising their families and serving the community.

The purchase of Hepler Sanitation nearly doubled Cook Sanitation’s residential customer base and added two garbage trucks to its fleet. The company also kept Hepler employees on staff, including drivers who already knew their routes and customers. Residential collection expanded from three days a week to four to spread out the additional workload.

Cook Sanitation currently employs around eight full-time employees along with several part-time employees. In addition to residential and commercial garbage collection, the company offers recycling, roll-off dumpsters, construction and demolition services, and other waste removal services. Its roll-off fleet includes approximately 75 dumpsters in several sizes for everything from home cleanouts to larger construction projects.

The expansion prompted a few changes behind the scenes, too. Drivers now have tablets with routes and customer information instead of relying on handwritten notes passed between the office and trucks. Customers can also receive bills by email and make payments online.

Despite the growth, Dalton said knowing the people they serve remains one of the advantages of being a local company. That familiarity can be especially helpful when handling rental properties, family accounts and other situations that aren’t always as simple as a name and address on a bill.

Cook Sanitation has also donated services to community projects, including Atlantic’s citywide cleanup. Dalton said giving back, whether through financial support or donated services, is important to the family.

He also sees the business as one small piece of a bigger challenge facing southwest Iowa. While many people from his generation moved away, family businesses and local opportunities gave him a reason to stay. As Cook Sanitation grows, he hopes it can continue providing good jobs and another reason for younger people to build their lives here.

For more information about Cook Sanitation and its services, visit www.cooksanitation.com.