March 28, 2024

Hi, I’m Ty

Well hello Newton. I’m Ty Rushing, a newcomer here to the Daily News and I will be covering a variety of topics and doing my best to integrate myself within this amazing, friendly and resilient community.

Besides the nice people, one of the things that let me know immediately that I was going to like living in Newton was the presence of Dollar Tree. I love Dollar Tree more than kids love Santa Claus.

A bit of background on me, I’m from Kansas City, Kansas, and I am a diehard Chiefs and Jayhawks fan. I recently graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and if you couldn’t tell by my gushing over Dollar Tree, I am a very cheap person.

I also have no shame in saying that I am cheap. In fact, I embrace the term.

Saying things like frugal, or money manager doesn’t have quite the same appeal to me as being called a good, old fashioned, cheapskate.

I love traveling and embarking on new adventures in life. This is my first time living outside of Kansas City for an extended period of time and I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that this will bring.

I am a history buff, as well, and this town seems to have a very rich history, which I am eager to dive headfirst into.
I truly want to learn what it means to be a Newtonian.

I now live a stone’s throw away from the Jasper County Museum, and every person I talk with in town always gives me interesting tidbits about this town and the people here, and of course I have my Hy-Vee Fuel Saver Card.

I do plan on heavily critiquing any barbecue I sample in town, being that I’m from Kansas City, the Barbecue Capital of the World. And yes, in Kansas City we truly do take pride in being able to cook barbecue way better than anybody else.

Most of our sports teams lose, so we take our achievements anyway we can get them.

The reason I applied to work for the Newton Daily News was because of opportunity and a brighter future. But I don’t see just a brighter future for myself, but for this town as a whole.

The first time I saw the square, I was visiting town to find an apartment and I got sucked in. I love seeing small businesses thrive and the concept of Main Street USA remain intact.

Seeing all the “mom and pop” shops all over town filled me with joy. It shows me that, even in the post Maytag era, this is a town of survivors; a town with this kind of willpower, ambition and desire is the type of place I want to be.