Sam W. Newby was born on October 30, 1954 in Steamboat Rock, Iowa to Roland and Oscarolia Newby.He grew up on the family farm outside of Steamboat Rock. He graduated from Steamboat Rock High School in 1972.Sam received his AA degree from Ellsworth Community College in 1975 and a BA in Education from Morningside College in 1977. While at ECC, Sam played on the basketball and baseball teams for two years. Sam remembers playing baseball for coach Marty Dittmer. He transferred to Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa and played baseball at Morningside during his senior year, serving as the team’s pitcher. Upon his graduation from Morningside, Sam moved to Anchorage, Alaska to further his interest in hunting and fishing and to seek employment opportunities. On December 22, 1996 he married Mary Ann Duggan, an Omaha, NE, native, in Anchorage. After working for a local contractor in Anchorage, Newby started a home building business which he operated for 15 years until his retirement in 2001. The Newbys winter in Arizona where Sam enjoys playing softball and cards. They return to their home in Anchorage each summer to spend time in the remote cabin Sam built where he enjoys hunting and fishing in the great outdoors of Alaska.