Students To See Newly Renovated Science Rooms
(Le Mars) — Students will be returning to school this next week, and here in Le
Mars, Thursday marks the first day of back to classes. For Le Mars Community
students taking science courses, they will be greeted with newly renovated
classrooms. Dr. Mark Iverson serves as the principal for Le Mars Community High
School. He says students will definitely notice the difference.
Iverson says the science facilities were from the 1960’s and it was time to
upgrade.
The high school principal says construction actually started before the students
had dismissed last spring. Iverson says a total of three rooms were renovated
over the summer months.
Iverson explains the specific changes noted for each of the three science rooms.
Iverson says the classrooms have been designed and decorated to be more
educational-friendly for the students.
Unity Point – St. Lukes To Recruit Foreign Nurses
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City hospital is recruiting nurses from overseas
to fill a growing number of vacancies.
UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s vice president of patient care and chief
nursing officer, Priscilla Stokes, says the retirements of longtime nurses
combined with an increasing number of aging baby boomers has led the hospital to
start international recruitment.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 1.2 million job openings for
nurses by 2020 because of growth and the need for replacements.
Stokes says St. Luke’s started considering hiring nurses from abroad last
year, after she got the idea from a colleague who came to the U.S. 30 years ago
from the Philippines to work as a nurse.
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Iowa’s Unemployment Increases In July
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s unemployment rate increased slightly in July to
4.1 percent, as the number of unemployed residents climbed to 70,600.
Iowa Workforce Development reported Friday that July’s rate was up from 4
percent in June and has risen from 3.6 percent a year ago.
Iowa’s unemployment rate remains below the national rate of 4.9 percent,
which remained steady in July.
Overall, the state agency says there were 1.64 million Iowa workers in July.
Vilsack Says Iowa Needs Water Quality Policy
(DesMoines) — U.S. Ag Secretary and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack says it’s
time for state officials from both political parties to “step up” and address
Iowa’s water quality issues.
Vilsack says his federal agency this year has committed “a record amount” to help
finance on-the-farm conservation projects. And Vilsack is promising to
“forcefully” make the case that more action is necessary at the state level.
Vilsack warns there are dire consequences for the state if policymakers fail to
reach an agreement.
Vilsack says Minnesota and Wisconsin have “aggressive” water quality initiatives
underway and states along the Gulf of Mexico have “potentially billions of
dollars” to spend addressing water quality — money that comes from the B-P oil
spill settlement.
Vilsack made his comments Thursday afternoon during a speech in Des Moines. This
past January — just before the 2016 Iowa legislative session began — Vilsack
joined Republican Governor Terry Branstad at a statehouse news conference to call
for spending far more state tax dollars on projects that improve water quality.
The 2016 legislative session ended without agreement between the two political
parties on the issue, however. Lawmakers are being pressured to take action by
federal regulators who cite the growing “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico that
experts say is caused by farm chemical run-off that drains into the Mississippi
River. In addition, a lawsuit filed by the Des Moines Water Works has challenged
how a group of northwest Iowa counties are managing drainage from farm fields.
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Des Moines Zoo Puts Down Female Lion
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines has euthanized a 19-
year-old lion.
The zoo announced Friday it decided to euthanize the female lion, named
Falala, because her quality of life had diminished.
Falala was born in 1997 and came to the Blank Park Zoo in 1999.
Animal supervisor Bonnie VanEllen says in a statement that the lion’s
“playful spirit and fierce sense of family was inspirational.”
Blank Park officials say they are working to bring female lions to the zoo to
start a breeding program.
