Home News Friday News, April 26th

Friday News, April 26th

State Auditor Rob Sand To Hold Town Hall Meetings At Sioux Center and Le Mars

(Le Mars) — State auditor, Rob Sand is traveling around northwest Iowa today holding various town hall meetings. The state auditor is scheduled to be at Sioux Center at The Fruited Plain Cafe located at 172 N. Main Avenue. Sand will be at Sioux Center between 4:30 and 5:30. Following his visit to Sioux
Center, Sand will hold another town hall meeting at the Family Table Restaurant in Le Mars between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. The Family Table is located at 511 Hawkeye Avenue Southwest. The town hall meetings are open to the public.

 

 

Friends of the Gehlen Ball To Feature “Magic Get-away”

(Le Mars) — Are you looking to escape the cold windy weather? You may want to consider making a “Magical Get-away” to the Gehlen Ball. Margie Augustine serves as a co-chair for the annual event and says The Friends of the Gehlen
Ball want you to think of tropical island with palm trees and sandy beaches.

The Friends of the Gehlen Ball serves as the primary fund raising event for the Catholic school. Augustine says the committee hopes to be able to raise more money than was collected from last year.

Augustine says the annual event will again hold a silent auction and she lists a few of the items to be sold.

A complete list of auction items can be located on the Gehlen Catholic website. The co-chair for the Friends of Gehlen Ball explains there will be a choice for entertainment on Saturday evening at the ball.

The evening is also a special evening because the Friends of the Gehlen Ball award the Peter J. Gehlen Award to a deserving individual or couple that devotes time and resources to Gehlen Catholic.

Tickets for the Friends of Gehlen Ball are selling at $125 for a couple.

 

 

Dordt College To Host “Ag Day” Today

(Sioux Center) — Dordt College invites the community to attend their annual Ag Day on Friday, April 26. Sponsored by Dordt’s Ag Club, this event draws in students and community members of all ages. Over 100 Dordt students will help put on the event.

Exciting features of Ag Day include:
•Live animals, including hogs, cattle, sheep, and rabbits
•Agricultural demonstrations
•Educational booths
•High school livestock and crop judging
•Vintage and modern farm equipment on display
•Games for all ages
•Pulled pork sandwiches served with baked beans, applesauce, and chips. The
meal costs $5 for adults, while children under three eat free.

Ag Club President Braden Konynenbelt says, “Ag Day gives us an opportunity to inform the broader community about agriculture along with engaging the campus community in educational activities.”

This free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Dordt College’s parking lot just north of the Campus Center.

 

 

Northwestern College Announces Commencement Date

ORANGE CITY, Iowa—Northwestern College will award degrees to 302 students during its annual commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11. Seventy-eight students will receive Master of Education degrees; 192, Bachelor of Arts degrees; and 32, Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees.

Commencement will begin at 10 a.m. in the Rowenhorst Student Center. Rick Clark, an instructor of Spanish who is retiring from Northwestern this year, will give the commencement address. The baccalaureate service will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 10, in Christ Chapel. Mark DeYounge, dean of Christian formation, will deliver the homily.

Clark is a two-time recipient of Northwestern’s Teaching Excellence Award whose passion for the Spanish language and Hispanic people is contagious.
Raised in Ecuador, he assumed he would be a missionary like his parents and four grandparents, but in college he fell in love with teaching and realized schools are a mission field as well.

 

 

Council Bluffs Teacher Accused Of Sexual Exploitation With Student

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A former western Iowa high school teacher has been arrested and charged on suspicion of having sex with one of his students.
Council Bluffs police say 56-year-old Mark Mendell was arrested Thursday at his home on two charges of sexual exploitation by a school employee.
Police say an investigation that began last month revealed a sexual relationship between Mendell while he was Abraham Lincoln High School’s band teacher and a 17-year-old student.
Officials say Mendell is no longer employed by the school, and the student is no longer attending classes after having met all graduation requirements.
The age of sexual consent in Iowa is 16, but state law prohibits school employees from having any sexual contact with students.
Mendell could not be reached for comment Thursday, and an attorney for him could not be found.

 

 

Deere and Company Fined For Failing To Meet Air Quality Standards

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa attorney general’s office says Deere & Co. has agreed to pay $1 million for violating air quality standards at its Cedar Falls facility.
A news release said Thursday that the Moline, Illinois-based heavy equipment company has agreed in a consent decree to annual third-party environmental audits for at least three years. They will continue until Deere receives two consecutive audits reports with few or no violations.
The Iowa Natural Resources Department has said Deere didn’t comply with emissions limits at its Performance Engineering Center, operated without proper air quality permits in some cases and provided inaccurate information on compliance reports to the department from 2005 to 2016.
Deere spokesman Ken Golden says problems arose from past errors in air permits issued in 2005 for the center’s engine test cells. He says that Deere took corrective actions and worked with Iowa officials toward the issuance of new permits after learning of the problems in late 2016.