School Board To Discuss Policy Handbook
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education will hold its bi-monthly meeting this evening beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Education Service Center. School superintendent, Dr. Steven Webner will present the 2019-2020
certified staff handbook to the school board’s attention. The school board is likely to approve two contracts, the first, involving Tyler Phelan, as the head strength and conditioning coach at $5,736.15 and the second will be to approve Deb Swift as the middle school study hall supervisor at five and a half hours a day with the pay of $15.43 per hour. The school board will consider the recommended changes to the 500 School Board Policy Series. They will also consider an open-enrollment request involving a Kindergarten student from MMCRU who wishes to attend Le Mars Community. The school board will go into closed session to discuss the 2019-2020 Emergency Operations
Plan.
Conservation Field Day Focuses On Nitrate Run-off
(Oyens) — The issue of nitrate run-off has been in the news quite a bit over the last few years, and officials are teaching farmers and landowners various methods on how to greatly reduce run-off, in order to have better quality water. Last week, a conservation field day was held in Oyens, and Andrew
Commes with the Natural Resources and Conservation Services illustrated to the gathering of farmers what happens when to their soil and crop protection product when it rains. Using a rainfall similator, Commes demonstrated how much run-off can occur on a six percent sloping hillside.
Commes similated one inch of rain over various types of ground ranging from tilled ground with no cover crop, to soybean crop harvested residue, and grassland. He had jars to collect both the water that would run-off, as well as a second collection jar showing how much water would penetrate the soils into the roots system.
The lesson that was being taught was to show farmers the importance of maintaining some type of crop cover residue, or cover crops, in order to greatly reduce the run-off, as well as to making certain rainfall will penetrate the soils. As part of the rainfall similator, Commes had a white board behind the display.
At that same field day, farmers were also shown a demonstration on the effective use of bio-reactors and buffer zones, which have proven to reduce nitrate levels by as much as 60 percent.
Plane Crashes In Northeast Iowa
ELKADER, Iowa (AP) – Officials say no one was injured in the crash of a small plane in northeast Iowa.
The crash occurred Thursday morning while the pilot was attempting to land at Elkader Airport. The pilot of the single-engine Cessna has been identified as 62-year-old Mark Koehn, who lives in Elkader. He was alone in the plane.
The crash is being investigated.
Flash Flooding Hits Des Moines And Central Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Heavy rains caused flash flooding in the Des Moines area Saturday night, and more rain fell on Sunday.
The National Weather Service says 2.5 inches of rain fell at the Des Moines airport, but more than 4 inches of rain fell on parts of the Des Moines area Saturday night. A flood watch has been issued for the area on Sunday.
Rescuers had to help several people who became stuck in their cars after the water rose around them, and at least one car caught fire after an electrical wire fell on it.
It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was injured.
Iowa State University Sanctions Sorority
AMES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State University has sanctioned one of its sororities for hazing, but few details were disclosed.
The Des Moines Register reports the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority has been given a deferred suspension through May 2021 because of the hazing reported by two of its members.
University officials didn’t disclose details of the hazing. The
sorority is allowed to continue operating at this point, but it could be suspended if there are additional rules violations.
Ames Police Commander Jason Tuttle says two members of the sorority reported that they were verbally harassed by other members after they reported the hazing, but he said police don’t know the details of the hazing report.
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Leath Leaves Auburn University
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) – Auburn University says its president, Steven Leath, is leaving after two years on the job.
The university said in a statement Friday that Leath and the Board of Trustees’ presidential assessment working group mutually decided to part ways.
The president pro tempore of the university’s board, Wayne T. Smith, said trustees are grateful to Leath “for his dedication and commitment as Auburn made strides as a world-class public university.”
Leath says he believes the university is stronger now than before he arrived.
Before going to Auburn in 2017, Leath was president of Iowa State University and vice president for research and sponsored programs for the University of North Carolina System.
Smith says the Auburn board will soon name an interim president.
University of Iowa Awarded NASA Grant
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A University of Iowa team has won a $115 million grant to develop satellites for studying a system of radiation created by the sun – “space weather.” The NASA grant will underwrite development of satellites expected to be launched within the next three years with more satellites developed by Southwest Research Institute scientists. The Iowa City Press-Enterprise reports that the satellites are designed to gather data
on how the sun creates solar wind and how Earth responds to the solar wind.
