School Officials Discus Educational Funding With Legislators
(Le Mars) — State lawmakers Chuck Soderberg of Le Mars and Bill Anderson of Pierson met Saturday with school officials from both the Le Mars Community School District and the Hinton Community School District. Education funding was the first topic discussed, according to Scott Kommes, the president of the Le Mars Community School Board.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/February 2014/Kommes1.mp3{/audio}
Soderberg says the state House of Representatives wants to first make certain the money will be available before making promises and committments on education spending.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/February 2014/Soderberg1.MP3{/audio}
The Iowa Republican Representative says other programs will also need to be funded in addition to schools.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/February 2014/Soderberg2.MP3{/audio}
The Le Mars School Board president says he understands the legislature’s position of wanting to have enough money to finance all other programs, still, he is concerned about how schools will be able to meet their increasing expenses.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/February 2014/Kommes2.MP3{/audio}
Soderberg Says Legislature Will Focus On Budget During Fourth Week Of Session
(Le Mars) — Next week is the fourth week of the state general session with the legislature. State Representative Chuck Soderberg believes much of the time will be directed towards the state budget.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/February 2014/Soderberg budget.MP3{/audio}
Iowa Spends Weekend Shoveling Snow
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Once again, residents across Iowa are spending their weekend shoveling snow.
Much of the state received snow overnight into Saturday as a winter system moved into the state Friday.
Much of western and central Iowa was expected to get only 2 to 3 inches of snow, but parts of southern and southeastern Iowa were expecting up to a half-foot of snow by the end of Saturday. Some cities, like Clinton and Ottumwa, had declared snow emergencies for Saturday, meaning they have banned parking on emergency snow routes, bus routes and other major arterial streets.
Sunday is expected to usher in more frigid conditions, with temperatures in the single digits, dropping to below zero overnight. Meteorologists say more snow is expected across the state Monday night into Tuesday.
Iowa DOT Adds Cameras For Live Coverage Of Highway Traffic
AMES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Department of Transportation says it has added new cameras to its 511 system to give drivers a firsthand look at road conditions along two state commuter corridors.
The cameras have been added along Interstate 35 from Ankeny to Ames and on U.S. 30 from Ames to Nevada and provide streaming video and still images. Now, travelers can simply log on to www.511ia.org to see the conditions on those stretches.
The department says additional cameras on U.S. 30 from Boone to Ames should come online in the next month.
Iowa College Access Network Opens Center
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A nonprofit organization that provides college and career counseling and readiness programs for students has opened a new student success center on the campus of Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny.
The Iowa College Access Network says the new center will provide local services across a 24-county area. That will include 96 high schools and more than 45,000 students.
During the 2012-2013 academic year ICAN says it helped more than 450,000 students and parents in Iowa.
The organization provides services at most of the state’s high schools offering one-on-one high school planning for college-bound students in addition to helping families fill out student aid applications and other college planning documents.
