Le Mars High School Seniors Receive Scholarships
(Le Mars) — More than 80 Le Mars Community High School Seniors were honored last evening as 101 scholarships amounting to more than $54,350 was distributed. Many of the scholarships were from the Le Mars community School Foundation. Jack Guenthner, president of the Le Mars Community School Foundation says although several students have achieved academic excellence, many of the scholarships are presented to students who have financial needs.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/May 2014/Guenthner scholar1.mp3{/audio}
Guenthner says the school foundation has a goal to contribute a scholarship to every graduating senior.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/May 2014/Guenthner scholar2.mp3{/audio}
The Le Mars Community School District Foundation has been in existance for more than 30 years, and Guenthner says for the last five years more than $50,000 has always been awarded to the graduating senior students. The school foundation leader says the foundation, and other educational focused organizations such as LEEP, or the Le Mars Parent-Teacher Organization, and others have been able to provide the many scholarships due to the generosity and dedication of the broader Le Mars Community.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/May 2014/Guenthner scholar3.mp3{/audio}
The Salutatorian and Valedictorians were announced last evening. They include Alexandria Mullally as this year’s Salutatorian, and Erin Connor, Adam Friedenbach, Kennedy Rolfes, and A.J. Schroeder as the class of 2014 Valedictorians.
Gehlen Catholic Wins Quiz Bowl
(Le Mars) — Gehlen Catholic High School will have one more trophy to add to its showcase. No, its not in any sporting event, but rather a competition that matches wits. For the second year in a row, Gehlen Catholic finished first in the Morningside College-KCAU-TV Quiz Bowl. Gehlen Catholic was able to advance to the finals after beating Wisner-Pilger in the semi-finals. The Gehlen Jays were able to take home top honors after beating West Monona by a score of 195 to 185. Seniors, Leah Ellensohn and Alexis Madsen, along with Juniors, Jozef Lamfers, Greg Langel, and David Puhl (all of LeMars), were amongst the team members who competed. Quiz Bowl Moderator, Mr. Mike Meyer, attributed this year’s team success to the team’s knowledge, speed in recalling information, math computation skills, and the depth of the team.
Pioneer To Lay Off Employees
MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) – DuPont Pioneer says it is laying off dozens of employees and closing a seed production plant in Mount Pleasant.
Company spokeswoman Jane Slusark says about 50 employees were given layoff notices Thursday. Additional details were not released.
Slusark says the closing will allow for better use of technology near areas with more seed acres. She says the company is doing a global review of its seed production plants, and optimizing around areas with more seed acres.
Slusark did not elaborate on what the review could mean for other employees and facilities. Pioneer has 15,000 workers.
Loras College To Receive Donation
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – Loras College in Dubuque has received a $1 million donation for its business education program.
The private college announced Tuesday that Andrew and Mary Pat Studdert had contributed the $1 million to fund the Andrew P. Studdert Endowed Chair in Business Ethics and Crisis Leadership.
Roman Ciapalo, a Loras philosophy professor, will be the initial endowed chair holder, beginning with the 2014-2015 academic year. The chair will teach within the masters of business administration program and will incorporate business ethics and crisis leadership principles throughout the business and liberal arts curriculum.
The contribution also will fund an executive in residence program and at least one annual public lecture.
The contribution is part of a $75 million fundraising campaign at Loras, a Catholic college with about 1,600 students.
Lottery Tickets Stolen
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – A 50-year-old Parkersburg man has been accused of stealing more than $10,000 worth of lottery tickets from a convenience store he was managing.
Matthew Webber was arrested Thursday and charged with theft, forgery and lottery fraud. He’s since been released from custody. A public phone listing for Webber couldn’t be found. Online court records don’t list the name of his attorney.
Court records say the owner of a Metro Mart on Franklin Street in Cedar Falls notified lottery officials in March about suspicious activity involving the lottery tickets. Investigators say Webber had been taking scratch-off tickets for months and doctoring inventory records.
—
Des Moines Schools Lose Bid For Emails
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Attorneys for former Des Moines schools superintendent Nancy Sebring say the Iowa Supreme Court has decided not to hear arguments about whether her sexually explicit emails should have been made public.
The Des Moines school district wanted the court to review a judge’s ruling that allows Sebring’s lawsuit to proceed. The judge ruled in March that emails sent and received by Sebring through her district-issued account and electronics should have remained confidential. Her invasion-of-privacy lawsuit argues that the emails were personal and not subject to the state’s open records laws. The district says the emails are public records.
In a statement released Thursday, Sebring’s attorneys said they looked forward to taking the case before a jury. The trial is scheduled for November.
—
