Chamber Of Commerce To Distribute Welcome Baskets
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Chamber of Commerce is looking to distribute welcome baskets to newcomers to the community. The goal of the Welcome Basket program is to get new residents connected to the community by providing products from area businesses. The Chamber is seeking local businesses to contribute a gift to be included for the Welcome baskets. Approximately 100 baskets are distributed each year. Chamber officials say they prefer the baskets to be filled with gifts instead of an abundance of literature. A one-time yearly cost to be included in the Le Mars Newcomer’s gift basket is $40 for non-profit organizations, $60 for Chamber members, and $80 for non Chamber members. Businesses that would like to be included in the 2016 Welcome Baskets should contact the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce offices.
Sioux City Police Arrest Suspect For Home Invasion Robbery
(Sioux City) — Sioux City Police have arrested a 21 year old Sioux City man for a home invasion robbery that occurred on Monday at the 2600 block of Alice Street. Austin Cummings was charged with robbery in the first degree, going armed with intent, and assault while participating in a felony and theft in the second degree. Cummings is also charged with violating probation. He is one of two suspects who allegedly forced their way into the South Alice home and assaulted a 19 year old resident, and held his mother at gunpoint. The second suspect remains at large. Cummings was arrested on Thursday and is being held at the Woodbury County jail with a $76,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time. Anyone with further information is encouraged to call crimestoppers at 258-TIPS.
Sioux City Elementary School Awarded Grant Program
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City elementary school has been given a monetary prize for their computer programing efforts during an international week dedicated to teaching code.
Loess Hills Elementary received the Code Iowa award from the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and code.org, a computer science nonprofit, this week.
The school received $4,000 to be used toward instructional technology for their efforts in Hour of Code week. Millions of students work on a computer-coding related activity in the worldwide event.
Loess Hills Elementary is a computer programming specialty school. Instructors teach core subjects through a computer programming lens.
The students dedicated their Hour of Code week to spreading knowledge to City Council members, business owners and representatives of higher education institutions.
Farragut School Superintendent Resigns
FARRAGUT, Iowa (AP) – The superintendent of a troubled Iowa school district has resigned, saying he no longer has a role to play after the state’s Board of Education stripped away the district’s local control.
Tom Hinrichs announced his immediate resignation on Thursday. The Farragut Community School District will close its doors this summer.
The state board placed the district under the receivership of the Green Hills Area Education Agency last month. The district had failed to meet state requirements related to spending, accessibility and academic programs.
Hinrichs says in his email announcement that he no longer has a “meaningful function” within the district, and negotiated an agreement to end his employment.
Hinrichs was previously a school administrator in Nebraska.
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Iowa Graduate Students Seeking Relief From Rent Rates
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – University of Iowa graduate students are asking the school to help them fight a rent increase at a private apartment complex on university land.
The students argue that proposed rent increases at the Aspire at West Campus are higher than expected and exploitative. Students say they are being priced out of their only on-campus housing option.
University president Bruce Harreld urged Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions Tuesday to listen to student concerns about rent increases. University officials point out that Balfour ultimately has the controlling vote in rental rates and other financial issues. Balfour partnered with the school to construct the complex.
Balfour spokeswoman Maureen Omrod said the increase is necessitated by the rising cost of utilities and real estate taxes.
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University Of Iowa Scraps Registration Name
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa is scrapping the online course registration system that students have used for years because of its name.
University officials have decided to retire the service widely known as ISIS – an acronym for Iowa Student Information Systems.
Steve Fleagle, the university’s chief information officer, says students expressed concern about plugging the name “ISIS” into search engines and trying to find the university-owned website. ISIS is also used as shorthand for the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, an extremist group known for deadly attacks, kidnappings and torture.
Fleagle says the university will combine the services provided by its ISIS system with other online services to create a one-stop-shopping experience for students.
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Harreld Hires Crisis Communications Consultant
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa’s new president has privately hired a media consultant with business ties to Board of Regents president Bruce Rastetter to improve his public communications skills.
UI President Bruce Harreld has paid out of his own pocket for the services of Eileen Wixted, a crisis communications consultant known for making people look and sound good on television and in public presentations.
The arrangement bypasses the open records law and the school’s communications staff, which is already being overseen by a $20,000-per-month consultant. Wixted’s long list of clients includes Summit Farms, which is Rastetter’s privately-held agribusiness.
University spokeswoman Jeneane Beck says Harreld wanted media training and didn’t believe the university should pay for it. She says Wixted was recommended to Harreld by more than one person.
