Auditions For “A Delicate Balance” Scheduled For December 28th & 29th
(Le Mars) — Auditions for the next Le Mars Community Theater production are scheduled for Monday, December 28th and Tuesday, December 29th beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Postal Playhouse. “A Delicate Balance” is a play featuring four women and two men roles. It involves a suburban couple, Agnes and Tobias, who live with Agnes’s alcoholic sister, Claire. The couple must maintain their equilibrium as over the course of a weekend they cope with unexpected arrivals of their best friends Harry and Edna, as well as their 36-year old daughter after the collapse of her fourth marriage, all the while tolerating Claire. Scripts are available for checkout. Performance dates are scheduled for February 26-28th and March 3-6th. The director for the play is Kimberly Ross. Questions about the play should be directed to her attention via email at faithfullyiaaa@gmail.com.
Spencer High School Wrestler Dies
SPENCER, Iowa (AP) – A Spencer High School wrestler has died after collapsing at a weekend tournament in northwest Iowa.
Spencer Hospital spokeswoman Tia Manwarren said Austin Roberts died Saturday night at the hospital.
Roberts collapsed earlier during a tournament at his high school in Spencer and was taken to the hospital. It wasn’t immediately clear Sunday why he collapsed.
Roberts wrestled at the 220-pound weight class, and he was ranked sixth in the state in Class 3A. Last year, he placed eighth in the state tournament.
The 6-foot-4 Roberts also played on the offensive and defensive line for the Spencer High football team.
School officials planned to offer grief counseling at the high school Sunday. And a youth wrestling tournament that had been scheduled in Spencer on Sunday has been cancelled.
Spencer Fire Kills Resident Of Trailer Home
(Spencer) — One person was found dead after a fire was put out in Spencer on Saturday afternoon. The Spencer Fire Department responded to a trailer house on fire at 1:30 p.m. After the fire was extinguished, the occupant of the trailer was found dead. The fire appears accidental in nature, and is still being investigated. The identity of the deceased has not been released.
ISU Land Values Survey Shows Slight Decline
(Le Mars) — Land values across the state have declined slightly, although in northwest Iowa, land values have remained steady to showing a slight increase. That’s according to a recent survey conducted by Iowa State University. Melissa O’Rourke is a farm management specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. She says the study does show a decrease of about four percent in land values. O’Rourke says it was not surprising to see a drop in the land values, given the fact that farm income is lower, but she says the surprise was how little the farmland values did go down.
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O’Rourke says the average price of land per acre across the state was listed at $7,633 per acre. She says as noted earlier, northwest Iowa saw an increase in land values.
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Scott county has the highest valued farm ground, but O’Rourke points out that O’Brien County in northwest Iowa, is also among the highest priced land in the state.
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The Iowa State University Farm Management Specialist says Sioux County’s land value remained statistically steady and unchanged.
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Sioux County’s land value went from an average of $10,817 in 2014 to $10,813 in 2015.
School Statistics Show African-American Students Disciplined More Than Caucasian Students
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa school statistics show that black students continue to be removed from class for discipline far more often than students of other races.
Black students accounted for roughly 5 percent of all students statewide last year but 18 percent of the students removed from class.
School officials are working to address the disparities, but it has proven to be a difficult problem.
Iowa City school board member Latasha DeLoach says the statistics are an embarrassment that shouldn’t continue to be a problem today.
Iowa Unemployment Rate Declines
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in November, continuing a long-term decline.
Iowa Workforce Development announced Friday the state’s unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent in November from 3.5 percent in October. That compares to 4.3 percent a year ago.
There were 1,647,500 people working in the state in November, up 3,100 from the number in October.
The number of unemployed residents in November fell to 58,700 from 60,400 in October.
Iowa’s rate compares to a national unemployment rate of 5 percent
