City Closes Two Streets For Repairs
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Public Works Department has announced the closing of 6th Avenue S.W. between Plymouth Street and 1st Street Southwest for some street repairs. The stretch of the city street closed today and will remain
closed until Friday, June 30th. The city has also closed 7th Avenue Southeast, at about 250 feet north of 6th Street southeast, for street repairs. Scott Kneip says the street may be closed through July 3rd.
School Board Members Comment On School Superintendent Wendt
(Le Mars) — Two members of the current Le Mars Community School Board were also on the school board 17 years ago when Dr. Todd Wendt was first hired as the superintendent of schools for the Le Mars Community School District. Chris
Collins and Pat Murphy were instrumental in hiring Wendt, who at the time was leaving the Avoca school district, located in southwest Iowa. Murphy is the president of the Le Mars Community School Board, and was president at the time Wendt was interviewed and subsequently hired. He recalls the interview the school board had conducted with Dr. Wendt.
Murphy says at the time, Le Mars Community had some unique challenges, and he says Dr. Wendt was not afraid to take on those challenges.
School board director, Chris Collins says he was impressed with Dr. Todd Wendt when he had applied to become the superintendent of schools for Le Mars Community. Collins says the school board decided to conduct the search on their
own without the use of a head-hunter. Collins says the school board started with perhaps 30 applicants, and then that number was reduced to 10, then to five, and then with the two finalist candidates.
Collins says the two finalist were interviewed a second time, before the school board decided on Dr. Todd Wendt.
Collins says the road has not always been smooth, but he believes Dr. Wendt has done an excellent job as the superintendent for Le Mars.
Murphy is also complimentary to Dr. Todd Wendt’s performance as the school superintendent.
The school board president expands on his comments regarding Dr. Todd Wendt.
SUV Collides With Train
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a woman and three children have been injured in a collision with a train in north-central Iowa.
The crash occurred a little before 3:30 p.m. Saturday, southeast of Fort Dodge. An Iowa state trooper says the southbound sport utility vehicle driver didn’t see the eastbound train at the crossing, which is marked by signs but
doesn’t have electronic signals or crossing gates.
The car driver has been identified as 38-year-old Traci Guthrie, of Fort Dodge. She’s been release from a hospital. Ten-year-old Colin Guthrie was flown to a Des Moines hospital, as was 8-year-old Colton Guthrie. Seven-year-old Colton Buckley was treated for minor injuries.
Des Moines City Council Expected To Hire Company To Manage School Guard Crossings
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Des Moines City Council is expected to vote Monday on hiring an outside company to manage the school crossing guard program.
The Des Moines Register reports (https://dmreg.co/2sSgw9m ) that the guards are hired and trained by the Des Moines Police Department through a partnership with Des Moines Public Schools. The department says, however the growing number of no-shows and fewer people wanting to work one to two hours a day makes it hard to cover 22 elementary schools without pulling in officers to fill the gaps.
The city and Des Moines Public Schools split the $360,000 cost to operate the program in 2016. Police Chief Dana Wingert wants to hire All City Management Services to operate the program, which could bring the cost of the program to $438,000 next year.
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Students Learn What It Is Like To Be A Teacher
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – A diverse group of high school students have spent a week living on a college campus in Iowa to learn what it’s like to be an educator.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (https://bit.ly/2s8tF0W ) reports that 15 students participated in the week-long Minority Educators for Today and Tomorrow academy hosted by the University of Northern Iowa.
The program is a collaboration between the university, Waterloo Schools and Marshalltown High School. It aims to grow diverse educators in the Cedar Valley.
The U.S. Department of Education says in the 2011-2012 school year, 51 percent of public school students were white while 82 percent of teachers were white.
University president Mark Nook says the program shows minority students what it means to be a teacher and helps them see a path to becoming one.
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Nigerian To Receive World Food Prize
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The son of a Nigerian farm laborer who rose out of poverty to earn graduate degrees in agricultural economics and spent his career improving the availability of seed, fertilizer and financing for African farmers is the winner of this year’s World Food Prize.
Akinwumi Adesina, president of African Development Bank, says the future of global food security relies on making farming in Africa a profitable business to help move farmers out of poverty.
An official announcement for the World Food Prize was expected to come in a ceremony Monday at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington. Adesina will receive the prize Oct. 19 at the Iowa Capitol.
The World Food Prize was created by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug in 1986 to recognize scientists and others who have improved food quality and availability.
Credit Union Theft
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – A woman has been accused of stealing more than $40,000 from a credit union branch in Waterloo.
Court records say 60-year-old Barbara Einfelt is charged with theft and forgery. A woman who answered a phone listed for Einfelt on Monday said Einfelt was not there. Einfelt’s attorney declined to comment.
Authorities say Einfelt was working at a Chicago Central & Commerce Credit Union branch when officials noticed more than $27,000 was missing from the vault. A follow-up investigation showed nearly $13,000 had been taken from two member accounts. Court records say the two members are relatives of Einfelt.
