School Board To Convene This Evening
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education will inspect the new football field and stadium prior to this evening’s school board meeting.
Then after viewing the new stadium project, the school board will be introduced to the new faculty and administrator for dinner at the Education Service Center. The actual board meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
Each of the principals will submit their reports to the school board.
School District Superintendent Dr. Steven Webner will give his annual report to the school board for their review and approval. Following the superintendent’s annual report, the school board will discuss the stadium renovation project, and will be given an update on the status of the project. The school board will act on two resignations. Shannon Wiltgen and Kaylie Murray have both submitted their resignations from being an instructional assistant. The board will also act on two contracts. Alex Struck has agreed to be the 8th grade boys basketball coach, and Daniel Welter will be a part-time custodian. The school board will review the open enrollment policy and they will decide upon three students wanting to open enroll into Le Mars Community School District.
Gehlen Catholic Receives $100,000 Gift For Technology
(Le Mars) — Gehlen Catholic School recently received a donation from an alum from the St. Joseph school, the predecessor of Gehlen. Jane Mairose Dalton was a 1949 alum that enjoyed science, and it was her interest in the school subject that helped her find a career in nursing. Recently, Jane
Dalton presented a check to Gehlen Catholic officials in the amount of $100,437 which will be used to invest in technology for Gehlen Catholic.
Technology Director, Mrs. Lori Schuch, stated Gehlen Catholic has been blessed with several gifts over the years to the technology fund. Mrs. Schuch stated Jane’s gift truly came at a divine time. The junior high computer lab needed to be replaced.
As the academic demands increase, technology changes, online resources multiply, collaborative opportunities expand, & new opportunities for student engagement grow, the students & teachers are not able to use the technological resources &/or their time as efficiently as they need.
In order to maximize parish & parental investments, Mrs. Schuch & the school have explored various options. Many of these funding streams are restricted to public schools.
With Jane Dalton’s gift, Mrs. Schuch was able to replace the computers in the Kolker Library & Media Center as well as the junior high lab; purchase additional Chromebooks, Chromebook carts, replace computers for teachers & office staff, computers for new Environmental Science class, iPads & more.
Northwestern College Ranks Sixth Among Midwestern Colleges By U-S News and World Report
ORANGE CITY, Iowa— Northwestern College of Orange City is ranked sixth among 70 Midwestern regional colleges in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Best Colleges guidebook. Northwestern is also one of 31 Best Value Schools. The
rankings, which include nearly 1,400 schools nationwide, are available at www.usnews.com/colleges.
“We are always pleased when Northwestern’s standout education is affirmed by rankings and our peer institutions,” says Greg Christy, Northwestern College’s president. “Our latest U.S. News ranking joins strong rankings from organizations like Money magazine, Forbes and College Consensus, which rated us as the nation’s fourth-best Christian college. These rankings—as
well as achievements like our second-in-the-nation CPA exam pass rate and MCAT scores in the top 25 percent worldwide—add external validation to the praises we consistently hear from alumni and students about the strength of the Northwestern experience. They affirm the excellence of our faculty as
they prepare students to lead lives of significance.”
The U.S. News rankings are based on key measures of quality such as outcomes (freshman retention and graduation rate), faculty resources (including class size, the percentage of faculty with the top academic degree, student-faculty ratio and compensation), expert opinion, student excellence, financial resources and alumni giving.
Northwestern is in the top 10 in several individual categories, including peer assessment, first-year retention rate (79%), graduation rate (69%), first-year students in the top 25 percent of their high school class (53%) and alumni giving rate (18%).
Le Mars Women To Be Recognized By Governor Reynolds For Volunteering
(Storm Lake) — Three Le Mars women will be honored on Thursday for their years of volunteering. Etta DeJager, Iris Hemmingson and Vi Schroeder will be honored with an individual Award of the Governor’s Volunteer Award presented by Governor Kim Reynolds. The award ceremony will happen at Buena
Vista University at Storm Lake. The three ladies names were submitted for nomination by Floyd Valley Healthcare. Governor Reynolds says “Volunteering is who we are as Iowans, and I’m honored to recognize those who continue to give back and help their fellow Iowans.” In addition to the above mentioned
ladies being recognized for volunteering, Gehlen Catholic’s Christian Leadership Team will also be given a Governor’s Volunteer Award for the work they do with the assisted living and community nursing care centers.
Volunteer Iowa and its partner agencies work with organizations and individuals on three main fronts. The first is to help agencies develop quality programs that use service as a strategy to fulfill their missions and address Iowa’s greatest areas of need. The second is to help engage Iowans in their communities by promoting service and expanding the volunteer base. Finally, the third area of work is to connect individuals with appropriate service opportunities by building the volunteer infrastructure.
Eastern Iowa Man Dies From Explosion
PRESTON, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a man died at a hospital after being injured in an explosion at his home in eastern Iowa.
Law-Jones Funeral Home in Preston says 39-year-old Daniel Miller died last week at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City.
He’d been taken there after the Aug. 16 blast and fire at his home in Preston. He was alone in the home.
The cause of the explosion is still being investigated. Deputies say he told them before being taken from the scene that the last thing he remembered before the explosion was lighting a candle.
Attorneys General To Go After Facebook
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s attorney general says his office is joining a multi-state investigation to determine whether Facebook has violated any antitrust laws.
Attorney General Tom Miller says Facebook’s dominance over
communications and information is concerning and warrants the investigation he’s leading along with 8 other attorneys general.
Miller says the goal is to determine whether Facebook’s actions “may have endangered user data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or stifled competition.” He says the inquiry is in the early stages and has reached no conclusions.
Facebook said in a statement Friday it plans to “work
constructively” with the state attorneys general and welcomes a conversation with policymakers about competition.
The other states involved in the inquiry are Colorado, Florida,
Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia.
