ENROLLMENT RECORDS
Three Sioux County colleges report record enrollment this fall.
For the fourth year in a row, Northwestern College in Orange City has a record enrollment – 1,712 students – up 8 percent from last year. They also report a record number of graduate students this year, at 531.
Dordt University in Sioux Center reports 1,858 students, it’s highest enrollment ever. This includes 1,460 undergraduates.
Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon has the largest enrollment ever recorded this fall, 1,811 students, up 5.5% from last year. NCC has multiple terms and start dates throughout the year.
STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS
Iowans who hope to get their student loan forgiven need to be wary of people and organizations offering to process their claim. Consumer protection advocate Michelle Reinen (RINE-in) says con artists have quickly jumped on the Biden Administration’s loan forgiveness plan and they’re using it as bait.
Reinen says you should always be wary of links you receive in unsolicited email.
If you’re wanting to check in with your lender about having the loan forgiven, go directly to the source.
Under the federal plan, single borrowers who earn less than $125,000 per year, or households earning less than $250,000, are eligible for $10,000 in loan forgiveness. Borrowers who fall under the income caps and received Pell Grants in college will receive up to $20,000 in forgiveness. Contact your lender directly for full details.
MOTORCYCLE FATAL
One person is dead and another is seriously hurt after a motorcycle wreck in Lincoln County, South Dakota. It happened Saturday afternoon on an intersection a mile west of Hudson, near the Iowa border. State Police say a Harley rider lost control and crashed into a ditch. The 57-year-old male driver died at the scene, and his 59-year-old female passenger was rushed to a hospital in Sioux Falls with life-threatening injuries. State Police say neither one was wearing a helmet.
RECYCLING TURBINE BLADES
The Department of Natural resources has been holding meetings on discuss possible changes or improvements to the process of disposing of used wind turbine blades. The D-N-R’s Aime Davidson says there are regulations in place already for disposing of the blades — but she says there are still challenges.
She says there have been some solutions worked out.
She says those concrete mixes are used for parking areas and planters. Davidson there’s continued work on figuring out new formulations for blades going out to make them easier to recycle.
Another aspect of the blades is making sure they don’t get backed up into big piles. Davidson says there are regulations that require recyclers to show they are indeed recycling the blades.
Davidson says they don’t want to necessarily stifle the recycling industry to keep it from having the quantity it needs. She says there has been one case of a pile of blades that has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s office, but the other piles have all been taken care of.
The D-N-R’s ongoing meetings include the utility companies, industry representatives, and solid waste agencies, to develop recommendations.
Davidson says they are starting to put together some recommendations from those discussions.
Davidson says disposing of wind blades has become a topic of discussion in a lot of places.
Davidson says the use of solar panels is not as far along as wind turbines, but finding ways to dispose of the solar panels is something that looms as well.
ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATES
The two candidates for Iowa Attorney General disagree on abortion. Republican Brenna Bird criticized incumbent Tom Miller for not defending the state in two abortion cases. The Democrat Miller says he did the ethical thing by having private attorneys defend abortion restrictions. Miller says he twice got to the situation where he thought he couldn’t zealously represent the state. He says that is only two times out of 40 years he has been in the office. Miller says he’s opposed to “extreme” abortion policies. The two made their comments on the PBS program “Iowa Press”.
STREET PROJECTS
The Le Mars Street Department says there are a couple of projects that will affect traffic, beginning today. Street Supervisor Scott Kneip says some street repairs will take place at the intersection of 12th SW and Business 75. They will begin work on the northbound lanes at that intersection. Northbound traffic will be shifted to the middle lane. 12th St SW going over the railroad tracks will be completely closed to Lincoln St. Traffic leaving the Walmart area on 12th St will only be able to turn right. The traffic lights will flash red and there will be detour signs posted. I and A Construction of Sioux City will carry out the project. Kneip says the contractor has 20 working days to complete the project. The first phase of construction should take seven to ten days.
The Street Department will also be closing 1st St NE between 4th Ave and 5th Ave today. MidAmerican Energy will replace a power pole at the corner of 1st St NE and 5th. It should take until noon today to finish the work.
SCHOOL BOARD
The Le Mars Community Schools Board of Directors will meet in regular session this evening. Their agenda includes the Superintendant’s annual report for the 2021-22 School Year, and information on open enrollments into the Le Mars school district. Action items include resignations and contracts, mostly for teacher associates. District Goals and Board Activities for the new school year will be considered, as will an agreement for a school resource officer from the Le Mars Police Department. Later, the Board will go into closed session to consider a real estate matter.
KNAPP TRIAL
The murder and willful injury trial of Thomas Knapp of rural Merrill was adjourned Friday, after both the prosecution and defense rested their cases.
After testimony Friday, the state rested its case, and, the defense also rested its case.
The trial will continue next Tuesday at the Plymouth County Courthouse, when closing arguments take place. The session begins Tuesday at 9 am.
84 year-old Thomas Knapp is charged in the May, 2020 shooting death of his step son, 51 year-old Kevin Juzek, and domestic assault against his wife, Darlene Knapp.
NO CONTACT ARREST
A Sheldon man was arrested in Sioux County last week for multiple counts of violating a court order. 37 year old Christopher Nell was arrested Friday by the Sioux County Sheriffs Department after receiving a report that Nell had entered the residence of a person who has a no contact order against him. An investigation revealed that Nell violated the no contact order several times in the past month. Nell was charged with six violations of a court protection order, and was jailed.
BBB ADVICE
Proud Iowa parents who’ve already posted photos online of their kids heading back to school might consider taking them down. Lisa Schiller (SHILL-er), with the Better Business Bureau, says sharing pictures of your child holding a sign on their first day of the new school year could create risks.
Schiller explains how those popular photos could become dangerous in the online environment.
Also, all of that data could be used to steal your — or your child’s — identity, or it could be used to guess passwords and break into online accounts.
It’s important to check your social media settings to see with whom you’re exchanging information. Also, look over your “friends” list and make sure what you’re sharing is going to the correct people. Some settings mean if a friend hits “like” on your post, all of their friends can see it, too.
