SPALDING GALA
It will be a bittersweet celebration at Spalding Catholic School in Alton tonight. That’s because the school will close at the end of the season. Deacon Dan Goebel says they plan a time of celebration, remembrance and gratitude.
Goebel has a long history at Spalding Catholic,
He grew to see the value of Catholic education.
For now, Deacon Goebel is helping students and teachers transition to their next school after Spalding closes.
Goebel also wants to stay in Catholic Education.
Spalding Catholic Schools began in 1962, an included schools in Hospers, Granville, and Alton.
ONE INJURED IN ROCK VALLEY HOUSE FIRE
A fire yesterday at a Rock Valley residence caused injury to its elderly occupant. The Sioux County Sheriffs Office says the fire was reported to the county Communications Center around 12:30 pm. Rock Valley Fire and Ambulance responded. Hull Fire Department provided mutual aid. One person was inside the residence at 1617 13th Avenue, Rock Valley. The 86-year-old was inside the house when the fire started, and he exited the home on his own. He was taken to Hegg Health Center, and later flown to a burn unit for additional treatment. Damage to the home was estimated at over 80-thousand dollars. The cause of the fire is not known, and is under investigation by Rock Valley Fire and the State Fire Marshal.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS INTEND TO ‘RESET’ CONVERSATION ABOUT AEA OVERHAUL
The governor’s proposed overhaul of Area Education Agencies was tabled by a subcommittee in the Iowa House this week. House Speaker Pat Grassley says House Republicans intend to reset the conversation with parents and school officials and build off of the governor’s plan. Grassley says legislators and the governor share the goal of improving outcomes for students with disabilities, but the discussion generated by the governor’s plan had created a level of uncertainty among parents and schools who rely on A-E-As. On Thursday, Governor Kim Reynolds told reporters it was time to act to make A-E-As more accountable after 20 years of poor test scores among students with disabilities.
ERNST BLASTS DELAYS IN FEDERAL COLLEGE AID FORMS
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is joining other Republicans in the U-S Senate who’re calling for an investigation of how the Biden Administration has handled changes in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — called FAFSA (FAFF-such). Ernst says the U-S Department of Education wasted time on taxpayer funded handouts to people with college loan debt and fumbled the changes in FAFSA. An estimated 17 million college-bound students who filled out FAFSA forms will have to wait for financial aid offers from schools. That’s because the data in those forms is normally delivered to colleges and universities in the late fall or early winter, but this year’s delivery is now expected in March. It means students likely won’t find out until April how much federal financial aid they qualify for and how much their college of choice might offer in scholarships.
LOOK FOR WARMTH AHEAD IN FEBRUARY
Much of Iowa is seeing above-normal temperatures for the first week of February, a radical change from just a couple of weeks ago. January wrapped up with some Iowa cities reporting mid-50s for highs, and state climatologist Justin Glisan says that’s some 60 to 70 degrees warmer than the middle of the month when we were in the teens below zero, with wind chills of 40-below. Some Iowa cities saw more than 20 inches of snow during January, and many communities ended up 10 to 15-inches above their averages for snowfall. Glisan says the month concluded as the third-snowiest January on record for Iowa. As for the month ahead, Glisan says we can expect more of what we’ve been seeing all week — warmer-than-normal temperatures.
