CENTRAL ARTS SPACE
The Plymouth County Historical Museum has announced a new name for a familar place.
During the Museum’s annual 4th of July luncheon, Museum Executive Directors Dr. Harry Dunstan and Kay Krekow announced that the Old Central Gym is now going to known as “The Central Arts Space”.
Kay Krekow says she and Dr. Dunstan want to build on what has already been established at the Museum.
The Central Arts Space will be a place where a variety of events will tell the story of Plymouth County’s culture. Dr. Dunstan has a long-range vision to create a cultural center that extends beyond Plymouth County.
GROWTH IN YOUTH SHOOTING SPORTS IN IOWA
A growing number of Iowa students are participating in target shooting contests. Marty Eby is the shooting sports coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the “Scholastic Clay Target Program” in Iowa. He says the trapshooting championships held in early June are example of that growth.
About 42-hundred Iowa students were involved in the program last year. Youth shooting sports have grown more popular over the the past decade. Nearly all states are participating in the Scholastic Clay Target Program.
Thirty-six Iowa school districts sent teams to the state Skeet Championships in Waukee last month. The statewide shooting competitions for Iowa community college students will be held in October. Eby says the program’s first priority is teaching the kids how to safely handle a gun.
Students who mishandle their gun are disqualified from competition. All tobacco products and alcohol are banned at events — for students, coaches and spectators. Gun critics raise concerns about the growing popularity of youth shooting sports and argue marksmanship training should be the responsibility of parents, not schools.
FUTURE FLOOD PLANS
In the aftermath of the recent flood, Le Mars officials are going to consider how to prepare for future floods. Le Mars Fire Rescue Chief Dave Schipper says floods have become more common lately.
That may require reconsidering the city’s flood preparations.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will send a public assistance team to review damages to city facilities. Schipper says at that time they will discuss ways to plan for future floods.
LIBERTARIAN PARTY FIELDS CANDIDATES IN THREE IOWA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS
Libertarian Party candidates have been nominated in three of Iowa’s four congressional districts.
The Libertarian Party has nominated Charles Aldrich of Clarion to run in the fourth district, where Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra is running for reelection and Democrat Ryan Melton of Nevada is running a second time. Aldrich, an enginer who served in the Marines for four years, ran for a U-S House seat in 2018 and ran for the U-S Senate in 2016. He ran for a seat in the state legislature in 2022.
Lone Tree City Councilman Nicholas Gluba, the Libertarian candidate in the first district, is a U-S Marine Corps veteran who says Iowans are tired of U-S involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Israel. The Libertarian candidate in the third district is Marco Battaglia of Des Moines who was the Libertarian’s nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022. Battaglia ran for attorney general in 2018.
NCC GRANT FOR CDL PROGRAM
Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon has received a state grant to support their Commercial Drivers License program. The 301-thousand dollar grant will allow NCC to build infrastructure for their CDL program. This will include the construction of a storage building, and the purchase of two truck-trailer semis and a bus. They will also add testing for a CDL permit, which will make NCC a fully accredited license testing center. NCC would then be able to train 80 additional students a year for CDL licensure. A new instructor for the program has also been hired.
REVENUE DEPARTMENT, IABD WEBSITES MERGE
Some changes are coming to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division and Department of Revenue websites as part of the state reorganizations. Department of Revenue director, Mary Mosiman says the change beginning July 9th will bring both together under the revenue.iowa.gov website. Mosiman says this has been happening with all state government agencies as part of the Digital Transformation Project in an effort to have a unified standardized website. The Iowa Lottery is now also under the Department of Revenue, but she says their website won’t be changing because of the branding and the unique use that the Lottery website has with their vendors and of their lottery players.
COULD AIR-FRIED CICADAS BE IOWA’S NEXT COOL CUISINE?
If you’ve ever had a hankering to taste Iowa-fried cicadas, you’ll have your chance later this summer. Ginny Mitchell, education program coordinator at the Iowa State University Insect Zoo, says one popular element of their annual “Insect Village” event next month is edible insects. Mitchell recently collected hundreds of the 13- and 17-year cicadas which she plans to air-fry, sprinkle with seasoning, and serve to visitors on the Ames campus. She says entomophagy, or the eating of insects, has been around since the beginning of humankind, and she notes making a meal of insects can be extremely healthy. They’re high in protein, amino acids and calcium. I-S-U’s Insect Zoo will hold its Insect Village event on Saturday, August 24th.
