NCC FALL ENROLLMENT THE LARGEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Northwest Iowa Community College had announce a record-breaking Fall enrollment of 1,907 students. This is the largest fall class since the college’s founding in 1966. Enrollment is up 6.4 % from last year.
NCC operates with multiple terms and start dates throughout the academic year. In August, at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic year, NCC recorded a total of 2,778, up 2.85% over the previous year.
NCC holds the highest student success rate in Iowa at 61.2%, and their graduation rate is 55.4%. Both figures are well above the statewide averages.
DISTRIBUTION OF COUNTY ROAD FUNDS CHANGING
There D-O-T is putting the finishing touches on a change in the way road use tax funds are distributed to counties. The D-O-T’s Stuart Anderson says the change was necessitated by the legislature.
Anderson says the Transportation Commission will still get county input.
The former committee had members who were county supervisors and county engineers, and they made the rules for distributing the secondary road fund and the farm-to-market road funds in the state’s 99 counties. He says keeping the committee in a new capacity gives them a link to the counties when making decisions.
The Transportation Commission approved the rules for distributing the county funds at its meeting Tuesday.
IOWA VETERANS WILL LAY WREATH AT TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
Next week, dozens of Iowa veterans will be taken on the latest chartered Honor Flight to see the various memorials in Washington D-C. Russ Naden (NAY-dun) of Webster City is one of the organizers of the Brushy Creek Honor Flight, scheduled for next Wednesday, flying out of the Fort Dodge airport. Naden says they’ll have around 130 veterans, most of whom served during the Vietnam era, and four or five who are Korean War veterans. Naden says they’ll also make a trip to Arlington National Cemetery where the Iowa veterans will be taking part in a special event — laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This will be the 26th Honor Flight from Fort Dodge.
GOP LAWMAKERS CHALLENGE PERMIT FOR CARBON PIPELINE
Thirty-seven Republicans lawmakers have signed on to lawsuits in state and federal courts which challenge the decision to grant a permit to Summit Carbon Solutions for their proposed carbon pipeline. Representative Charley Thomson of Charles City is a spokesman for the group.
Summit’s pipeline would qualify for billions in federal tax credits for capturing carbon and storing it permanently underground. Thomson says he’s happy for people to make money, but when state regulators approved the project, Thomson argues the property rights of Iowa landowners who object to the pipeline were violated.
Thomson says there’s a chance the group’s federal lawsuit might wind up in the U-S Supreme Court and lead to overturning a 2005 opinion on the use of eminent domain. The so-called Kelo decision OK’d the use of eminent domain to seize private property for economic development.
The list of legislators who’ve signed onto the lawsuit include: Senators Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center, Kevin Alons of Salix, Rocky De Witt of Sioux City, Lynn Evans of Aurelia, and Ken Carlson of Onawa.
Representatives include Tom Jeneary of Le Mars, Zach Dieken of Granville, and Skyler Wheeler of Hull.
NW IOWA DINNER WITH DEMOCRATS
Area Democrats are hosting an event tonight in Le Mars. It’s called the Northwest Iowa Dinner with Democrats, and it’s hosted by the Democratic parties of Plymouth, Sioux, Woodbury, Lyon and Osceola counties. The evening’s keynote speaker is Democratic activist and blogger Jess Piper. The guests will also hear from Ryan Melton of Nevada, who is running for Congress in the Iowa fourth district; Iowa House minority leader Jennifer Konfrst; State Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames, and State Rep. J.D. Scholten of Sioux City. Three Democratic candidates for the Iowa House: Emma Bouza of Hawarden, Jessica Lopez-Walker of Sioux City, and Rosanne Plante of Hinton, will also speak. The event will be held at the Willow Creek Banquet Hall in Le Mars. Tickets are 25 dollars each, and are available at secure.actblue.com/donate, and doors open at 5:30. A meal will be served, and the program begins at 6:30.
SHERIFFS NOMINEE APPEALS PLACING INCUMBENT ON BALLOT AS LIBERTARIAN
The Republican nominee for Lyon County Sheriff is seeking judicial review of a decision that the county’s incumbent sheriff is eligible to be on the General Election ballot as the Libertarian Party’s nominee. Scott Van Aartsen reports.
The Lyon County Sheriff sought the Republican Party’s nomination, but lost to the state trooper. Trooper Hilt’s appeal claims the sheriff had to be nominated by a county convention of Libertarians and argues the sheriff could not have been nominated by a single write-in vote on the Libertarian ballot. The appeal asks for quick review of the case. Iowa’s Secretary of State has said 11:59 Wednesday is the deadline for certifying candidates for the General Election, so the ballots can be printed in time.
HIGH COURT RULES LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATES OFF BALLOT
Libertarian candidates will NOT be listed on the General Election ballots in Iowa’s first, third and fourth congressional districts. The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that the candidates were not properly nominated because the Libertarian Party failed to follow state law in the timing of its county conventions. Will Admussen of the Iowa Attorney General’s office asked the justices to make that decision during legal arguments on Tuesday.
The ruling was issued shortly after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a few hours before Iowa’s top election official said he had to certify the list of candidates for the November election, so election officials can begin printing ballots. Jules Cutler, chairwoman of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, says they’re being punished for starting their county conventions 181 minutes too early.
The Libertarian Party held its county conventions right after its caucuses back on January 15th. Libertarian congressional candidates Nicholas Gluba in the first district, Marco Battaglia in the third district and Charles Aldrich in the fourth district say they will run write-in campaigns since voters won’t see their names printed on ballots. Battaglia says he and the other party’s other two congressional candidates have been unfairly targeted.
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Iowa election law on candidate qualifications requires strict compliance and holding county conventions and caucuses on different days is a modest burden for political parties. Republican voters in the first, third and fourth congressional district filed the objections that ultimately led to Wednesday’s decision. They did not challenge the process for nominating Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver, so his name WILL be listed on ballots for this year’s election.
CLAY COUNTY FATAL
A motorcyclist was killed in a three vehicle accident near Everly Wednesday morning. The Iowa State Patrol says 54 year old Douglas Wayne Nielsen was riding a motorcycle east on a county road, when he struck the rear of a minivan driven by 51 year old Amber Champine of May City. The impact threw Nielsen from the motorcycle, into the path of a westbound pickup driven by 62 year old Kenneth Ulatowski of Sheldon. Nielsen died of injuries suffered in the accident.
FEMA AND SBA REPS AT DORDT
Representatives from FEMA and the Small Business Administration will be at Dordt University on Thursday in Sioux Center from noon until 7 p.m. to help people who were affected by flooding and severe storms from June 16 to July 23 register for disaster assistance.
They will be in the Dordt University Campus Center’s terrace room at 700 7th St., Northeast.
