KLEM-LAND COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS
Recipients of the third annual KLEM-land Community Champion Awards have been announced. Five young adults between the ages of 18 and 40 have been chosen from nominations received through the end of January.
This year’s Community Champions include Kylie Martin, Jessica Stark, Luke Larson, Dr. Zachary Lancaster, & Leah Ten Napel. Over the next several weeks, each will be profiled on KLEM and on social media.
Nominees were judged in categories including career or education success, mentorship, leadership, and civic activities.
The Community Champions program is sponsored by Primebank, Total Motors, Wells Enterprises, Floyd Valley Healthcare, and Kemps.
ROBOTICS CHAMPIONSHIIP
It’s a big weekend for the Hinton Blackhawk’s Robotics Club.
Gregory Beals, the clubs’ sponsor, says they are competing in a state robotics championship
This is the first time in the club’s history that teams have advanced to the state championship.
Beal describes the competition this weekend.
Team member Nicole Jolin says the teams have been preparing their robots for this competition throughout the year.
Jolin says the Hinton club is ready to compete.
The two day event is free and open to the public. Nicole and Greg says for those who can’t make it to Coralville, the event will be live-streamed on the Hinton Robotics Club You Tube channel.
Jolin and her team are excited for this opportunityi.
The FIRST Tech Challenge is a high-school robotics program that provides students with the opportunity to design, build and program robots and compete against other teams.
GENDER IDENTITY BILL PASSES LEGISLATURE
The Iowa House and Senate both passed the bill Thursday that removes the words gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Both bodies debated the bill for much of the afternoon before the votes. Democratic Senator Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids says this will make Iowa the first state to strip citizens of civil rights. She says it creates a world so hostile to those that trans or non-gender-conforming people can’t exist. Republican Representative Steven Holt from Denison says having gender identity in the civil rights codes hurts women and doesn’t protect their rights. He says having the 2007 law applied to gender identity issues has been a constant generator of unpredictable and bizarre lawsuits and disputes. “No one knows what to do, and it winds up protecting no one,” he says. The bill now goes to Governor Kim Reynolds.
PROPERTY DAMAGE ACCIDENT
Wednesday evening, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a vehicle versus cow accident east of Hinton, in the a rural area 7 miles southeast of Hinton. Deputies with the County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene and located the driver of a small SUV with front end damage. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, identified as Adam Castle of Sioux City, He reported he was northbound on K49 when a group of loose cows entered the roadway. Castle said he was unable to avoid striking a small calf in the group. His vehicle sustained damage to the front grill and bumper area. Castle was uninjured. The injured calf and loose cows were found to belong to Jocelyn Robinson.
CHICAGO MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON IN SANBORN BANK ROBBERY
A Chicago man was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for a bank robbery in O’Brien County. Del Evans, Jr, 40, robbed the Sanborn Savings Bank, less than two months after he was placed on supervised release for two previous bank robberies. He pled guilty to the crime last September.
On January 22 of last year, Evans walked into the Sanborn Savings Bank, and handed the teller a note demanding money. Evans obtained cash, exited the bank, and fled on foot. Law enforcement officers identified Evans through surveillance footage and located his residence. Law enforcement converged on the residence, set up a cordon around the house, and Evans was called out. He surrendered peacefully. At the time of the instant bank robbery, Evans was on supervised release for a 2014 bank robbery spree.
Evans was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 188 months’ imprisonment. He was also ordered to make $5,408.00 in restitution. He was also sentenced to serve a consecutive 24-month sentence for the supervised release violation. He must then also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
EDUCATION GRANTS TO NCC AND WIT
Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education Thursday awarded one million dollar grants to each of four Iowa community colleges, including two in northwest Iowa. The grants come from the Iowa Career Academy Incentive Fund. NCC in Sheldon is one of the northwest Iowa recipients. They intend to build a 7-thousand square foot regional center in Marcus. This will include space for certified nurse assistant education. Some of the funds will be used to renovate existing facitilities at MMC-RU High School.
Western Iowa Tech Community College was also awarded a one miliion dollars grant to build a regional education center at Denison.
The grants support partnerships between community colleges, schools, industry, and community stakeholders to empower more students with multiple pathways to post-secondary success. This will support programs including health sciences, welding technology, and HVAC programs. The new facilities should be ready in the fall of 2026.
