Join Northwestern alumni, athlete and coach Bob Boerigter at the Dutch American Heritage Museum tonight, as he reflects on important moments in the history of NWC athletics. His new book is called, “Forgotten Stories That Are Unforgettable: Northwestern College Sports.”
Boerigter earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Northwestern. His coaching career began in 1972 at Northwestern where he assumed the role of basketball, baseball, football and golf coach.The football team won the college’s first NAIA national championship in 1973.
Boerigter notes that collegiate sports are different today. He talks about playing several sports at Northwestern in the 1960s and early 70s . . . while athletes today tend to focus on one sport.
Boerighter was instrumental in creating the Great Plains Athletic Conference,or GPAC, by cofounding the earlier the Nebraska-Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which he says transformed the college playoff system.
Boerigter explains that the old NIAA called for the post season matchups to be created by districts, and the districts were defined by states, which limited the playoff opportunities for most schools.
Boerighter notes that in creating the GPAC, schools not only got more berths to post season games, the rules now allowed for schools to belong to the conference without sponsoring football.
Bob taught and coached at the collegiate level for 45 years and served as athletics director at five institutions.
You can hear more from Bob Boerigter tonight at the Dutch Heritage Musuem in Orange City. Boerigter will talk about his book, “Forgotten Stories that Are Unforgettable: Northwestern College Sports” as part the Nights at the Museum Guest Lecture Series. The program begins at 6:30 p.m.
Iowa to Forbid Insurance Coverage Limits for Treatment of Autism
A new state law will require private insurance policies to cover a range of medically necessary services for Iowans with autism. Representative David Young of Van Meter says private insurers may no longer limit coverage to children, for example.
Some policies have limited the number of outpatient visits to medical professionals who diagnose autism in children and adults. That’s now prohibited and there are to be no limits on appointments for treatment with an autism service provider. Representative Adam Zabner of Iowa City says getting rid of these restrictions is a big step.
The bill passed the legislature unanimously and Governor Reynolds signed it last week. The changes go into effect July 1st. Federal officials estimate about eight-thousand Iowa children and 53-thousand adults in Iowa have been diagnosed or are living with an autism spectrum disorder.
Ice Cream Days begins tomorrow (Wednesday) in downtown Le Mars. On Wednesday, the Tri State Cruisers will put on a car show and a municipal band concert in the evening. On Thursday, there will be a movie for families at the drive-in, and the Le Mars Youth Theater will perform Goldilocks on Trial. Each day through Saturday there will be an I Spy Scavenger Hunt, face painting, foam-tastic fun for kids, fuzzy bunnies, ice cream available daily and much more. Ice Cream Days runs through Saturday in downtown Le Mars. For details, go to www.icecreamdays.com.
