Officials with the Iowa College Student Aid Commission (Iowa College Aid) have released the “Condition of Higher Education in Iowa 2014” report. The report provides policymakers with an overview of Iowa’s population in relation to college readiness, persistence, affordability, educational attainment and the future employability of the citizens of Iowa.

Karen Misjak, executive director of Iowa College Aid, said “As we work towards increasing Iowa’s overall educational attainment, the data in this report highlights where we are as a state and the challenges we will need to overcome in the process.” Misjak says “The report is a great resource for policymakers and those working towards increasing college preparation, access and persistence and completion rates in Iowa.”

Among other things, the report illustrates that:

· With an aging population, increasing the state’s educational attainment will require more adults to pursue post-secondary education.

· Iowans with bachelor’s degrees earn approximately 60 percent more than individuals with only a high school diploma and 110 percent more than those with less than a high school diploma.

· Less than 36 percent of Iowa’s working-age population holds an associate’s degree or higher, yet it is projected that 62 percent of all jobs in the state will require post-secondary education by 2018.

· Iowa counties with a high percent of their populations holding an associate’s degree or higher tend to have higher median earnings.

· Iowa students in the college pipeline are projected to be fewer in number and more racially and ethnically diverse.

· Increasingly, Iowans applying for financial aid for college have higher need.

· The median income of most state financial aid program recipients is well below that of the state as a whole.

· Increases in college costs have outpaced increases in household income and appropriations for state financial aid programs.

The full report can be accessed from Iowa College Aid’s Higher Education Data Center, https://www.iowacollegeaid.gov/content/higher-education-data-center.

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund recently supported The Friends of Lake Anita with a $400 donation to be used for their annual fishing clinic held, in June. The fund also supported their Walleye Fund with a $250 donation.

Fund spokesperson Melanie Petty said fishing was a big part of Trevor’s life and the Fund enjoys supporting things that families can do together. Petty says also, that the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund is gearing up for its 6th Annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament to be held on August 9th.

All funds raised are donated back out to the community. Contact Melanie Petty if you are interested in participating this year. You can follow the fund through local media and FB.

Officials with the Atlantic Police Department report a woman from southeast Iowa was arrested Wednesday. 21-year old Katelyn Myers, of Ottumwa, was taken into custody on a charge of Driving While Revoked for OWI Test Refusal. Myers was booked into the Cass County Jail.

(9-a.m. News)

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday) released additional details about a two-vehicle crash the happened Wednesday afternoon, southeast of Walnut. Sheriff Jeff Danker reports at around 4:25-p.m., Deputies were dispatched to a personal injury accident at 530th Street approximately one-half of a mile south of Highway 83 which is south east of Walnut, in rural Pottawattamie County. Early reports indicated that the accident involved two vehicles involved in a head-on collision, with multiple injuries and parties trapped within the vehicles.

Upon arrival Deputies found a 2011 Chevrolet Impala operated by 14-year old Sidney Nelsen, of rural Walnut, and a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am operated by 22-year old Leah Jenkins, of Atlantic, had collided head-on. After the impact, Nelson’s car came to rest in the east ditch, while Jenkins’ vehicle came to rest in the west ditch.

Jenkins and her passenger, 21-year old Carey Klindt, of Atlantic, required extrication by Walnut Fire and Rescue. Jenkins was transported to Alegent Creighton by medical helicopter with serious injuries and Klindt was transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Walnut Rescue with serious injuries. According to Jenkins’ sister Misty, Leah had several broken bones and other injuries, but was expected to recover.

Sidney Nelsen was transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by private vehicle and was treated for minor injuries. A passenger in her car, 24-year old Felicia Nelsen, from Walnut, was transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Walnut Rescue for treatment of  non-incapacitating injuries. At this point the Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate cause of the accident.

Atlantic Community School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein, Tuesday, thanked a local business and organization for their generous support of education in the district. Amstein acknowledged 1st Whitney Bank and Trust for their contribution of $37,500 towards the district’s 1-to-1 computer initiative which puts leased Apple Macbook laptop computers into the students’ hands as a learning tool beginning with the upcoming school year. The bank has pledged a total of $50,000 toward the first phase of the project.)

The 1:1 (One-to-One) program will cost more than $625,650 over the course of four-years. During Tuesday night’s School Board meeting, Amstein also acknowledged the support of the Atlantic Education Foundation. He said they donated funds to purchase a laser engraver for the Industrial Tech program at the high school. The engraver cost around $20,000.

Amstein said also, Camblin Mechanical, the Association of Builders and Contractors, and A-H-S Principal Heather McKay, are in talks to bring a Career Tech Education course in Plumbing, to the high school. He said if that happens, it will likely be the first such course in the State of Iowa. The initial class would focus on safety, use of tools and the basic components of plumbing. Students who complete the first class will receive their OSHA Safety Certificate, which is required by many employers in the mechanical and plumbing field.

In other news, Amstein said he received word from the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) that they would like to receive a short presentation from a representative of the district to be made at the IASB’s convention in November about the Lindamood Bell Reading and Comprehension Program the district has been using, and that the IASB is highly impressed with the results Atlantic has experienced with the program.

During the convention, a representative of the district will sit in on a panel that focuses on poverty and strategies districts use to aid in students’ learning and comprehension.