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“Top 10 best public high schools” ranking in Iowa shows Iowa City West on-top again

News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

For the second straight year, Iowa City is home to Iowa’s best public high school, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings. The list, released this spring, has Iowa City West ranked as the state’s top public high school — 626th nationally — followed by Gilbert and Pella. Decorah, which was second last year to West, and Liberty High School round out the top five.The nation’s No. 1 public high school is BASIS Peoria in Arizona, according to the magazine, which evaluated 17,660 high schools this year — including 317 in Iowa — in six factors including students’ college readiness, state assessment proficiency and performance and graduation rate from the 2021-22 school year.

Forty-two Iowa high schools are ranked in the nation’s top 5,000. In southwest Iowa, the Bedford High School placed 20th on the list of rankings; Treynor placed 26th; Shenandoah, 29th; Harland was 36th in the Iowa rankings; Audubon came in at 45th; Lewis Central placed 51st; Carroll placed 55th in the rankings; at #58 was Stanton; East Mills came in 60th; Underwood was 62nd; Glenwood, 69th; Logan-Magnolia was 77th followed by the Griswold Middle/High School in 78th place; Mount Ayr and Woodbine were ranked 86th & 87th respectively; Coon Rapids-Bayard ranked 89th; Fremont-Mills came in at 92nd place; IKM-Manning and Stuart placed 101st and 102nd, respectively; Creston ranked 106th; AHSTW was ranked 113th; Lenox came in at 116th place in the annual rankings report. Other area school district rankings:

Denison, 120th; Atlantic, 132nd in Iowa rankings. The total minority enrollment at AHS according to the report, is 12%, and 39% of students are economically disadvantaged.

U.S. News and World Report’s Top 10 best public high schools in Iowa:

1. Iowa City West

  • National ranking: 626
  • Graduation rate: 94%
  • College readiness: 61.7
  • Enrollment: 1,503

2. Gilbert

  • National ranking: 996
  • Graduation rate: 100%
  • College readiness: 18.2
  • Enrollment: 537

3. Pella

  • National ranking: 1,073
  • Graduation rate: 98%
  • College readiness: 26.2
  • Enrollment: 764

4. Decorah

  • National ranking: 1,098
  • Graduation rate: 97%
  • College readiness: 20.4
  • Enrollment: 576

5. Liberty

  • National ranking: 1,556
  • Graduation rate: 97%
  • College readiness: 42.0
  • Enrollment: 1,167

6. Ankeny

  • National ranking: 1,560
  • Graduation rate: 94%
  • College readiness: 25.2
  • Enrollment: 1,347

7. ADM (Adel)

  • National ranking: 1,744
  • Graduation rate: 97%
  • College readiness: 33.1
  • Enrollment: 651

8. Pleasant Valley

  • National ranking: 1,946
  • Graduation rate: 93%
  • College readiness: 37.1
  • Enrollment: 1,658

9. Williamsburg

  • National ranking: 2,051
  • Graduation rate: 96%
  • College readiness: 29.9
  • Enrollment: 409

10. Iowa City High

  • National ranking: 2,183
  • Graduation rate: 94%
  • College readiness: 35.0
  • Enrollment: 1,599

New exhibit opens in West Branch to honor the Hoovers’ 150th birthdays

News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – This year marks what would’ve been the 150th birthdays of both President Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou, and a special exhibit will open tomorrow (Saturday) at his birthplace in West Branch to celebrate the sesquicentennial. Aaron Scheinblum, spokesman for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, says visitors will discover the lives of the Hoovers in a completely new way, highlighting their birthdays over the decades and the celebrations in their honor. “More than 70 items from our museum collection are actually coming out of storage and being put on display,” Scheinblum says, “and what makes them so unique is they all have ties to birthdays over the years for both Bert and Lou Hoover.”

new exhibit is called “Hoover 150: A Birthday Celebration,” and Scheinblum says it will offer a unique perspective on some of the Hoovers’ most intimate moments with friends and family.  “Our museum staff has, without exaggerating, spent weeks researching, diving into the diaries of Lou Henry Hoover,” he says, “trying to figure out exactly what memories match up with what item, to be able to tell such a unique story as you go through the walls and go through the galleries.” From childhood through adulthood, visitors to the West Branch facility will be able to experience some of the Hoovers’ great birthday memories through items that have never before been on public display.

“We’re actually showing a lot of different things as far as thank you cards, birthday cards — these giant birthday cards that he was honored with,” he says, “and a lot of correspondence, a lot of back and forth, sharing these memories with friends and family.” Sheinblum says this is a temporary exhibit that will only be up through the end of the year, and it provides an opportunity for visitors to discover the Hoovers in a remarkable way. “We actually have a number of Lou’s dresses in our museum collection,” Scheinblum says. “We were actually able to find what Lou was wearing, specifically on her birthday, while during her time in the White House, and one of those dresses is perfectly described and actually in our museum collection.”

library and museum will be closing early next year for what’s billed as a complete remodel and renovation. The 20-million dollar project is expected to take 12 to 15 months. For the remainder of this year, it will be open every day, with the only exceptions being Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

https://hoover.archives.gov

2024 State Track and Field Meet – Day 2 – Class 2A and 3A Session

Sports

May 17th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Girls 2A 1600 Meter Sprint Medley Relay

-16th Audubon (Jaelynn Petersen, Taryn Petersen, Mattie Nielsen, Kadence Brannan-Sporrer) 4:23.05

Girls 3A 1600 Meter Sprint Medley Relay

-3rd Atlantic (Morgan Botos, Lila Wiederstein, Nicole Middents, Claire Pellett) 4:10.50

-6th Lewis Central (Irelynn James, Brooke Nelson, Madeline Fidone, Delayna Reese) 4:12.76

-17th Harlan (Kami Stork, Samantha Ineson, Aubree Wegner, Lindsey Sonderman) 4:21.70

Boys 2A 1600 Meter Sprint Medley Relay

-5th Clarinda (Kaiden Roop, Kayden Hawley, Cooper Phillips, Kyle Wagoner) 3:32.69

Boys 3A 1600 Meter Sprint Medley Relay

-4th Glenwood (Payton Longmeyer, Trey Darden, Victor Cruz, Andrew Smith) 3:32.58

-9th Creston (Casen Dryden, Seth Gordon, Austin Evans, Brandon Briley) 3:34.64

Girls 2A 100M Hurdles Prelims

-14th, Chloe Denton, Shenandoah, 16.12

Girls 3A 100M Hurdles Prelims

-2nd, Jayci Reed, Atlantic, 15.58 Qualified 

Boys 2A 110M Hurdles Prelims

-7th, Gavin Newcomb, AHSTW, 15.10 Qualified 

-11th, Mason Boothby, Underwood, 15.37

-18th, Sam Hulsing, Undrewood, 15.97

Girls 2A 4×200 Meter Relay

-11th Clarinda (Jerzee Knight, Alexa Barnes, Kylie Meier, Bailey Nordyke) 1:47.40

-14th Underwood (Tieler Hull, Kinsley Ferguson, Ainsley Roberts, Haley Stangl) 1:47.80

-21st AHSTW (Delaney Goshorn, Brooklyn Buck, Rylie Knop, Bella Lamp) 1:49.54

Girls 3A 4×200 Meter Relay 

-7th Glenwood (Zoie Carda, Brooklyn Schultz, Allison Koontz, Danika Arnold) 1:44.19

Boys 2A 4×200 Meter Relay 

-2nd Shenandoah (Hunter Dukes, Alex Razee, Cole Graham, Brody Cullin) 1:28.86

Boys 3A 4×200 Meter Relay

-14th Lewis Central (Parker Stessman, Jimmy Scott, Aidan Bergman, Leonardo Hinojosa) 1:31.35

Girls 2A 400 Meter Hurdles

-14th Makenna Paulsen, AHSTW, 1:09.25

-20th Bailey Nordyke, Clarinda, 1:11.28

Girls 3A 400 Meter Hurdles

-9th Breckyn Petersen, Glenwood, 1:07.90

-20th Abby Broeckelman, Harlan, 1:10.56

Boys 2A 400 Meter Hurdles

-20th Tayden Hull, Underwood, 58.01

-21st Nick Denning, AHSTW, 58.32

Boys 3A 400 Meter Hurdles 

-24th Jake Fink, Denison-Schleswig, 59.o1

Girls 2A 4×100 Meter Relay Prelims

-15th Clarinda (Bailey Nordyke, Alexa Barnes, Kylie Meier, Jerzee Knight) 50.99

-22nd Underwood (Tieler Hull, Kinsley Ferguson, Ainsley Roberts, Haley Stangl) 51.51

Girls 3A 4×100 Meter Relay Prelims

-10th Glenwood (Zoie Carda, Elaina Dougherty, Danika Arnold, Allison Koontz) 49.68

-14th Atlantic (Hailey Huffman, Jayci Reed, Allison Middents, Lila Wiederstein) 49.99

Boys 2A 4×100 Meter Relay Prelims 

-1st Shenandoah (Hunter Dukes, Alex Razee, Cole Graham, Brody Cullin) 42.62 Qualified 

Boys 3A 4×100 Meter Relay Prelims 

2nd Harlan (Lukas Francis, Matthew Sorfonden, Brehden Eggerss, Cade Sears) 42.03 Qualified 

-10th Glenwood (Jackson Mulkins, Trey Darden, Tristan Ludwig, Payton Longmeyer) 42.99

-16th Atlantic (Jarrett Hansen, Ethan McNeal, Jaice Larson, Tye Houser) 43.75

Girls 2A 4×400 Meter Relay Prelims 

-13th AHSTW (Delaney Goshorn, Ava Paulsen, Makenna Paulsen, Bella Lamp) 4:10.15

-21st Audubon (Taryn Petersen, Mattie Nielsen, Jaelynn Petersen, Kadence Brannan-Sporrer) 4:13.18

Girls 3A 4×400 Meter Relay Prelims 

-3rd Carroll (Marasyn Wittrock, Averi Burke, Katelyn Aden, Marie Dea) 4:00.86 Qualified 

-9th Glenwood (Brooklyn Schultz, Megan Hughes, Lauren Hughes, Breckyn Petersen) 4:04.75

-15th Lewis Central (Brooke Nelson, Irelynn James, Addison Holt, Madeline Fidone) 4:10.06

Girls 3A Shot Put

-2nd, Jordyn Matiyow, Lewis Central, 40-09.50

-11th, Emma Kuhlman, Carroll, 37-07.25

-16th, Olivia Rowdier, Carroll, 35-09.75

Girls 2A Discus Throw 

-19th, Ellie Sibbel, Kuemper Catholic, 105-02

-20th, Aliyah Parker, Shenandoah, 104-10

-22nd, Maya Zappia, Missouri Valley, 96-11.

Boys 3A Long Jump

-6th, Brehden Eggers, Harlan, 21-05.75

-11th, Colton Rasmussen, Atlantic, 20-08.75

-20th Anthony Arambula, Denison-Schleswig, 19-03.00

Boys 2A High Jump 

-4th, Benjamin Gerken, Kuemper Catholic, 6-03.00

Boys 3A Shot Put

-11th, Tom Mikkelsen, 51-06.00

-14th, Regan Skarnulis, Glenwood, 50-05.25

Boys 2A Discus Throw

-1st, Maxwell Tiaras, Underwood, 181-04

-4th, Evan Adams, Kuemper Catholic, 161-00.

Girls 3A Long Jump

-14th, Lila Wiederstein, Atlantic, 16-03.25

Boys 2A 4×400 Meter Relay Prelims

-6th Underwood (Josh Ravlin, Riley Sealock, Mason Boothby, Will Buckholdt) 3:26.88 Qualified 

-22nd Shenandoah (Hunter Dukes, Santiago Hernandez, Cole Scamman, Ayden Johnson) 3:35.99

Boys 3A 4×400 Meter Relay Prelims

-17th Atlantic (Devon Fields, Colin Rudy, Bennett Whetstone, Grant Petty) 3:30.30

-20th Creston (Austin Evans, Davin Wallace, Seth Gordon, Brandon Briley) 3:30.50

Creston woman arrested for Animal Neglect; Creston man faces 2nd offense Assault charge

News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a woman from Creston was arrested Wednesday morning, on an Animal Neglect charge. 35-year-old Elda Soraida Lemus was arrested at her residence on a charge of Animal Neglect with Serious Injury or Death. Lemus was taken to Union County Jail and later posted a $2,000 cash or surety bond before being released.

And, a little after 10-p.m. Thursday, 39-year-old Samantha Lynn Hayes, of Creston, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd Offense, and for Consume(ing) [an] Alcoholic Beverage in Public Place/1st Offense. Hayes was taken to Clarke County Jail where she was being held without bond.

Bondurant Woman Charged with Insurance Fraud

News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A woman from central Iowa faces a felony charge related to Insurance Fraud. The Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau says 39-year-old Sarah Rahm, of Bondurant, was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information (a Class D Felony). The charges are the result of an investigation that began in March, of 2024.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, Rahm made willful misrepresentations regarding her pet’s medical history and then falsified the onset date of a claimed medical condition in connection with an insurance claim. Rahm was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail on May 3, 2024.  Rahm posted a $5,000 bond and was released.

Sarah Rahm

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Marion County Chiropractor Arrested Following Fraud Investigation

News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Pleasantville Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau report a Knoxville man, 46-year-old Theodore Richard Liautaud, Jr., was arrested May 1st on a warrant charging him with: one count of Insurance Fraud Presenting False Information; Tampering with Records, and Theft in the 3rd Degree. The charges are the result of an investigation that began in May of 2023, after the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau received a complaint against Liautaud, Jr., who was the owner of the Chiropractic Hut-Liautaud Family Chiropractic located in Pleasantville.

According to the complaint, Liautaud had been billing his patient’s insurance providers for dates of services that had not taken place during a period from October 2021 to May of 2023.

Theodore Richard Liautaud, Jr

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

IA Congressional candidate’s campaign under investigation for alleged polling fraud

News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa — Officials with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board decided Thursday, to open an investigation into Melissa Vine’s campaign in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Vine, who is running as a Democrat in the district, was the subject of a complaint made by the Iowa Unity Coalition, a progressive PAC, earlier in May. The coalition held a vote April 30 on who to endorse in June 7 Democratic primary between Vine and Lanon Baccam, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official and Biden campaign staffer. Registered members had to pay $20 to the group to participate in the online vote.

IUC Chair Mitch Henry said in an interview that the PAC saw a sudden increase in members the day of and the day before the vote. During the 24-hour online voting process, large quantities of votes were submitted over the course of one hour. An audit by the Iowa Unity Coalition found that 41 votes were submitted by non-members, and that 43 others were submitted by people who had signed up for the group shortly before the vote and had the same address and credit card information, as well as email addresses linked to Vine’s campaign.

Henry said that 125 new members were registered through ActBlue primarily from April 30 through May 1 as the endorsement voting period began, with 76 registrations flagged as fraudulent. At an emergency board meeting held May 1, the organization disqualified 84 votes from the final endorsement count and the Iowa Unity Coalition officially endorsed Baccam May 7. Henry said the Iowa Unity Coalition contacted four individuals he knew of that were a part of the registration who said they did not register to become a new member, did not pay for membership and did not vote through the coalition’s website in the endorsement process. For many of the other individuals involved in the registration surge, he said, it was unclear how many were real people.

“I voted” stickers are scattered over a table at a polling site in Des Moines on Nov. 3, 2020. (Photo By Perry Beeman/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

The investigation will examine whether Vine’s campaign violated state laws banning a person from making contributions or expenditures in the name of another person. Such an action could potentially violate state and federal law by using federal campaign money to make contributions on behalf of individuals to a state PAC. The actions appear to be tied to Lou McDonald, Vine’s former campaign manager who was fired earlier this week for his actions related to the alleged illegal contributions. In a statement to the Des Moines Register, a Vine campaign spokesperson said that “a staffer took actions that do not reflect our values, and he is no longer a part of our campaign.” The Vine campaign had earlier called the action a “clerical error,” but Henry said that McDonald made claims in a voicemail that the Iowa Unity Coalition had received illegal contributions. Henry dismissed this accusation, pointing to recent audits of the organization that have found no illegal contributions.

Zach Goodrich, the executive director of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, said that he plans to “expedite” the investigation as much as possible with the goal of completing it before the June primary. He also stated that the complaint is under the jurisdiction of the board, and that a violation of the state law on contributions could amount to a serious misdemeanor.

Northwest Iowa airport leader concerned about wind farm planned nearby

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – One of the people who oversees the airport in Emmetsburg is raising concerns about a wind farm proposed in Palo Alto County. “I can tell you this — if they put 599 foot wind towers very close to the airport, it is going to affect traffic,” said Gary Koppie, chairman of the Emmetsburg Municipal Airport Commission. “There’s just no question about it.”

According to Koppie, some of the proposed turbine sites are close to the airport and that may impact when helicopter ambulances are able to land and take off at Emmetsburg’s airport if the turbines aren’t visible. “Because of the inclement weather that we have around here at times, you know,” Koppie said. “Now I’m not saying LifeFlight won’t come in because they will, but there will be days that they cannot.”

Koppie attended a Palo Alto County Board of Supervisors hearing about the wind farm’s site plan and permit application this week. Shane Roche, development manager for the Lost Island project, said it will create over 250 short term jobs during construction. “We’re excited to be in the county and ensure that the county becomes prosperous,” he said, “give our over landowners some steady, weather-proof income.”

The county board of supervisors expects to make its decision on the project by the end of this month. The proposed Lost Island wind farm’s name comes from the Lost Island township in Palo Alto County.

Pollen is becoming a problem for Iowa’s allergy sufferers

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – All the recent rain has helped keep pollen counts down in Iowa, but soon enough, the state’s allergy sufferers will be red-eyed, sneezing and sniffling. Dr. Ravi Johar, at UnitedHealthcare, says while the chilly winter weather may be gone, that pesky pollen will force some Iowans to remain indoors. “Unfortunately, when you get outside, it can be a miserable time for a lot of folks. They can get what are called seasonal allergies, allergic rhinitis, things of that sort,” Johar says. “In fact, about 50-million Americans suffer from allergies like that and that costs over $3 billion in medical costs per year.”

Johar says seasonal allergies are typically at their peak during April, May and June. For now, he recommends that people with allergies try using air purifiers indoors, and limit their time outdoors. “We’re really talking about things like all the outdoor triggers, things like tree, grass, and wheat pollen,” he says. “Those would start to increase as all those plants are growing, and when we have dry, windy days, that spreads the pollen everywhere and so you have much, much higher pollen counts.” A wide variety of allergy medications are available without a prescription. Everyone’s a bit different, so if one drug doesn’t work for you, another might.

“Things like pseudoephedrine, which can help provide temporary relief from nasal stuffiness, those are different nasal sprays also that can help,” Johar says. “There’s combination medications that combine both antihistamines and the decongestants. If those over-the-counter ones don’t work, it’s probably really time to start talking to your doctor to see if there’s any prescription medication that you may take.”

He recommends running your air conditioner in your home and car to keep the pollen out. Johar also says to avoid leaving your clothes out to dry on a clothesline as they can collect pollen.

Participants in guaranteed income program say it has helped

News

May 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A guaranteed income program in central Iowa marked one year of monthly payments this week. Some of the 110 participants who get 500 dollars each month in the UpLift program spoke at an event, but used only their first names to keep their part in the program confidential. Nicole from Des Moines is using the money to start a nonprofit working with the elderly and her husband to become a lead (like the metal) abatement contractor. “It may seem like something small, but it’s something big because it’s not just for our household. It just goes out into the community. It goes out to our children. Then it’s that generational wealth that is just going to keep on going,” she says.

Skye from Altoona is a single mother of two and says UpLift helped pay for the car that got her to a class that landed her a new job at a hospital. “I got to experience my first graduation ever by getting this certificate. My kids got to see it. My kids got to be there and see mom graduate,” she says. Early data show the largest share of money, 42 percent, is spent on food. The Iowa Legislature passed a bill that was signed into law that prohibits cities and counties from enacting guaranteed income programs.

UpLift organizers say the program with finish out payments as scheduled through next spring thanks to support from private donors.