Steve Smith, Superintendent of the Guthrie Center/Adair-Casey Community Schools, announced Friday that the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center board of directors revised their invited finalists for the formal interviews after prior finalist Darren Hanna was hired as the new Emmetsburg Community School District Superintendent.

Three finalists have been invited to the district for formal interviews with the board of directors and district stakeholders on January 23, 2019. Based on their application materials, references and initial interviews the following finalists have been selected:

Kurt DeVore: Mr. DeVore currently serves as the Director of Information, Systems and Instructional Technology for the Decorah School District. In his current role he oversees technology initiatives for the district, develops communication plans, updates school safety plans, and helps lead professional trainings among other things. His prior experiences include serving as a Director of Technology and vocal music teacher for West Hancock School District and teaching vocal music in Brownsville, TX.  He has a track record of supporting district initiatives and building community partnerships.

Shane Christensen: Mr. Christensen currently serves as a junior high principal in the West Des Moines School District.  His prior experience includes teaching, coaching and serving as an assistant principal. Shane graduated from Guthrie Center High School.  He has led various successful initiatives in his current role, some of which include project-based learning and district safety planning.  He models instructional leadership utilizing the Student Administrative Manager (SAM) model.  He is working towards earning his doctorate degree with anticipated completion in May 2019.

Dennis McClain: Mr. McClain currently serves as the Superintendent and Elementary Principal for Clay Central Everly Schools.  He has served in this role for the past six years where he has created positive change while working through challenging financial events.  His prior experience includes serving as the K-12 principal at Stanton and as lead teacher for Clarinda Academy.  Dennis is highly active in his community where he supports the local county fair and is active in his church and helped to develop a nature learning center.

Staff from the district, parents, students, and community members will be contacted soon to serve on the formal interview teams and identify what formal interview questions they would like to see asked of the finalists.  The feedback from the interview teams will advise the school board’s decision to offer a contract to the successful candidate.  The new superintendent will begin his duties on July 1, 2019.

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Friday) announced her appointment of Michael Hooper as district court judge in the Fourth Judicial District.  Hooper, of Atlantic, Iowa, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and his law degree from Creighton University Law School. He currently serves as the Cass County Attorney.

The Fourth Judicial District includes Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties.

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — A former Sioux Center teacher already serving a federal prison sentence for having sexual contact with young boys has been sentenced to additional time in state prison on similar convictions.

The Sioux County Attorney’s office says 37-year-old Curtis Van Dam was sentenced Friday to 60 years in state prison. He pleaded guilty in November to one count of second-degree sexual abuse, five counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee.
The sentence will be served after his 15-year federal prison term.

Until being fired, Van Dam taught at Sioux Center Christian School. He was implicated in dozens of incidents involving boys under age 12 or 13.

(Radio Iowa) — Republican Congressman Steve King took to the floor of the U.S. House today (Friday) to respond to a New York Times story in which he’s quoted talking about the terms white nationalist, white supremacy and western civilization. King, a Republican from the western Iowa community of Kiron, says he is an “AMERICAN Nationalist” and rejects the ideology of white supremacy and white nationalism.

King says he “made a freshman mistake” in talking to the New York Times.

The newpaper quoted King asking rhetorically why the terms white nationalism, white supremacy and western civilization had developed negative connotations. King today (Friday) said on the House floor that he is an advocate for the values of western civilization.

King says he is an advocate for the values of western civilization. The top three Republican in the U.S. House have denounced King in the past 24 hours. Republican Tim Scott, an African American who represents South Carolina in the U.S Senate, says “silence is no longer acceptable” when it comes to the things King says. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is urging Republicans to “actively support” King’s primary opponent, Republican State Senator Randy Feenstra. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann has called Feenstra a “legitimate” challenger, but Kaufmann says the party will be neutral in the race.

Kaufmann says he wants to make it clear there are some phrases that do not represent “the American spirit” and Kaufmann puts “white supremacy” in that category.

Iowa DEMOCRATIC Party chairman Troy Price says King is an embarrassment to the state of Iowa.

Feenstra, the state senator who’s stepped forward to challenge King, is using the hashtag “retire Steve King” on twitter and this (Friday) afternoon Feenstra tweeted a link to a National Review opinion piece. It was titled “Steve King’s Bigotry Is the Antithesis of American Ideals.”

The Iowa State Patrol, Friday afternoon, released the name of a man who died Thursday during a pursuit-involved crash in Webster County. Authorities identified him as 25-year old Philp Wooden, of Kansas City, MO.

Wooden was driving a stolen 2000 Ford Econoline van that crashed on northbound Highway 169 north of the 2nd Avenue South interchange at Ft. Dodge, when the vehicle went out of control, entered the median and rolled several times. Wooden, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the van and died at the scene. The accident happened at around 5:21-a.m. Thursday

Investigators say the van was taken during an armed car-jacking in Des Moines at around 3:30-a.m., Thursday. The chase crossed from Polk into Story, Hamilton and Webster Counties before ending in the fatal crash.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — An arrest has been made in the death of a woman whose body was found earlier this week on the side of an eastern Iowa highway. The Muscatine Journal reports that police arrested 35-year-old Douglas Foster, of Marion, Thursday night in the death of 20-year-old Lea Renae Ponce, of Fairfield. The Muscatine County Attorney’s office says Foster is being held on $50,000 bond.

Investigators say Ponce was last seen alive early Tuesday getting into a pickup truck Foster was believed to have been driving. Her body was found along Highway 38 less than an hour later. Investigators say they later found the truck behind a Marion storage facility and discovered Foster hiding in the building’s attic, along with some of Ponce’s belongings.

Police say Foster told investigators Ponce safely got out of the truck soon after he picked her up.

(Radio Iowa) — Western Iowa Congressman Steve King tweeted this (Friday) morning that if President Trump declares a state of emergency for border security, Trump should “build the whole wall out of concrete.” King said a concrete wall along the U-S/Mexico border would “stand forever as a monument to the Rule of Law.” King went on the house floor early in his congressional career with his own model for a “fence and a wall” along the southern border. King’s model called for “precast concrete panels 10 feet wide and 13 feet high.”

Two Republicans have announced this week they intend to challenge King in a Republican Primary if King runs again in 2020. Also this week, King has been rebuked by House G-O-P leaders for comments he made to The New York Times about “white supremacy, white nationalism and Western Civilization.” King issued a written statement yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, saying he is “simply a Nationalist.”