(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today (Friday) recognized 297 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2022, including five schools in Iowa. Two of the five schools are located in Glenwood and Mount Ayr. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Secretary Cardona made the announcement during his Road to Success Back to School bus tour.

The Iowa schools named as National Blue Ribbon Schools were:

Iowa – Ankeny – Prairie Trail Elementary School, Ankeny Community School District.
Iowa – Glenwood – West Elementary School, Glenwood Community School District.
Iowa – Mount Ayr – Mount Ayr Elementary School, Mount Ayr Community School District.
Iowa – Van Meter – Van Meter High School, Van Meter Community School District.
Iowa – Vinton – Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School, Vinton-Shellsburg School District.

Secretary Cardona said “I applaud all the honorees for the 2022 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award for creating vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school communities where students can learn, grow, reach their potential, and achieve their dreams. As our country continues to recover from the pandemic, we know that our future will only be as strong as the education we provide to all of our children. Blue Ribbon Schools have gone above and beyond to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. These schools show what is possible to make an enduring, positive difference in students’ lives.”

With its 39th cohort, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools. The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms and validates the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in striving for – and attaining – exemplary achievement. National Blue Ribbon Schools serve as models of effective school practices for state and district educators and other schools throughout the nation. A National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing a school’s entryway or on a flagpole is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning.

The Department recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

• Exemplary High-Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
• Exemplary Achievement Gap-Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. The Department invites nominations for the National Blue Ribbon Schools award from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – In an update to our previous report, Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer today (Friday), said the State Medical Examiner’s Office has concluded that an inmate who died at around 7-p.m. on Sept. 3rd, died from natural causes resulting from a medical condition. The inmate was also identified, as 74-year-old Phillip Eugene Holmes, of Clarinda.

On September 3rd, the Page County Sheriff’s Office requested the Clarinda Ambulance Service to the Page County Jail for an adult male inmate with a medical condition. Clarinda Ambulance Service transported the adult male inmate (Phillip Holmes) to the Clarinda Regional Health Center where the man later died. Per Page County Jail policy, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation was contacted as well as a report filed with the State Jail Inspector’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – The Storm Lake Police Department is among 15 national recipients of the 2022 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. It’s the highest U.S. government honor recognizing employers that support of National Guard and Reserve employees. Gerardo Bravo, a member of the Iowa National Guard, joined the Storm Lake Police Department in 2016 and he nominated the agency for the award. “This reward just reflects all the work the city and Chief Cole have been putting in and all the patrol officers,” Bravo says. “I know it ain’t easy having half the department that’s in the National Guard. It takes a lot of work to cover down shifts and I know our bosses aren’t afraid to throw on a duty belt and hit the road.”

Bravo is one of seven Storm Lake police officers who are Iowa National Guard members. “Whether it was our normal drill weekends or deployments, especially my last deployment where I was in Iraq, Chief Cole and the rest of the officers were super supporting, sending us care packages,” Bravo says. “Anytime something would happen over there, they would always get on the phone and call us to make sure we were OK. They’d always be checking up on our families. I know Chief Cole took great care of my family when I was gone, making sure everything was taken of.”

Becky Coady is State Chair of the Iowa Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. She says comments from the judges who chose the Storm Lake Police Department for the award cited its flexible scheduling, robust training and support for Guard members before their deployments and after they returned. “And, as the judges recognized, it’s not just what has been done for the military members, but how it’s been accomplished,” she says, “with an attitude of care and a mission of heart.”

More than 28-hundred public and private sector employers were nominated for the same award. The Storm Lake Police Department is just the 6th award recipient ever from Iowa and is the state’s first ever winner in the public sector category.

(Evansdale, Iowa) – A crash between a motorcycle and two trucks Thursday afternoon in eastern Iowa’s Black Hawk County, resulted in the death of a man on a motorcycle. The accident happened in a construction zone on Interstate 380 southbound at mile marker 69, near Evansdale. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the accident occurred at around 3:05-p.m., when a 2016 Harley Davidson motorcycle went out of control as it was slowing upon approach to traffic ahead, which included a 2020 Ford pickup truck. When the cycle operated by 24-year-old Ethen Edge, of Waterloo, went out of control, it slid into the pickup.

A 2018 Ram truck also tried to slow down, but the driver was unable to avoid striking Edge, who died at the hospital. The drivers of the pickups, 51-year-old Corey Simon, of Waterloo, and 31-year-old Joshua Stiner,of Post Falls, Idaho, were not injured in the crash. The crash remained under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Evansdale and Waterloo Police, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Deputies, Evansdale Ambulance, Iowa DOT MVE (Motor Vehicle Enforcement) and other DOT personnel.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report two people were arrested on drug charges Thursday morning. 27-year-old Jose Luis Carreon, of Laredo, TX, and 23-year-old Moesha Unique Garcia, of Creston, was arrested in the vicinity of Levy and Sycamore Streets, in Creston. Both were charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. They were cited and released from the scene, on a Promise to Appear (in court).

And, at around 12:36-a.m. today (Friday), 40-year-old Juan Carlos Zamora, of Creston, was arrested at his home, for Domestic Abuse Assault. Zamora was being held without bond in the Union County Jail, until seen by a Magistrate.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A preliminary hearing was held Thursday, in the case of an Atlantic man facing four felony charges associated with an incident of assault. Online court records show arraignment for 53-year-old Edward Allen Davenport will be held 9-a.m. Oct. 3rd, with a pre-trial conference Nov. 7th at 9-a.m., and trial set for 9:30-a.m. Nov. 29th. Davenport was charged with: Burglary in the 1st Degree (a Class B felony); Assault while participating in a felony, Willful Injury Causing Bodily Injury, and Going Armed with Intent, all of which are Class D Felonies.

Authorities say at about 2:20-a.m. Sept. 5th, Atlantic Police were notified an assault had occurred at a residence in the 800 block of Walnut Street, in Atlantic. During an investigation, officers made contact with the victim, who stated they had been assaulted by being struck multiple times with an object.

The victim said shortly after she arrived home, there was a knock at the door. A man entered the residence and began assaulting the victim. An investigation determined the suspect was Edward Davenport. On Sept. 6th, Officers made contact with Davenport and arrested him in connection with the incident that occurred the previous day. He was being held in the Cass County Jail on a $60,000 cash-only bond.

Davenport was previously arrested August 21st on two felony drug charges, along with one aggravated misdemeanor and a serious misdemeanor drug charge. He plead not guilty to those charges and was released on a $25,000 bond the day he was arrested on the assault charges. In August 2021, as part of a plea agreement, Davenport plead guilty to an aggravated misdemeanor charge of Operating a Vehicle without owners consent. He was facing a felony charge of Theft in the 1st Degree.

(Radio Iowa) – University of Iowa researchers say hormones may play a role in the reason why female athletes are more likely to get hurt than male athletes. A new U-I study finds the female hormone Relaxin contributes to the breakdown of cartilage, increasing the chance of injury. Robert Westermann, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, says hormones often get overlooked when it comes to injury prevention in female athletes.

Westermann says the UIHC orthopedics department is working with OB-GYNs to start looking at ways to regulate hormones in female athletes, such as using birth control pills.

Westermann says a lot of research on injuries is focused on anatomic or muscular patterns, while the effect of hormones is not often top-of-mind.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The Pocahontas Area Schools superintendent is responding to a petition that challenges his ongoing employment with the district. The petition regarding Joe Kramer cites concerns over issues including staff turnover, declining enrollment, alleged retaliation, spending issues, and a possible hostile working environment. Those issues were brought up by several residents during the public comments session at this week’s Pocahontas Area school board meeting.

“We’re listening. I’m listening to the concerns of those coming to board meetings and we’re utilizing the resources as effectively as I think we possibly can to best meet the needs of students and to address as many of the concerns of the community as we can,” he says. “We can always use more resources but we’re continuing to improve, I believe, focus on improving the district’s educational services being offered.”

The district has recently moved the locations of the board meetings to better accommodate the public, and has also improved its live streaming service. Kramer says the topics mentioned in the petition signed by over 230 residents have been shared in recent months, and he says to his knowledge there have been no claims to back up any of the concerns…”Every school district, especially rural school districts have challenges associated with budgets. We’ve got limited funds coming in, new monies coming from the state. And for those districts that are growing quickly, that does not translate into a lot of new money,” Kramer says. “I believe our wages are competitive. The board offered retention bonuses for returning contracts last year to all employees. But, I’m not going downplay the fact that these are difficult times for everybody.”

Kramer says all small, rural districts faced challenges during the pandemic, and he doesn’t believe Pocahontas Area is unique in that regard. Kramer says the school district doesn’t have the power to change all of the things that residents are frustrated about. No action was taken at Monday’s meeting as the Department of Education and school attorney advised the district a petition is not a means for the school board to change an employment decision. Kramer says the board is likely continuing the process with legal counsel. The Pocahontas Area school board president hasn’t responded to a call for comment.

BREDA, Iowa — Multiple firefighting crews responded to a reported explosion at a northwest Iowa golf course, late Thursday morning. According to the Breda Golf Club Facebook page, the course’ shed was a total loss from the smoke and fire damage. There were no injuries reported. The incident occurred at around 11:30-a.m.

Crews from the Breda Community Fire Department, Auburn, Arcadia, and Carroll Fire Departments, along with Manning Medic 6 and Breda Medic were on the scene. (Click on photos to enlarge)

Arcadia FD Facebook photo

Arcadia FD Facebook photo

Breda Golf Club FB photo

Breda Golf Club FB photo

The Arcadia fire chief told KTIV in Sioux City, that a golf cart battery charger may have sparked the explosion.

(Radio Iowa) – The board which governs the three state universities will ask the Iowa Legislature to increase funding for the schools by 32 million dollars next year. University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook says they want to use the extra money to help with tuition. He says there should be a bigger difference between what students pay at U-N-I compared to the research schools.

“The four million that we are asking for to help us differentiate will help us keep our tuition down for all of our students, and provide better access for students across the state of Iowa,” Nook says. University of Iowa president, Barbra Wilson, says they will target one particular area.

“We are really laser-focused on nursing. This is one of the workforce issues I think president Nook pointed this out already. People are calling on the need for more nursing — not just in Iowa — but across the country,” Wilson says. Wilson says they are also looking to bring in more first-generation college students.

Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen says the amount of money coming from the state has gone up and down in the last decade, but is currently about the same as it was in 2014. “And when you factor in inflation it’s more like a 25 percent decrease in funding because of the purchasing power of a dollar that has declined so much,” Wintersteen says.

The request is nearly seven percent more than what was approved last year. The legislature approved a five-and-a-half million dollar increase — which was about one third of what the universities had requested.