(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Education has released its annual ranking of schools. The Department’s Information Bureau chief Jay Pennington says it’s the first time the School Performance Profiles had used an updated state plan for school accountability and support. “It includes information such as proficiency rates in key areas such as mathematics, science and language, art. It also includes information about the growth of students year to year,” he says. Thirty-five schools were listed as “in need of comprehensive support and improvement,” the lowest performance level. Pennington says that’s similar to what the previous system showed.

“You’re seeing year to year about the same number of schools, although the makeup or who those schools are identified are different. You know, one thing to point out between the two versions is that we do have 16 schools that are actually exiting that comprehensive or lowest five percent status, which I think those schools would celebrate,” Pennington says . He says there were 15 schools that are carrying over that comprehensive designation from the prior year, and 20 new additional schools that are that now have that status. Pennington says schools are targeted for a particular student group within a school.

“As an example, it could be Hispanic students or students eligible for free or reduced price lunch. But within this new system, we did see a slight increase in the number of schools and percent of schools that are being identified for students with disabilities in particular,” he says. Pennington says more than 93 percent of the 351 schools within the state were identified for having students with disabilities under performing. There were other cases where there was a decrease in the reason why schools were identified.  “So just in contrast, we did see a decline in the number of schools that were identified for students from low-income backgrounds, students that are black or African American, Hispanic or multi-racial,” Pennington says.

He says the report is the beginning of the process and the department has a school improvement team that will work directly with schools on a school improvement plan.
Pennington encourages you to check out your school district ranking and the other information. “It also includes a lot of other rich data beyond the accountability information, so the tool should be really used to not only analyze the results, but also think about engage with district leaders and school leaders about their performance of students within their community,” he says.

You can see the full report at: iaschoolperformance.gov.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Corn harvest in Iowa is four days ahead of last year’s harvest and nearly two weeks ahead of the average harvest schedule, according to the Iowa crop progress and condition report. The report for Nov. 4 through Nov. 10 shows south central Iowa lags behind the rest of the state with more than 15% of its corn still in the field. Overall, 95% of Iowa’s corn harvested for grain has now been harvested.

Iowa’s harvest is comparable with the other top corn-producing states in the country — two of which, Texas and North Carolina, have completed their harvests for the season.Iowa has had a rapid harvest season due to a warm and dry September and October. The above-average amounts of rain the past two weeks, however, have slowed down harvesting and resulted in just three days last week that were suitable for field work.

Justin Glisan, the State Climatologist, said in his report for the same period that average rainfall in Iowa was 1.14 inches, more than double the normal of 0.52 inches. Rain over the past two weeks has helped alleviate some of Iowa’s drought conditions according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s Thursday report, which showed a 37% decline in the percentage of the state in severe drought conditions. Now, 6% of the state has no observed drought conditions.

Soil moisture conditions similarly improved with 50% of topsoil moisture rated as adequate for the week. Glisan also reported the state’s average temperature was 8.9 degrees above normal, a trend that has persisted through harvest season.

According to an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach newsletter, soil temperature and moisture conditions are nearing suitable levels for fall nitrogen application. The ISU mesonet shows soil temperatures across the state in the upper 40s and lower 50s. Other field activities for the week included fall tillage and baling stalks.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Grand View University in Des Moines is joining other Iowa private universities in efforts to make a higher education more affordable for certain prospective students by ensuring they would pay no more in tuition than they would at a public college. The university announced Monday the launch of its “Go Private. Pay Public.” program, which will cap out-of-pocket tuition costs for high school seniors enrolling in Grand View at $11,000 — the average tuition of Iowa’s public institutions, according to a news release.

Created with the goal to “remove financial barriers and make a Grand View education a viable option for more students,” according to the release, the new program guarantees that qualifying Iowa students won’t pay more than $11,000 after scholarships, state and federal grants have been applied to the bill. The program will be available to students enrolling in fall 2025.

To be eligible for the price cap, students must graduate from an Iowa high school with at least a 3.0 grade-point average, file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid by June 30, 2025, enroll as a first-year student, and live on campus, according to the school.

The “Go Private. Pay Public.” program is the latest financial aid option announced by Grand View University, with a tuition-free option for students with the most financial need having launched for the spring 2024 semester. The “GV Next” program covers 100% of tuition for Iowa students who either receive the maximum Pell Grant amount or have a parent or guardian with an adjusted gross income of $70,000 or less, the release stated.

EMMETSBURG, Iowa — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says her office is handling a case against a northwest Iowa man accused of illegally voting in 2021. According to the AG’s office, 35-year-old Irving Omar Ahumada Geronimo registered to vote, then voted in a city council and school board election in Palo Alto County. At the time, Geronimo was legally living in the U.S., but was not a U.S. citizen.

Geronimo is charged with two counts of election misconduct.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Volunteer Fire Department in Corning is raising funds to help volunteer first responders devastated by Hurricane Helene. Officials say they will hold a breakfast-style fundraiser this Saturday, Nov. 16th, from 4-until 8-p.m., at the Southwest Valley High School Activity Center, in Corning. The meal includes french toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, breakfast potato, biscuits and gravy, and a something to drink. Proceeds from the event will benefit fire departments in North Carolina that sustained losses from Hurricane Helene. The September storm that devastated the southeast region of the country.

In addition to the food being served, there will be a pie auction every hour. Corning Fire t-shirts will also be on sale, with the proceeds going back to Corning Fire and the North Carolina fire departments. There will also be live music from Tyler Folkerts.

If you can’t make it to the event this Saturday, you can send a check to:

Corning Fire Department c/o Hurricane Relief
905 Davis Ave.
Corning, IA 50841

(Creston, Iowa) – Firefighters from Creston and elsewhere were called to the scene of a residential structure fire in Creston, early this morning. The blaze in the 900 block of W. Mills Street, was reported at around 2-a.m. Mutual aid was requested from the Afton, Lenox and Corning Fire Departments.

Photo courtesy John Coulter, from Creston.

Creston Medic1 and Creston Police were also on the scene. Additional details are currently not available.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican state lawmakers have reelected Jack Whitver as Senate majority leader. Whitver, of Grimes, announced in mid-May, he was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, but would remain in the Iowa Senate and continue in his role as the top Republican in the chamber. Whitver has been a state senator since 2011. He became Senate President in 2017, then Senate Republicans chose him to be their majority leader in March of 2018. This was his opening message.

“It’s easier to get to the top than stay at the top,” Whitver said in 2018, “but I want to challenge this body, the House, this governor, our state to continue to make the tough choices needed to keep us as the number one state in the nation.” Whitver was a walk-on who wound up becoming a starting wide receiver for the Iowa State Cyclones. During an interview with Radio Iowa seven years ago, he compared that experience to being a lawmaker.

“To get anything done at the capitol, you have to be part of a team…so all the lessons that I learned playing football growing up, they apply a lot more than people would think to politics,” Whitver said. Whitver has been a driving force behind the tax cut packages that have cleared the legislature over the past few years. He’s an attorney who also earned an M-B-A. “I consider myself an entrepreneur more than anything. I like to say I’m a businessman with a law degree,” Whitver said, with a laugh. Whitver owns fitness clubs and a “Smoothie King” franchise in central Iowa. Whitver’s former Iowa State teammates and coaches, as well as current coach Matt Campbell have publicly expressed support for Whitver as he’s battled cancer.

“He’s going through a really hard battle right now,” Campbell said. “…It’s going to take all of us to rally around him.” A number of people and a few other teams posted messages of support for Whitver on October 26th, as 26 was Whitver’s jersey number. Whitver was on the Cyclone football team from 1999 to 2003 and finished his college career with five touchdowns and 96 career receptions.

(Radio Iowa) – Plans are on track to completely revamp the eastern Iowa facility which honors the only American president who was born in Iowa. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch is getting a 20-million dollar make-over, inside and out, according to David Ancelet, an assistant director of the Hoover Presidential Foundation. “There’s going to be a long renovation process,” Ancelet says. “It’s going to start in the first quarter of 2025, we’re not sure when, but it’s not going to wrap up until summer of 2026.” The full remodel and renovation project will essentially take the interior of the facility down to the studs, with an exterior facade update as well.

While hundreds of pieces of Hoover memorabilia have been shown over the decades in the museum, hundreds more are in storage that will finally be shown to the public, many for the first time. “There will be some items that are in the current museum that’ll be, I guess ‘repurpose’ is not quite the right word, but it’s going to be shown in a different way,” Ancelet says. “This is going to really take people through the life of Herbert Hoover, kind of have emotional up and downs throughout his life, and some of these former things that people are used to seeing will be reintegrated into the new museum.”

Hoover lived a fascinating life and the museum’s current exhibits tell the story — from his birth, to his life as an engineer, Secretary of Commerce, the 31st President of the United States, and his continued philanthropic work after leaving the White House. The re-envisioned museum will tell those same stories, but with more artifacts and sophisticated, user-friendly technology.  “It’ll be the entire story of Herbert Hoover, both what people perceive as negative,” he says, “but it’ll also educate the public about a lot of his humanitarian work and charitable work and a lot of the good parts about him.” The museum first opened in 1962 and hasn’t had a full remodel since the early 1990s. When it reopens in 2026, First Lady Lou Hoover will be featured more prominently.

“That is correct. They’re going to expand on Lou quite a bit more,” Ancelet says. “I mean, she has a great story of her own. There’s been a recent book written about her, so it’s really an opportunity to showcase her life as well, alongside Herbert.” The full price tag on the renovation project is 20-point-three million dollars, a large portion of which has already been raised by the foundation. “It’s largely done by individual donations from just everyday people who see the value in this, especially in the state of Iowa, in the community and such,” he says, “but we also have received grants from other organizations that see the value and the benefit of being able to retell the history of Herbert Hoover.”

To learn more or contribute, visit: timelessvaluescampaign.org. The library and museum will be open every day through the end of this year, with the only exceptions being Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican state lawmakers retained control of the House and Senate after a successful election and are keeping the same leadership for the next session. Representative Pat Grassley of New Hartford was re-elected Speaker of the House Tuesday, and Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley remains House Majority Leader.

Both first gained those positions in 2019. Republicans re-elected Jack Whitver as Senate majority leader, a position he has held since 2018. Whitver has been undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.

But information released from the Senate says recent scans have shown that the tumor is shrinking and many of his symptoms have improved. Senate Republicans also reelected Amy Sinclair as Senate President.

(Radio Iowa) – Rainfall normally drops off as we head into November, but that hasn’t been the case as we approach the midway mark of the month. National Weather Service meteorologist, Dillon Dodson, says we should see more rain this morning (Wednesday), starting on the western side of the state. “And then moving east through the state, through the morning hours and into the afternoon,” he says. “Rainfall amounts probably be the highest over the western portion of the state. As you get further east, you get into a little more dry air and slightly lower rainfall amounts.”

Western Iowa is forecast to see between one quarter to three quarters of an inch of rain, with one tenth to half an inch in the east. Dodson doesn’t anticipate any severe weather with the rain. “You can’t rule out maybe an isolated rumble of thunder, but for the most part, it’s going to be going to be just a soaking rain. You know that typical fall rainfall that we see, no severe weather or anything like that,” Dodson says. Dodson says rainfall amounts vary across the state and many places like Des Moines are running well ahead of normal. “We’re actually at one-point-one inches over normal at the moment (in Des Moines),” he says.

The temperatures are expected to warm up through this week. “This weekend, we might get kind of creeping more above normal. I think our typical high for this time of year is right around, 50 degrees in Des Moines, you know, a little cooler for the North, little warmer for the South. So we’ll be above normal, maybe five to ten degrees above normal through the weekend, and then back to right around normal through next week,” Dodson says. Dodson says the ground isn’t yet frozen, so a lot of that rain we get should soak into what has been dry soil.