The 2013 graduating class at the Harlan Community High School raised the bar for future graduating classes Sunday, when it comes to doing something notable on graduation day.  The class had been encouraged to do something special while walking up to the podium to get their diploma. Harlan Community School District Superintendent Justin Wagner said it was a challenge from him and High School Principal John Connell to do something special.

He says they didn’t really know what to expect following the practice ceremony as they trusted to the students since it was a special class. Wagner said the first student came up and shook his hand and then gave him money and it kept going for the whole 128 students. He said a few of them told him the money was for the Wounded Warrior Project. (http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/)

Wagner said he was really proud of the kids who stepped up. He called it special since it was the entire class and not just one student. The class raised a total $359 and has their efforts had a ripple effect, with Wagner saying he would match the dollars raised by the students. In addition, an anonymous donor from Sioux City has promised to match the combined donations of the students and Wagner.

Wagner said the moment certainly made a lasting impression as the class made their mark. He said he saw the video of the standing ovation which went on for about 38 seconds. Adults were crying and students were emotional. He said it was a special time.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The search for a missing 15-year-old Iowa girl abducted Monday after getting off her school bus was continuing this (Wednesday) morning near Dayton in northern Iowa.  A news release from the Iowa Department of Public Safety says the search is focusing on four areas, all within 20 miles of Dayton.
 
Searchers will focus on the area around the bus stop where Kathlynn Shepard and a 12-year-old girl were abducted, the area in rural Pilot Mound, Iowa, where the 12-year-old girl escaped and an area near Dayton where the body of 42-year-old suspect Michael Klunder was found Monday night. Searchers will also search the area near Klunder’s Stratford, Iowa, home.
 
More than 300 people searched for Shepard on Tuesday. Authorities say more volunteers are not needed today, but could be later.

Legislators in Iowa have hammered out a tentative deal on education reform, one that creates a commission to study teacher evaluation methods and grants new independence for home schoolers. Representative Ron Jorgensen, a Republican from Sioux City is chairman of the House Education Committee and one of 10 legislators who’ve been trying to resolve the differences between Republicans and Democrats. “I’m very, very optimistic we’ll get something done today,” Jorgensen says. Under the proposal, home schooling parents would be able to teach their kids driver’s ed and would be able to teach four unrelated students in the home. The plan also removes the state requirement that parents who home school their children file regular progress reports with the school district in which they live. Jorgensen says some kids just don’t do well in the “larger settings” of a public school classroom.

“We just want to provide parents with options that we feel they should have a right to on who educates their kids, how their kids are educated and stuff and not a one-size-fits-all type scenario,” Jorgensen says. The package sets a new, minimum Iowa teacher salary of 33-thousand-500 dollars and offers stipends to talented teachers chosen mentor or coach others. The governor has said the ultimate goals are to improve the teaching profession and improve student achievement. Jorgensen says the deal meets those goals. “This will do it,” Jorgensen says. “I’m very pleased with where we’re at right now.” Public school districts that implement teacher mentoring programs would get about 310 dollars per student to finance the effort, but it would be optional, something Jorgensen and other Republicans insisted upon.

“We’re wanting to put in some safety valves for school districts that get into the program,” Jorgensen says. “We don’t want any unfunded mandates.” Weeks ago legislators agreed this plan would include the equivalent of a four percent in general state support for schools in the 2013/2014 school year and a four percent increase the following year. Legislative leaders suggest today (Wednesday) could be the last day of the 2013 legislative session, but there are a host of issues to resolve before midnight, as House rules prevent votes from occurring in the wee morning hours.

(Radio Iowa)

U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, today (Wednesday) announced loan and grant funds will be provided to applicants in 11 states, to support businesses, improve the quality of medical care, and create or save hundreds of jobs. Funding is provided through the USDA’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program. In the KJAN listening area, the Central Iowa Power Cooperative received a $1-million loan to construct a dormitory for Southwestern Community College, in Creston.

Vilsack says the USDA’s action is one part of the Department’s efforts to strengthen the rural economy. Funding of each recipient of the grants and loans is contingent upon the recipient meeting the conditions for the grant or loan.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Police in Red Oak report a traffic stop Monday evening resulted in alcohol-related citations being issued to a man from Red Oak. 35-year old Timothy Orville Welch was pulled over in the 1900 block of 200th Street at around 6-p.m., Monday. During the stop, authorities determined Welch allegedly had an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, and a suspended driver’s license.

Welch was cited for being in possession of an open container while driving, and for driving while suspended. He was released on those citations.

A traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning in Montgomery County has resulted in the arrest of a woman on drug charges. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a vehicle driven by 29-year old Nicole M. Snyder, of Elliott was pulled over on Highway 48 at around 12:40-a.m., for having an insufficient number of headlamps. During the stop, it was discovered Snyder was Driving While Barred. After she was arrested for the offense,  small amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine were located. Snyder was also determined to have unlawfully been in possession of prescription medication, and several items of drug paraphernalia.

She was booked into the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a felony charge of Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver, and varying degrees of misdemeanor charges associated with the other offenses. Snyder was being held in the jail on $5,000 bond.

An investigation into the execution-style shooting of several dogs May 12th in Fremont County, has led to the arrest of two people, charged with animal abuse. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Department reports their office received a call at around 1-a.m. May 12th, with regard to the shooting of several dogs that had allegedly been chasing livestock. During their investigation, deputies learned the dogs did not chase the livestock, and over the next several days, learned the animals had been shot execution-style. Each of the dogs suffered from a single gunshot wound.

Deputies were able to determine 65-year old Orrie Covert, Jr., and 30-year old Amber Sharp, both of Tabor, were responsible for the shooting of four dogs. Evidence was gathered, and a search warrant carried out at a residence on Tuesday (May 21st) resulted in the confiscation of numerous illegal wild game animals. Covert, Jr. and Sharp were arrested on four counts each of animal abuse. They were being held in the Fremont County Jail on $8,000 bond, each.

Numerous charges are still pending as a result of the search warrant, and through the Iowa DNR. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by officers with the Sidney and Tabor Police Departments, and Iowa Department of Natural Resouces.