(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.

(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.