(Radio Iowa) — A singer and songwriter who recorded nearly four dozen top-40 hits is helping aspiring musicians in a northwest Iowa school district. Barry Manilow announced the winners of his Manilow Music Project on stage in Las Vegas.  “In second place is Sioux City School District from Sioux City, Iowa,” Manilow said. “They get $20,000 worth of musical instruments.”

The Manilow Music Project has distributed 10 MILLION dollars over the past several years to enhance music education in U.S. schools. Sioux City was among the schools that submitted videos for the latest round of awards, hoping to win the top prize of 100-thousand dollars.

“My team and I looked at all of the videos and every school was filled with talent,” Manilow said on stage in Vegas. “The teachers were just amazing. They were so committed, so sincere and so in love with their students, and the students were so in love with the music classes.”

Manilow says the high school he attended in Brooklyn was classified as the “most dangerous” school in the country and he found refuge in orchestra class and wants to ensure the students of today have access to quality musical programs at school. Manilow has performed twice in Sioux City during his more than 50-year career.

(Radio Iowa) — The Des Moines Register reports Casey’s General Stores executives are exploring how automation may help deal with the difficulty in finding part-time employees. Earlier this month, out-going Casey’s C-E-O Terry Handley touted the company’s “e-commerce” initiative. “As we witness the continued evolution of the retail landscape and ever-changing consumer habits, we must continue to adapt,” Handley said.

The ordering platform on the company’s website has been streamlined. Hadley says customers can pay online before they get to the store. “In addition, the system automatically engages cross-sale opportunities to the consumer during every order,” Handley said.

The new Casey’s General Stores smart phone “app” to order pizza and other prepared foods will be available this summer. Casey’s executives also announced on a June 11th conference call with investors that they are spending more on technology and have plans to install ordering kiosks inside stores as well.

“The integration of the new suite of digital platforms for customers will create a seamless customer experience both online and instore that enhances our digital capabilities and facilitates personalized marketing and rewards,” Handley said.

Casey’s operates two-thousand-one-hundred-46 (2146) stores in the Midwest. Forty-one new stores are under construction.

One person died, another was injured during a collision Monday evening, southeast of Ames. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2006 Toyota Corolla driven by 63-year old Gayle Lawton, of Collins, was traveling south on 580th Street at around 5:05-p.m., and had stopped at the intersection with Highway 30, before proceeding across the road.

Lawton failed to yield, and was struck by a westbound Cadillac Escalade, driven by 44-year old Amanda Christine Wierson, of  Collins. Gayle Lawton was transported to Methodist Hospital by Life Flight, and later died. Wierson was transported by private vehicle to Mary Greeley Hospital in Ames. The Patrol says Wierson was wearing her seat belt.

The accident remains under investigation.