(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a woman was arrested early this (Thursday) morning on an assault charge. Authorities say 55-year-old Patricia Jean Young, of Creston, was arrested at her residence at around 3-a.m., for Domestic Abuse Assault causing bodily injury/1st offense. She was transported to the Union County Jail, and later transferred to the jail in Clarke County. Young was being held without bond until seen by a magistrate.

(Radio Iowa) – The Department of Education’s recent report on the state of education showed the number of full-time teachers in public schools in 2020-21 was up by 455 from the previous year to 37-thousand-567. Department analyst, Jay Pennington, says special programs are part of the reason for the increase. “With the teacher leader and compensation system that provides an additional over 250 million dollars annually — along with the teacher leader supplement — which also provides an additional 250 million. Both of those initiatives have pumped money into the profession,” Pennington says.

He says the programs have helped experienced teachers mentor the new teachers coming. “And it also really helped the bottom line in terms of raising the average teacher salary in Iowa to be more competitive, to he in the upper half when we look at rankings,” he says. The average regular teacher salary was up 661 dollars to 58-thousand-771 in 2019-20. School districts this year appear to be having some of the same issues in hiring teachers as other businesses. “We have heard anecdotally from districts that there are lots of vacancies — hard to fill positions — more so in the 2021-2022 school year than in other years,” he says.

Pennington says they don’t know yet if the number verify the anecdotal reports. “We look at the data for the 2021-2022 school year. Given the increases of the overall number of educators that we have seen — consistently seen over the last decade — it will be interesting to see if we see a subsequent decline at some point,” according to Pennington. The report showed there was a 13-point-one percent increase in the number of full-time public school teachers from the 2000-01 school year to the 2020-21 school year.

(Radio Iowa) – A week ago the U-S Senate unanimously voted to award the Congressional Gold Medal to a top secret World War II unit — national recognition that was inspired by the work of an Iowa student. Caleb Sinnwell , a ninth grader in the Nashua-Plainfield School District, won a 2021 National History Day award for creating a website about the Ghost Army.

“It used a wide array of deceptive tactics and over 20 military operations, which we all successful, by the way,” he says. The mere existence of the Ghost Army was classified for more than 40 years. The unit of 11-hundred men used inflatable tanks, sound effects and other tricks — convincing the Germans far larger groups of U.S. soldiers were in position or planning to attack. Sinnwell says his interest in the group was sparked by family.

“My great-great grandpa was in World War I. My great grandpa was in World War II and my current grandpa right now, he was in Vietnam,” Sinnwell says. “…We always talk about Vietnam and it’s very interesting. I find the military a very interesting topic.” The teenager is a veteran of the National History Day competition. Sinnwell’s first entry was in 2020. It was about the Iowans involved in a humanitarian mission after two typhoons devastated an agricultural area in Japan.

“I love pigs. I really wanted to do a topic about pigs,” Sinnwell says, “so when I heard about the 1960 Iowa Hog Lift, I thought it was a great fit right away.” Sinnwell’s project mentioned the Iowa soldier who had the hog lift idea as well as the eventual flight of 36 Iowa pigs to an area northwest of Tokyo. Sinnwell is entering the 2022 National History Day competition, but he’s not ready to reveal the topic.

“That’s actually classified at the moment,” Sinnwell says. Sinnwell is hoping his next entry does as well as his last, since some National History Day activities were cancelled this past year. “I’m excited for this year now,” he says, “that I can hopefully get my trip to Washington, D.C.” Sinnwell’s long term goals are to join his family’s farming operation, work as a utility lineman and be a volunteer fire fighter, too.

(Decorah, Iowa) – A public memorial service will be held early tonight (Thursday) for two Decorah High School seniors who died in a single vehicle accident last Friday night. Eighteen year old Dalton Hemsath and Carter Ike,, both of Decorah, died from injuries they received in the accident. Three passengers were also seriously injured.

The public celebration of life will begin at 5 p.m. at Decorah High School.

(Schleswig, Iowa) Two people were injured during a head-on collision Wednesday evening, in Crawford County. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2006 GMC Envoy driven by 35-year-old Austin Wulf, of Denison, and  a 2007 Chevy Impala driven by 28-year-old Beth Weber, of Mapleton, collided at around 4:36-p.m., north of Schleswig.

Authorities say the GMC was southbound on Highway 59 when for some reason it crossed the center line of the road and collided with northbound Impala, just south of A Avenue. Both drivers were transported to the Crawford County Memorial Hospital by Crawford EMS. A report on their injuries was not available.

The Patrol says Wulf was not wearing a seat belt.