Des Moines – The Iowa Department of Education today announced the Build Iowa’s Future Design Challenge, an opportunity for K-12 students to create innovative projects, connect them to careers and compete for up to $1,000 awards for their schools.

The Iowa Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning and the Home Builders Association of Iowa (HBA of Iowa) are hosting the challenge to engage more students in authentic professional experiences that transform education for the workforce. The Iowa Association of Community College Trustees, Kreg Tool Company and Pella Corporation are sponsoring the challenge awards. The challenge is in keeping with the Future Ready Iowa goal of 70 percent of the workforce having education or training beyond high school by 2025.

“The Build Iowa’s Future Design Challenge will help students see how subjects like math and science can be applied in the real world while cultivating creativity, problem-solving and other critical skills,” said Iowa Department of Education Director Ann Lebo. “Through work-based learning opportunities, students see the connection between the classroom and the workplace where they can explore and prepare for careers that fit them. The challenge is available to all students in rural and urban communities across Iowa, and I’m excited to see the projects they produce.”

“With approximately 7.5 million construction jobs projected nationwide by 2026, and ongoing industry expansion, we want students to explore those opportunities for great-paying jobs. This project makes that introduction in a creative way,” said HBA of Iowa Executive Officer Jay Iverson. “Our members are excited to see what students are able to come up with.”

Elementary and middle school students can participate in the Iowa Home Design Challenge by constructing a model home using toy plastic construction bricks, wood blocks or other materials of their choice. High school students can participate in the Iowa Dream and Design Challenge, which involves conceptualizing and designing a project that could improve their community, such as a school athletic storage facility, a ramp for a disabled person’s home or a prairie birdhouse. Students will seek feedback about the project’s feasibility from people who would be impacted, but students will not actually build the project.

Teachers are invited to submit a form letter of intent to participate on the Clearinghouse website by Sept. 29, 2021. Submission of the form letter by the deadline is required. On May 4, 2022, three awards – $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $300 for third place – will be made to schools in each of the K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grade bands for projects scored and selected by reviewers. Outstanding designs may be shared on Clearinghouse and HBA of Iowa websites and through other publications and events. Learn more about the design challenge at: https://clearinghouse.futurereadyiowa.gov/challenge.

DES MOINES, Iowa – State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald announces 83% of the children who participated in College Savings Iowa’s annual State Fair survey believe pursuing higher education is a necessary step in achieving their dreams and career aspirations. “It’s fun for kids to dream of what they want to be when they grow up, and parents can guide them on the right path to get there,” said Fitzgerald. “This survey demonstrates the importance of saving and planning early for those big dreams that will one day become reality for their children.”

Each year, Treasurer Fitzgerald and College Savings Iowa ask children visiting the State Fair to share what they want to be when they grow up and if they will need to attend higher education to achieve these goals. “Kids are extremely smart, and I am always amazed by the responses they offer,” continued Fitzgerald. “Seventeen percent are planning on becoming an artist, with another 16% hoping to become an athlete.” Police, teacher and scientist round out the final top five answers.

“According to the survey, the majority of kids think higher education will cost them around $100,000,” Fitzgerald added. “Families that save and invest for their children’s higher education will be better prepared to financially support those dreams when the time comes, and College Savings Iowa is here to help.”

College Savings Iowa is a 529 plan that allows anyone – parents, grandparents, friends and relatives – to invest in education expenses on behalf of a child. Qualified withdrawals include tuition, room and board, books, supplies, fees and more at any qualified education institution in the country or abroad.* Plus, if an Iowa taxpayer is a College Savings Iowa participant, they can deduct up to $3,474 in contributions per beneficiary account from their state taxable income in 2021.**

For more information, visit CollegeSavingsIowa.com or call (888) 672-9116. Connect with the plan on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on current events and plan updates.

On August 18, 2021, deputies of the Montgomery County sheriff’s office arrested 49 year old Trevor Wayne Hale of Red Oak on an active Montgomery County warrant for Harassment 3rd Degree. Hale was transported to Montgomery County jail and is being held on $300 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 18, 2021 – Organic producers and handlers can now apply for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds to assist with the cost of receiving or maintaining organic certification. Applications for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) are due Nov. 1, 2021.

“USDA is here to help all producers, including those who grow our nation’s organic food and fiber. Many farmers have told us that cost was a barrier to their ability to get an organic certification,” said Bob Wegand, Acting State Executive Director for the Iowa Farm Service Agency (FSA). “By assisting with the costs, this program can help organic farmers get their certification along with the benefits that come with it.”

OCCSP provides cost-share assistance to producers and handlers of agricultural products for the costs of obtaining or maintaining organic certification under the USDA’s National Organic Program. Eligible producers include any certified producers or handlers who have paid organic certification fees to a USDA-accredited certifying agent during the 2021 and any subsequent program year. Producers can be reimbursed for expenses made between Oct. 1, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2021 including application fees, inspection costs, fees related to equivalency agreement and arrangement requirements, travel expenses for inspectors, user fees, sales assessments and postage.

For 2021, OCCSP will reimburse 50% of a certified operation’s allowable certification costs, up to a maximum of $500 for each of the following categories (or “scopes”):

• crops
• wild crops
• livestock
• processing/handling
• State organic program fees.

Organic farmers and ranchers may apply through an FSA county office or a participating state agency.

This funding will be complemented by an additional $20 million for organic and transitioning producers through the Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. More information on that funding will be available in the coming weeks.

More Information

To learn more about organic certification cost share, please visit the OCCSP webpage, visit usda.gov/organic, or contact your local USDA Service Center.

In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit http://www.usda.gov.

Montgomery County residents interested in running for their City Council or School Board can soon begin filing papers to place their name on the November 2, 2021, ballot.
Candidates will need to file a nomination petition and an affidavit of candidacy to get their name on the ballot. Those documents need to be filed with the Auditor’s office for a seat with the city or with the school secretary for a seat on the school board.
Candidates can begin filing those papers with those officials on August 23. The petitions are due to those officials before 5:00 p.m. on September 16.
Potential candidates in Montgomery County for city councils and school boards may be surprised how few signatures they will need to place their name on the ballot for this upcoming election. “We have some city and school seats that only require collecting 10 signatures to get on the ballot,” said Montgomery County Auditor & Commissioner of Elections Stephanie Burke. “I know the first roadblock for those thinking about running is collecting signatures on the nomination papers. However, I think that people might be surprised by how few they need to collect.”
The following are the races with signature requirements that will appear on the November 2 ballot:
• Red Oak Mayor – 25
• Red Oak Council Ward 2 – 25
• Red Oak Council at-large – 25
• Elliott Mayor – 10
• Elliott Council (3 at-large) – 10
• Grant Mayor – 5
• Grant Council (5 at-large) – 5
• Villisca Mayor – 10
• Villisca Council (2 at-large) – 10
• Stanton Council (3 at-large) – 10
• Coburg Mayor – 5
• Coburg Council (2 at-large) – 5
• Red Oak School District (3 at-large) – 48
• Stanton School District (3 at-large) – 10
• Villisca School District (2 at-large) – 15
• Southwestern Community College (District #1, #3, #5 and #6) – 50
Burke said interested candidates will find useful information at https://sos.iowa.gov/ or at
www.montgomerycountyia.gov. Forms can be printed from those websites. Candidates may also pick up
the required paperwork at the Auditor’s Office located in the Courthouse. For more information about the
2021 City/School Election, contact the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office at 712-623-5127.