News

Monticello, Anamosa rank among safest Iowa cities

Published by admin on Wed, 03/08/2017 - 4:02pm

     The National Council for Home Safety and Security announced the annual Safest Cities in Iowa Report for 2017.

     The top five safest cities in Iowa:

     • Number 5 – Waukon

     • Number 4 – Bloomfield

     • Number 3 – Wilton

     • Number 2 – Hampton

     • Number 1 – Eldridge

     The report offers the top 50 safest cities in a given state. The City of Monticello came in at number 47. Anamosa came in at number 29.

Nice weather allows Midland project to progress

Published by admin on Wed, 03/08/2017 - 3:57pm

     As the winter season ends, I want to thank you for the support you have shown for our students and your understanding and patience with the inconveniences that were caused by the construction work (here at Midland).

Libertarian Party obtains official status in Iowa

Published by admin on Wed, 03/08/2017 - 3:51pm

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announces the Libertarian Party of Iowa has obtained official political party status in Iowa, effective March 1. The Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, received 59,186 votes, which was 3.8 percent of the vote in the November 2016 General Election, surpassing the 2-percent threshold required by the Iowa Code to obtain official party status.

Lockdown issued for Monticello schools

Published by admin on Wed, 03/01/2017 - 9:55am

     Mid-morning on Friday, Feb. 24, all of the schools in Monticello went on lockdown for roughly 15 minutes, 10:35 to 10:50 a.m. The lockdown was issued for the four Monticello Community Schools, as well as Sacred Heart Catholic School.

     According to a statement from the Monticello Police Department, they “responded to an incident involving a family member of three students of the Monticello Community School District.

Forum centers on issues with collective bargaining

Published by admin on Wed, 03/01/2017 - 9:54am

     Three employees (Justin Kracht, Tammy Luchtenburg, and Pat Fowler) with the Anamosa State Penitentiary were present, along with a room full of others, at the Feb. 24 Jones County economic Development legislative forum in Anamosa.

     The prison guards, department of corrections employees, pressed the four legislators (Sens. Dan Zumbach and Tod Bowman and Reps. Andy McKean and Lee Hein) as to why they were not considered part of the “public safety” grouping when the collective bargaining bill was passed and signed into law two weeks ago.

Board moves on without higher wage increase

Published by admin on Wed, 03/01/2017 - 9:39am

     With a full board of five, the Jones County Supervisors continued discussion on increasing Lisa Mootz’s salary during their Feb. 21 meeting.

     The board originally approved a 3.5 percent pay increase for Mootz, but chose to revisit it after Supervisor Joe Oswald realized she should not have been grouped with other single department heads.

Joint meeting set for March 28 concerning Stone Bridge

Published by admin on Wed, 03/01/2017 - 9:30am

     During the Feb. 21 Jones County Supervisor meeting, the board set a date for a joint meeting with the Ely’s Stone Bridge Foundation, the Jones County Historic Preservation Commission, the University of Colorado-Denver, the county engineer, and Jones County Conservation to discuss the future of Stone Bridge outside Monticello.

     The meeting was set for Tuesday, March 28, following the board’s evening meeting at 6 p.m.

Board approves 2017-18 school calendar

Published by admin on Wed, 03/01/2017 - 9:22am

     A 2017-18 school calendar that had been proposed at a Feb. 8 work session was approved by the Monticello School Board during its regular meeting Monday, Feb. 27.

     The calendar calls for classes to begin Aug. 23, and for Commencement to take place Sunday, May 27, 2018.

     Changes for the next school year include the middle school going from trimesters to semesters, open house times on Aug. 21 to be staggered, and 2 p.m. dismissals to be in effect on for the second day of conferences at the elementary level.

Kirkwood staff member selected for SBDC award

Published by admin on Wed, 03/01/2017 - 9:21am

     America’s SBDC (Small Business Development Centers) Iowa is pleased to announce that Samantha Ferm, business counselor for the Kirkwood Community College SBDC, has been chosen as Small Business Development Center Support Person of the Year.

Iowa birth certificate exchanges offered

Published by admin on Wed, 03/01/2017 - 9:20am

     Last week, the state released news regarding Iowa birth certificates that were issued between May 1993 and October 2009.

     The Iowa Department of Public Health is offering an exchange program for newborn birth certificates issued in that timeframe, where the birth certificate is the size of a wallet-sized card. Those smaller cards did not contain the necessary information people need for identification purposes, essentially making the smaller certificates useless.

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