(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Engineer Nick Kaufmann, Wednesday, presented his weekly report on Adair County Secondary Roads projects and maintenance activities.

Kaufmann reports one of their bridge projects is finished, and other developments.

And, as we previously mentioned, Kauffman presented for the Board’s approval and Chair Nathan Baier’s signature, contracts for three projects: North 11 Lincoln Bridge (and a related performance bond); A right-of-way contract in the amount of $449.04, for the West 18 Harrison bridge; and a Contract to the low bidder, GovCo Construction, for the North 27 Lincoln bridge project.
The contract amount was for $287,880.25. The engineer’s estimated cost for the project was $200,000.

(Radio Iowa) – A long-time manufacturer of socks in northern Iowa will be closing later this year.  According to the Iowa Workforce Development’s Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification website, Fox River Mills is planning to close on October 10th, impacting 105 workers. The company filed the notification with Iowa Workforce Development on Tuesday.

Fox River Mills has been making socks since 1900 and at one point employed as many as 150 people at their Osage facility. The company in 2016 was sold to a private equity firm, a move that marked a significant shift in its business trajectory.

The company was known for its annual “Fox River Sock Sale”, which would bring thousands of customers to the Mitchell County Fairgrounds in Osage.

(Radio Iowa) [updated]  – Studies find many elementary school teachers have had little-to-no preparation in how to effectively teach handwriting, and a University of Iowa special education professor has developed a free tool to help teachers everywhere teach cursive. Professor Shawn Datchuk is director of the UI-based Iowa Reading Research Center and developed what’s called CLIFTER, the Curriculum-Based Letter Instruction for Fluency and Efficiency with Repetition. “It has an e-learning module, and that’s on-demand, evidence-based descriptions on what are effective ways of teaching cursive handwriting,” Datchuk says. “And then the second pillar would be an actual free online application that educators can log on, click what letters they’re interested in teaching, and there’s video models that teachers can present on screen.” There are also worksheets that can be downloaded and customized for any curriculum.

Prof. Shawn Datchuk (UI photo)

Datchuk is introducing CLIFTER this week as the center hosts the annual Science of Reading Summit in Cedar Rapids. “We have over 650 educators coming together to learn about evidence-based practices for not only reading, but also writing,” Datchuk says, “and the response has been incredibly positive for CLIFTER and different ways of applying evidence-based techniques in the classroom.” About a decade ago, schools in Iowa and in many other states shifted away from teaching cursive, yet in recent years, some have returned. Cursive instruction was reintroduced to Iowa’s Academic Standards in 2024, and as of this year, only around half of U.S. states require some instruction in the skill.

Datchuk says it can be easy to think of handwriting as antiquated and unimportant, but he assures that’s not the case. “Handwriting, even in this age of technology, remains critically important for committing to memory writing skills such as letter formation, but also spelling, sentence writing,” Datchuk says, “but then also the juicy bits of reading that underpin our ability to read words accurately, or entire sentences, are closely connected with writing.”

While much of the modern world uses keyboards to communicate, he says handwriting is still vital, especially for young students who are just learning the art. Datchuk says he’s gratified to see schools swing back to teaching cursive. “That has been a large shift in how we think about teaching reading as, ‘Oh, maybe writing is separate,’ but what we’re finding is, is that it is not. It is closely connected together,” Datchuk says. “If you want to help students become proficient readers, writing can be an effective pathway to accomplishing that.”

He says CLIFTER gives students the building blocks they need to become proficient writers — and readers.

(Creston, Iowa) – An Audubon County man was not injured, but a grave headstone sustained an estimated $2,000 damage, during an accident Sunday afternoon in Creston. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Department, 88-year-old Raymond Vais, of Exira, was driving through the Calvary Cemetery at around 4-p.m., Sunday, when the accident occurred.

Authorities say Vais was looking at relative graves, and was unaware the row of graves went over to the south fence of the cemetery. He told deputies that he got off the driving paths located in the cemetery and was driving in the grassy area due to not being able to walk very well.

Vais said he tried to get his pickup turned around in the tight area by the fence, and accidentally struck one of the headstones labeled “McManus.” The headstone was knocked-off its concrete base and laid on its side.  A Union County Sheriff’s Deputy said he was unfamiliar with the name on the headstone, and unable to make contact with any family member in reference to the accident.

As university budgets continue to swell, some members of the Iowa Board of Regents are concerned about a lack of scrutiny into the dollars and what is being done to save them, especially with current uncertainty and future changes to funding streams. According to a report by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Barker said he felt there wasn’t enough information provided on risks with certain areas of the budget and contingency plans in case dollars dry up for projects or programs. Despite a past directive from board president Sherry Bates to universities to renew efforts in finding areas where greater efficiency can be attained, Barker said he saw little evidence of it in the budget documents.

General education budgets at Iowa’s public universities are set to grow once again in fiscal year 2026, according to budget reports, mainly due to increases in tuition revenue from both rate hikes and higher expected enrollment. The total budget for the whole regents system sits at $8.4 billion for the fiscal year. Hensley said Gov. Kim Reynolds spoke with her about the university budgets and said she “was not happy about” the fact that they had a higher percentage increase than the 2% “state approved” increase.

(From left) Regents David Barker and Christine Hensley attend an Iowa Board of Regents meeting Feb. 27, 2025. The board voted at its July 30 meeting to approve fiscal year 2026 budgets. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

UNI is the only university to report decreased revenue from tuition for the fiscal year, but indirect cost recoveries and other income still have the overall budget rising by $400,000 to $174.4 million. The UI reported a projected tuition revenue increase of more than $51 million, offset by a reduction of $3.2 million from reductions in federal funding and indirect cost recoveries, bringing its general education funding to $871.2 million.

ISU’s fiscal year 2026 general education budget is projected to total nearly $767 million, with tuition revenue coming in at $44.1 million and revenue from indirect cost recoveries dropping by around $2.7 million due to “federal grant and recovery rate uncertainties.”

One area Barker said did go into adequate detail about the future and the problems it poses was ISU’s athletic department budget. In the budget proposal, the university stated it expects to see around $30 million in “recurring annual financial repercussions” starting this year and continuing in years to come. The university foundation provided a one-time allocation of funds to the department to fill gaps this year, but the document stated this will not be viable in the future.

The board’s investment finance committee meet within the next month to take another look at the budgets and come up with recommendations for how the process could change.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa State Fair has announced its list for Iowans of the Day for the 2025 fair. It’s a collection of individuals who have shown the best sides of Iowa through hard work, integrity and an unwavering commitment to their communities. One of those individuals is from southwest Iowa and will be honored on Tuesday, August 12th: Ruby Thomas of Coin.

Ruby Thomas works full time in Clarinda but makes time to volunteer as the Coin City Council cemetery sexton. In this role, she has transformed the Elmwood Cemetery in Coin. What started as a cemetery in disrepair became a place other sextons study.

Through a local fundraising campaign, Ruby raised over $11,000 for cemetery renovations. This total increases today. Ruby’s projects include fixing damaged headstones, resetting tombstones and maintaining the grounds. Ruby’s work touches families who have loved ones buried at Elmwood.

The Iowan of the Day program was founded in 1997 by the Blue Ribbon Foundation to honor outstanding Iowans who have made a difference in their communities, according to a press release from the foundation.

Winners are selected by committee after a nomination process and receive one day of recognition during the fair. Each day at noon on the Anne and Bill Riley Stage, they are presented as the Iowan of the Day. Each winner is also awarded accommodations at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown, four Iowa State Fair admission tickets, four Grandstand show tickets, use of a golf cart, VIP parking and $200 cash.

Others who were named Iowans of the Day at the State Fair include, on:

Thursday, Aug. 7: Brenda DeVore of Promise City

Friday. Aug. 8: Emily Grell of Danbury

Saturday, Aug. 9: Barb Runneberg of Algona

Sunday, Aug. 10: Donna Koch of Cedar Rapids

Monday, Aug. 11: Roger & Mary Sue Chatfield of Keokuk

Wednesday, Aug. 13: Donna Brown of Cedar Falls

Thursday, Aug. 14: Peggy Smith of Baxter

Friday, Aug. 15: Jean Saveraid of Huxley

Saturday, Aug. 16: Lou Sipolt Jr. of Altoona

(Anita, Iowa) – The CAM School District’s Board of Education will hold a Special, Electronic Meeting 7-p.m. Thursday, July 31st, via Zoom. The only item on their agenda is approval of a bid for Emergency Drain Repair at the MS/HS Building.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s attorney general has reached a settlement with a southwest Iowa business for a fertilizer spill that killed hundreds of thousands of fish. The spill originated at NEW Cooperative in Red Oak when a valve on a fertilizer tank was left open during a weekend in early March of last year.

Over 250-thousand gallons of liquid nitrogen wound up in the East Nishnabotna River. Iowa officials estimate more than 750-thousand fish were killed downstream.

New Cooperative spill

The Nishnabotna River drains into the Missouri River and the Missouri Department of Conservation reported a near total fish kill in the roughly 10-mile stretch in northwest Missouri.

The coop has agreed to pay a 50-thousand dollar penalty and pay 50-thousand dollars to the Montgomery County Conservation Board for an environmental project.

(Radio Iowa) – Some four dozen Iowa communities will observe National Night Out next week — with most cities holding events on Tuesday evening. Some cities will offer snacks or hold ice cream socials, while others will feature bounce houses and games along with displays of law enforcement vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks. Webster City police officer Steven Thumma is helping to organize events in that north-central Iowa community.

“National Night Out is a chance for law enforcement and first responders to interact with the community members in a positive environment,” Thumma says, “just a way to build camaraderie between the community and local first responders.”

Radio Iowa file photo

Webster City Police Chief Steve Hansen says they look forward to the evening as the Night Out is all about building relationships. “It’s an opportunity to build that trust with the community. This is an opportunity to see people — and for them to see us — outside of our normal day-to-day calls for service,” Hansen says.

“Events like this help build transparency with the police department and to visit with each other in an open platform.” The first National Night Out was held in 1984 and it’s since grown into a nationwide tradition that now includes 17-thousand communities nationwide and 38-million neighbors coming together.

The list of participating Iowa communities also includes: Altoona, Ames, Belmond, Bloomfield, Burlington, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Charles City, Cherokee, Clarion, Colfax, Coralville, Council Bluffs, Denison, Des Moines, Dubuque, Dysart, Eagle Grove, Earlham, Eldridge, Exira, Grinnell, Iowa City, Janesville, Keosauqua, Lake Mills, Lake View, Le Mars, Leon, Maquoketa, Marengo, Marshalltown, Mason City, Muscatine, Northwood, Oelwein, Red Oak, Sioux Center, Sioux City, Stacyville, Storm Lake, Stuart, Urbandale, Williamsburg and Winterset.

www.natw.org

Atlantic, IA – Officials with SWITA (the Southwest Iowa Transit Agency), today (Wednesday) announced new fare rates will be going into effect as of August 1, 2025. SWITA says it will be the first increase in rates on the transit system in more than a decade. The increase was approved by the SWIPCO board because the overall cost to provide transit service continues to grow.  SWITA fares, officials say, are still significantly lower than similar transit agencies in the state.

The new fares are:

• Student fares– $.25 fare increase to $1.75
• Taxi fare– $.50 fare increase to $3 for general public or $2.50 for those 60 years and older with a current Connections Area Agency on Aging form.
• Medical trips--$ 5.00 per hour increase to $35/hr
• Special trips–$5.00 per hour increase to $45/hr
• Charter trips—$20.00 per hour increase to $75/hr

SWITA officials say the organization “is always working hard to serve the residents of Southwest Iowa with safe, reliable, and affordable transportation and we appreciate riders’ cooperation as we make this transition. All SWITA services are open to the public.”

SWIPCO is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.