(Radio Iowa) – An online academy associated with a southwest Iowa school district has seen a significant increase in interest from parents exploring education options during the pandemic. Dr. James Brauer is the principal of the Iowa Connections Academy, one of two “virtual” public schools in the state. He says in July alone, 300 applications were submitted for K-through-12 students living in other districts around the state.

“That’s something, of course, that has never happened before in previous school years,” he says. “In total right now our actual enrollment numbers are up about 80% from this time last year…While it’s so difficult to determine if families will pursue the actual enrollment process, we’re looking at a significant increase.” School starts August 24th.

Parents who’ve submitted an application have until then to decide whether their child will attend school in their local district or use the state’s “open enrollment option” to take Iowa Connections Academy courses online. Brauer isn’t expecting every applicant to enroll. He says students, parents and educators throughout the state did the best they could last spring when remote learning was the “crisis scenario,” but they’ve had more time to prepare for that as an option this fall.

“Some families, I think, submitted open enrollment applications almost as something to tuck into their back pocket as an option,” he says, “and they’ll make a decision as they get closer to the first day of school as they evaluate their local district’s ‘Return to Learn’ plans.” At the end of the last school year, the Iowa Connections Academy had 530 students. “Students can access their coursework any time, any place, anywhere while also working with one of our 20-plus teachers,” Brauer says.

Brauer says parents are grappling with circumstances that are difficult to navigate in the midst of a pandemic. “On the one hand, I certainly want to advocate for this model and I want to ensure families are making proper decisions. Every student’s learning needs are so different and the online model is not a one-size-fits-all,” Brauer says. “As our staff continues to work with families to help them make that right decision, you can easily and very quickly pick up up this sense of fear and anxiety and trepidation.”

The Iowa Connections Academy adheres to the grade level and high school graduation requirements of the CAM Community School District in Anita. The state’s other all online public school is the Iowa Virtual Academy, a program of the Clayton Ridge Community School District in Guttenberg.

Here is the latest Iowa news at 3:35 a.m. CDT

EMERSON, Iowa (KJAN) – A woman from Emerson died during a collision between a pickup and a car Wednesday afternoon, in Montgomery County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 70-year old Sandra Kay Viner died when her 2012 Nissan Kicks was struck by a 2019 Dodge Ram pickup that failed to stop at the intersection of 200th Street and Boxelder Avenue, east of Emerson. Viner died at the scene. The driver of the pickup, 49-year old Leonard Ray Anderson, of Omaha, was not hurt. The crash happened at around 1:45-p.m.

SIDNEY,Iowa (KJAN) – Three people were injured during collision Wednesday evening, in Fremont County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 16-year old Jeryn W. Parmer and a 14-year old, both from Hamburg, were injured when the 2006 Nissan Quest Parmer was driving, hydroplaned on Highway 275 northbound, south of Sidney. When the vehicle entered the east shoulder of the highway, Parmer over-corrected, causing the vehicle to slide sideways across the center line of the road, where it collided with a southbound 2015 Nissan Altima. Parmer, the 14-year old, and the driver of the Altima, 65-year old Evelyn Thompson, of Sidney, were all transported by ambulance to the Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg. The accident remains under investigation. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Tabor P-D, Hamburg Rescue and Sidney Rescue, all responded to the scene of the crash, that happened at around 5:06-p.m., Wednesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Education says it will rule next week on appeals filed by at least districts opposed to fully opening schools to in-person classes when the new school year begins in the coming weeks. Earlier this month, Gov. Kim Reynolds overrode local school districts that wanted to hold online classes. She instead is requiring students to spend at least half of their education time in classrooms this upcoming school year, even as the state’s coronavirus cases have surged this summer. News of the upcoming ruling came as the state’s online virus tracker shows nine more COVID-19 deaths and more than 450 new cases confirmed on Wednesday from the day before.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a suspect in the January shooting deaths of three teens has been arrested in Illinois. Police say 17-year-old Leontreal Jones was arrested Tuesday in Peoria, Illinois, on robbery warrants out of Iowa. Police say Des Moines detectives have traveled to Peoria and expect Jones to be extradited to Iowa soon. Police say once Jones’ is returned to Iowa, he’ll be charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 30 deaths of brothers 19-year-old Devonte Swanks and 16-year-old Malachi Swanks and a friend, 15-year-old Thayne Wright. Officers found their bodies in a southeast Des Moines duplex after responding to reports of shots fired.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Regents has approved $65.4 million in cuts to the state’s public universities in the latest blow to their budgets. The Des Moines Register reports that the board unanimously approved a $1.5 billion general operating budget for the schools Tuesday afternoon that includes $727.9 million for the University of Iowa, $629.9 million for Iowa State University and $170 million for the University of Northern Iowa. The reductions are on top of an $8 million cut in state funding approved by the Legislature last month.

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Two U.S. representatives have introduced legislation that would ban greyhound racing in the U.S. The bill introduced Wednesday comes after a group that has fought against dog racing said it has videos showing racing greyhounds being trained with live rabbits in at least three Midwestern states. The group, GREY2K USA, sent videos of the live lure training to officials in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, where it says an animal rights investigator shot the footage this year. The videos also were sent to Iowa, Arkansas, Florida and West Virginia, states where GREY2K says the dogs were bred, where they raced or where their owners were licensed.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Regents has approved $65.4 million in cuts to the state’s public universities in the latest blow to their budgets. The Des Moines Register reports that the board unanimously approved a $1.5 billion general operating budget for the schools Tuesday afternoon that includes $727.9 million for the University of Iowa, $629.9 million for Iowa State University and $170 million for the University of Northern Iowa. The reductions are on top of an $8 million cut in state funding approved by the Legislature last month.

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Two U.S. representatives have introduced legislation that would ban greyhound racing in the U.S. The bill introduced Wednesday comes after a group that has fought against dog racing said it has videos showing racing greyhounds being trained with live rabbits in at least three Midwestern states.

The group, GREY2K USA, sent videos of the live lure training to officials in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, where it says an animal rights investigator shot the footage this year.

The videos also were sent to Iowa, Arkansas, Florida and West Virginia, states where GREY2K says the dogs were bred, where they raced or where their owners were licensed.

(Radio Iowa) — The executive director of the Iowa High School Music Association wants to set the record straight after false information has circulated about events being cancelled due to COVID-19. Despite some necessary changes, Alan Greiner says every effort is being made to continue holding the competitions which have become an annual focal point for young musicians across Iowa.

“The IHSMA State Marching Band Festival has been cancelled as far as the traditional in-person festival that happens in eight different regions,” Greiner says. “We have moved that festival to an online format.” He says the decision to shift the marching band event to virtual comes out of concern for the health and safety of students and staff. It follows an earlier decision to move the All-State Music Festival audition process online.

“That’s a regional festival where we bring multiple schools together into a single location in small enclosed spaces for students to audition for an adjudicator,” Greiner says, “who is typically somebody who’s experienced and would be in the high-risk category for the virus.” The music association is also issuing Return to Learn guidance for schools to aid them in making sure the classroom environment is as safe as possible.

“It’s based upon some research that’s being done at the national level,” Greiner says. “The results from that are very preliminary at this point, it’s a six-month study, but they realized the importance of getting some preliminary information out so schools could start to make decisions based upon the most recent information that’s available to them.” Auditions for the All-State Music Festival will be held online in late October, with the virtual festival scheduled for November 19-21. The date for the State Marching Band Festival has yet to be announced.