09/07/23: Area Happenings & Accomplishments

Savanna Handy graduates from UI

More than 600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students at the University of Iowa received their degrees last month.

Savanna Handy, of Everly, was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree. A student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, her program of study was Human Physiology.

Local exhibitors shear to please judges

Torie Abel, of Linn Grove, won first place in the Senior Division of the Sheep Shearing contest judged at the 2023 Iowa State Fair.

In the Golden Age division, David Abel, of Royal, placed second in shearing, best pen and fastest time. Everett Abel, of Linn Grove, placed third in the Junior Division categories of shearing, best pen and fastest time.

For the seniors, David Abel was fifth in shearing; and Nolan Abel, of Linn Grove, was first with the best pen and third with the fastest time.

Everly farm sweeps Babydoll Sheep Show

Schoelermans Babydoll House, of Everly, took top honors in the Babydoll Sheep Show judged at the 2023 Iowa State Fair. The farm was awarded the Champion Ram and Ewe banners and first place in the Premier Exhibitor contest.

Additional placings for Schoelermans Babydoll House follow.

January Ram Lamb – first, second; February Ram Lamb – second, third; Color Ram Lamb (all ages) – first, third; Pair of Ram Lambs – first; Yearling Ewe – first, second; Color Yearling Ewe – first, second; Pair of Yearling Ewes – first; January Ewe Lamb – first, second; February Ewe Lamb – first, second; Color Ewe Lamb (all ages) – second, third; Pair of Ewe Lambs – first; Pair of Lambs – first; Young Flock – first; Flock – first.

Suffolk breeders compete for state fair honors

Schoelerman Suffolks, of Everly, were exhibitors during the Suffolk Sheep Show at the Iowa State Fair. They had sheep place second and 10th in the Shorn Ewe Lamb (all ages) division.

AgState names new VP of agronomy

AgState last week announced the appointment of Sara Meadows as the new Vice President of Agronomy.

According to a news release, Meadows will lead the agronomy division by driving passion and excellence for serving members, finding innovative and cutting-edge solutions to grow yields, and optimize resources to help producers achieve maximum results.

Meadows comes to AgState with a diversified career in the agricultural industry. As a Portfolio Leader within the Crop Protection sector, Meadows provided strategic leadership of over $1B+ net sales, coordination with R&D of new products, and provided global financial alignment. At Corteva, Meadows’ experience ranged from row crop to specialty crop, including a project leadership role introducing a new herbicide delivery to the corn and soy sector. Her role also had a strong focus on team leadership and direct product marketing. Meadows received a BS in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.

“With Meadows’ complex understanding of the agronomy industry and solid history of leadership and success, we are confident she will lead our agronomy team and our customers to new heights of success.” said AgState CEO Troy Upah.

NWI fishing report

Anglers have found the most success fishing off rock points and the edges of weed lines. Water temperatures have hovered in the mid- to upper-70s.

East Okoboji Lake: Black crappie, fair. Bluegill, fair. Most fish have moved deeper; but anglers find success fishing from docks or shore. Use a small hook and piece of worm. In deeper water, use pilkies with wigglers or a slip bobber setup. Walleye, fair. Yellow perch, fair. Sorting will likely be needed.

Ingham Lake: Walleye, fair. Anglers have been successful morning and evening.

Lost Island Lake: Black crappie, fair. Walleye, fair. Try trolling with spinners over weeds. It has worked well lately.

Minnewashta Lake: Black crappie, fair. Bluegill, fair. Pumpkinseed, good.

Silver Lake (Dickinson): Black bullhead, good. Walleye, fair. Try trolling with spinners over or off weed lines.

Spirit Lake: You may have to move out deeper to find edges of weed lines. Water levels are 6 inches below crest.

Black bullhead, good. Anglers have success when fishing the north grade. Black crappie, fair. Many nice-sized fish seen lately. Bluegill, good. Fishing still good from docks using a small hook and a small piece of worm. In deeper water, use pilkies with wigglers or a slip bobber setup. Walleye, fair. Leeches and minnows work well. Angler success with slip bobbers off points and pulling spinners over vegetation. Yellow perch, fair.

West Okoboji Lake: Bass topwater bite has been good. Water levels are 2 inches below crest.

Black crappie, fair. Try small jigs tipped with a minnow.

IDE releases new spring student assessment results

The Iowa Department of Education last week released new spring 2023 assessment results from the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress for students in grades 3-11. The overall results showed little improvement over last year with significant proficiency gaps between certain groups of students.

“Iowa prioritized keeping schools open and students in the classroom throughout the pandemic, and our students experienced minimal COVID-related learning loss compared to the nation,” Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said in a news release. “At the same time, statewide assessment results show that overall student proficiency is not significantly different from last year and concerning achievement gaps persist, especially among students who are English learners, students with disabilities and students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.”

State-level results from the 2022-23 Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) show relatively little to no growth across most grades in English language arts with some grade levels up a percentage point and other grades down a percentage point. Sixth grade results increased the most from last year, going up four percentage points.

Mathematics scores showed some small improvement across all grade levels. Grades 3, 6, 7 and 9 had a three-percentage point increase and grade 4 had a four-percentage point increase in the percent of students scoring proficient or above when compared to last year. Grades 8 and 10 increased five percentage points and grade 5 increased six percentage points. Eleventh grade results increased the most, at 7 percentage points.

The data also show significant proficiency gaps between overall student results and those of certain student subgroups. Students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities and students who are English learners performed much lower than their classmates with differences of 15, 41 and 45 percentage points, respectively.

The ISASP is administered each spring and is the general summative accountability assessment in Iowa that meets the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The assessment reflects what’s being taught in Iowa classrooms and how students are progressing toward grade-level expectations outlined in Iowa’s academic standards. Importantly, the ISASP helps teachers understand where students are succeeding and where they may need more help. Iowa’s state summative assessment participation rate was 99 percent in 2022-23, 98 percent in 2021-22 and 98 percent in 2020-21, ensuring that the results yielded a true picture of student performance.