09/12/24: Area Happenings & Accomplishments

Seasons Center to close Camp Autumn

Seasons Center for Behavioral Health has announced that Camp Autumn, its therapeutic children's camp, is closing.

This decision, made after careful consideration by the Board of Directors, comes as a result of several concerns: 1) The delayed rollout of the State of Iowa's Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Medicaid Demonstration Program; 2) the uncertainty of future funding due to the state's management restructure of behavioral health services and the launch of a new behavioral health service system; and 3) the reallocation of agency resources needed for flood recovery.

Camp Autumn for eight years has served as a place to care for and support children by weaving together the therapeutic aspects of nature, trauma-informed care and evidence-based behavioral health programs and services. Camp Autumn has been a safe space that has promoted health, healing, hope and fun for those who needed it most.

"The decision to close Camp Autumn was not made lightly," said Seasons Center President and CEO Dan Ries, in a news release. "We have cherished every moment with our campers and are heartbroken to make this announcement. Given the delays, changes and financial uncertainty within Iowa's behavioral healthcare system, along with the unexpected financial burden of the June flood, we have decided that focusing our efforts and resources on our core services is what's best for the agency and our clients."

While Camp Autumn may be closing, Seasons Center will continue to explore other opportunities to provide additional services for children and respite opportunities for parents/caregivers at other times and locations throughout the year.

Western pleasure rider competes at state fair

Western pleasure riders brought their skills to Des Moines to compete in the Open Western Horse Show, judged at the 2024 Iowa State Fair.

Meredith Zylstra, of Hartley, placed in the following categories: Adult Western Pleasure-19-49, fifth; Western Walk/Trot-19-49, sixth; Senior Western Pleasure – 6 & Over, fifth and eighth; and All Ages Quarter Horse Halter, fifth.

O'Brien County Fair receives 'blue ribbon' designation

The O'Brien County Fair was selected to receive the Association of Iowa Fairs' 2024 "Blue Ribbon Fair" designation, representing the Northwest District. The honor was announced at the AIF Northwest District meeting at Ida Grove.

The award is based on service to the youth organizations in the community, showing distinguished service to the community and surrounding area in both fair and non-fair areas, possessing a strong community involvement with all aspects of the fair, and the fairgrounds must show an aggressive capital improvement program utilizing the state aid it receives each year.

The O'Brien County Fair celebrated its 100th anniversary this year and had perfect weather to help with great attendance at the various livestock shows. The fair board promoted special events, featuring four billboards seen in the area to promote the 100th year, T-shirts sold to many friends of the fair to commemorate the anniversary, hosting KCAU's guest weather spot, the cinnamon roll contest, alumni 4-H members trying their hand at showing livestock, inviting past queens and kings back to the fair, bringing back the skid loader rodeo and offering free ice cream to fairgoers.

The renovation of the show ring at the fairgrounds with new steel siding and LED lights was completed this spring, utilizing the annual money received from O'Brien County, the fair's allocation of state aid and money received from the Siouxland Community Grant program.

"The fair board is grateful to the many area businesses and individuals who help to support the fair every year," said Jan Gaudian, secretary of the O'Brien County Fair Board in a news release. "The fair board is proud of the 4-H and FFA youth and their families who participated in this year's fair."

The fair board will receive the Blue Ribbon Fair award at the Association of Iowa Fair's annual conference in December.

City of Hartley audit report released

T.P. Anderson & Company, P.C. has released an audit report for the City of Hartley.

According to the report, the city's receipts totaled $6,295,015 for the year ended June 30, 2024. Receipts included $605,881 in property tax, $3,683,786 in charges for services, $607,976 in intergovernmental receipts and $407,793 in tax increment financing.

Disbursements for the year totaled $6,118,508. They included $540,251 in public safety, $337,682 for public works, $312,422 for culture and recreation, and $4,321,833 for business-type activities.

A copy of the audit report is available for review in the City Clerk's office, in the Office of the Auditor of State, and on the Auditor of State's website at https://auditor.iowa.gov/audit-reports.

NWI fishing report

Water levels are barely above crest. Water temperatures are in the low 70s. Bass and panfish bite has continued to be good on most lakes.

East Okoboji Lake: Lake level is at crest.

Black crappie, good. Bluegill, good. Many bluegill seen, easily catchable around functional docks. Largemouth bass, fair. Bass are a little ways off shore; you can still find some around docks and other structures. Yellow perch, good. Many perch seen; sorting most likely needed.

Ingham Lake: Walleye, fair. Morning and afternoon bite is best.

Silver Lake (Dickinson): Lake level is below crest. Lake outlet boards broken during high water this summer have been replaced. Lake is experiencing an algae bloom.

Walleye, good. Bite hit-or-miss, but very good when bite is on.

Spirit Lake: Lake level is one inch over crest.

Black crappie, good. Anglers finding quality-size crappie; biting on almost anything. Bluegill, good.

Iowa Dept. of Education releases new spring student assessment results

The Iowa Department of Education last week released new spring 2024 assessment results from the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) for students in grades 3-11. State-level results from the spring 2024 ISASP show student achievement reaching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels across most grade levels in both English language arts and mathematics.

Significant proficiency gaps remain among students with disabilities and students who are English language learners in both English language arts and mathematics. In English language arts, the overall results show modest long-term progress with some grades showing significant gains. In mathematics, the overall long-term results remain steady and do not show meaningful progress in most grade levels.

"We celebrate the successes of our learners, and we continue to work in partnership with families and educators to provide all students what they need to meet high expectations and realize their incredible potential," said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow in a news release. "Informed by our student achievement data, we reaffirm our commitment to strengthening early literacy and narrowing and closing achievement gaps experienced by students with disabilities and students who are English language learners."

The data shows significant proficiency gaps between overall student results and specific student groups. Students with disabilities and students who are English learners experienced much lower proficiency rates than their classmates, with average differences across grade levels of 45 and 53 percentage points in English language arts, respectively. The average proficiency gaps in mathematics for students with disabilities and students who are English learners are 41 and 45 percentage points, respectively.

Long-term results in English language arts, proficiency increased across grades 4-8, with significant gains between 7 and 8 percentage points in grades 6-8 since 2019. The results show modest proficiency decreases in grade three, informing Iowa's focus on evidence-based early literacy instruction, as well as in grades 9-11 since 2019. When compared to last year, English language arts proficiency rates improved or remained steady across all grade levels with the exception of grade three.

Long-term results in mathematics, proficiency increased across grades three, five, six and eight, with a significant gain of 5 percentage points in grade three since 2019. The results show modest proficiency decreases in grade four and 10, with a significant decrease of 7 percentage points in grade nine, informing Iowa's focus on Algebra I in grade nine in its new mathematics academic standards. Mathematics proficiency rates show relatively little to no growth across most grades when compared to last year, with some grade levels up a percentage point and other grades down a percentage point.

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. 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 2023-24 and 2022-23 and 98 percent in 2021-22 and 2020-21, ensuring that the results yielded a true picture of student performance.

As part of statewide efforts to improve student proficiency, and for the first time in over a decade, the Iowa State Board of Education adopted new academic standards for mathematics in April and new academic standards in English language arts in June. The standards, which outline what students must learn in order to be prepared for success as they progress each year and after high school, were revised to ensure they are rigorous, content-rich and align with best practices. In over two dozen sessions this summer, the department provided professional learning to support the implementation of the standards in the 2024-25 school year to nearly 2,000 mathematics educators and over 1,300 English language arts educators.

The standards were reviewed and revised by a team consisting of elementary and secondary educators, administrators and area education agency partners, representatives from institutions of higher education, community members including parents and industry, and content experts from the Iowa Department of Education. State law requires an ongoing review of Iowa's academic standards, including public comment, to ensure content is current and aligns with best practices.

Pheasant survey predicts another year of good hunting

Results of Iowa's 2024 pheasant population survey are in and the results were nearly identical to the 2022 and 2021.

The annual August roadside survey found Iowa's statewide pheasant population to be 19 birds per 30-mile route, down from 23 birds per route in 2023. The decline was expected after much of Iowa received 3-7 inches of rainfall above normal during the nesting season.

"Iowa hunters have enjoyed good pheasant hunting over most of the state for the past five seasons, including last year, when we had the highest harvest in 16 years," said Todd Bogenschutz, Iowa DNR upland wildlife research biologist, in a news release. "If our dry weather continues into fall, the corn and soybean harvest could be mostly complete by opening day, and that usually leads to good success."

Based on the results of the August roadside survey, Iowa hunters can expect to harvest 350,000 to 400,000 roosters. Last year, Iowa saw an increase of an estimated 20,000 pheasant hunters over 2022, which helped push the harvest to nearly 600,000.

"Last year, pheasant hunting was the best it's been since 2007, and while the numbers from the survey were lower, it's shaping up for another good fall," Bogenschutz said.

The full report is available at http://www.iowadnr.gov/pheasantsurvey.

Iowa's quail population was led by the southwest and west central regions of the state.

"Route after route, we had staff recording quail farther into the west central region," said Bogenschutz.

Iowa's partridge population was lower, with the better numbers coming from the northcentral and northwest region. The rabbit population was higher than last year with the better population in the south half of Iowa, but good numbers can be found across the state.

The annual August roadside survey has been collecting data on Iowa's upland game populations since 1962.

Upcoming Iowa hunting seasons include: Youth pheasant season, Oct. 19-20; pheasant season, Oct. 26-Jan. 10, 2025; quail season, Oct. 26-Jan. 31, 2025; rabbit season, Aug. 31-Feb. 28, 2025; and partridge season, Oct. 12-Jan. 31, 2025.

Lack of rain dries out Iowa

Consistent above-normal rainfall during the summer months slowed in August, leading to a return of dry conditions, according to the latest water summary update by the Iowa DNR.

August's preliminary statewide precipitation was 3.20 inches, or 0.93 inches below normal. At the end of August, Iowa's Drought Plan showed overall drought conditions have remained mostly stable for the state. However, the decrease in precipitation has led to a return of dry conditions.

The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) shows nearly 40 percent of the state carrying abnormally dry designations, with areas of western and northeast Iowa seeing the biggest change. This trend could turn worse if the dryness of August extends into the fall months.

Temperatures for the month were near normal, with the summer months of June, July and August averaging 72.0 degrees statewide. The preliminary precipitation totals for that same period were 13.75 inches, or 0.19 inches above normal.

Despite the dry conditions, the state has received more than 38 inches of rain in the past 12 months, which is a foot more than what the state saw between September 2022 and August 2023.

The Iowa Drought Plan rates statewide drought conditions as normal, although the month of August was drier than usual.

"As we move into September we would expect to get less than an inch of rain per week, with average rainfall continuing to drop through the rest of the year. It is important that we continue to see normal precipitation through the fall and into the winter months," said Tim Hall, the DNR's Hydrology Resources Coordinator, in a news release. "We are to the point now where rainfall will begin to build up next year's soil moisture and groundwater, so a wetter than normal fall would be great to see. If conditions remain dry, we could have issues going into 2025."

Business ideas encouraged for grant competition

Economic development organizations in northwest Iowa are teaming up to offer $10,000 in prize money for The BIG Challenge grant competition. The BIG Challenge encourages entrepreneurs to Build, Innovate, and Grow their business in northwest Iowa.

The contest gives entrepreneurs and small business owners the opportunity to submit their dreams to start or expand a business, and then encourage friends, family and customers to vote for them online. The finalists will present their idea to an audience and judges in a pitch-off event for a chance to win thousands in cash prizes.

Now through Sept. 29, entrepreneurs in Lyon, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury counties can visit http://www.iawestcoast.com and click on "The BIG Challenge" to submit their business or startup ideas.

Voting on the submitted ideas will take place Oct. 2-11. During the voting period the entrepreneur will recruit others to vote for their entry online. The Top 3 vote getters will advance to a regional pitch-off competition, along with two additional entrants chosen by a selection committee. Each finalist will receive personalized coaching from the University of Northern Iowa's John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.

The regional contest will be held the evening of Thursday, Nov. 21 at The Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor, 115 Central Ave. NW in LeMars. That evening, the finalists will have the opportunity to showcase their ideas with first place receiving $5,000, second place receiving $3,000 and third place receiving $2,000 to grow their business.

The BIG Challenge is sponsored and organized by Iowa's West Coast Initiative, Northwest Iowa Developers and Siouxland Economic Development Corporation, which includes economic development organizations in Lyon, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury counties. To learn about the contest rules or to enter the contest, please visit http://www.iawestcoast.com and click on "The BIG Challenge."

New child care availability site is live

Gov. Kim Reynolds this week unveiled a new, first-of-its kind-in-the-nation, website called Iowa Child Care Connect (childcareconnect.iowa.gov) to help Iowans more easily find child care availability near their homes, where they attend school or near parents' and caretakers' work places.

Iowa HHS, in partnership with Iowa State University and Resultant, a data and technology consulting firm, developed the Iowa Child Care Connect website platform with a focus on child care availability mapping for Iowans. This project is one of the recommendations brought by the Governor's Child Care Task Force.

Iowa Child Care Connect was intentionally created with the flexibility to adapt and change for the needs of Iowans, leading to a sustainable, long-term solution. This platform was built using a well-known mapping system that has the capability to calculate trip times in both miles and minutes. Leveraging this technology allows Iowans to identify child care vacancies on their way to work, while also factoring in other potential stops they make along the way.

Parents or other caretakers searching for openings are able to filter vacancies by specific criteria such as type of child care setting, age ranges, hours of operation, rating level and Child Care Assistance availability.

Iowa Child Care Connect can also serve as a valuable and essential tool in emergency situations. First responders will be able to use the child care search information to make sure all children in a specific area are safe and accounted for during an emergency.

In addition to Iowa Child Care Connect, Iowa is leading the nation in launching public dashboards with data showing near-real-time and historical data of child care vacancies, supply, and demand which can be filtered by local, regional or statewide data. Iowa HHS will use the data to understand supply and demand trends and local officials, employers and other entities can utilize the data to help plan for future child care needs in their communities or other planning efforts.