Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
2 selected for OPUS Chior Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn eighth graders Alayna Benz (left) and Kate Rodriguez (right) were recently accepted into the OPUS Honor Choir. More than 2,400 student nominations were sent from all over the state for 720 positions in the four Opus Choirs. The festival will be held on Nov. 21 at the CY Stephens Auditorium in Ames on the campus of Iowa State University. Benz and Rodriguez are led by H-M-S vocal instructor Kristi Daggett.
NCC students inducted into Phi Theta Kappa
Ten students were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa at Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon on Oct. 14. Phi Theta Kappa is an international honor society of the two-year college, NCC's chapter is called Beta Lambda Pi.
Students are invited to be a part of Phi Theta Kappa based on eligibility requirements that center on having a 3.5 grade point average. Among the initiates was Brennan Stoltz, son of Curt and Becky Stoltz, of Hartley.
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,253 chapters. Its mission is to recognize and encourage scholarship among two-year college students.
To achieve this purpose, Phi Theta Kappa provide opportunities for the development of leadership and service, an intellectual climate for exchange of ideas and ideals, lively fellowship for scholars and stimulation of interest in continuing academic excellence.
Judy Zimmerman honored for workplace excellence
A Hartley native recently earned accolades from the San Antonio Express-News.
Judy (Linder) Zimmerman was named a Special Award Winner for Leadership in the newspaper's 2024 top workplaces publication. She serves as the president of RVK Architecture in San Antonio. Leadership award recipients were chosen based on standout scores for responses to specific survey statements, which employees rated on a seven-point scale.
Additionally, RVK Architecture was named the newspaper's Top Small Workforce. The firm employs 55 people.
Zimmerman has been with the firm since 1986. She became a principal in 1998 and was appointed to president in 2018. She has managed the business operations since 2005.
Zimmerman is a 1981 graduate of Hartley High School. She is the daughter of the late Paul and Bonnie Linder.
Local writers featured in Lyrical Iowa 2024
The Iowa Poetry Association, Inc. (IPA) last week announced the publication of its annual poetry anthology Lyrical Iowa. The publication features finely-crafted poems on myriad engaging subjects, according to editor Marilyn Baszczynski.
The 2024 edition of Lyrical Iowa is IPA's 79th anthology. Poems are selected from submissions to the annual statewide competition. Membership is not a requirement for having poetry included in the anthology, and there are no entry fees – contestants need only reside in Iowa. The Iowa Poetry Association has about 310 members across the state.
Besides those awarded cash prizes or honorable mentions in the seven adult categories and four student divisions, many other top-ranking poems are showcased in the 168-page book. This year, a total of 305 poems were selected from about 2,000 entries submitted to IPA's 2024 contests. Entries came from 69 of Iowa's 99 counties sent by persons ranging in age from kindergartners to centenarians.
Local writers included in the publication are listed below.
Clay County: Carol B McMullen, of Spencer.
Dickinson County: Roger Brockshus, of Spirit Lake.
O'Brien County: Mike Lindseth, of Primghar; Nancy J. Peters, of Sheldon; and Carolyn Rohrbaugh, of Sutherland.
