Education News

Brett Dewerff of Storm Lake, is one of 38 Simpson student-athletes named to the spring 2020 American Rivers Conference All-Academic Team. Dewerff is a senior on the men’s tennis team and is majoring in computer science and mathematics. To be eligible for A-R-C All-Academic Team honors, a student-athlete must compete at the varsity level, be at least a sophomore in academic standing with at least one year in residence and attain a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale)...

Kevin Duque of Storm Lake was named to the Wartburg College Winter/May Term Dean’s List. The college recognized 523 students for Winter/May Term. The list honors students who earned a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or above in at least five course credits during the terms. Four of the five course credits have to be graded with a traditional letter grade...

Storm Lake Dean’s List Jaley Butler Cole Keenan Cynthia Leyva Lessly Ortega-Luque Jenifer Sliefert Vanessa Vrieze Storm Lake President’s List Josue Castro Skylar Cole Cooper Dutfield Zachariah Issa Austin Knapp Karina Salazar Jaquez Marlene Zuniga

Buena Vista University’s Strategic Partnerships initiative, aimed at growing businesses while benefiting employees of those enterprises, has aligned with its first Strategic Partner in Pro Cooperative, a full-service cooperative offering a wide range of products and services in agronomy, grain, feed, seed, energy, and more...

A traditional part of summer includes a summer reading program. Prairie Lakes AEA has partnered with MackinVia to take the summer reading adventure online with a special website that offers about 20 books for each grade level from kindergarten-fifth grade. It offers the option of checking out books, and books can also be read online without the need for check out. All of the books have extra resources created by the educators at Mackin, including a reading journal...

Emma Kenkel of Storm Lake was named to the University of Sioux Falls’ Spring 2020 Dean’s List. Kenkel is majoring in Business Administration and English. Kenkel was among more than 600 students named to the Spring 2020 Dean’s List. To qualify, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or greater on a 4.0 scale...

It was a dream come true for Lindy Reinhart when she graduated with her master’s in mental health counseling from Buena Vista University. “I’m a BVU fan. It’s always been a dream, something that I wanted to do, and it was close enough to home that I could do it,” Reinhart says...

Buena Vista University congratulates students who earned their degree in Spring 2020. The following local students earned degrees: • Isabel Haas of Storm Lake graduated with a bachelor of arts in digital media (communication track). • Kayle Heideman of Rembrandt graduated with a bachelor of science in computer science (systems track)...

Iowa Central Community College’s new $2 million building in the Bargloff Addition at the north edge of Storm Lake is rapidly nearing completion. The college hopes to begin industrial education classes there in the fall. The development includes enough land for up to four additional buildings, and the possibility of moving the entire campus to the site in the future. /Pilot photo by Dana Larsen...

Lessly Ortega, a senior at Storm Lake High School, has been named the 2020 recipient of the Storm Lake P.E.O Scholarship. Lessly is the daughter Alejandro Ortega and Elda Ortega. She plans to attend Buena Vista University and major in Computer Science...

Abby Bean, from Buena Vista County was awarded the Peterson Family 4-H Scholarship through the Iowa 4-H Foundation this spring. The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced the recipients of over 90 Iowa 4-H scholarships valued at more than $100,000. Over 400 applications were submitted and scholarships have been awarded to recipients from 54 counties across the state of Iowa with a wide variety of 4-H experiences...

The Alta P.E.O. awarded its annual scholarship to Chloe Kruger, a graduating senior from the Alta-Aurelia class of 2020. Her integrity and strength of character were key aspects for selection as the recipient. The $300 scholarship is for the 2020-21 academic year when she will be attending Iowa Central Community College pursuing a career as a medical laboratory technician...

Brian Lenzmeier has been appointed Interim President of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, replacing Joshua Merchant, who recently resigned. The Pilot-Tribune invited Dr. Lenzmeier to share his thoughts with the community. Articles from BVU leadership will continue.

For Iowa Central Community College’s 53rd Commencement, instead of walking across the stage at Decker Auditorium, students donned their caps and gowns online for the college’s first Virtual Graduation Commencement Ceremony due to the ongoing pandemic. On May 22nd, the event was broadcasted on Iowa Central’s YouTube (IowaCentralCC) and Facebook (@IowaCentral) pages...

Dr. Shawn Stone, Professor of Physics and Computer Science, was named the 34th recipient of the George Wythe Award, Buena Vista University’s highest honor for excellence in teaching, during the University’s Employee Recognition Celebration, shown by video, on Friday, May 22...

Storm Lake Middle School would like to congratulate the students who participated in National History Day this year. More than half a million middle and high school students participate in this contest each year. Students benefit by using reading and research skills, problem solving skills, and critical thinking. For the first time in history, both the regional and state contests were virtual...

Santiago Moral’s last semester at Storm Lake High School didn’t go as planned. COVID-19 disrupted classes, closed campus, canceled prom, and placed a question mark over commencement exercises. The one that hurt Moral the most? The Iowa Jazz Championships, which were scheduled for early April in Des Moines. Storm Lake was one of the Class 4A competitors to earn a berth...

If the Buena Vista University Class of 2020 handed out a “Most Likely to Stay Active Award,” certainly Bazyl Horsey, a computer science major from Storm Lake would find himself in the running. Horsey, after all, spent time as a BVU senior doing, but not limiting himself, to these activities:...

Nolan Wells from Storm Lake, will graduate with a bachelor of science degree from the ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). Majoring in Agronomy, Wells will join a network of 46,000 CALS alumni sharing their talents and making a difference around the world...

More than 500 Iowa students from virtually everywhere across the state to compete in this year’s National History Day in Iowa state contest. For the first time in its existence, the contest moved to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifty-four students from 24 different Iowa communities took top honors during the state contest and advanced to the National History Day national contest where they will compete online in June for top honors...

Spurred by the pandemic experience, Storm Lake Schools are proposing to go to a “one-to-one” technology system that would allow every student to have a district-provided laptop computer for use at school and at home. “The pandemic has put a spotlight on many things,” Superintendent Stacey Cole said, especially the need for technology to better communicate and teach...

With more work-from-home opportunities available now, there looks to be more time to explore some possible hobbies, for growth and development. Home maintenance, computer skill development, cooking, all these skill sets are possibilities for gaining insight on, and having fun while doing so. ...

Iowa’s three major public universities are planning to resume in-person classes in the fall, but they are still working out the details of what that would look like during the coronavirus pandemic. Iowa Board of Regents President Mike Richards said the schools will follow state and federal health guidelines as they develop plans to bring thousands of students back to the campuses of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and Northern Iowa University...

Nine youth started their sewing pouch during Christmas break and worked approximately 11 hours to finally complete them. Sac County Youth Coordinator created a pattern for the 4-H’ers to follow as the pattern was a little small and she wrote out step by step instructions for the girls to follow. ...

The tart stalks of rhubarb are used in pies, tarts, sauces, jams, jellies, puddings and punch. Rhubarb is easy to grow and long-lived. For more information on growing rhubarb and other vegetables in your garden, contact horticulture specialists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. To have additional questions answered, contact the Hortline at 515-294-3108 or hortline@iastate.edu...

The following four faculty members have been named as finalists for the 2020 George Wythe Award for Excellence in Teaching atBuena Vista University: Dr. Bradley Best, Professor of Political Science; Dr. Lisa Mellmann, Associate Professor of Chemistry;...

Central College’s annual Scholarship Celebration was scheduled for Thursday, April 23, but was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The event gives student scholarship recipients the opportunity to personally thank and share dinner with donors who help make their Central education possible. More than 700 students would have been recognized this year in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium...

Buena Vista University will not require the ACT nor the SAT exams for admission to the University for the high school Class of 2021, an outcome of the University’s adoption of a test-optional approach to admission that had been under consideration for some time...

Buena Vista University (BVU), a regional leader in online education for 15 years, is expanding its offerings by allowing students to earn four-year degrees in a completely online format, the result of an initiative by the University’s Extended University Programs division...

Two Buena Vista University community leaders and selfless givers have earned prestigious awards in Campus Compact Iowa’s 2020 Engaged Campus Awards. Maria Garcia, a 2012 BVU graduate, earned the Alumni Leadership Award, while Wava Jarr, a junior, earned the President’s Student Leadership Award...