Education News

Former Buena Vista University President Joshua Merchant has resurfaced in a new position in higher education, named chief of staff for Oakland University, a school of about 19,000 in Rochester, Michigan. In May, Merchant suddenly resigned from his position leading BVU, effective immediately, and left Storm Lake. Neither Merchant or the university offered explanation for the departure. He had been named president in 2017...

The Bishop’s Fundathon for Catholic Schools will be held Sept. 13. This event is typically held as the Bishop’s Dinner for Catholic Schools; however, because of Covid-19, the diocese transformed it to a virtual event which can be accessed through their website “http://www.scdiocese.org” www.scdiocese.org...

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced the creation of a Local Produce and Protein Program today. Gov. Reynolds has allocated $500,000 through CARES Act funding to help Iowa schools purchase locally-grown products from Iowa farmers impacted by COVID-19-related supply chain disruptions. The funding will be awarded through three grant programs administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship...

Front – Mari Bauer (G-H Cook), Mandee Luy (Middle School Aide), Jackie Diersen (S-C 5th Grade Teacher), Dawn Faist (High School Aide), Ashley Sackett (S-C Elementary Aide), and Adam Brand (S-C Elementary Principal) 2nd – Josh Sussman (High School Principal), Nekooshia Plueger (G-H 5th Grade Teacher), Jensen Flanigan (G-H 3rd Grade Teacher), Brett Beebe (G-H Elementary Aide), Sara Larson (G-H Special Education Teacher)...

St. Mary’s students have been away from their friends, teachers, family and school for months. The administration of St. Mary’s recognizes the school environment will be different for the students when they return. The faculty is taking extra steps to ensure the well-being of each student as they deal with the adjustments and changes coming back to school...

Yesterday & Today: A Tribute to the Beatles will perform Saturday, August 29 at Preservation Plaza at Arnolds Park, the latest in the free outdoor Live at the Lake concert series. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Featuring brothers Billy, Matthew and Ryan McGuigan, the Omaha-based band is a unique version of a tribute band - no costumes, wigs and fake accents, just dead-on musical precision in an all-requests format...

Today, Rep. Gary Worthan (R-Storm Lake) released information about the Iowa Legislative Page program and is encouraging area students to apply for the 2021 session. “The legislative page program is a great opportunity for students to see their state government in action and learn. I strongly encourage area students to consider applying because it is a valuable experience for any young person,” said Rep. Worthan...

Hy-Vee, Inc. has announced $1,000 scholarships for Iowa students from the Hy-Vee Foundation Scholarship program. The local honoree is Jordan Grothe, representing Storm Lake Hy-Vee. In honor of Hy-Vee’s 90th anniversary this year, scholarships were awarded to 90 high school seniors and college students who are part of the Hy-Vee community across the company’s eight-state region. ...

Campus Compact’s AmeriCorps Program awarded Buena Vista University (BVU) a grant in excess of $114,000 to allow the University to continue expanding its popular AmeriCorps service program. The award represents the largest grant BVU has received from Iowa Campus Compact...

The new Iowa Central Community College Industrial Training Center in the Bargloff Addition at Storm Lake is coming together well, but behind schedule. “COVID-19 got us a little on the building process. We’re pushing to get it open in time for fall classes. We may be a little late, but I think it will be okay,” ICCC President Dan Kinney told the Pilot-Tribune this week. “We’re excited to get it open.”...

A dose of great news hit Storm Lake High School senior Fletcher Kucera this spring, bringing joy to a student-athlete in need of a good break. “I was pretty happy when I heard the news,” Kucera says of his qualification for one of the 15 Invest in Rural Iowa Scholarships being awarded by Buena Vista University to members of the 2020-21 freshman class. ...

Jay Slight has resigned as principal of Storm Lake Middle School. He has accepted a new position in Ankeny as principal at Northview Middle School.  Earlier this month, Slight submitted the resignation, effective immediately. “It is both a time of sadness when I think about leaving such a wonderful district, but also a time of great excitement as I pursue a new leadership opportunity. ...

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...