Education News

The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is proud to announce Matt Hansen, industrial technology teacher at MMCRU High School in Marcus, has been named a recipient of the 2020 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award, sponsored by Kemin Industries. The award is given to teachers who go above and beyond to inspire student interest in and awareness of science, technology, engineering and mathematics...

As a Humboldt High School junior, Brayden Collins visited Buena Vista University and heard for the first time about the University’s Undergraduate Rural Medicine Education and Development (URMED) program, a three-week immersion into a myriad of rural medicine efforts with experiences at hospitals in and around Storm Lake...

Storm Lake’s P.E.O. Chapter NM awarded a Program for Continuing Education (PCE) grant to Laura Negrete-Sanches on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. Negrete-Sanches, a social work major of Storm Lake, was awarded $1,000 for education-related expenses as she completes her final semester at Buena Vista University. She will be completing an internship at a local school during her final semester before graduation in May...

A new Iowa State University Extension partnership in Buena Vista County with the Tyson Poultry plant resulted in the first Buy. Eat. Live Healthy outreach class at the plant last week, with Mandi De La Cruz.

The advanced ecology class at Storm Lake High School continues to work toward a school courtyard renovation project. The class is creating special clothing for the project which will be available as part of a website they are building. The shirts will feature a quote one of the students expressed when meeting with the city council recently, “Everyone needs a little green in their lives.”...

Students at Storm Lake St. Mary’s Elementary tested their engineered structures against the forces of nature... wind and rain. The workshop was conducted by Iowa State University Extension, Buena Vista County.

NASA’s planet-hunting TESS Mission keeps giving astronomers new realities to examine and explain. Case in point: astronomers using the tools of asteroseismology - the observations and measurements of a star’s oscillations, or starquakes, that appear as changes in brightness - have learned more about two stars bright enough to be visible in a dark sky to the naked eye. These red-giant stars - older, “retired” stars no longer burning hydrogen in their cores - are known as HD 212771 and HD 203949...

Casey’s General Stores has launched a new “Cash For Classrooms” program that allows customers in Storm Lake and across the region to choose schools they would like the company to consider for more than $50,000 in upcoming donations. Part of the award process is the number of times a school has been selected by Casey’s Rewards members as their designated “Cash For Classrooms” school until February 14th. The school with the highest totals will have the greatest chance to receive an award...

Five Buena Vista University students will spend the second semester in the nation’s capital as part of the University’s longstanding partnership with The Washington Center for Internships & Academic Seminars, an effort that for more than two decades has seen BVU students living, working, and learning in Washington, D.C...

The St. Mary’s Dance team has been invited by the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union to perform at the 2020 Girls’ State Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena - a first in school history. More details on the performance will be announced soon, according to coach Victoria Stille...

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley has nominated 50 Iowa students to be considered for appointments to the U.S. service academies. One area student is included, Connor Pickhinke, of Early and Ridge View High School, is among the nominees for the U.S. Air Force Academy...

Iowa Central Community College’s Honors Program is a highly esteemed program within the college that aims to allow exceptional undergraduate scholars to reach their full potential through innovative educational opportunities and personally enriching experiences. Designed to challenge students intellectually, those in the program will explore advanced topics, gain relevant experience, and expand their worldview...

St. Mary’s Dance team won a State Championship for small school Hoopla and 2nd place in Class 1 Pom, performing two routines at State competition. Front, from left: Emily Nothwehr, Grace Murray, Ariana Elsden, and Ellie Bacon. Back: Danika Demers, Sydney Hurd, Lupita Gonzalez-Hernandez, Natalie Green, and Elly Richardson.The team is coached by Victoria Stille...

A movie career used to start with a ticket to Hollywood. Now, all that young Iowans need is a good idea and a short video. One- to 5-minute films are being accepted now through Jan. 15 for “The Film Lounge: Student Challenge,” which encourages Iowa students in grades 7-12 to hone their creativity for the big screen...

Buena Vista University Concert Band presented its “Winter Celebrations” concert Sunday in Schaller Chapel, with Joe Vannatta of Washington High School in Cherokee guest- directing. Selections included “Albanian Dance,” “Nostalgia,” “Looking at the Stars,” “Silent Night in Gotham,” and “Play!”...

Alliant Energy is seeking applications for their 2019 Innovation Scholarships. They will award up to 25 $1,000 scholarships to students who think big and give back. Applicants will be asked to write a short essay that identifies a problem in their community, then presents an innovative solution using science, technology, engineering and/or math. Other selection criteria include leadership in community service and volunteering, grade point average and standardized test scores...

The Shirley Sorbe Memorial Scholarship is open to any high school senior residing in Buena Vista County planning to attend a vocational school, college or university. Deadline for application is March 15, 2020. Scholarship applications have been sent to guidance counselors at all area high schools...

“Blended learning” is gaining a foothold at Storm Lake High School this academic year. The hybrid courses combine in-class, online and independent study, and are designed to help prepare students for college studies that are increasingly taking place online...

On October 29, members from the Ridge View FFA chapter traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo. On the way to convention, the chapter toured the Floyd County Museum in Charles City, Iowa, Rock Island Arsenal, the John Deere Pavilion, Lagomarcino’s Confectionary, Komatsu, and the Caterpillar visitor center...

4.0 Seniors Albers, McKenna Brummer, Russel Grothe, Jordan Kofmehl, Kate Wiese, Katlyn Wunschel, Kenzee 3.9-3.0 Seniors Allen, Cassandra Bailey, Beth Blackmore, Hanna Blum, Dawson Droegmiller, Jaden Gross, Logan Hansen, Chance Hinkeldey, Taya Kron, Veronica...

Storm Lake High School hosted its National Honor Society induction November 14 at the high school auditorium, with speaker Seith Monahan and the traditional candle lighting and charges to scholarship, service, leadership and character. Inductees include seniors Magan Coyle, Antonio Gonzales, Esteban Huerta, Cathleen Manivong, Jaceline Medina, Kao Xiong. ...

A local 4-H team composed of Cherokee County 4-H member Zach Erpelding and Sac County 4-H members Kaydon Erpelding and Levi Steinkamp brought home first prize from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s first-ever AgOvation competition. AgOvation is a research-based competition that challenges youth to explore and develop innovative science-based solutions to agricultural problems that they identify in their own communities. ...

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that more than 5,800 Iowa students have received the new Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship for fall 2019. Early numbers show more than $6.6 million has been awarded for the fall semester, helping pave the way for more Iowans to acquire the education and training needed for good-paying, high-demand jobs. ...

The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced applications are now available for its 4-H scholarship program. Over 100 scholarship opportunities valued at over $110,000 will be awarded. The various scholarship awards range in amounts from $500 to $10,000. Some of the scholarships are open to students pursuing any field of study, while others are open to students pursuing degrees in agriculture, food and nutrition, ag business, animal science and journalism...

On October 12, the Ridge View FFA soil judging team traveled to Iowa State University in Ames to compete in the state soil judging competition. The team placed fourth overall and will travel to Oklahoma City in May for the national competition. In addition, Katlyn Wiese was the state soil judging champion individual. Russell Brummer was the individual high score on the knowledge exam and placed seventh overall...

The Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) named Buena Vista University senior Olivia Wieseler the national 2019 Arthur H. Barlow Student Journalist of the Year this week.  The award, first of its kind for a BVU student, recognizes Wieseler in noting her “example represents the highest standards of journalistic ethics, service, leadership, and technical skills.”...

The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council has awarded Storm Lake Middle School’s eighth-grade math class with its Scale Up Math Award. With the award, 54 students will have access to the integrative Desmos-Illustrative digital math program starting in the next few weeks...

Buena Vista University earned the Chairman’s Award from the Iowa Lakes Corridor Corporation in recognition of several achievements the University experienced throughout the past year. BVU President Joshua Merchant, on behalf of the University accepted the award, which came during the organization’s Annual Business Recognition Luncheon at the Clay County Regional Events Center in Spencer on Wednesday...

On Tuesday, November 5th, eighteen Storm Lake middle school choir students participated in the Northwest Iowa Choral Directors’ Association 7th & 8th grade Honor Choir hosted at Storm Lake High School. These students prepared choral music and performed in an evening concert with 550 Northwest Iowa middle school singers. ...

Each year the Northwest district and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate Greenhand Fire Up Conferences for FFA members in the Northwest district. Northwestern College welcomed 259 students from 32 FFA chapters from all over the Northwest district on October 15...

Six Storm Lake Middle School students were recently selected for participation in the 32nd annual Opus Honor Choir Festival. Pictured above, back row: Seanna Lincoln, Ana Quej Flores, Grace Kenkel. Bottom row: Ellie McClellan, Emma Dierking, Hailey Anderson...

A petition calling for the Okoboji Middle School building to be sold via a public bid process will have its day at the polls next week. The issue will share the Nov. 5 ballot with three open seats on the Okoboji School Board. The petition for public bid was submitted to the Okoboji School District shortly after the school board voted July 19, 2018, to sell the property to the Imagine Iowa Great Lakes Beautification group for $1.1 million. ...

Local Breanna Horsey, of Storm Lake, completed a summer internship at City of Storm Lake. Horsey was one of 179 Buena Vista University students to complete an internship during the 2018-19 academic year.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will not sign an executive order that would ban the sale of flavored vaping products but that several state agencies are developing plans to deal with the health risks tied to using electronic cigarettes. Reynolds says she met Friday with state public health officials to discuss the illnesses reported in Iowa from vaping and how to address the problem...

The doors at Storm Lake Elementary School boast a new milestone - a record 1,000 students in the building. Staff and students celebrated a character program, becoming the “I” in “kind” - literally.

As a BVU student, Ida Rogers-Ferguson traveled to Poland, Austria, Germany, Greece, Israel, and the Czech Republic. She made her way to Auschwitz, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. As winner of the University’s prestigious J. Leslie Rollins Fellowship, she made her way to the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland, over the summer, To learn concepts surrounding place-based learning...