News

Local News
Have a Newstip? Let us know!
Call or Text 712-324-2597
Email to newstips@kiwaradio.com

United Fund Giving Slows, Still On Pace Overall

Sheldon, Iowa — Donations to the 2015 Sheldon United Fund are slowing, but the fund drive is still on pace to finish on goal.

The drive continues through the rest of the year. The goal this year is $31,000.United Fund 2015 The funds are now at $14,314.

The fund drive is now 42% finished. The funds are at about 46% of goal. Over $16,500 has yet to be raised. To finish on goal, the drive now needs to average about $1,770 per week through the rest of the year. In the last week, donors only gave $295.

Contributions may be left at any of the four Sheldon banks, or you can also send them to PO Box 41, Sheldon, IA 51201. Essays explaining each organization are available at the banks.

Each week we’re mentioning a few of the organizations that benefit from your donations. This time the list includes:

  • Family Crisis Center of Northwest Iowa
  • Foster Grandparent Program
  • Girl Scouts
  • His Little Ones Preschool
  • Love In the Name of Christ

The United Fund will be assisting 25 different organizations in Sheldon and the surrounding communities this year, and they thank you for your contribution.

All School Districts Now Part Of Teacher Leadership Program

Des Moines, Iowa — Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds have announced that all 336 Iowa school districts have applied to join the state’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation System — what they call, “the most comprehensive teacher leadership system in the nation.”
apple for the teacher school desk
They say that this targeted effort to tap into the expertise of top teachers to better support the more demanding work that teachers are expected to do and to raise student achievement, is the centerpiece of the landmark education reform package adopted by the Legislature and signed by Branstad in 2013.

The legislation created a three-year phase-in process to develop a statewide teacher leadership system, with the goal of all school districts participating by the 2016-17 school year. As of the end of last week, all school districts in Iowa have developed and submitted local plans to participate in the teacher leadership system. When the teacher leadership system is fully phased-in, it will cost $150 million annually.

Brandstad and Reynolds say that the teacher leadership system rewards outstanding teachers with leadership opportunities, attracts promising teachers with competitive starting salaries and support, and fosters greater collaboration for all teachers to learn from each other.

Reyonds says that in order to achieve our goal of making Iowa schools the best in the nation, we must continue to be innovative in our approach.

Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise said feedback from Iowa teachers and principals has been overwhelmingly positive.

For more information on the teacher leadership system, click here.

Tonic Sol FA Coming To George

Tonic Sol FAGeorge, Iowa — The a cappella singing group, Tonic Sol FA will be appearing in George Monday evening as a fundraiser for the George-Little Rock Schools Foundation.  Monday evening’s show will be held at 7:30 in the George-Little Rock High School Auditorium.

Greg is one of the members of Tonic Sol FA, and he says the group, which is a trio, actually began as a quintet.

He tells us a little bit about what we’ll see at Monday night’s performance.

But, he says, Tonic Sol FA does more than just, in his words, “stand up there and sing for an hour and a half.”

Tickets for Monday night’s show are $27.50 for adults, and $20 for current George-Little Rock students, and can be purchased at Northwest Consultants in George, Frontier Bank in Little Rock, or online at www.tonicsolfa.com

Husband-Wife Chiropractic Team Celebrate New Business

Sheldon, Iowa — A husband-wife chiropractic team who opened a clinic this summer in Sheldon celebrated their new business on Friday with a ribbon cutting.
Pic 2
Doctors Ryan and Patience Skrenes opened Choice Chiropractic in July.

At the ribbon cutting, Scott Wynja spoke on behalf of the city of Sheldon.


Sheldon Chamber and Development Executive Director Curt Strouth spoke on behalf of the SCDC.


Skip Tanner spoke on behalf of the Sheldon Ambassadors.


Dr. Ryan Skrenes tells us about the business.


He says they also have another treatment option available.


He says their hours are Mondays from 8 AM to 6 PM, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 8 to 5, and Fridays from 8 to noon.

You can reach them to make an appointment at 712-324-5313. Also check out their facebook page for more information. Just look for Choice Chiropractic. Choice Chiropractic is located at 712 Fourth Avenue in Sheldon.

Tornadoes Reported Friday Night

Alton, Iowa — Northwest Iowa had a somewhat surprising bout with severe weather on Friday night.
2001srnb siren
It’s not known at this time how many of these tornadoes were separate tornadoes and how many were different reports of the same tornado.

But it all started when a tornado was reported by a member of the public near Alton at about 5:46 PM. Three minutes later, at 5:49 PM, the National Weather Service received a report of a tornado a mile northeast of Orange City, which was called in by law enforcement. An officer also called in a funnel cloud, one mile south-southeast of Brunsville at three minutes before six. At 6:01 PM, a storm chaser called in a report of a tornado a mile northeast of Hospers. Also near Hospers, a storm spotter called in a report of a funnel cloud three miles east of that town at 6:05. Three minutes later a funnel cloud was reported by law enforcement a mile west of Meriden. At 6:36 PM another funnel cloud report was received from a spotter. This one was said to be six miles south of Alton. The final report in northwest Iowa was at 6:39 PM, of a tornado two miles north of Larrabee. It was reported by law enforcement that that storm lifted a roof off of a house.

Sioux County Emergency Management Director Nate Huizenga has also reported that a machine shed sustained major damage a mile south of Alton. No injuries were reported

Click here for a video of the tornado near Orange City. (Thanks Mike Hoffman)

Bottorff Now In Custody After Failing To Report To Jail

Orange City, Iowa — A 19-year old Hawarden man who escaped from the Sheldon Residential Treatment Facility in August of this year is now in custody after being on the lam Thursday.
Kyle Bottorf
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office reports that 19-year old Kyle Bottorff was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison earlier this week. But he failed to report to the Sioux County Jail on time to begin his sentence.

Sioux County Chief Deputy Nate Huizenga says that deputies were looking for Bottorff on Thursday and a Nixle alert was sent out to the public because they had received information that stated that Bottorff was suicidal. Huizenga says that just before 8 PM, Bottorff turned himself in at the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office and the alert was canceled. He says Bottorff was charged with Failure To Appear.

Sioux County Attorney Thomas Kunstle says that Bottorff had originally pled guilty to six counts of Burglary in the Third Degree, in connection with numerous burglaries in the Hawarden area. Kunstle says each count was a class D felony. Kunstle says Bottorff was originally given a 10-year suspended prison sentence and required to reside at the Sheldon RTF. Kunstle says that, on August 28th of this year, Bottorff was discovered to have escaped from the RTF.

Kunstle says Bottorff appeared in Sioux County District Court in Orange City Monday, where he received the 10-year sentence for violating the probation that had originally sent him to the Sheldon RTF. He says Bottorff was ordered to report to the Sioux County Jail before being transferred to the Iowa Department of Corrections.