Sheldon, Iowa — The Sheldon Community Schools Backpack Program needs your help!
Sheldon Middle School Guidance Counselor Kari Kopperud tells us about the origins of the Backpack Program.
Kopperud says participation in the program has grown rapidly.
She says that, while the cost per child is very reasonable, the total cost really adds up.
Kopperud says the Backpack Program is funded entirely through donations, and the increase in program participation means they need more donations.
She says monetary donations are the most helpful, but for those who would like, they can take part in the Pop Can Drive that will be held during conferences on November 5th and 10th.
In addition to the weekend backpacks, the Sheldon Backpack Program also provides some more substantial bags of food during holiday breaks.
Sheldon, Iowa — The Board of Education of the Sheldon Community School District will meet in closed session this afternoon at 5:00 pm. The lone agenda item for this meeting is a Superintendent Evaluation Conference.
This afternoon’s Closed Meeting of the Sheldon School Board will be held in the District Board Room at the high school.
Sheldon, Iowa — The assembled crowd at the Sheldon Veterans Memorial braved falling rain Tuesday afternoon to see O’Brien County receive their Home Base Iowa Designation from Iowa Governor Terry Branstad.
Governor Branstad Speaks at O’Brien County Home Base Iowa Event
Home Base Iowa is an initiative implemented by the Governor to attract veterans completing their military service to live and work in the Hawkeye State. The Home Base Iowa initiative offers State incentives to these veterans, and communities wanting to receive a Home Base Iowa designation have incentives that they must put in place, as well.
Framed by the Sheldon Avenue of Flags, Governor Branstad told the crowd about some of the local O’Brien County incentives.
He also talked about some of the Home Base Iowa incentives being offered by the State of Iowa.
Branstad also recognized Northwest Iowa Community College for being designated a CHAMP Institution as part of the Home Base Iowa incentive.
Following the Designation Event in Sheldon, Branstad was off to Rock Rapids to present a Home Base Iowa Designation to Lyon County. At the Lyon County event, held at Glynlyon, Inc., a curriculum publisher and online academy, Governor Branstad echoed his comments in Sheldon.
The governor said that he sits on the governors’ council that advises the Pentagon. He says he has first-hand knowledge of the downsizing of the military. He says meanwhile, he is told by Iowa employers that they need people with skills. He says the Home Base Iowa initiative gives veterans many benefits including income tax incentives, home buyer incentives and tuition incentives. It also lets Iowa employers promote their job openings on military bases.
Branstad says that soon, a quarter of the counties in Iowa will be Home Base Iowa counties.
Also speaking at the Lyon County event were County Supervisor Randy Bosch; Tami Murray from Glynlyon, representing 60 Lyon County businesses who are Home Base Iowa businesses and want to hire vets; Jared Ageson, the new Lyon County Veterans Affairs Director Jared Ageson, and Northwest Iowa Community College president Aletha Stubbe who told about the CHAMP designation. For more on the CHAMP designation, click here.
On Wednesday morning the Governor will be presenting a Home Base Iowa Designation to Sioux County, before wrapping up his visit to northwest Iowa.
Sibley, Iowa — There were no surprises at the Osceola County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday morning, October 27th.
One of the items on the agenda was the second reading of an ordinance proposing the establishment of an Urban Renewal Plan that would provide Tax Increment Financing funds to the City of Harris to pay for upgrades to their sanitary waste system, as well as improvements to a section of White Avenue.
As expected, the supervisors passed on to the third reading the plan, which would use TIF funds from a wind farm project in northeastern Osceola County to finance the improvements and upgrades needed by the City of Harris. Again like the vote on the first reading, the second reading also passed 4-1, with Supervisor LeRoy DeBoer casting the lone dissenting vote. The third and final reading is likely to take place at the supervisor’s next meeting.
A public hearing on the issue was held October 20th, with several people speaking against the plan. A group of concerned citizens has promised to file a lawsuit against the county if the plan is approved.
Orange City, Iowa—Four Republican Presidential hopefuls will appear at a GOP fundraiser Friday night in Orange City.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina are all scheduled to be at the event, which is a fundraiser sponsored by the Republican Parties of Sioux, O’Brien, Lyon, Osceola, Plymouth, and Cherokee Counties.
In addition to keynote remarks from Iowa caucus contenders, guests will also hear from Congressman Steve King, who represents Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District.
Organizers say that a similar event in 2014, held at the LLRC at Northwest Iowa Community College, drew more than 400 people, and an estimated crowd of 600 turned out for the 2015 Spring Dinner. Organizers expect a crowd of up to 1,000 Northwest Iowa GOP activists for Friday’s rally.
Friday’s rally will be held at the Bultman Center on the campus of Northwestern College in Orange City. Doors open at 6:15, with the program to begin at 7:00 pm.
Sheldon, Iowa — Power was off in parts of Sheldon for a time this morning.
According to MidAmerican Energy spokesperson Ruth Comer, the outage started at about 8:47 AM. She says it affected 687 customers.
They report the boundaries were the 2900 block of McKinley avenue, the 1100 block of 4th Avenue in Sheldon, the 100 block of North 7th Avenue in Sheldon, and the 4500 block of 300th Street in Sioux County. That’s about two miles west of Western Avenue in Sheldon.
We’re told the outage lasted until about 9:06 AM.
Comer says the cause was a fault in an underground feed.
Sheldon, Iowa — The Sheldon Community Schools Backpack Program needs your help!
