Sheldon, Iowa — There is a new safe driving vlog, or video blog, called Windshield Time, which is available from the Iowa State Patrol on Trooper Vince Kurtz’ youtube channel. Trooper Kurtz appeared on Tuesday’s Morning Show with Wayne and Aaron, and talked about the new vlog.
Kurtz says that once students finish Driver’s Education, there really is no continuing ed.
Trooper Kurtz says that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people between 14 and 35, and he wanted to come up with something to target that demographic.
He says that 21 area schools have signed up for the Windshield Time feed so they can share it with their students.
Kurtz says the first episode is out, and deals with winter driving.
Trooper Kurtz says that the first episode has already been viewed more than 15,000 times on Facebook.
The first edition of Windshield Time can be viewed below.
Primghar, Iowa — The O’Brien County Adopt-a-family and Osceola County Sharing Christmas programs have ended on a high note.
We talked to Upper Des Moines Opportunity’s Amber Jedderberg, who tells us that many O’Brien and Osceola County families experienced the generosity of others during the Christmas season.
She says that if you can’t shop for a family because of being too busy or any other reason, they can always use monetary donations to help families have a nice Christmas.
Jedderberg says many people also gave food donations over the holiday season.
She sends out a big thank you for everyone’s generosity. We at KIWA would also like to thank Upper Des Moines Opportunity for all they do, and you our listeners who gave so generously.
Northwest Iowa — Last week we told you that Texas Senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz will be visiting the KIWA listening area this week. Now, his campaign has made some changes to his itinerary while he’s in the area.
On Tuesday, January 5th, Cruz will be at the DeYager Activity Center in the Campus Center at Dordt College in Sioux Center at 6:00 pm.
Wednesday, January 6th, he’ll be at the Union Jack (formerly Sully’s Grill) in Rock Rapids (Please note the change of location) at 10:30 am, then he’ll travel to the Lantern Coffeehouse in Sibley for a 12:15 pm appearance, before heading to Spirit Lake for a 2:45 pm gathering at Godfather’s Pizza. Senator Cruz will make his final appearance for the day at the Clay County Regional Event Center in Spencer at 5:00 pm Wednesday, before heading south and east on his “Cruzin To Caucus Iowa Tour.”
Tickets for each of Senator Cruz’ appearances are available, free of charge, at eventbrite.com.
Sheldon, Iowa — Staffing for the Sheldon Community Ambulance Team, along with the need for 16th Street improvements will be on the agenda when the Sheldon City Council holds their first meeting of the new year this Wednesday January 6th.
A public hearing on the Nest Haven Subdivision Plat is also scheduled. This subdivision is located on Nest Avenue just North of Sheldon.
The Council has heard concerns about the shortage of ambulance team volunteers in the past and had discussed the possibility of hiring a full-time person to help alleviate the problem. According to City Manager Scott Wynja , this will again be a part of the discussion.
16th Street in Sheldon is badly in need of repair, and City Manager Scott Wynja says there are grants available that could be used for such projects. Wynja says that if the City would be approved for such a grant this year it wouldn’t be available until the year 2020. He says it’s likely that some work would have to be done on 16th Street before that time.
The Council will also discuss the O’Brien County Hazardous Mitigation plan. This is a plan that would provide guidelines for action in the event of an emergency situation.
The Council also will review the results of their recent Goal Setting session.
Wednesday’s Sheldon City Council meeting begins at 4:30pm in the upper level of the Sheldon Community Services Center.
Northwest Iowa — For the fifth straight month, a survey of business leaders in northwest Iowa and the region points to a continued slow down in growth.
Ernie Goss is an economist at Creighton University in Omaha, and he says the survey for December showed ailing employment numbers for the fifth month in a row, as the nine-state region lost more than 18-thousand manufacturing jobs during the year.
The Creighton survey found Iowa’s growth numbers have been steadily dropping but should remain in positive territory during the first and second quarters of 2016.
Passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership could help bolster the lagging economy, according to Goss, for both the state and the region. The T-P-P is the largest multi-lateral trade agreement of its kind, involving the U-S and 11 other countries which combined, represent 40-percent of the world’s economy.
Iowa reaps huge rewards from its exports, especially to Asia, Goss says, and he predicts that trend would gain further momentum under the trade deal.
Sheldon, Iowa — Two staff members at Village Northwest Unlimited in Sheldon were honored recently when presented with Employee of the Year Awards, along with a monetary gift.
L to R: Deb Doornenbal, Deb Middle
Deb Middle and Deb Doornenbal were each presented with the honor by Village Northwest Unlimited President & CEO Barry Whitsell, and Brian Robyn, Director of Human Resources.
According to Village Northwest, staff members are nominated by their peers, and nominations are reviewed by a committee of former award recipients.
Doornenbal began her career at the Village as a high school student working in an on campus home. From there she worked as a PE Instructor, known today as an Exercise & Wellness Instructor. Deb worked in this role until the birth of her first child. After a few years away from the Village, Deb returned as the Volunteer Coordinator. In 2001, Deb took on the role of Community Skills Manager at the 705 8th Street Waiver home and she continues in this role today. This year Deb celebrated her 35th year of service to the Village.
Deb Middle started her career at the Village in 2007 as a Barista at Fantasia where she worked for nearly a year before becoming an Exercise and Wellness Instructor at the Center in 2008. Deb continues in this role today. Deb serves as one of the Special Olympics coaches for the Village Panthers. Her Panthers teams have represented VNU at state and national competitions in basketball, softball, volleyball, bowling and track and field.
Village Northwest Unlimited is nationally recognized as one of the premier providers of services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries and autism. Village Northwest Unlimited builds successful lives for 180 individuals by providing opportunities and choices in residential, vocational and social programs while fulfilling its mission of providing Purpose, Privacy and Dignity for All People.
Sheldon, Iowa — There is a new safe driving vlog, or video blog, called Windshield Time, which is available from the Iowa State Patrol on Trooper Vince Kurtz’ youtube channel. Trooper Kurtz appeared on Tuesday’s Morning Show with Wayne and Aaron, and talked about the new vlog.
