Across Iowa, dedicated educators are seamlessly incorporating agriculture into their classrooms to enhance the learning journeys of their students. The Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation has an annual award – Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture – to honor and acknowledge these exceptional teachers.

The Iowa Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award is open to non-vocational pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade teachers. The award aims to recognize an Iowa teacher for their integrated efforts to teach students about the importance of food and agriculture and increase students’ agriculture literacy.

Applications will be accepted through November 18 and the winner will be selected and recognized in December. The selected Iowa teacher will receive $500 to support their classroom instruction, as well as up to $1,000 to cover expenses to attend the 2024 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2024.

Outstanding teachers will showcase innovative approaches to integrating food and agriculture into their classroom. Agriculture can be the vehicle to teach a multitude of other content areas and apply these concepts in a relevant way for Iowa students.

Teachers can apply with or without a nomination. IALF encourages agriculture advocates, teachers, and all members of the community to recognize teachers who embody the criteria for this award by submitting a nomination.

Nominated educators will be notified that a community member supports their efforts and would like them to apply. All applicants, including nominated teachers, must apply officially by November 18.

For more information or to apply online visit: https://www.iowaagliteracy.org/tools-resources/general/grants.

There was a motor vehicle accident on October 26^th that resulted in a hospitalization.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a multiple vehicle accident. At 9:17am, a vehicle was traveling eastbound across Highway 61 when it pulled out in front of a second vehicle that was traveling northbound.

The second vehicle, a Hyundai operated by Diana Peck of Fort Madison, struck the first vehicle in the right rear side. The collision caused it to spin until it ended up on the opposite side of the highway on 175^th St.

Peck’s vehicle rolled for 20 yards before coming to a stop. She was injured and transported to Great River Hospital in Burlington by Lee County EMS.

The driver of the first vehicle, Jesse Shires of Burlington, was uninjured at the scene and the airbags did not deploy. Jesse Shires was cited for Failure to Yield through Highway.

Two women in Burlington are now behind bars after detectives discovered a large quantity of methamphetamine in their hotel room.

Detectives with the Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force learned of a woman who was staying at the Fun City Resort Hotel on October 26^th. They were aware that she had an active pretrial violation warrant stemming from a controlled substance violation that occurred last November.

Room surveillance began, and the detectives soon observed that the woman, Stephanie Echols, and another female, Wayann Hand, were walking to the parking lot. After contacting the two females, Echols told detectives that there was approximately one pound of methamphetamine in her room. Hand told detectives that she had a half-ounce of methamphetamine in the purse she was carrying.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the hotel room, and located just over three quarters of a pound of methamphetamine, packaging materials and a digital scale. There were no drug tax stamps affixed to any of the packages of meth in Hand’s purse or the room.

As a result of this investigation, Stephanie Ann Echols, 41, and Wayann Marie Hand, 48, were both charged with Possession With Intent To Deliver Methamphetamine, class B felony, and Failure To Affix Drug Tax Stamp, class D felony.

Area students now have the opportunity to earn an engineering degree from the University of Iowa by starting at SCC. Officials from SCC and the University of Iowa College of Engineering signed an agreement on Monday to offer a transfer degree program that prepares SCC students to enter into one of the university’s engineering programs.

SCC Vice President of Academics Dr. Janet Shepherd said that the College identified in its strategic plan a number of areas for program development, including a pathway for engineering.

“This program allows our students interested in an engineering degree to complete two years right here at SCC while also taking classes through the University of Iowa as they work toward their baccalaureate degree.”

Students enrolled in the program will take advanced courses in math, physics, and chemistry along with other general education requirements as part of their two-year SCC transfer degree. They will also take core engineering courses taught by UI instructors each summer. In addition to the UI classes, students will have access to select support services through the UI College of Engineering along the way.

SCC President Dr. Michael Ash said the program has been a long time coming. SCC leadership first reached out to UI leadership to explore a partnership about ten years ago.

Students who successfully transfer to UI will be able to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in one of eight focuses of study including biomedical, chemical, computer science, and mechanical engineering.

For more information about the SCC-UI Engineering transfer degree, visit scciowa.edu or contact SCC Admissions Office at (319) 208-5155, or visit engineering.uiowa.edu/transfer.

The Campus of Iowa Wesleyan will once again host Community Days, to give the public an opportunity to get free items.

The library will be open again, yet this time, only books are up for grabs. A wide variety of books awaits the community, including instructional, research, fiction, and non-fiction. Once again, this is a first come, first serve event and there is no “holding” books. Small wagons are permitted to help carry books. These may be taken at no charge.

The library will be open November 3rd, from 4-8pm, and November 4th 9am-5pm.