Iowa
Even conferring diplomas, I see how Iowa has shut the door on public education
My passion for public education has been, let’s say, exacerbated by the actions of our state legislators.
Recently I had the pleasure of handing diplomas to graduates. I did nothing to help these individuals reach this milestone. I was standing on a stage facing the students, who had surmounted myriad odds to achieve their place on the steps to the stage.
I was facing all the people to the left and right, sitting on bleachers, who had had to beg them to get out of bed to go to school. I was facing all the faculty, who screamed alternately with joy and frustration during the years that culminated in this one hour celebration. All the people in that gymnasium were living witnesses to determination and hope and expectations and sacrifice and silliness and confidence and doubt and, most importantly, to the existence of, the efficacy of, the accessibility of public education.
Fittingly, the faculty was sitting behind the students. Behind is fitting, because they have been behind these students, lifting them up, reigning them in, pushing them forward, through this challenging journey.
A few of us are born to thrive in academia; the rest of us wrestle our way through the accouterments of education: requirements, curriculum, technology, tuition, new personalities, old habits, textbooks, lectures, traditions and innovations.
This diploma represents the equivalent of Indiana Jones stepping into space in his quest for the holy grail.
This diploma has prepared our students for “what if?” What if I take a step and find solid footing? What if I take a step and fall into space? We know that the faculty has prepared them for welding, nursing, growing, teaching, cooking, and dozens of other careers, but our students are stepping out into the space of the real world, a world that is not even close to the predictable environment of public education.
This diploma is part of hundreds of individuals stories, as varied as the shoes they are wearing, as varied as their DNA.
This is the only time they’ll all look alike, in caps and gowns, not sure if that cap is going to stay on, sweating under the robe. They are sitting closer together than they ever have in this journey through libraries and classrooms and internships and coffeeshops.
They line up to climb the steps, hand their name card to the dean, who double-checks to make sure she pronounces their name correctly, and they walk a few feet to a person they don’t know who hands them this precious folder.
I am the person they don’t know. I have not shared a cup of coffee or a beer with any of them. I have never read a single word they have written. I did not help them choose a major, I did not help them find a book, I did not suggest they redo an assignment. I did not hand them tissues as they cried in my office. I did not celebrate with them when they outdid themselves. I did nothing to get them up on that stage.
But I represent everything that is amazing and noble about a folder from Eastern Iowa Community College, from any institution of public education. I serve on the Board of Trustees. How I got on this stage with the “dignitaries” is another journey, that started somewhere. Maybe it started in a one-room country school, one room, two paths, a big bell in the belfry and assorted students, K-8, sitting in that one room with one teacher. I had an eighth-grade education by the time I finished kindergarten.
Maybe it started in a Works Progress Administration-built high school whose architectural style required 40 granite steps between creaky wooden floors.
Maybe it started when I sampled and rejected and finally accepted a career in public education.
Regardless, my passion for public education has been, let’s say, exacerbated by the actions of our state legislators as they have stripped away not only the pillars, but the foundations of public education. They have turned public education, even in the public schools, into a cut-throat competition for — money. Not for students. Not for staff. Not for communities. For profit. We used to confine competition to the playing field, the gym, the court. Now public schools are being forced to compete for services — the services of book sellers, the services of social workers and counselors. Our elected officials have stripped away the kind of funding that probably supported their own educations.
So, I shook hands with public education. Four Madisons, three Rileys, six Michaels, one Brecken, a couple Brandons and dozens more hands of real people with real names with a real education. I shook hands with the future. I shook hands that will build, guide, give, teach, save, protect. I shook hands with what has been the pride of Iowa: public education.
Interestingly, there were no legislators on that stage. That is unusual and significant. You tell me why.
Dianne Prichard is on the Board of Trustees of Davenport-based Eastern Iowa Community College.
Joann plans to close 500 stores, including 2 in Jacksonville
Joann, the popular fabric and crafts retailer, has announced plans to shutter 500 stores amid a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, including two in the Jacksonville area.
Say goodbye to Joann stores because the craft retailer is permanently closing its remaining Iowa stores by the end of May.
Joann shuttered 255 locations in April, including two in Iowa, months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time within a year. Since filing for bankruptcy, the company has held going-out-of-business sales at the locations.
At those sales, prices are marked down 70% to 90%, according to Joann.com. (Note: sales on the online site have ended.) Stores are also selling the furniture, shelves and equipment, according to the site.
When is Joann closing its stores?
The more than 440 stores that remain will be closed by May 31, said Jo Anne McCusker, a spokesperson for GA Group, the retail liquidator that won all of Joann’s chain’s assets through auction in February. The chain’s website says many stores will close by May 30.
When are Joann stores in Iowa closing?
There are seven Joann stores that will close in Iowa by May 31, according to USA TODAY. The Ames location was not included in a list the company provided to USA TODAY, but the location is listed as a liquidation store on Joann’s website.
- Ankeny: 1205 SE 16th Court, Suite 200
- Cedar Rapids: 255 Collins Road NE
- Clive: 9999 University Ave.
- Davenport: 902 W. Kimberly Road, Suite 41
- Dubuque: 2600 Dodge St., Suite A-4
- Iowa City: 1676 Sycamore St.
- Waterloo: 1407 Flammang Dr.
Have any Iowa stores already closed?
USA TODAY reported that two Joann stores in Iowa were included in an earlier round of store closures.
JoAnn stores in Mason City and Muscatine closed on April 28.
Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.
Northwestern University men’s basketball has announced a historic “home-and-home” exhibition series with Iowa State that will be played over the next two years.
The series begins Sunday, October 26, 2025, when Northwestern travels to Ames to face the Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State will return the favor during the 2026 preseason, visiting Welsh-Ryan Arena on either Saturday, October 24, or Sunday, October 25, 2026:
The matchup represents significant firsts for both programs. Northwestern will break new ground by playing its first preseason exhibition against a Division I opponent in program history. For Iowa State, the October contest will mark their first exhibition game at Hilton Coliseum since 2017, when they defeated Emporia State 77-68.
The Cyclones will enter the Northwestern exhibition having already completed their preseason opener at Creighton on October 17. The 2025 schedule marks the first time Iowa State has played two exhibition games in a single season since 2009, when they defeated Black Hills State 96-47 and UNC Pembroke 106-54
Both teams enter the series following contrasting 2024-25 campaigns. Iowa State posted a 25-10 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, earning the 13th spot in ESPN’s Way Too Early Top 25 rankings. Northwestern finished 17-16 in their third consecutive winning season.
Specific tipoff times and television broadcast schedules will be announced at a later date. Northwestern’s full 2025-26 schedule has yet to be released, buttickets are currently available for purchase.
In Iowa baseball’s (33-20-1, 21-9 Big Ten) first game in the 2025 Big Ten Tournament vs. Rutgers (29-28, 15-15) Wednesday night from Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., the No. 3-seeded Hawkeyes defeated the No. 10-seeded Scarlet Knights by a score of 4-3 to win the Pool C grouping and clinch a semifinal appearance on Saturday.
Cade Obermueller started on the mound for the Hawkeyes, where he threw a stellar seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and one base-on-balls with 10 strikeouts. Three additional pitchers would see action for Iowa, including Brant Hogue, who picked up a stressful save after allowing Rutgers to pull within one run.
In total, the Hawkeyes’ pitching staff would combine for 13 strikeouts, while allowing three base-on-balls and three earned runs on nine Rutgers hits.
As for the offense, Iowa would record 10 hits, with Miles Risley leading the Hawkeyes with one RBI on 3-of-4 from the plate. Caleb Wulf (2-4) and Kellen Strohmeyer (1-3) also contributed one RBI each. While Gable Mitchell did not record an RBI, he still batted a productive 3-for-5 at the dish.
Although the Hawkeyes’ win secured them a spot in the semifinals, they will still play their second game of pool play tomorrow vs. No. 6-seed Indiana (31-25, 16-14) from Omaha.
Tomorrow’s game against the Hoosiers, initially scheduled for 2 p.m. CT, has now been rescheduled for 9 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field on the Big Ten Network. In addition to the telecast, fans can listen to the action through the Hawkeyes Radio Network alongside play-by-play voice John Leo and color analyst John Evans.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
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