Iowa
Iowa City School Board President discusses retirement of Hills Elementary
HILLS, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa City’s School Board President told TV9 that closing its elementary school in Hills may help avoid other districtwide cuts.
The district is looking to make $7 million in cuts over the next 2-years. It blames the cuts on a lack of growth in student populations and the implementation of a statewide private school voucher program that went into effect this school year.
Hills Elementary School is in the town of Hills, about 15 miles south of Iowa City. It’s the district’s smallest school that has a majority enrollment of minority students but also costs the district the most money per student.
“My son is going to be sad because he made a lot of friends here,” said Elena Ramirez of Iowa City.
Ramirez drives her 5-year-old son the 15 minutes to Hill from Iowa City because she said it had helped him to better learn English.
“Now, he can speak more English and spell the alphabet,” she said.
Hills Elementary may be the smallest elementary in the district, but it’s also unique. Of the 140 students enrolled, 43% are Hispanic. That’s three times the district average.
“That’s why we like the school, they help him,” said Elena.
The needs of families like the Ramirez’s aren’t lost to School Board President Ruthina Malone.
“It’s not a decision that any board member signs up to make, to close down a school,” said Malone.
Malone said each student has had access to the districtwide “Student Family Advocates” which offers transportation support, mental health resources, school supplies, and more. She said if they close Hills Elementary, those students will receive the same level of care at whatever elementary they attend.
“If they decide that if Hills gets closed and they want to stay with ICCSD and go to the new home school, transportation will be provided to get them there,” she said.
Malone said she was still undecided about the fate of this school. Fellow board members are already considering millions of dollars in cuts that impact teacher incentives, purchases, an administrative position, and canceling a professional learning day. She said keeping Hills open could leave lasting impacts by potentially cutting 43 teacher positions districtwide.
“We already see some large class sizes throughout our buildings, we are going to see even larger class sizes throughout our buildings if we have to let go,” said Malone.
Malone said there were still a lot of questions they were working through if they were to close Hills Elementary: what the student-to-teacher ratio would be, what students would open enroll into other schools, and what school would the students attend, but Ramirez hoped her son would continue to grow.
“If I have to change his school, maybe he can make more friends,” said Ramirez.
The board will vote on March 26th.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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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