Iowa

Rural Iowa should brace for school ‘vouchers’ – Iowa Capital Dispatch

Published

2 years ago

November 22, 2022

Rural Iowa should brace for school ‘vouchers’ – Iowa Capital Dispatch

It received’t be lengthy earlier than empty parking areas close to the Iowa Capitol will probably be as onerous to search out as a compromise between Democrats and Republicans.

The Legislature returns to Des Moines on Jan. 9, extra firmly in Republican management than it was on Could 24, when this 12 months’s session ended.

With their robust displaying within the election this month, Republicans could be anticipated to choose up the place they left off six months in the past. For individuals residing in rural Iowa, one difficulty of deep concern on Gov. Kim Reynolds’ to-do checklist is creation of taxpayer-financed vouchers to assist mother and father pay for tuition to non-public Ok-12 faculties.

Throughout the Legislature’s classes in 2021 and 2022, Reynolds pushed with out success for the voucher program, which she prefers to name a scholarship program or a means to offer mother and father with college selection.

The difficulty is near the hearts of many rural Iowans, each Ds and Rs, due to their issues in regards to the well being of their native public college. Rural Iowa is dropping inhabitants, and the standard of the native faculties is a key issue within the capability of communities to draw younger households and maintain their youngsters near dwelling after commencement.

Individuals in rural Iowa ought to fasten their seat belts, as a result of the Legislature’s 2023 session might make a swift determination on non-public college vouchers.

Reynolds has been stymied up to now by her personal Home Republicans who dug of their heels on the problem. However within the days main as much as the first election in June, she took the bizarre step of asserting her assist for Republican challengers operating towards a handful of incumbent Home Republicans who oppose vouchers.

One among Reynolds’ distinguished targets for retaliation was Rep. Dustin Hite, a Republican from New Sharon, who chaired the Home Schooling Committee. He opposes vouchers due to his constituents’ issues in regards to the impact of vouchers in locations like Keokuk County, the place the three public college districts every have fewer than 600 college students.

Hite was one in all a handful of incumbent Republican lawmakers who misplaced within the main election after Reynolds got here out in assist of their opponents.

Rep. Dennis Bush, a Cherokee Republican, was one other Republican opponent of vouchers who was unseated within the main. He instructed reporters after his defeat, “I do assume it’s going to have a chilling impact on any future laws the governor proposes, if legislators are attempting to signify their districts once they know the governor would possibly come out simply because they didn’t vote for her proposal on one invoice.”

Rep. Jon Thorup, a Republican from Knoxville, was one other lawmaker who was focused by Reynolds. He instructed reporters that with out vital modifications, non-public college vouchers will finally trigger the closing and merger of some smaller college districts.

The voucher proposal would have real-world penalties for public faculties.

Beneath the plan debated this 12 months, $55 million in state tax cash could be diverted from public Ok-12 faculties and could be channeled into non-public faculties. It’s onerous to spin this as a plus for public faculties.

Mother and father would obtain scholarships of about $5,500 for every youngster who enrolls in a non-public college, as an alternative of a public college. The proposal would cap the variety of scholarships at 10,000. However don’t be fooled into pondering that’s the most variety of vouchers that might be handed out.

There are about 40,000 college students in Iowa’s non-public Ok-12 faculties. Nobody believes the mother and father of these children wouldn’t strain lawmakers to broaden a voucher program to make the $5,500 scholarships accessible to their youngsters, too.

You may have a look at what occurred in Ohio to see how a voucher program would broaden. In Ohio, that state’s voucher program started in 2005 with 3,000 college students. It now supplies 69,000 college students with private-school vouchers that price taxpayers $628 million yearly.

The governor likes to speak about giving mother and father “college selection” for his or her youngsters. That could be a commendable aim.

However not each mother or father can afford non-public college tuition, even with a voucher from Iowa taxpayers. In 42 of Iowa’s 99 counties, there are not any non-public faculties, and the vouchers couldn’t be used for transportation prices.

There may be one other necessary issue that impacts the true availability of “college selection.” Not like public faculties, non-public faculties are usually not required to simply accept each pupil who needs to enroll. Personal faculties are usually not required to function with the identical openness and transparency public faculties should have.

Personal faculties can decide and select which college students they admit. That may be based mostly on the potential pupil’s faith, the kid’s sexual orientation, their capability to talk English, the presence of mental disabilities, or due to habits issues.

Siphoning $55 million away from Iowa’s public faculties to pay for the vouchers can have unavoidable penalties for the scholars who’re left in these lecture rooms.

Iowans residing in rural areas, whether or not they’re pink, blue or purple, have to reconcile themselves with what the long run holds — except they will discover rural Republican lawmakers keen to take a principled stand the way in which Dustin Hite, Jon Thorup and Dennis Bush did.

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Iowa

Urquhart Sets Iowa’s Single-Season Aces Record at UCLA

Published

7 hours ago

November 28, 2024

Press Room

LOS ANGELES – Senior Michelle Urquhart set Iowa’s single-season service aces record in the Hawkeyes’ 3-1 loss to UCLA on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. Iowa drops to 10-21 overall and 4-15 in the Big Ten.

Urquhart needed two aces to surpass the single-season rally scoring era record set by Becky Walters in 2010. With the third set tied at 10-10, Urquhart dropped in a soft serve to secure her 42nd ace on the season.

The senior from Virginia Beach, Virginia, also recorded a double-double, registering 13 kills and 12 digs. Freshman Dominique Phills and sophomore Hannah Whittingstall were in double-figures with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Phills was a spark off the bench, drilling five kills in the opening set.

Senior libero Joy Galles notched a career high in digs, finishing with 24. She neared a double-double, tallying eight assists.

MATCH SUMMARY
SET ONE (UCLA, 25-23)
After trading points early on, the Hawkeyes strung together three consecutive points to take a 5-3 lead, courtesy of a kill and ace from Urquhart. UCLA answered with a run, pushing ahead 13-8. Phills was a spark off the bench, helping Iowa pull within two on several occasions. The Hawkeyes rallied all the way back in the opener, tying the set at 23-23 before the Bruins capitalized on back-to-back kills to win the set. UCLA had only one attacking error in the first set, while Iowa had seven.

SET TWO (UCLA, 25-11)
Despite gaining momentum at the end of the first set, Iowa fell behind 9-1 to begin the second. A timeout slowed the Bruins’ progress, but they gained early control of the set. Iowa chipped away in the middle of the set on terminations from Phills and UCLA errors. UCLA ended the set on a 5-0 run.

SET THREE (IOWA, 25-23)
Iowa quickly regrouped for a competitive set in the third. A kill from Whittingstall and ace from freshman Jenna Meitzler kept the pressure on UCLA early. Urquhart notched her record-setting ace, breaking a 10-10 tie in the third set. The teams headed into the media timeout with UCLA leading, 15-14. It wasn’t until late in the set before Iowa pulled away, using a 3-0 run to go up by two at 20-18, courtesy of kills from freshman Malu Garcia and Phills. After a UCLA timeout fueled back-to-back points for the Bruins, Iowa sealed the set with a kill from Whittingstall and error from UCLA.

Mickey’s record-setting ace! 💛#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/PlUu17YR2R
— Iowa Volleyball (@IowaVolleyball) November 28, 2024

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗰𝗲𝘀 👑
With Michelle’s second ace tonight, she has set the program record for service aces in a season during the rally scoring era (42).#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/fimM7XstTc
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— Iowa Volleyball (@IowaVolleyball) November 28, 2024

SET FOUR (UCLA, 25-15)
UCLA recovered and regained momentum, leading 6-2 to begin set four. A pair of kills from Urquhart and a termination from Garcia brought Iowa back within one at 7-6. The Hawkeyes stayed within striking distance but could not take the lead in the set. The Bruins used a run in the middle of the set to take control. A block from senior Anna Davis and Garcia stopped the run at 19-13. UCLA finished the set on a 5-1 run to win the match.

UP NEXT: Iowa heads across town for its season finale, battling No. 20 USC on Friday evening. First serve is set for 9 p.m. (CT) from the Galen Center. The match will be broadcast on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.

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Iowa

Iowa Legend Sends Strong Message In Midst of Brutal Season

Published

15 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Iowa Legend Sends Strong Message In Midst of Brutal Season

Former Iowa Hawkeyes star George Kittle is in the midst of what has to be the most trying season of his NFL career.

Kittle’s San Francisco 49ers—who were Super Bowl contenders heading into 2024—fell to just 5-6 with their loss to the Green Bay Packer this past Sunday, further hindering their playoff chances.

However, the tight end is not giving up hope in the midst of severe adversity.

“My optimism is not broken by any means,” Kittle told reporters. “We still have a lot of very talented players. We will get some guys back. And I still have full trust in the coaching staff to put our guys in position to make plays, and I got no worry about that. But definitely an uphill grind, and going to see what we’re made of, which I’m looking forward to.”

You have to love Kittle’s fighting spirit, but it seems hard to imagine the 49ers righting the ship in their current predicament.

San Francisco is dealing with a plethora of injury issues up and down the roster, which includes quarterback Brock Purdy, who missed the Packers game with a shoulder problem.

Kittle himself had a strong performance in Week 12, logging six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. He has also been his usual impressive self overall this season, totaling 49 receptions for 642 yards and eight scores in nine appearances.

But not even Kittle can save the Niners from all of their current troubles.

The 49ers will face the Buffalo Bills in a matchup that could ultimately decide their playoff fate this Sunday.

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Iowa

No. 17 Iowa State tries to keep focus on Kansas State, not the many Big 12 title game scenarios

Published

22 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

No. 17 Iowa State tries to keep focus on Kansas State, not the many Big 12 title game scenarios

No. 17 Iowa State goes into its home game against Kansas State on Saturday night as one of the Big 12 teams with the highest probability of making it to the conference championship game next week.

That calculation comes from conference officials putting pencil to paper to figure out all the scenarios that could unfold on the final weekend of the regular season.

Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said his team just needs to worry about itself and not the myriad of possibilities that could determine the matchup for next week’s Big 12 title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“To me,” he said, “all that other stuff is wasted time, effort and energy.”

If the Cyclones (9-2, 6-2, No. 18 CFP) beat the Wildcats (8-3, 5-3, No. 24 CFP), they probably would be in. Arizona State would be the likely opponent if the Sun Devils win at Arizona.

So much would have to align for the Wildcats to advance — starting with beating Iowa State — that coach Chris Klieman said he didn’t plan to address the possibilities with his players. He said he wouldn’t have to anyway.

“The kids know,” he said.

Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson runs the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel

Going for 10

The Cyclones are trying to become the first team in the program’s 133-year history to win 10 regular-season games. Wildcats’ tight end Will Swanson said he wasn’t aware of the 10-win milestone until a reporter told him. He indicated he and his teammates would like to keep the Cyclones from achieving it.

“I’ll probably have to mention that,” he said, laughing.

Up and running

K-State quarterback Avery Johnson appears to be back to his old self. The staff tried to reduce his rushing attempts after he was injured Oct. 12 at Colorado. There were no limitations on him in last week’s 41-15 win over Cincinnati. He ran 10 times for 70 yards, including a 33-yard burst and a 21-yard touchdown.

“People saw when he’s healthy, we’re really good on offense,” Klieman said.

Cold, but no snow

Temperatures are expected to be in the teens in Ames, but no snow is in the forecast. Heavy snow fell during last year’s game in Manhattan, Kansas. Abu Sama III ran for 276 yards and three touchdowns and the Cyclones’ defense made a fourth-down stop in the final minute to preserve a 42-35 victory.

“I just remember the snow and Abu running wild,” ISU receiver Jayden Higgins said. “There definitely was a lot of snow on the field.”

K-State’s Swanson said the game reminded him of a backyard football game but that it “panned out terribly.”

“Some spots there were 6 inches of snow,” he said. “I remember I caught a ball and I got tackled. I was face-first in the ground and had a pound of snow between my face and my facemask.”