Volunteer umpires needed in Hartley

The summer baseball and softball program in Hartley is need of umpires for the summer season. The rec department is also in need of a director.

See the ads on Page 3 for more details.

Over 30 units of blood collected

Thirty-three units of blood were collected during the drive held in Hartley on April 27, which will benefit 99 lives. Appreciation is expressed to the donors.

The next LifeServe Blood Center drive in Hartley is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22.

NCC named

semifinalist for 2023

Aspen Prize

Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon is included among the 25 semifinalists for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, adding a milestone in the award selection process.

The $1 million Aspen Prize is the nation's signature recognition of community colleges that are achieving high, improving and equitable outcomes for students. In years past, only 10 finalists have been named on the road to the winner, and this change is designed to highlight the increased number of colleges across the country doing excellent work.

NCC and North Iowa Area Community College are the only semifinalists from Iowa. Only two other community colleges in the Midwest are among the honored institutions.

Awarded every two years, the Aspen Prize honors colleges with outstanding performance in five critical areas: teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor's attainment, workforce success, and equitable outcomes for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.

The prize selection process began last October, when the Aspen Institute invited 150 community colleges to apply, based on data showing strong and improving student outcomes in key areas such as retention, completion, transfer and equity. Applications went to a diverse selection committee of 16 higher education experts who reviewed extensive data and application narratives.

"NCC is one of the few colleges that has been among the 150 colleges that are eligible for the Aspen Prize all seven times since the inception of the competition. This places NCC among the highest performing community colleges in the nation," said Dr. John Hartog, president of Northwest Iowa Community College, in a news release.

NCC performed well when compared with the other 150 Aspen Prize eligible colleges: Top 5 percent for graduation rates for Pell Grant recipients (low-income students); Top 8 percent for first-year retention rate and for three-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time students; and Top 11 percent for three-year graduation rate for students of color

Next, the committee will review its interviews with college leadership teams and will narrow the selection of 25 semifinalists to 10 finalists, to be announced in early June.

After the finalists are announced, multi-day site visits will be made in the fall of 2022 when teams of experts collect more student outcomes data and gather insights about effective practices. A distinguished jury will decide in the winter of 2023 who wins the Aspen Prize, based on quantitative data and qualitative information from each finalist. The announcement of the winner of the Aspen Prize will be made in late spring 2023.

Regular hours at Royal library

Hours at the Royal Public Library are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 3-5 p.m.; and Tuesday and Saturday, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Berends receives NEW Cooperative scholarship

NEW Cooperative recently announced the winners of the NEW Cooperative Agriculture Scholarship. Haley Berends, daughter of Jon and Niki Berends, of Everly, was one of 12 $2,000 scholarship winners this year.

Others winners included: Brett Thompson, son of Dan and Amy Thompson, of Fort Dodge; Carson Berte, son of Doug and Darcy Berte, of Humboldt; Daniel Illg, son of Brian and Molly Illg, of Clare; Delia Swanson, daughter of Stuart and Lori Swanson, of Galt; Haley Williams, daughter of Steve and Angie Williams, of Bronson; Heidi Dornath, daughter of Jeff Dornath, of Gilmore City; Lane Zierke, son of Steve and Kathy Zierke, of Barnum; Lilana Hill, daughter of Jerri Hill, of Britt; Marissa Eekhoff, daughter of Ryan and Lori Eekhoff, of Britt; Maryanne Capesius, daughter of Richard and Diane Capesius, of Algona; and Trevor Jacobson, son of Joe and Trisha Jacobson, of Humboldt.

"These students are the future of our agriculture industry. We are proud to support them in their college journey and can't wait to see what they accomplish in the future," NEW Cooperative General Manager Dan Dix said in a news release.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

May Day baskets brighten moods in Everly: The Clay County Countrymen 4-H Club put together and delivered 30 May Baskets for some special Everly residents on Sunday, May 1. 4-H'ers participating included: Emma Scharnberg, Will Schipper, Connor Pearson, Kelsi Sonius, Brynlee Follon, Martina Harmon, Hunter Pearson, Eli Harmon, Grant Meyer, Hannah Tessum, Kashia VanEngen, Brooklynn Scharnberg, Madi Sonius, Amrie Pearson, Regan Meyer, Kale Schueller, Jake Schipper, Dakoda Lux, Tyson Tessum, Jack Berends and Ryan Berends.

The NEW Cooperative Foundation is the charitable giving entity of NEW Cooperative, Inc. The foundation is committed to investing in organizations that are dedicated to youth and education, human services and civic purposes that further enhance the quality of life in our member's local communities.