04/18/24: Area Happenings & Accomplishments
Share
Tweet
NWI RSVP program receives 3 more years of funding
In celebration of April as National Volunteer Month, the Northwest Iowa Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) reaffirms a commitment to serving local communities by providing essential volunteer services. This commitment is made possible through the renewal of an AmeriCorps grant, ensuring three more years of funding, and a continued partnership with Iowa Lakes Community College, the local sponsor of Northwest Iowa RSVP since 1977.
In 2023, Northwest Iowa RSVP volunteers provided 26,513 hours of service to Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, and Palo Alto counties. Based on Iowa’s valuation of $28.09 per volunteer service hour, these service hours equate to a donation of $744,750 to the five-county region.
Volunteers contribute to communities by alleviating food insecurity by helping with Meals on Wheels and food pantries, nurturing youth literacy through programs including Pen Pals, Reading Buddies, and tutoring, and assisting at non-profit organizations, including museums, nature centers, libraries, and thrift stores, such as Thrifty’s and Many Hands Market. The Pen Pal program, a literacy initiative that involves letter writing to elementary school students, is one of the most popular opportunities for service, allowing volunteers to connect with students from home.
Local county coordinators in offices on each Iowa Lakes Community College campus coordinate the volunteer efforts. Individuals interested in joining NW Iowa RSVP are encouraged to email RSVP@iowalakes.edu or complete a registration form at http://www.iowalakes.edu/RSVP.
Annual spring wildlife spotlight survey underway
Staff with the Iowa DNR are currently conducting their annual nighttime spring spotlight surveys across the state, collecting information on Iowa’s deer and furbearer populations.
The annual survey is conducted from mid-March through April in each county, beginning an hour after sunset, preferably on nights with low wind, high humidity and above freezing temperatures. The routes cover different habitats from river bottoms, to farm fields, prairies, woodlots, pastures and timber stands.
The 25-mile routes – two per county – are driven below 25 miles per hour with staff shining spotlights out of both sides of the vehicle, recording the number of deer and furbearers seen along with the habitat type, at different points along the way. This is one of the only surveys that provides an index on elusive furbearer species, like badgers and otters. Staff are careful to avoid shining homes and livestock while on the survey and contact the county sheriff ahead of time in case they receive any calls.
The survey produces valuable information on Iowa’s deer and furbearer populations, both locally and at the state level, allowing the Iowa DNR to see population trends over time. It began in the late 1970s as a way to collect information on the raccoon population, but was expanded to include deer and other furbearers.
The survey report will be posted later this summer to the Iowa DNR’s website.
Iowa ESA applications open
The Iowa Department of Education today announced that the Students First Education Savings Account (ESA) program officially opened for applications for the 2024-25 school year on Tuesday, April 16, at 8 a.m.
Parents and guardians can access the online application from a link on the Department of Education’s ESA webpage. The link will redirect them to the Students First ESA platform managed by Odyssey, the third-party program administrator competitively selected by the state. When the application period opens at 8:00 a.m. on April 16, new applicants will be required to first create an Odyssey account before starting the application process. Returning applicants will log in to their existing account to complete a new application for the 2024-25 school year. Applications are available in English and Spanish and will be accepted until Sunday, June 30, at 11:59 p.m.
The Students First Act, introduced by Gov. Kim Reynolds and signed into law on Jan. 24, 2023, makes the state funding intended for a child’s education available to be directed by parents and guardians of eligible students who attend accredited nonpublic schools. Eligible students must be residents of Iowa and must attend an accredited nonpublic school that is located in Iowa.
All returning students who used an ESA during the 2023-24 school year, incoming kindergarteners and all K-12 students currently attending a public school who choose to enroll in an accredited nonpublic school for the 2024-25 school year are eligible for the ESA program, regardless of their family income.
Beginning this year, students who attended an accredited nonpublic school at any time during the 2023-24 school year and did not receive an ESA are eligible for the 2024-25 school year if their household income is at or below 400 percent of the 2024 Federal Poverty Level. For example, a family of four would be eligible for the 2024-25 school year if their household income was at or below $124,800.
Residency and income eligibility, when required, will be automatically verified during the application process using the parent’s or guardian’s 2023 Iowa State Tax Return. If a 2023 tax return was not filed in Iowa, the applicant must provide other allowable documentation to verify student eligibility.
