From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
Cedar Rapids is moving forward with the construction of two new elementary schools. The school board approved new buildings on the Hoover and the Van Buren Elementary school sites. The District says the current Van Buren Elementary is over capacity by nearly 100 students, while Hoover Elementary is over capacity by around 80 students, and the population near those schools is only expected to grow. Each school will cost just under $24 million and be paid for through the 1 cent sales tax. Groundbreakng is set for this Spring.
Iowa school districts must adjust their attendance policies this year to comply with a new state law. It used to be up to a school’s discretion to set an attendance policy for its students. Now, when a student misses 8 days of school, the student’s family will receive a letter letting them know the child is chronically absent. If a student misses 12 days, the law requires an engagement meeting between the school, the student, and the parent. A student reaches truancy after 15 days of being absent. If that happens, another meeting will be held with the county attorney present. The new rules come as districts are seeing an increase in absences schoolwide.
The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 65-year-old man in connection to a years-long cold case. James Bachmurski is being charged with second degree murder in Jade Colvin’s death. Officials say Colvin’s mother brought the 15-year-old from Arizona to Winneshiek County in 2017. She had not been seen or heard from since two days after arriving at Bachmurski’s farm. He has been in custody for violation of probation for firearm crimes. The case remains an open investigation.
A hospital in Greenfield is partially reopened nearly three months after a deadly EF-4 tornado hit. The Adair County Memorial Hospital was not directly in the path of the storm but sustained a lot of damage, especially to the lab and operating rooms. As crews have been working on repairs, a lot of the hospital operations were temporarily moved to a local elementary school and mobile medical units. The building is still not fully reopened, and some entrances are still closed.
