Clear Lake Mirror Reporter

Speaker: Honor those who lost their lives by nurturing ‘soul of selflessness’

With a piece of World Trade Center steel providing a compelling backdrop, a large crowd paused to reflect and remember the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy outside the Clear Lake Fire Department Thursday night.

Clear Lake was among 10 statewide finalists  for the Iowa Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Small Business Community of the Year.  Announcement of the finalists is part of the SBA’s National Small Business Week events.

Clear Lake’s nomination for the honor was made by the North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center and its North Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC).  The entity also 

nominated Floyd County, including Charles City, and it was also made a finalist for the honor.

by Lowell Washburn

The winter snows had melted. North Iowa ponds were thawing and the spring duck migration was gathering a full head of steam. I was contemplating where to go; how to “get out among ‘em” when my cell phone buzzed. It was fellow waterfowl enthusiast, Al Hancock.

Statewide numbers climb; Local numbers drop

For the fourth year in a row, the overall number of students enrolled in Iowa’s public schools for the 2014-15 school year increased from the year before, according to the official certified enrollment report released Jan. 30 by the Iowa Department of Education.

  This pattern follows 17 years of declining enrollment. However, the rate of growth is slowing and is expected to plateau in the years to come.