The News

Mid-Prairie

Mid-Prairie board keeps employment incentives as-is, grateful for paid student lunch accounts

WELLMAN The Mid-Prairie school board opened their first meeting of 2025 with a new vision statement at the top of the agenda: “Every Student, Every Day.” Kalona resident and recent school …

Kerri Bell, center, with her Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture award in December.

Mid-Prairie teacher Kerri Bell honored with state teaching award

Kerri Bell, a second-grade teacher at Mid-Prairie East Elementary School in Kalona, has been named the recipient of the Iowa Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture award. Presented by the Iowa …

David Tornow, left, with son Brad, showing off a sign he made celebrating the boys track team that was displayed outside Mid-Prairie High School in 2019.

‘A great guy with a big heart’

KALONA His bright smile, his penchant for humor and laughter, his positivity and joy. These are the traits that come to mind when people think David Tornow, a “great guy with a big heart” who …

The victorious Lone Tree dance team, coached by Kelsi Kruse. Back row, L-R: Rylie Viers, Haiden Gauley, Jazmine Nino, Delaney Volk, Addison Eagle. Front row (seniors): Hayden Yoder, Maddi Floyd, Bailee Gottschalk.

ALL THAT JAZZ

DES MOINES When dancers from Lone Tree and Mid-Prairie high schools arrived in Des Moines on Dec. 4, their hearts raced with excitement and nerves. They had been preparing for this weekend since …

Highland

Highland bond vote holds

WASHINGTON The contest court held to determine if the vote on Highland’s bond measure this past November passed muster reached a decision Monday: yes, the bond vote passed with the 60% majority …

Highland Schools’ superintendent search produces candidate pool of 10

RIVERSIDE A search for a new superintendent for Highland Community Schools has produced a candidate pool of 10. Shannon Bisgard, a consultant with Grundmeyer Leadership Services, discussed …

New entrances for Highland Elementary are one project the 2024 bond would finance if the election results hold.

Highland bond election trial date set for January 15

WASHINGTON The Highland school district worked hard to secure the votes needed to pass a bond referendum in November 2024, and it appeared they had succeeded, with 61% of the 2,281 votes cast …

Players and fans from both Highland and WACO brought toys in to the basketball games on Thursday, Dec. 19 at Highland; the toys were delivered to UI Children’s Hospital the following day.

Highland-WACO toy drive gives players, communities, a chance to give back

RIVERSIDE Highland’s boys and girls may have lost their basketball games to WACO Thursday night, but victories aren’t always captured by points on the scoreboard. Both teams and their fans …

Lone Tree

Holiday spirit: Lone Tree forgives school lunch debts

LONE TREE It can be hard to catch up once you’ve fallen behind, and the Lone Tree school district knows this. In an act of holiday spirit, the district is making sure families don’t have to …

Lone Tree CSD -- First Day of School

Lone Tree Community Schools had their first day of school on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.

The Lone Tree Community School 2024-25 staff.

Summer projects complete, Lone Tree School ready for new year

LONE TREE For a small school district like Lone Tree, spending three-quarters of a million dollars on improvements over the summer is kind of a big deal. But the improvements made were needed, and …

Educating the educators: AI in classrooms

IOWA CITY In a world full of misinformation, it can be difficult to tell what is real, and what is fake. As artificial intelligence (AI) has made its debut into everyday life, it has brought fake …

Hillcrest Academy

The phone-free school: a mid-year report

KALONA In August, at the start of the 2024-2025 school year, Hillcrest Academy announced it would go phone-free, all day every day, as part of a new mental health initiative. “The goal of …

Hillcrest Academy -- First Day of School

For the first time, Hillcrest Academy welcomed grades 6-12 on the first day of school, Aug. 23, 2024.

All eyes on the future

KALONA Hillcrest Academy experimented with a sixth grade program last school year, introducing a class of students who will end up being great ambassadors for the program. That is because next …

‘A deep sense of belonging’

KALONA When Hillcrest Academy set a course to open sixth grade classes for the 2023-24 school year, they published a middle school purpose statement which reads as follows: “The middle …

Photo Galleries

Mid-Prairie Elementary Trunk or Treat

The Highland Huskies' Homecoming King and Queen: Brody Miller and Adeline Krotz.

Highland Huskies Homecoming 2024

Band Night

The Mid-Prairie band took the field for a terrific halftime performance on Senior Night, October 11.

The marching band and color guard led off the homecoming parade on Wednesday, Sept. 11

Mid-Prairie Homecoming 2024

Photo gallery: Lone Tree graduation 2024

LONE TREE The Lone Tree Community School District hosted it's graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 26. Here, Valedictorian Ethan Bockelman, and X, the student who had the second best …