Month: October 2023
Open Call for High School Artists in Northeast Iowa: NEIA High School Art Show
ArtHaus is thrilled to announce an open call for all high school artists in the Northeast Iowa area to submit their artwork for the first NEIA High School Art Show. This exciting event offers young talents an exceptional opportunity to showcase their creativity and artistic skills to a wide audience.
Event Details:
- Submission Deadline: October 14
- Acceptance Letters: October 21
- Artwork Delivery Deadline: October 28
- Friday Gallery Opening: November 3
- Location: Doyle G Heyveld Gallery
- Gallery Admission: Free and Open to the Public
- Entry Fee: $10 per artwork
The NEIA High School Art Show is open to all high school students in Northeast Iowa, regardless of their preferred medium. Whether you excel in painting, sculpture, photography, or any other form of visual art, we encourage you to participate in this extraordinary exhibition.
Submission Guidelines:
- Artists must submit a digital image of their artwork to info@arthausdecorah.org with the subject line – HS ART SHOW SUBMISSION
- All mediums are accepted, allowing for a diverse range of creative expression.
Don’t miss the opportunity to have your original artwork on display at the prestigious Doyle G Heyveld Gallery at ArtHaus throughout the month of November. The gallery opening on November 3 will be an exciting evening, free and open to the public, where attendees can admire your creations and celebrate the vibrant artistry of our high school students.
In addition to the exposure your artwork will receive, there will be awards announced during the gallery opening to recognize outstanding contributions to the NEIA High School Art Show.
For more information and to submit your artwork please contact info@arthausdecorah.org.
Join us in celebrating the talent and creativity of young artists in Northeast Iowa!
About ArtHaus:
ArtHaus is a leading arts organization in Northeast Iowa dedicated to fostering creativity, community, and cultural engagement through the visual, performing, and literary arts. Through our programs, exhibitions, and educational initiatives, we aim to inspire and empower individuals of all ages to explore and develop their artistic talents.
Leaves and Grass Clippings
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Decorah Street Department
Press Contact: Jeremy Bril, City Engineer, 563-382-2157
City of Decorah Issues Reminder: Leaves and Grass Clippings Must Not Be Placed in the Street
Decorah, Iowa (October 5, 2023) – The City of Decorah is reminding residents that leaves, grass clippings, and any other yard waste must not be placed in the street. The city’s curbside leaf collection program has not started yet but a schedule with the collection dates and locations will be coming soon. When the city’s leaf collection program begins, leaves must be placed in the boulevard behind the back of the curb, they may not be placed in the street.
In the meantime, residents are encouraged to deposit leaves at the city’s Yard Waste Site located on Trout Run Road. The Yard Waste Site is currently open on Wednesdays from 12-6 PM, Saturdays from 8 AM-Noon, and Sundays from 12-4 PM. Keys to the site may also be checked out from City Hall which is open Monday through Friday 7:30 AM-4:00 PM.
This is an official city press release. Modifications of any kind are prohibited without express written consent of the author. Any reprint or broadcast of this information must
USDA Forest Grant Given to City
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Decorah Street Department
Press Contact: Jeremy Bril, City Engineer, 563-382-2157
City of Decorah Secures $630,000 Grant from USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program
Decorah, Iowa (October 5, 2023) – The City of Decorah is excited to announce its successful grant application to the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program, resulting in a substantial award of $630,000. This grant marks a pivotal moment in the city’s dedication to preserving and enhancing urban green spaces.
Over the next five years, the grant funds will be strategically allocated to various projects, in collaboration with valued partners including Trees Forever, Decorah Tree Board, Decorah Jobs, Inc., and Winneshiek County Conservation. Key focus areas for this grant include:
- Tree Trimming and Pruning: With a commitment to maintaining the health and safety of our urban forest, funds will support extensive tree trimming and pruning of boulevard trees across the city.
- New Tree Plantings: A portion of the grant will be dedicated to planting new trees, enriching the urban landscape and contributing to improved air quality and aesthetics.
- Tree Inventory: The grant will enable the city to carry out a comprehensive tree inventory, providing valuable data for informed management decisions and future planning.
- Community Engagement and Education: Decorah values community involvement, and we are dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of our urban trees. The grant will support various educational programs and initiatives to engage residents in tree care and environmental stewardship.
City Engineer Jeremy Bril expressed his appreciation for the grant, saying, “This grant is a testament to our commitment to preserving our urban forest resources. We are grateful for the support of the USDA Forest Service and our dedicated project partners. This grant also allows us to leverage the city’s Public Tree Utility Management Fee, more than quadrupling the impact of these funds.”
Bril also extended his gratitude to City Forester Sam Hogenson, acknowledging his invaluable efforts in securing the grant. “Sam’s tireless work on this grant has been instrumental in bringing these funds to Decorah. His expertise and dedication to our urban forestry initiatives is truly commendable.”
This is an official city press release. Modifications of any kind are prohibited without express written consent of the author. Any reprint or broadcast of this information must include this entire communication.
Luther College earns Best University Website Award for 2023 WebAwards
Luther College’s website wins “Best Website Award” at the annual 2023 WebAwards.
DECORAH, IOWA— Luther College’s website, luther.edu, won the coveted Best University Website award at the 2023 WebAwards. The annual awards ceremony honors excellence in website design and building.
“It’s a huge honor to have the Luther website named the Best University Website of 2023. As our second website award this year, it reinforces what we heard from our most important judges – prospective and current students – that the Luther website is appealing and easy to use,” said Laura Barlament, executive director of strategic marketing and communications for Luther. “It was our goal to build a website that reflects the excellence and the warmth of the Luther community itself.”
Luther’s website stands as a model of creative and user-centered design. Independent judges from around the world assessed websites from nearly 90 colleges and universities with Luther emerging as the clear winner, setting the website as the benchmark for excellence in the field.
The competition has established itself as the leading award recognition program for website developers and the online marketing community. Other institutions that took home awards and honors for the 2023 competition include Aston Martin, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, the American Cancer Society, Lenovo and TripAdvisor.
The award comes a year after the launch of the redesigned luther.edu. Luther partnered with mStoner, now part of Carnegie, a higher education marketing and enrollment strategy firm, to redesign the website.
“I’m grateful for all of the efforts of the Marketing and Communications team and the Carnegie team to let Luther’s light shine as brightly online as it does on campus,” Barlament said.
About Luther College
At Luther College in beautiful Decorah, Iowa, students explore big questions and take action to benefit people, communities and society. Luther’s academic programs, experiential approach to learning and welcoming community inspire students to learn actively, live purposefully and lead courageously for a lifetime of impact. Learn more at luther.edu.
Decorah High School’s Pride of the Vikings Marching Band Releases Details about Upcoming Performances
On , the Pride of the Vikings (POV) Marching Band will be performing at the Iowa High School Music Association’s Marching Band Festival. Their performance will take place at 11:25 am at the Waterloo Memorial Stadium at 1320 Katoski Drive, Waterloo, Iowa. After this performance, this year the marching band will continue to travel down to Muscatine High School, located at 2705 Cedar Street, Muscatine, Iowa, to compete at 7:45 pm at the Muskie Marching Invite. Admission for these performances are $10 adults, $7 for senior citizens (62+), and $5 K-12 students.
The POV Marching Band would also like to invite parents and the community to watch the band’s performance on October 6th at 2:30 pm at Viking Stadium. This performance will help prepare band members for the following day’s performances. The band is also extremely excited to have students from John Cline in attendance, too.
This year’s marching show is entitled “Thor’s Hammer” and features music from composer Randall Standridge. Soloists for this year’s show include Lucas Hanson, trombone; Aitor Cuevas, trumpet; Amelia Wadsworth, mellophone; Brenna Parker, alto saxophone; Jensen Korsness, color guard; and Alex McGohan, snare drum. The color guard choreography was created by Abigail Toussaint, Jensen Korsness, Evon Leitz, and Kiele Eberling. The drill was designed by Andrew Classen from Drake University.
The Pride of the Vikings marching band is under the direction of Dustin Bliven, Matt Cody, and Emily Hahn. The drumline is under the direction of Kassidy Steines, and the color guard is under the direction of Laurie Walter. This year’s drum majors are Elizabeth Pritchard and Grant Zilka.
Mr. Bliven stated, “This year’s marching band has been a blast. These wonderful musicians have worked hard all season yet haven’t been able to perform their show since September 1st. Because of this, we are really looking forward to our 2:30 pm community/John Cline performance and at the football game that evening. These performances will really help send us off the next day.”
Bliven continued, “We have added a lot of new aspects to our show this year that have included a higher intensity drill and electronics. The DHS band will be fully competing at the Muskie Marching Invite, which has not occurred in over 30 years. We feel this is a great beginning to build upon our wonderful history and traditions we have here at Decorah. We are looking forward to performing our best to wrap up our marching band season this Friday and Saturday.”
DHS Pride of the VIkings Marching Band 2023
City of Decorah Council Meeting – October 2, 2023
Joint Press Release from City of Decorah & Decorah Community School
October 3, 2023
Recent Land Purchase Showcases City and School Cooperation
The City of Decorah’s recent purchase of 30 acres on the east side of town near the river presents an exciting opportunity for both the City and the Decorah Community School District to improve educational and extracurricular opportunities for community members.
The City intends to develop a single-site location for multiple recreational baseball and softball fields in its newly-acquired prime location along the Trout Run Trail. This complex would replace the current fields, which need significant updates and improvements.
At the same time the sale of City-owned land to the School positions the School to pursue a new elementary campus in the heart of our community to replace the current, outdated, building.
These plans demonstrate the City’s and the School’s shared commitment to enhancing quality of life for area residents and continuing to provide state-leading educational opportunities for area children.
Decorah Community School District Superintendent Tim Cronin is optimistic about the plan: “It’s great that strong cooperation and compromise resulted in a mutually beneficial solution. I believe this plan advances the interests of both the School and community.” Mayor Lorraine Borowski is also excited: “We’ve been trying to find a solution to these issues for more than a decade,” she shared, “and now we’re making real progress! I’m proud that City and School leaders got together and found a way to proceed that achieves so much for our community.”
The School and City are working together to finalize a suitable new location for the tennis courts currently west of John Cline Elementary that ensures those facilities remain accessible to both the school community and the general public. With these proposed changes, the high school softball team will finally have a permanent home. Other details will also be worked out in the coming months with community input.
To view the Press Release Click Here
Winneshiek County Supervisors Meeting 2023 10 02
Luther College professor Justin M. Sprung co-authors psychology textbook “Personnel Psychology”
DECORAH, IOWA—Luther College’s Justin M. Sprung, an assistant professor of psychology, co-authored Personnel Psychology, a comprehensive and accessible textbook that delves into the psychological principles behind human resource practices.
Justin M. Sprung
Sprung, who has taught in the psychology department at Luther since 2013, along with his co-authors Alexandra Luong and Michael J. Zicker, draw from their experiences in teaching and research to provide psychological perspectives on personnel management. The textbook covers fundamental topics such as job analysis, recruitment, selection, assessment and performance evaluation. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize the importance of psychology in shaping the modern workspace.
“I’ve found in my 10 years of teaching at Luther that students are often fascinated by exploring the psychology behind personnel decisions, particularly with regard to topics such as employee selection and performance appraisals,” said Sprung.
Sprung co-authored “Personnel Psychology.”
Sprung’s teaching and research interests focus on the field of industrial-organizational psychology, a discipline that seeks to apply psychological principles to the workplace to improve conditions.
He aims to make complex psychological concepts accessible to students in “Personnel Psychology,” which includes readings, review questions and discussion prompts to facilitate active learning. It also introduces students to the latest scientific research in the field and the possibility of exploring research in the future related to industrial-organizational psychology.
“My interactions with students in the classroom served as inspiration for my desire to be a part of this project,” said Sprung. “I’m grateful I had the opportunity to contribute to this textbook and am excited to continue sharing recent developments in the field of industrial-organizational psychology with Luther students.”
“Personnel Psychology” is available to purchase via the publisher, Routledge
About Luther College
At Luther College in beautiful Decorah, Iowa, students explore big questions and take action to benefit people, communities and society. Luther’s academic programs, experiential approach to learning and welcoming community inspire students to learn actively, live purposefully and lead courageously for a lifetime of impact. Learn more at luther.edu.