Featured Stories
– Caitlin Clark announces she will turn pro at the end of this Iowa women’s basketball season
– Iowa House passes AEA bill to reorganize state special education structure
– Summit offers free annual rentals at NewBo City Market
Episode transcription
You're listening to the Gazette Daily News podcast for Friday, March 1st. This podcast provides a quick look at the latest headlines from The Gazette newsroom. I'm Bailey Cichon.
Caitlin Clark plans to turn pro after this Iowa women's basketball season
And then the Iowa House of Representatives passed the AEA bill to reorganize Iowa's special education structure.
Additionally, are you an entrepreneur? He may be able to get a year's worth of free rent in Cedar Rapids' new city market. Stay tuned to learn how.
First, this will be Caitlin Clark's final season with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Clark announced Thursday via social media that he will turn pro at the end of this season. Clark is a star athlete who has won numerous awards, including the all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball history. In a social post, Clark said she is “excited to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, although this season is not over yet and she still has many goals to accomplish.” wrote. End of quotation. Clark also had the option of remaining at Iowa for an additional season. This comes as the NCAA extended a one-year exemption period for all college athletes who participated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the 2020-21 academic year. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in the April 15 draft in Brooklyn, New York.
Next, the Iowa House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would restructure funding and oversight of Iowa's Area Education Agencies (AEA). The announcement comes after lawmakers spent two months debating changes to the state's special education network.
The bill was proposed in House File 2612 after a broader proposal by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was blocked. Reynolds' proposal would allow school districts to spend special education funds outside of his AEA. House File 2612 maintains his AEA of Iowa as the sole provider of special education assistance. State funding for special education services would go to school districts. School districts must use the funds in conjunction with AEA. You will also receive allocations for other educational services, such as media services available with AEA or other entities.
The bill passed 53-41 with only Republican votes. Nine Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill. House Democrats said the system doesn't need to change and that calls for it are based on false assumptions about poor test scores and the performance of students with disabilities.
House Education Committee Chairman Schuyler Wheeler, a Republican from Hull, said on the House floor that there is broad agreement that changes need to be made to the AEA system.
Wheeler said: We all agreed that there were improvements and changes that could be made. AEA has been in this conversation more than anyone else…We've been working hard, and I'm proud of the work we've done. ” End quote.
For more information on this bill, read the story linked in this episode description.
Next, the second annual Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Summit will be soliciting a free one-year rental of space at NewBo City Market. Join our 2-day summit for your chance to win. The summit will be held on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd March. Free workshops will be held on Fridays where entrepreneurs can learn about business accounting, banking and marketing. Saturday's Emerging Entrepreneur finalists will compete in a guest vendor market and pitch contest. Judges will evaluate finalists on the day's sales, merchandising, and business plans. The winner will receive a free rental space at NewBo City Market. This summit is hosted by Linn Regional Credit Union. The deadline to enter the competition is Friday, March 1st. Application information can be found at newbocitymarket.org/summit-2024.
As always, links to each story featured in today's episode can be found in the episode description or on Gazette.com.
Finally, let's take a look at the weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It's sunny today, with a high of 51 degrees and a low of 32 degrees. It will be sunny tomorrow too. The expected high temperature is 65 degrees and the expected low temperature is 48 degrees. It will be windy Sunday. The expected high temperature is 74 degrees and the low temperature is 42 degrees.
Thank you for listening to the Gazette Daily News Podcast. Get the latest news from Eastern Iowa at Gazette.com. I'm Bailey Cichon.
Comment: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com
