The Summer Olympics competitions in Paris ended on Sunday, and a Sioux City man who made the Great Britain track team earlier this summer did not compete on the track.
Ben Jefferies, who won three national titles at the NAIA level for Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, made the national team with his performance in the 400 meters.
However, Jefferies did not run in the 400 meters race, nor the 1,600 meter relay. Jefferies is a track coach at Briar Cliff, and a college official said Monday he had no information about Jefferies not getting onto the track.
Jefferies ran his all-time best time of 45.6 seconds to finish second in the Great Britain track trials in Manchester, which earned him a spot on the national team.
When the 1,600 meter relay heat took place, Jefferies was not on the team, although a Great Britain runner also ran a leg in mid-45 second time. The team won the bronze medal on Saturday, the day before the Paris Closing Ceremony.
*The beginning of a new school year for K-12 schools and universities is fast approaching.
When students attending the three Iowa public universities this month begin their new year, they will be paying higher amounts of tuition.
The Iowa Board of Regents increased tuition by 2 percent at the University of Northern Iowa, plus a 3 percent increase at both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.
One new program at the three Iowa universities begins this fall at the University of Northern Iowa, which will have a new nursing program. The first two cohorts of that program will hold 78 students.
Classes begin at all three public universities on August 26, which is a few days after K-12 schools in Iowa can first hold classes.
The Sioux City School District is ramping up for the new year, as on Monday a group of about 80 new teachers in the district will hold a new teacher orientation at West High School.
Most instructors begin working on August 20, and classes begin for Sioux City public school students on August 23.
*In other news, the City of South Sioux City is aiming to start a Creative Arts District.
During the Monday meeting of the South Sioux City Council, the members will apply for that designation by the Nebraska Arts Council. That district is proposed to run along Dakota Avenue from 16th to 29th streets.
If approved by the state agency, South Sioux City would receive $10,000 in planning funds to apply for future grant funds that could help the area launch creative arts pieces.
There are currently 31 Creative Arts Districts in Nebraska, with those closest to South Sioux City being located in Norfolk and Fremont.
*The Iowa State Fair is underway through August 18, and on Saturday a new record single day attendance mark was set.
The Saturday gate showed that 128,732 people went to the fair, or about 400 more than the previous one-day mark set in 2022.
Additionally, the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox is again set up at the state fair, where notable legislators or officeseekers speak.
The Democrat running for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District seat said Sunday that incumbent Randy Feenstra is vilifying immigrants.
Feenstra, the two-term Republican, has said that securing the southern border is the number one concern of people living in the district.
Democratic candidate Ryan Melton said immigrants are being used as scapegoats when there’s no proof that they commit more crimes than native-born citizens.
“We should want people that are willing to put their lives on the line to give their kids a better life. So this narrative about immigrants and invasion and threat is wrong. It's shameful, and eventually it's going to lead to people getting hurt," Melton said.
Feenstra introduced the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act in Congress last year. Melton said the vast majority of fentanyl that comes into the country arrives through legal ports of entry by U.S. citizens and that building a wall is a “kindergarten solution” for a complicated issue.
