Page 1 - Clear Lake Mirror Reporter E-Edition 3-2-2016

New business
Weather
Warming up on Sunday, with sunny skies and a
high of 50 degrees.
USPS 117-120 VOL. 146 Issue 9
Clear Lake
Mirror-Reporter
CALENDAR
Thursday
School conferences
Parent/Teacher Conferenc-
es for Clear Lake High School
will be Thursday, March 3, from
4-8 p.m. During this time,
teachers will be available in their
classrooms in the high school. Duesenberg and she has verbally accepted. She
Also during this time, represen-
tatives from NIACC will have
tables set up in the hallways
for parents/students to obtain
information regarding financial
aid, admission requirements/
process, NIACC PSEO courses
and any other post-secondary
options. With families’ hectic
schedules, this is a great time
to speak with an enrollment
advisor, financial aid counselor,
academic counselor or faculty
member from NIACC. seeds to improve habitat for Monarch butterflies
Saturday
Student art
A Meet the Artists Recep-
tion will be held on Saturday,
March 5, from 1 – 3 p.m. at
the Clear Lake Arts Center for
those exhibiting in the Annual
Student Art Show. The work of
students from elementary, mid-
dle school and high schools in
Belmond/Klemme, Clear Lake,
Clear Lake Classical, Forest
City, Garner-Hayfield-Ventura
and West Hancock schools will
be on exhibit through Saturday,
March 26.
continued Jensen also helped to spread 12 pounds of native
More CALENDAR
on page 2
Inside
Opinion..................... 4
Weather.................... 5
Sports..................9-10
Legals................13-14
Classifieds.........14-15
Road Reports
Iowa 1-800-288-1047
Illinois 1-800-865-5394
Kansas 1-800-585-7623
Minnesota1-800-542-0220
Missouri 1-800-222-6400
Nebraska 1-800-906-9069
S. Dakato 1-866-697-3511
Wisconsin 1-800-762-3947
Forecasts
Des Moines 1-515-270-2614
Sioux Falls 1-605-330-4444
Waterloo 1-319-234-6600
Call 511 for Iowa, Minnesota
and South Dakota
non-emergency weather
and road conditions.
Mail: 12 N. 4th St.,
Clear Lake, IA 50428
Telephone: 641-357-2131
Fax: 641-357-2133
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.clreporter.com
@CLReporter
pg. 8
More weather on page 5.
March 2, 2016
Duesenberg chosen as Clear Creek/Sunset principal
A longtime member of the Clear Lake Com-
munity School System has been chosen as the new
principal for Clear Creek/Sunset Elementary.
Superintendent Anita Micich said she will
recommend current Student and Family Services
Coordinator Sally Duesenberg succeed retiring
principal Mike Barkley in the 2016-17 school
year. The School Board is expected to act on the
recommendation at its March 9 meeting.
“I have offered the principal position to Sally
Monarch Mania! reaches Clear Lake
Clear Creek third graders made these milkweed clay balls to plant in the Outdoor Classroom.
Yvonne Uhlenhopp and student teacher Rachel
tall grass prairie seed valued at $1,200.
Students prepared the clay balls by forming
small marble size balls of potting soil mixed with
clay - they then put two swamp milkweed seed in
each ball. When the clay balls dried, they scat-
tered them in the Outdoor Classroom in an area
now designated as a pollinator garden through the
Monarch Mania! project.
Students will continue to be involved with the
program through tagging monarchs and studying
their life cycle.
“Kids at Clear Creek tag monarch butterflies
every year,” explained Sorensen. “This year there
is a noticeable drop in the number being caught at
the school. Students tagged 49 monarch this year. and provided them detailed background informa-
It is a great opportunity to follow our data.”
This was the first time “snow planting” has
been done at the Outdoor Classroom, which has
expanded over the years to include a pond enjoyed
by swans and other aquatic life, as well as prairie
See MONARCHS on page 5 Todd Von Ehwegen, from the Lime Creek Nature Center, led students in the “snow planting” activity.
There’s no place like home
for this Clear Lake family
Habitat for Humanity builds fourth home here
Ben and Crystal Gerhardt welcomed friends,
family and the community to their new Clear
Lake home last week. In addition to sharing their
excitement, they also offered their thanks to all
who made the home a reality.
The Gerhardts applied to the Habitat for Hu-
manity program two years ago and began work on
their own home about one year ago.
“We’re excited for people to see the house, but
even more excited to close on it and begin mov-
ing in over the weekend,” said Crystal at Tuesday’s
open house.
This was the fourth house built through the
Habitat program in Clear Lake and the 48th fam-
ily to be helped in the area, explained Melissa
Schoneberg, executive director. Families selected
for home ownership through Habitat must dem-
onstrate need, commit to providing “sweat eq-
uity” for the organization, and be able to make
Serving Clear Lake and Ventura since 1869 • Hometown newspaper of Todd & Amy Tesar
is excited to serve this district and the children,
families and staff at Clear Creek and Sunset,” said
Micich. “Sally brings a depth of knowledge and
experience in working as a teacher and as our At-
Risk Coordinator in our school district. Her ef-
forts have created lasting community connections
to our schools. She truly has passion for children
and has a strong commitment as a leader who will
continue to build positive relationships and guide
teachers and staff in the work that happens on a
daily basis.”
-Reporter photos by Chris Barragy the Lime Creek Nature Center in Mason City
low monthly mortgage payments on time. After
home construction, Habitat essentially becomes
the lender for the home, offering repayment of
the cost to build the home at zero percent inter-
est over 30 years, Schoneberg explained. Those
payments serve as income for the organization to
fund future houses.
The Gerhardts completed a credit counseling
course, along with a home repair program to bet-
ter prepare themselves for home ownership.
Their home at 1505 Logan Drive features
four bedrooms, two baths and an open kitchen
and family room for the family of six.
“The three boys (six-year-old Jace, eight-year-
old Daniel and 13-year-old Justin) have been
sharing one bedroom and our daughter has been
sharing a bedroom with Ben and I,” said Crys-
tal. While the boys are excited to spread out, two-
See NEW HOME on page 5
Micich said there were over 30 applicants
for the position and six were invited to interview
on Feb. 22. Each applicant interviewed with the
Administrative Leadership Team, a Teacher/Staff
Team from Clear Creek/Sunset, completed a writ-
ing sample and were given individual tours with
Principal Barkley.
Duesenberg is currently in her 21st year serv-
ing the district. She started her career in education vices Coordinator
as a para-educator, then returned to college to earn
a degree in elementary and special education. She
Monarch Mania! has struck at Clear Creek
Elementary.
Helped by Todd Von Ehwegen, conservation
education manager at Lime Creek Nature Center,
third graders at the Clear Lake elementary school
took to the school’s Outdoor Classroom last week
to plant seeds for the future-- or more specifically,
and other pollinators.
Monarch Mania! is a program initiated by
and funded by the Maxine Sanberg Memorial
Fund. The program is a call to North Iowans
to plant milkweed and pollinator gardens to en-
hance the habitat monarchs and pollinators need
to survive. four candidates it will interview for the district’s
As her third grade class was busy spreading
milkweed clay balls and native grass and pollina-
tor flower seeds amid clumps of prairie grass and
snow, Dana Sorensen was excited. The longtime
elementary teacher said her interest in Monarchs
was sparked when Clear Creek opened in 1998.
“I am known by many of the students as the But-
terfly Lady. This is a project I’m really excited
about and it’s fun to do it with my class.”
Classes led by Val Schaefer, Sara Allen,
Crystal and Ben Gerhardt and their children, Justin, Daniel, Jace and Ava, are excited to be in their new
Clear Lake home built through the Habitat for Humanity program.-Reporter photo.
$1.50
spent nine years
working in spe-
cial education at
Clear Lake Mid-
dle School before
becoming the dis-
trict’s first Student
and Family Ser-
for grades kinder-
garten to 12 seven
years ago. While
serving local stu-
dents and their
families, Duesen-
berg continued SALLY DUESENBERG
her own education at the University of Northern
Iowa. She was awarded a Master’s Degree in Edu-
cational Leadership in May 2015.
“I think serving in different positions and
grade levels has given me good perspective and
helped prepare me for the position,” said Duesen-
See DUESENBERG on page 2
School Board
superintendent
finalists named
The Clear Lake Community School District
Board of Education has announced the names of
superintendent vacancy. The Board met in closed
session Monday night, Feb. 29, to narrow a list of
six finalists to four.
The candidates selected for interviews are:
•Doug Gee, superintendent of schools at
Boyer Valley and Woodbine Community School
District, Dunlap, Iowa.
•Abraham Maske, superintendent of schools
at the Postville Community School District, Post-
ville, Iowa.
•Cory Myer, superintendent of schools for
the North Iowa Community School District, Buf-
falo Center, Iowa.
•Dr. Gregory Thomas, associate superinten-
dent of Curriculum, Data, & Special Services for
the Marion Independent School District, Marion,
Iowa.
Interviews are scheduled to be conducted on
March 3, 7, 9 and 10. Numerous stakeholder
groups will have the opportunity to meet the final
candidates and submit input to the Board about
each of them, according to the firm of McPherson
& Jacobson L.L.C., which was hired to assist in
the search. The consultants reviewed, screened,
and conducted extensive background checks on
eight applicants. Monday, the consultants pre-
sented the applicants to the Board of Education
tion on each applicant.
The School Board intends to make their se-
lection by March 11.