Trustees take oath as ‘New Year’ begins for Iowa Lakes 

The Trustees of Iowa Lakes Community College wrapped up one year and began another at their monthly meeting held at the Administrative Offices in Estherville late Tuesday afternoon.

Their first step was to accept the election results from Sept. That board (2016-2017) was then adjourned by Board of Trustees Vice President Pat Kibbie who was serving in place of President Janice Lund. The 2017-18 board was called to order by Board Secretary Tony Condon.

That was followed by the oath of office being administered to incumbents Christopher Fuhrman of Spirit Lake; Bob Jennings of Algona; and, Patrick Kibbie of Emmetsburg.

The Trustees then elected officers. Janice Lund was re-elected as the President of the Iowa Lakes Trustees and Pat Kibbie was re-elected to the position of Vice President. In addition, Tony Condon was appointed to serve as secretary, and, Jeff Soper as treasurer. Scot Bauermeister was selected as the attorney for the Trustees.

After finishing other organizational business, the Trustees heard from Delaine Hiney, the Facilities Management Executive Director.

She started off with a pictorial review of the ribbon cuttings held in early October. A few items are being finished at both Emmetsburg and Spencer. In Emmetsburg, glass store fronts for offices should arrive late this week. The Spencer project at Gateway North is awaiting lights to illuminate the outside signage.

In Algona, the project continues to move ahead despite being slowed due to recent rains. Footings are poured and the east block fire wall is up.

At the Spirit Lake campus, the painting has been completed in the renovated Industry Training lab. New lights, electrical reels and fire alarms have been installed. New carpet is expected in late November and the lab should be operational by the first of the year.

The Fine Arts facility in Estherville is moving forward as block layers have arrived and are taking the next steps to allow Christensen to be able to make progress on the project this winter.

Many student leaders were on hand at the Thursday afternoon meeting. Julie Williams, Executive Dean of Students, introduced students serving in key leadership positions at the college. Student Senators also shared what activities they have planned at their respective campuses. In January, a contingent of student senators will travel to Des Moines to meet with legislators about issues that impact their education.

Those who have been selected as student senators include:

Algona campus Patrick Wolter and Eve Carr, both from Algona.

Emmetsburg campus Richard Engelhart, Nokomis, Ill.; Maribel Garcia, Fonda; Cassidy Hannah, Garner; Ty Kral, Emmetsburg; Jordyn Moyes, Grinnell; Nathan Naber, Spencer; Emmetsburg; Mari Schmidt, Emmetsburg; and Xachary Tompkins, Fowler, Ind.

Estherville campus Jadin Bezdicek, Jackson, Minn.; Jarrod Corona, Tucsan, Ariz.; Samuel Denker, Papillion, Neb.; Kenlee Frank, Greeley, Colo.; Riley Kintzle, Swea City; Lincoln Larsen, Sioux City; Kacie Salazar, Bakersfield, Calif.; Nathan Strohman, Spencer; Kaitlin Walsh, Medford, Wisc.; and, Victoria Williams, Augusta, Ga.

Spencer campus Kim DeBerg-Malm, Spencer; Jordyn Howell, Reno, Nev.; and, Kylie Wellard, Yuma, Ariz.

Spirit Lake campus Gina Damm, Milford; and Derrick Feldhans, Spirit Lake.

Student ambassadors and graduate assistants also spoke. In addition, a number of resident assistants for housing at the college spoke with the Trustees about their responsibilities.

Following that, Jolene Rogers, Executive Director of Community and Business Relations addressed the Trustees about partnerships and training. She shared that several large wind energy companies will have teams competing for Wind Warrior status on Oct. 24. That day, several high schools will bring students to tour college facilities, participate in hands-on experiences, attend an industry panel discussion on job opportunities and also watch the professionals in action.

Then, on Oct. 25-26, the Iowa Wind Energy Association will hold it regional technician conference at the college’s Sustainable Energy Resources and Technologies (SERT) Center.

The college’s first Drone Commercial License test preparation class has been held. The next one begins Nov. 7. Industry specific application and skills training classes will begin in December. Rogers also pointed out that the college has a GAP approved program for drone operators.

On another subject, Rogers shared that scholarships for the spring semester are currently being reviewed. And, she pointed out that the scholarship application for the 2019 academic year is now open.

In other business, the Trustees talked about upcoming meetings they will attend and then adjourned.

The next meeting of the Trustees will be on Tuesday, Nov. 21 in Estherville.