First, Steve Gray, joint superintendent of both Nevada and Colo/Nesco school districts, discussed the challenges rural schools face--and how those might be exacerbated by pending legislation. Then, State Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames told of over one-and-a-half million dollars that will be lost by both Ames and Boone school districts with this year's 1.1% allowable growth law, and describes scenes of disenfranchisement in this week's legislative hearings. Finally, Kelly McMahon, a preschool / kindergarten teacher in the Cedar Rapids school district, formerly a teacher in Milwaukee, compared the climate under Scott Walker's Act 10 to that she expects with the pending Iowa labor bills, HSB84 and SF213. Iowans for Public Education urged citizens to discuss these issues with their legislators. Senator Jerry Behn will hold several.
The second half of our show featured two plays opening this weekend. Joe Ferrell and Sam Barnes gave us a preview of Judge Story's Theatrical Troupe's dinner theatre, Who Will Murder Marsha? a play about a woman addicted to reading murder mysteries, and what happens when her husband tries to persuade her to stop. The second murder mystery, Webster City Community Theatre's Murder on a Budget, is set during a class reunion on a cruise ship (the budget reunion location). Playwright/director Sally Evans described a the situation of this, her fifth, original murder mystery play.
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Online Resources:
- Steve Gray
- Herman Quirmbach
- Iowans for Public Education
- Jerry Behn
- Jerry Behn events
- Judge Story's Theatrical Troupe
- Webster City Community Theatre
- Iowans for Public Education
- Arrest threat to teacher
Originally broadcast 02/15/2017
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