Soaring Crane Memorial Coming to Sioux City
Soaring from the ceilings at six various locations all across Iowa since Autumn 2020, a renowned three-dimensional crane memorial called "Folding Cranes, Enfolding Community" now travels to its seventh exhibition site, this time in Sioux City. Thousands have viewed Pam Douglas' crane memorial at DMACC in Ankeny and has since been at NIACC in Mason City since June 2023. Woodbury County is in the top ten of Iowa counties for the number of COVID deaths. While the pandemic has passed, nearly 10,000 people died from COVID in December 2023, mostly in Europe and the Americas, based on shared trend information from World Health Organization. On Monday, Feb. 5, fine artist Pam Douglas began the extremely delicate task in Mason City of dissembling the thousands of cranes that hang on spinners, hoops and in long, cascading lines. "In higher education, we witnessed firsthand the major impact of COVID, says Dr. Terry Murrell, President of Western Iowa Tech Community College." In responding creatively to the COVID crisis while Iowa was in lockdown in 2019, artist Pamela Douglas of Clive, Iowa wanted to convey these Iowa deaths were not just a statistic - they were people who loved and were loved. "Folding Cranes, Enfolding Community" is inspirational in its sheer size, magnificent design, and in its artistic "recording" of the pandemic's place in our state's recent history.
Iowa Community College Enrollment Represents Shifting Needs, Interests, Demographics
Many community college enrollments in the last year had increasing joint enrollment and decreasing credit enrollment. In 2023, 45 percent of community colleges' students were high schoolers. There has also been a huge increase in non-credit enrollment as well. "Noncredit programs often lead to industry-recognized certifications that hold labor market value.....They can be a starting point for job entry and offer ongoing education for those in the workforce to acquire new skills and stay up-to-date on industry advancements." Read the rest of the article here.
Day on the Hill Training Webinar
Please join us on February 15th from 12-1pm to discuss the logistics of the 2024 Community College Day on the Hill. We will be talking about the timeline, parking instructions, lay out of tables, and a brief overview of our legislative agenda. RSVP to Katrina Callahan at kcallahan@ccforiowa.org and she will get back to you with a Zoom link as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing all attendees there.