Kalona private school goes phone free for students
Hillcrest Academy in Kalona with grades six through twelve began this academic year keeping phones and smartwatches in labeled plastic pouches until day’s end. The initiative aims to reduce distractions and boost mental health while fostering mindfulness and meaningful peer connections, with leaders noting broader district interest in the policy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hillcrest Academy
Kalona
Jeremy Ours
Iowa
Ours
Cedar Rapids Theater launches $9.5 million capital drive
The Cedar Rapids theater unveils the Dream Here Do Here campaign to redesign its downtown building during 2025-26, adding a lobby elevator, more classrooms and performance spaces, and recreating the giant ear of corn sign at First Avenue and Third Street SE. Executive director Katie Hallman calls it a signature Cedar Rapids legacy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cedar Rapids
First Avenue
Third Street
Katie Hallman
Joe Link
Theatre
Savannah Blake
the Gazette
Minnessota trip for abortion access amid patchwork laws
A carload of teens traveled from South Dakota to Minnesota to seek an abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic near Minnesota State University in Mankato. The group included a pregnant transgender teen. they crossed a state border shaped by varying abortion laws. Minnesota’s 2023 protections ensure access and shield providers from other states’ investigations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mankato
Minn
Minnesota State University
Planned Parenthood
South Dakota
U.S. Supreme Court
Minnesota
Statehouse Democrats
Also Mentioned on This Page
Iown Public
Grace King
Malinee Mezhir
Marcus Miller
Jim Slosiarek
Capital Drive
TCR
Diana Nollen
Theater
Careckex
Mankato Clinic
Tom Barton
Gazette
Des Moines
Reneie
Pere CreTe
Abby Deaths
Pere
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