Swan
Swan, IA · Municipal
KBUR
Economic development officials in Ottumwa are dealing with the recent announcement that John Deere will close its factory there and consolidate its operations in Des Moines and Louisiana
Economic development officials in Ottumwa are dealing with the recent announcement that John Deere will close its factory there and consolidate its operations in Des Moines and Louisiana. Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress executive director Marc Roe says within hours of last Tuesday’s announcement, he began collaborating with Iowa Workforce Development and Indian Hills Community College to brainstorm how to retrain and retain those workers. “Ottumwa, any community isn’t about one business. It’s going to change our landscape for sure, but, you know, it doesn’t have to determine the future of the community. That’s up to us to do,” Roe says. John Deere will leave about 400 people out of jobs, in addition to an abandoned industrial complex in the middle of Ottumwa. Roe hopes to attract new manufacturing, retrain local employees through workforce development or the local community college, and find new ways to retain families who are building businesses or going to school in Ottumwa.
hoodline.com
The Des Moines Register
WHO 13
Des Moines Business Record
The Des Moines Register
Iowa law fuels LifeWise Academy growth, including in Des Moines metro
A Christian religious education program is expanding its reach in Iowa, including in the Des Moines metro area. LifeWise Academy first came to Iowa in 2022. A 2025 state law that allows public school students to be excused from school to attend religious instruction courses for up to five hours a week boosted interest and helped LifeWise expand to 37 schools across 24 districts. Students were allowed to leave school for religious instruction before Iowa's law took effect. A 1952 U.S. Supreme Court ruling permits students to leave school for religious instruction if the program is privately funded, held off school grounds, is voluntary, and if parents or guardians give consent. LifeWise Academy meets those requirements, but the Iowa law provided clarity for communities that were interested in joining the program, said Sarah Buzynski, LifeWise's Iowa director. The academy began in rural Ohio in 2019 and now has chapters in more than 1,000 communities across the United States. To start a LifeWise chapter, community members must gather signatures, raise money and form a leadership team, and get permission from a school. Interested students can enroll in weekly instruction during times that do not interfere with core classes, such as lunch,
The US Sun
Parents face grueling $855 fines if their kids play in the street under bombshell new law in city
A NEW law in one US city has parents facing hefty fines if their kids play in the streets. City officials hope that the new law will keep both kids and streets safer. In Waukee, Iowa, city officials passed an ordinance in September to fine parents that allow their children to play in the streets.