Get me lost in Iowa

[ca4cy]

What's interesting about the school situation, is that due to Riceville's location in comparison to other school districts, and how it straddles the Mitchell/Howard County line, its not going to be feasible to consolidate w/any one of the surrounding districts.

If they consolidate with Howard/Winneshiek (Cresco), you would have kids in NE Mitchell County going to school 40 miles away when they could be going to school 20 miles away. You have the same problem for kids in Howard County if it were to consolidate with Osage or St. Ansgar in Mitchell County.

What makes the most logistical sense is to split the district 3 ways between Cresco, Osage, and St. Ansgar.

Yea, they've thrown in with St. Ansgar for wrestling the last few years, but I think you're spot on with your assessement. That area has had a large portion of it's rural population "taken over" by the Mennonites, and thus, none of those kids are going through the public school system (not an indictment of the Mennonites, just a statement of fact.) If it was feasible for them to just flat out consolidate with somebody, I've got to think it would have already happened. They've been hurting for enrollment for awhile. I think you'll end up seeing them just disband the school with the kids going to the nearest school system for them. It's too bad for a once proud school system, but such is life in a state with declining rural population.

 

[aauummm]

The Enterprise, IA thread got me thinking about this, and it is discussed to some extent in there. Any of us that grew up in rural Iowa had one of those "towns" nearby that are nothing more than a couple houses and maybe a store, a church, or a gas station. Most of them are probably unicorporated now, if they ever were. What's your's?

I had a couple of them. The first was Elon. It's now 4 houses and what's left of the building that used to be the Old Elon Store. It's about 7-8 miles east of Waukon, and is a suburb of Waterville. Waterville still has their elementary school, but the bank, the creamery, and the post office have all long since closed down. If you pass through either of these places, odds are you're on a road trip.

Rodney, Iowa Home of my grandmother who has long passed on. On Monona Co Highway L12 which is (was gravel back in the day) gravel. Suburb of Smithland.

 

[Al_4_State]

Yea, they've thrown in with St. Ansgar for wrestling the last few years, but I think you're spot on with your assessement. That area has had a large portion of it's rural population "taken over" by the Mennonites, and thus, none of those kids are going through the public school system (not an indictment of the Mennonites, just a statement of fact.) If it was feasible for them to just flat out consolidate with somebody, I've got to think it would have already happened. They've been hurting for enrollment for awhile. I think you'll end up seeing them just disband the school with the kids going to the nearest school system for them. It's too bad for a once proud school system, but such is life in a state with declining rural population.

I think they'll find a way to keep that building going. There's the demand for its use, especially if they make a western Howard/Winneshiek elementary/middle school. Maybe set up something so nearby Mitchell County kids can go there through 8th grade, and then head to Osage or St. Ansgar for high school.

You hit the nail on the head with the Mennonite/Amish thing. Mitchell and Howard County actually have pretty stable populations, but there's an increase in the amount of people who aren't part of the public school system.

I don't think that there will be a huge job loss or community damage due to this, because there will be a need to use that building for education, just not as a full functioning district. There might be some blows to the community pride, but I don't think school closings are nearly the death sentence that some make them out to be. Plus, it will be a major boon to the surrounding school districts, all of which are doing pretty well.

 

[Al_4_State]

Any discussion of this nature would be incomplete without mentioning Colwell and Bassett. The Colwell Tap and The Shed are two of the finer establishments in Iowa, no doubt.

Orchard was mentioned by somebody in the Enterprise thread. It is home to one of the coolest tornado pics ever taken imo.

Wow. That's an incredible picture. When was it taken?

 

[awd4cy]

Wow. That's an incredible picture. When was it taken?

I think it was taken 2 summers ago but I thought that was just a massive really low wall cloud. I think it was from a storm that rolled through on a morning in June.

 

[ca4cy]

I hope you're right on the use of the school Al. For the amount of time some of these kids would have to spend on the bus to get to whereever they end up, it'd be nice to see the school in Riceville utilized and some teachers hold on to their jobs there. As you said, it would be a great deal for Howard Winn, Osage, and St. Ansgar to absorb the Riceville district and their funding.

 

[price26]

My wife grew up in Quasqueton IA, but Masonville, IA is about 5 miles away. The town is 3 streets.

Masonville is a metropolis compared to some of these small villages being thrown out. Still got a working catholic church, the grain elevator, and "R" place which is about as good as it gets for small town food.

 

[MNCYWX]

Any discussion of this nature would be incomplete without mentioning Colwell and Bassett. The Colwell Tap and The Shed are two of the finer establishments in Iowa, no doubt.

Orchard was mentioned by somebody in the Enterprise thread. It is home to one of the coolest tornado pics ever taken imo.

That actually isn't/wasn't a tornado. Just a spinning meso. Remember this storm vividly as I was covering severe weather the day this storm happened and it was in my area. Summer of 08 if I remember correctly.

Very, VERY cool picture but I wish this photo would just go away. It's been 'known' as Katrina, Tuscaloosa tornado, The tornado that hit the Little Sioux Boy scout camp, Joplin tornado... and others.

Edit: http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/iowatornado.asp

 

[HOTDON]

Ware, Iowa in Pocahontas county a few houses and a mechanics shop. Most of it was destroyed by a tornado about a year ago

I was just about to post the same thing almost word for word. I have a buddy on the Poky fire department that took me through there the day after the tornado. Scary stuff.

Not much love for northwest Iowa. How about Harris, May City, Wallingford, Superior, Gillett Grove and Archer? Edna, IA is so small it has to share it's one horse...

 

[ca4cy]

Wow. That's an incredible picture. When was it taken?

June '08.

 

[Al_4_State]

I hope you're right on the use of the school Al. For the amount of time some of these kids would have to spend on the bus to get to whereever they end up, it'd be nice to see the school in Riceville utilized and some teachers hold on to their jobs there. As you said, it would be a great deal for Howard Winn, Osage, and St. Ansgar to absorb the Riceville district and their funding.

Howard Winn has a pretty well established history of using the old schools in outlying towns for elementaries/middles. Elma and Lime Springs still have operating elementary schools as part of that district, and neither of them have the population of Riceville.

I think for the logistic reasons you outlined, something will happen.

 

[clintr]

Boyer, Iowa.

(3) tiny blocks and (1) bar.

I like the ratio.

 

[Al_4_State]

I was just about to post the same thing almost word for word. I have a buddy on the Poky fire department that took me through there the day after the tornado. Scary stuff.

Not much love for northwest Iowa. How about Harris, May City, Wallingford, Superior, Gillett Grove and Archer? Edna, IA is so small it has to share it's one horse...

Gillett Grove. I've knocked back a few cold ones en route from Ames to Okoboji there.

 

[southernfriedCY]

I live near several of these "communities" that have less than 20 people living in them.
Norwood, Cambria, Leroy, Oakly, and Last Chance are all less than 10 minutes from my stomping grounds.

Gotta love a town named "Last Chance"

 

[CtownCyclone]

Mt. Etna, Iowa. A mile or two off of Highway 148. Right between Massena and Corning.
Gravity, Iowa.

Sidebar:
While in college, a roommate and I managed to obtain a road sign that had Gravity on it. The part we loved was that Gravity was pointing up!

 

[chuckd4735]

There is one that I drive by every day, and I didn't even realize until about a month ago it used to be a small town, is Elwell. Its at the NE corner of S-14 and Hwy 210 in Story County just east of Cambridge. There are 3 or 4 houses still there.

 

[cyclone101]

If you talk small Iowa towns you have to throw Beaconsfield, IA in there. For being so small it has a decent amount of history. The first Hy-vee store was there, it is also the hometown of astronaut Peggy Whitson.

My dad's old deer hunting group used to run deer right through the middle of the town.
Beaconsfield, Iowa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And while we're at it I might as well throw in the other towns in Ringgold country.
Tingley, Ellston, Benton, Delphos, Maloy, Redding... all really small towns, Tingley the biggest with like 150 people. The rest are easily under 75.

 

[dmclone]

Any discussion of this nature would be incomplete without mentioning Colwell and Bassett. The Colwell Tap and The Shed are two of the finer establishments in Iowa, no doubt.

Orchard was mentioned by somebody in the Enterprise thread. It is home to one of the coolest tornado pics ever taken imo.

That's a lot cooler but here is a pic I took two years ago out of my office window.

 

[ca4cy]

Very cool. Probably a stupid question, but was that in Des Moines?

 

[zmanzbo]

Woodburn. Has a bar and Stephens State is up the road.