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The Insider Notebook

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NOTEBOOK – ONE GOOD READ: Community leader: Des Moines school district’s most needy students falling further behind

On Tuesday, the Des Moines school board decided that the district’s more than 32,000 students would continue “attending” virtual classes despite pleas from parents and others to let in-person classes resume.

Izaah Knox, executive director …

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NOTEBOOK – ONE GOOD READ: More groceries, less gas: Pandemic shakes up the cost of living

As we continue to work remotely, face canceled activities or watch as events continue to transition to virtual formats, we may wonder how else has the pandemic changed our lives. Some of the ways may …

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ONE GOOD READ: Let’s not go back to ‘normal’

CITYLAB: As Covid-19 hits the South, West and Sun Belt of the U.S., many cities that were part of the “first wave” are starting to feel, well, normal. And that’s not a good thing. “Normal” …

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ONE GOOD READ: The job of school principal was always difficult. The pandemic has made it impossible.

Hechinger Report: The job of middle school principal has often felt impossible — but never more so than during COVID-19. I remember sitting in my Bronx, N.Y., office with my assistant principals on March 13 …

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NOTEBOOK: State hopes to broaden appeal of venison through new Deer Exchange program

Have you ever wanted venison but didn’t know someone who hunts, or didn’t know where you could get it?
Whether it’s jerky or sausage, quartered or whole, consumers wanting venison can now connect with hunters …

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NOTEBOOK: 2020: The year of the younger poll worker?

Iowa voters going to the polls on Election Day this November may be surprised by how many younger faces are greeting them as precinct election officials. I don’t know yet whether my face (behind a …

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NOTEBOOK: Drake’s Bright College won’t be its first two-year college

During last week’s unveiling ceremony of the new John Dee Bright College, Drake University President Marty Martin remarked that it had been 60 years since a new college had been added to the university. That …

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NOTEBOOK: Des Moines attorney: CDC’s proposed order won’t halt all evictions

A proposed order issued last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that would temporarily prohibit landlords from evicting tenants unable to pay rent likely won’t halt all evictions, nor will it immediately …

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Workers’ comp claims not clear-cut when it comes to COVID-19

How will Iowa workers’ compensation cases play out in instances where employees have contracted COVID-19 and file a claim for coverage? That question will likely remain hanging in legal limbo for months while civil cases …

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NOTEBOOK: Some nuggets about coronavirus realities from Dan Houston

I always leave an interview with Dan Houston, Principal’s president, CEO and chairman, feeling a bit smarter than when I walked in, and that’s true even when it’s someone else conducting the interview. In this …