Backpacks need replacing
Win 1 for tennis program
Mold ruined 75 backpacks that would’ve been filled with food for kids who need it
Jordan tops Holy Family in tennis for the first time in school history
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JORDAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2011
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INDEPENDENT CITY TAXES
Preliminary tax levy increase: Zero Holding line of tax rate would require $393,000 in budget cuts BY MATHIAS BADEN editor@jordannews.com
Before it’s finalized in mid-December, Jordan’s preliminary tax levy increase of zero dollars, or zero percent, cannot grow. It can only de-
crease, or – more likely – stay about the same. On Monday night, the Jordan City Council unanimously passed a resolution to potentially collect $3.1 million in revenue. Such a tax levy, if finalized, would support a $ 3.1
million budget, a 1 percent increase in spending.
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INITIAL REACTION The first reaction after Jordan Finance Director Tom Nikunen presented the budget for which the
Boncher, who said, “We’re going to raise the tax rate.” Boncher asked a seemingly hypothetical question to the effect of: What if we put the tax rate at zero? Nikunen said that a tax rate of zero percent would result in $393,000 budget cuts.
council asked – no tax levy increase – came from Councilmember Thom
Taxes to page 3 ®
5th-graders’ science test scores rise
FIRST-DAY SMILES
Next up: Engineering section on state tests BY DAVID SCHUELLER dschueller@swpub.com
PHOTO BY DAVID SCHUELLER
Students showed lots of smiles and some even had a bounce to their step on the first day of school at St. John the Baptist Catholic School on Tuesday, Sept. 6. What did the first day bring? Students – that much is sure. They came in spurts on the first day. Pictured are Faith Friendshuh (left), Katie Hampton, Jake Rutoski, Emma Klegstad and Emily Rutoski. For more school photos, turn to page 10.
Jordan scores in a state science test were pushed up by a strong gain by fi fth-graders. In the 2010-2011 school year, 68.9 percent of fi fth-graders tested proficient in science, compared to 48.1 percent, 52.4 percent and 48.4 percent in the previous three successive years. The change came about because of the way fi fth-graders were learning in the classroom, Curriculum Director Carol Lagergren said. Classroom instruction and tests were set up to prepare students for the way they would take the state test, she said. “It was a format similar to what they would experience on the test,” Lagergren said. The state test is taken online. In it, students watch short video clips of an experiment, and then are asked questions based on the videos. Lagergren said the tests are based on different domains in science – life science, Earth and space, physical science, and the history and nature of science. However, 10th-grade tests are strictly a life science test, following biology instruction.
Science to page 11 ®
HEIMATFEST | SATURDAY, SEPT. 10, AT LAGOON PARK
Classic car cruise draws crowds
Rededicate cannon; eat free ice cream
BY MATHIAS BADEN editor@jordannews.com
BY MATHIAS BADEN editor@jordannews.com
If you’ve got a good thing going, even for as long as 11 years, it pays to make changes, shake things up, try something new. The annual Jordan Classic Car and Cycle Cruise runs from 5 p.m. to midnight Friday, Sept. 9, in downtown Jordan. And after trying a new route last year, the new thing this year is also an old one. The cruise is back to following its Lydia run.
FOR A MAP OF THE CRUISE ROUTE, TURN TO PAGE 12 The cruise is also bringing back the Dakota Ramblers for the street dance. In recent years, the popularity of the Heimatfest Eve cruise has soared, and organizer Barry Ullmann said he is expecting a great turnout this year, as long as the weather cooperates.
Cruise to page 12 ®
FILE PHOTO
Even in the rain, the Jordan Classic Car and Cycle Cruise draws a crowd to downtown.
Up to $250 of free ice cream? For a rededication of a cannon? Well, yes, because it’s happening at Heimatfest, a lot of ice cream probably will be necessary. Jordan’s annual city festival will include a 3 p.m. rededication of the Lagoon Park cannon at the entrance to the park, near the intersection of Sunset and Park drives. The mayor
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FOR A HEIMATFEST SCHEDULE OF EVENTS, TURN TO PAGE 12 will speak at the ceremony. Earlier this summer, an Amish man in Iowa completed the restoration of the deteriorating wheels of the carriage that holds a 1909 Spandel 105-mm field gun.
Cannon to page 12 ®
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