Iroquois, SD

As I compare our town with how we were 2 years ago, I can see great changes in leadership capabilities.
One example would be planning our annual sports day held every summer. It used to be left up to the city council. Now each organization in town is represented as a committee to plan the event. A lot of ideas are forming because of that. while some people do not want to be leaders, if asked they will do what needs to be done.
I think each separate organization in town now compliments the other and is willing to give credit where do.
We are currently working on fund raisers to help defray the cost of our electronic sign that will be installed along Highway 14.It is many minds working together to benefit our town.

Since our study of povery in Iroquois through the Horizons Study Circles, I see some emerging trends in leadership. Citizens who I had never seen take positions of leadership are now doing so. In some instances, I am of the opinion that these people do not realize they are assuming leadership positions. And that sometimes makes the best leaders because they are just doing things they are interested in and leadership is just happening!
The blogging sessions are one example. A person who may be shy in public can express themselves through the anonymity of the computer blog and yet that is still leadership. Thus many more people are participating in leadership than might be normally possible. This also means different kinds of people are involved. I think it is great that some of our elementary kids have done some blogging and hope there is more of that in the future.
I’m not sure that the “new” leadership completly represents the demographic profile of our town, but it certainly comes closer to it than we have ever been before.
In conclusion, citizens of Iroquois, keep up the good work and only good things will come of our new leadership!!!!

I came across this site.  It looks like a promising opportunity for our community to apply for additional money to help with projects.  Please check it out and tell me what you think.  Thanks! 

http://www.myhometownhelper.com/

The Sports Day Planning committee met Monday night at city hall.  The upcoming summer celebration will be held July 12 and 13, 2008.  Activities discussed were the parade, bed races, mud drags, kids’ movie and scavenger hunt, living history activities at the museum, street dance Saturday night, lawn mower poker run, softball, sand volleyball, and horseshoe tournaments, town & country market, and community church service Sunday morning, and more! 

The next meeting will be held jointly with the Iroquois Area Community Club on Monday, April 7, at 7:00 p.m.  The meeting will be held in city hall.  All interested individuals are invited to attend. 

It takes a united effort to accomplish great things!  Let’s make Sports Day 2008 an event to remember!

Iroquois Elementary third graders celebrated Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthday on Thursday, February 7 with an entire day of activities.  The children began their day, searching the discoverlaura.org website.  Next, they viewed and touched items and photos from the past with history in a trunk.  They were given old textbooks and time to read and study from them.  They later recited their lessons to their teacher.  Mrs. Johnson, R.S.V.P. volunteer, read to the children from By the Shores of Silver Lake, the fifth Wilder book she has read aloud to the third graders this year.  After lunch, the students enjoyed listening to one of the student’s grandfathers tell about the old days and how they used an old wooden wash tub, sausage maker, and corn planter, which he had brought into the classroom to show.  Sara, Iroquois 8th grader, visited the classroom again and played her violin.  The children also learned how to crochet, churn cream into butter, make rope, twist hay into sticks, grind wheat into flour, and make horn books.  Several parents and grandparents helped throughout the afternoon.  Later, the lunchroom staff use the whole wheat flour ground in the coffee grinder, to make whole wheat bread.  The students had this delicious treat topped with their homemade butter.  

Are you interested in blogging, but aren’t sure how?  Come to our Blogging Night on Thursday, February 21, at 6:30 in the Iroquois High School computer lab.  Everyone is welcomed to attend. 

Iroquois Bloggers:  Here are February questions!  Please feel free to answer any or all of them.  HAPPY BLOGGING :)

Please choose one or two questions in EACH category to address on your blog:

Category 3: Taking action on poverty

What kinds of concrete steps are being taken by your community to address poverty?

How did your community make choices about the actions most likely to have an impact on poverty?

How are low income involved?

How does your plan for poverty reduction link with existing leaders, groups and organizations?

What other partnership will help your community carry out its poverty reduction plan?

Category 7: Taking action on leadership

How has your community leadership expanded? 

What changes have been made in who is now involved in leadership positions? 

ü     Are more people participating in leadership?

ü     Are different kinds of people (representing more sectors or parts of the community) now participating in community leadership?

ü     Does the community leadership reflect the community’s demographic profile?

ü     Are more low income people participating in community leadership?

What changes have been made in the way your community recruits and trains new leaders?  Sustains existing leaders? 

Check out the comment on the Sanborn Central site concerning the Affordable Housing Seminar to be held in Howard, SD on Feb. 19. Many “experts” on housing in SD will be there and also a couple of us from Iroquois Housing will be in attendance to relay our experiences in creative housing and hopefully bring home some new ideas. Please check it out and if interested, attend. It’s going to take all of us, in all our communities, to overcome the housing problems of small town SD.

I was going out my back door, to do some birdwatching, when I spotted a Cardinal in my backyard. Standing next to him, were two priest, and a bishop. I yelled, ” Hey!! Get out of my yard, your scaring the birds away.”

The I roquois High School Drama Club competeted in Huron Jan. 23 for the region contest.  Although the play didn’t go on to state competition, the students did very well.  Emily Lynch earned a best actress award.

Today, Sarah, a middle school student at Iroquois, visited the third grade classroom and played her violin.  Musical selections included concert pieces as well as many favorite children’s song, including “Pop! Goes the Weasel” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”  The children had fun guessing the titles and singing along with the songs they knew.  Sarah answered many questions about her violin and learning to play an instrument.  The third graders are getting ready to celebrate Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthday Thursday, and it was a great experience to hear songs as they would have been played on Pa’s fiddle.