The Le Mars Friends of Gehlen Catholic Ball will be held March 29 but the online auction is open for supporters near and far to begin bidding and supporting the school. The event will feature a Kentucky Derby theme.

Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools held their annual 'Then Feed Just One' food packaging event on March 20 successfully packaging 19,512 bags of food, equivalent to 117,072 individual meals. Students in grades 5 through 12 from all Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools participated in this meaningful service event, demonstrating their commitment to living out their Catholic faith by serving others.

After 25 rounds of spelling, Vivian Poppen, Pocahontas Catholic School 5th grader, placed 4th at the Knights of Columbus State Spelling Bee. The contest started with 12 students from across the state. Vivan is the daughter of Kevin and Rachel Poppen of Pocahontas.

Le Mars Gehlen Catholic students received a blessing and sendoff March 18 before embarking upon their Mission Honduras trip. This is the 51st mission trip that Gehlen has sponsored. Father Klein offered a blessing and prayer for the missioners,

Boone Sacred Heart School is in the midst of building upgrades. The main hallway is getting new lighting and new doors are being installed on the east and south sides.

Congratulations to Eva Kohlhaas of Bishop Garrigan Schools in Algona on winning the Knights of Columbus state essay contest. She has advanced on to the international level.

The Storm Lake St. Mary fifth grade class recently learned about sacramentals in religion class. The Knights of Columbus donated scapulars for all fifth graders so they would have their own sacramental. On March 13 Father Brent Lingle visited the classroom to answer questions about scapulars and to bless them for the students. The students are excited to wear them and draw closer to God.

Father Travis Crotty, vocations director for the Sioux City Diocese, visited the Storm lake St. Mary School fifth grade class last Thursday. There was a great discussion about sacraments, especially Holy Orders. Father Crotty also gave each student a beautiful prayer card about vocations.

Storm Lake St. Mary's Middle School students participated in an essay contest sponsored by the Buena Vista County Soil and Water Conservation District. "Keeping Your Neighborhood Clean and Green" was this year's topic. Students researched conservation practices with Laura Prunty in science class and drafted essays in Language Arts courses with Leah Schimmer and Kristine Christianson. Students gathered in the Wayne and Bernice Andrews Reading and Innovation Center on March 4, where Colleen Schwanz of the Natural Resource Conservation Service awarded students with their trophies.

Storm Lake St. Mary’s Catholic School raised a generous amount at their “Denim & Diamonds” Ball and Charity Auction at Buena Vista University, raising $277,600 for the school and a new school bus. The March 8 event included a room full of guests, donors, teachers and staff, who bid and donated generously.

Briar Cliff University is proud to announce the upcoming Sister Muriel Ford Lecture, featuring guest speaker and Briar Cliff alum Barb Newhouse, as part of the celebration of 50 years of accreditation for the Social Work Program. The lecture, titled “Embracing the Change Agent Within,” will take place on March 28 and is free and open to students, professionals, and community members.

The second annual diocesan Religion Bee was held in Fort Dodge at St. Edmond Catholic School. The team of Evie Wittrock (8th grade), Hadlie Hopkins (6th grade), Evelyn Vonnahme (7th grade) and Ivonne Tomka (7th grade) from Kuemper Catholic Schools took home the first place trophy from the March 4 competition.

Two high school students who will be graduating this spring were selected as Bishop Scholars and will receive scholarships to attend Briar Cliff University in Sioux City beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The two new Bishops Scholars are: Alaina Beitelspacher of Le Mars is a student at Gehlen Catholic School and a parishioner of All Saints Parish. Desirae Dreckman of Le Mars is also a student at Gehlen and member of All Saints.

Last spring, the Diocese of Sioux City was able to award $2.18 million to 2,700 Catholic school students through the diocesan scholarship program. Stacia Thompson, coordinator of enrollment and outreach for the Catholic Schools Office, said her office anticipates a similar amount of dollars available to award for Catholic school scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year. She encourages parents to apply before the May 1 deadline.

A Danbury Catholic schoolteacher recently released a children’s book designed to help young ones not only pray but build excitement for reading. Prayer Everyone, Anywhere is the name of the book penned by Cameron Brenner. The target age group is for children in preschool through second grade.

Nominations for the 2025 Catholic school leadership awards – the Excellence in Education Award and the Good Shepherd Award - are now being sought. The Excellence in Education Award is given to teachers who emphasize Catholic identity and academic excellence in their classrooms and serve as a role model to their students and peers. The Good Shepherd Award is for any school employee who is a witness to their faith inside and outside of the school and has a joyful passion for serving their community.

Sioux City Sacred Heart students pray the rosary for the Holy Father’s health and well-being while viewing people praying the rosary in the Vatican.

Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools is proud to announce its 2025 Hall of PRIDE class, honoring six outstanding alumni for their achievements in Crusader athletics. The inductees, spanning multiple generations, have made a lasting impact on Heelan sports and beyond. This year’s honorees include: • Dan LaFleur (’71) – Multi-sport standout, University of Iowa football player. • Al Jones (’76) – First Team All-State football player, Heelan basketball MVP, Wayne State athlete. • Bobby Soule (’83) – Four-time state champion in cross country/track, Iowa State Big 8 Champion. • Jamie (Dardis) Miller (’99) – Record-setting softball star, University of Kentucky standout, IGHSAU Hall of Fame inductee. • Brandon Wegher (’09) – Iowa high school football legend, Heelan state champion, former NFL player. • Zach McCabe (’10) – Basketball and football star, two-time state champion, University of Iowa basketball player.

The Friends of Gehlen Catholic Ball on March presents the Kentucky Derby at the Le Mars Convention Center, hosted by General Chairs Matt and Christin Konz and Mychal and Maggie Rechtenbaugh. “We appreciate the impact these fundraising events have on the school financially, but also their significance in facilitating and creating a sense of community and pride in the school. We had always felt that it was a way to support and give back to the school but also to make and encourage further connections within the school community,” said Matt and Christin Konz.

Missouri River Historical Development Inc., (MRHD) awarded a total of $300,000 to four local colleges during an award ceremony Feb. 20 at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Sioux City. Briar Cliff University, Morningside University, St. Luke’s College, and Western Iowa Tech Community College each received $75,000 to administer MRHD Scholarship Grants during the 2025-26 academic year.