New London

• In 2013 New London High School added a new course to the English curriculum. With the addition os Communication Arts, students were able to add a class that focused on broadcast media and its impact on society. The goal is to prepare students to live in an increasingly virtual world. The product of Tiger TV/KTTV is a weekly news show. After planning the features and content, the show is taped live on Thursday and shown to the entire school on Friday. The 125th production can be viewed by going to the website, linking to Facebook and the video. — The New London Journal

Winterset

• The Madison County Heart & Soul Initiative is kicking off next week with its first round of interviews. According to organizers, “the goal of the Madison County Heart & Soul Initiative is to help people identify what really matters to them about their community, as well as their hopes for the future.” Jim Heithoff’s social studies students from the 140-member, seventh grade Winterset class will be conducting the first round of interviews as part of a community service project. — Winterset Madisonian

Marion

• The Linn-Mar Blended Learning Program has shown successful results for the first semester of the 2017-18 school year, according to Mark Hutcheson, director of High School Teaching and Learning. Hutcheson provided an update about the program at the Board of Education meeting on April 9. Blended learning can be described as interaction with the content of a particular course in different ways. It consists of a combination of the best face-to-face and digital instructional methods available. — Marion Times

Jasper County

• The effort to save the Red Bridge hit a road bump after being denied an Emergency Historical Resource Development Program grant. Joe Otto, who is leading the cause, said the grant was denied due to additional paperwork needing to be completed. As a next step, Otto approached the Jasper County Board of Supervisors during its April 10 meeting to be part of a joint application for the Iowa Department of Resources and Army Corps of Engineers to start the process of being permitted to bring a crane to the bridge site for removal. The board gave unanimous approval. — Jasper County Tribune