Thursday, March 6, 2025
Vol. 6 No. 29
PCMExplorer Local People. Local Stories.
And they lived happily ever after... Maybe? Jump into fairytale magic at the PCM Middle School musical ‘Haphazardly Ever After’ By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer Once upon a time there was a group of middle school kids who put in months of work, with the help of two great leaders, to light up the stage for a weekend. “Haphazardly Ever After,” a tale of a kind king and queen who are having trouble with their royal children, premiers for three shows at 7 p.m. March 7 and 8 and 2 p.m. March 9 in the auditorium at PCM Middle School. “Things are coming along more smoothly now, people are paying more attention for cues and really starting to know their lines,” director Janice Davis said. “The choreography
and songs are getting better so we’re feeling better about it.” With more than 55 kids on stage and at least 70 kids involved overall, it is a big undertaking for Davis and her co-director, Teresa Thompson. The pair have been in charge of the middle school musical for a while but it is always a challenge when working with that many enthusiastic kids. “It is a lot of kids and they are 11, 12, 13 years old,” Davis said. “There is also a huge difference between sixth and eighth graders, that is something I have learned over the years — wow, what a gap. “That is the biggest challenge, getting everyone to work together to make it a
Jamee A. Pierson/PCM Explorer “Haphazardly Ever After,” the PCM Middle School musical, will take the stage for three performances March 7-9 at the middle school auditorium.
great show. We also have to work with the space available and fitting all of the people and, of course, what happens with them when they aren’t on stage.” When looking for what pro-
Oh, the places they can go and grow PCM 8th- through 12th-graders take part in a career fair at the high school
duction to present this year, Davis and Thompson knew it would be a fairytale, but which one? Many factors come into play, including who might be filling the roles. “We listen to the music and
Kids get a chance to teach their parents what they’ve been learning during the Prairie City Elementary Academic Night As a kid, there is nothing more fun than getting the chance to be in charge at school. Students at Prairie City Elementary had that opportunity at PCE Academic Night on Feb. 24 where parents were invited into the classroom to learn from their kids. “I think it gives the parents an opportunity to see what a student’s day is like, even for a short period of time,” PCE Principal Jenni McCrory said. “It also gives the students the chance to show their parents what they do and how they learn. They get to be the teacher to their parents.” Started last year as a literacy night, in 2025 organizers Morgan Jorgenson and Abigail Keeney decided to expand
Union members say Jasper County is going to lose deputies Christopher Braunschweig/ PCM Explorer Union members of AFSCME say Jasper County will lose good deputies as a result of contract negotiations being reduced to base wages. AFSCME is the labor union for workers in the courthouse and the sheriff’s office.
Supervisors and AFSCME at impasse, base wages for bargaining employees approved despite pushback By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer Union members say Jasper County is going to lose some good deputies on staff
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after negotiations with the board of supervisors ended at an impasse. Several union employees of AFSCME attended the Feb. 25 board meeting and were
displeased with the county seemingly ending labor relations. However, no further negotiations are going to take place, especially after the Jasper County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution for the fiscal year 2026 salary/hourly wages. The UNION | 3
MUSICAL | 2
Trading places By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer
Jamee A. Pierson/PCM Explorer Businesses from across Central Iowa came out to help students learn about different career options during a career fair held Feb. 24 at the PCM High School.
see what we think will be suitable for the kids that we know will most likely audition,” Davis said. “This is the one we liked. It sounded very comical
the event to include math and science. For the third through fifth graders, each classroom had different activities including sound cards, syllable sort and Connect 4 for third grade-literacy and estimation jars for fifth-grade math. “We wanted to do more age appropriate activities with the kids that we have,” Jorgenson said. “Since we have math and literacy we decided to do that as well as science in the library. It is also to get families into the schools.” Many families did take the opportunity to stop by and learn a little bit about what the school day looks like for their student. From fun board games and math Yahtzee to a crowd favorite like the turning tumble science activity. “It is a different setting than a house ACADEMICS | 2
‘REWORK THE FORMULA, REWORK THE SPENDING’ Rep. Jon Dunwell wants to propose bill next year that gives public schools a 3-year expectancy in funding, giving time to rebuild the formula By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles covering the topics discussed at legislative gatherings hosted by the League of Women Voters of Jasper County. Iowa House Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Newton, wants to propose a bill that would give public schools a three-year funding package to allow districts better planning. Although he was hesitant to mention this idea at a recent
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legislative gathering hosted by the League of Women Voters of Jasper County in the DMACC Newton Campus, Dunwell said it is a passion of his to introduce this bill next year. Then at Dunwell the same time lawmakers would use those three years to FUNDING | 3
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