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BLOOD DRIVE Want to donate? An American Red Cross blood drive will be held from noon to 6 p.m. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 800 N. Sumner Ave., in Creston on Monday.
Creston/O-M wrestler Tayler Pettit — who collapsed Wednesday at the state duals — does remain in serious condition this morning, but was conscious and spoke with Panther coaches Thursday. Meanwhile, the Panthers sit in second place after day one of the tournament. More in SPORTS, page 1S. >>
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USDA: Iowa farm numbers decline by 500 in 2014
CNA photo by IAN RICHARDSON
Holy Spirit Parish in Creston recently received a contribution worth more than $3 million. The contribution will be split between the St. Malachy Foundation and the parish.
Pesik family leaves $3M in farmland to Holy Spirit Parish By IAN RICHARDSON CNA staff reporter
irichardson@crestonnews.com
W
hen 440 acres of farmland sold for more than $3 million this January, a family with a legacy of giving had made its final contribution to Holy Spirit Parish and the St. Malachy Foundation. The land, located northwest of Creston, belonged to the Pesiks, a family of nine siblings, none of whom ever married or had children. The siblings lived on the family farm and regularly volunteered at the parish and St. Malachy School. When the final sibling, Irene Pesik, died in September 2012 at age 93, the parish received two parcels of land through the family’s will. The sale, which took place Jan. 24, grossed $3,095,618. “ W e ’ v e Halbur sold other pieces of land,” said The Rev. Ken Halbur, pastor at Holy Spirit Parish. “For my time here, this is by far the biggest.” What exactly does a parish do with $3 million?
Contributed photo
Four of the nine Pesik siblings are pictured here: Alfred, Francis, Rosalie and Ed. The Pesik family left 440 acres of farmland to Holy Spirit Parish, and the land was recently sold for more than $3 million.
A committee representing both the parish and the St. Malachy Foundation, which provides funding to St. Malachy School, met to decide. The committee agreed to split the sale of the land equally between the two. It also decided to invest the money, with the goal of only drawing from the interest each year. “We wanted it to be a longterm legacy,” Halbur said. “We’re not going to touch the principal.” Al Pokorny, who serves
on the parish’s finance committee, said the timing on this donation meets a current need, as the parish has been running short on funding in recent years. “It came at a nice time because we have been depleting our savings,” he said. “Now the interest from this principal will surely be a welcome thing to the parish and the school.” This wasn’t the first gift of land donated by the Pesiks. In 2005, another parcel of land,
donated by Ed and Irene Pesik, financially enabled the school to finish the first phase of a building renovation project. With the proceeds, the school was able to upgrade its heating and cooling system and carry out several more remodeling tasks. The St. Malachy Foundation’s half of the current property sale tripled the foundation’s endowment, raising it from about $800,000 to about $2.4 Walsh million, said John Walsh, St. Malachy principal. Walsh said these gifts are a testimony to the deep faith of the Pesik family, their belief in the school and their desire to make it available to others. He said the Pesiks are among many who have financially supported the school over the years. “On the receiving end, we’re extremely grateful, but humbled, by the generosity of people,” he said. To commemmorate the Pesiks’ ministry to the parish, plaques of honor will be installed at both the parish and St. Malachy School in the coming weeks.
DES MOINES (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in a new report that the number of farms in Iowa continues to slide. In an annual report released Thursday the USDA says Iowa farms fell to 88,000 last year, 500 fewer than the year before. Most of the decrease came in the small farm category, those with annual sales between $1,000 and $10,000. The number of Iowa farms has fallen 1.2 percent since 2010, while the average farm size is up 1.2 percent in the same period, a reflection of national trends. The average farm in Iowa is 347 acres, up one acre from the year before. Iowa had 30.5 million acres in farms last year, down 100,000 acres from the year before.
Half million Walmart workers to get pay raises BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is hoping its decision to boost workers’ paychecks will help it boost its bottom line. The nation’s largest private employer announced on Thursday that it’s giving a raise to about half-million U.S. workers as part of a $1 billion investment that includes changes that Wal-Mart says are aimed at giving workers more opportunities for advancement and more consistent schedules. The changes come as the company has faced increased pressure to pay its hourly employees more. But Wal-Mart, which has been criticized for its messy stores and poor customer service, says it’s also focusing on recruiting and retaining better workers so that it can improve its business. The company has struggled with disappointing sales for most of the past two years, even though it posted better-than-expected results during the Please see WALMART, Page 2
Panel OKs bill to add fine arts to Iowa Core DES MOINES (AP) — A bill that would add fine arts to Iowa’s mandated education curriculum for K-12 students advanced through a House panel Thursday, though several education groups expressed concern over adding another requirement for school districts. An education subcommittee heard several remarks over the
bill, which would add music, theater, visual art and other fine arts to Iowa Core, the state’s academic standards since 2008. The Iowa Core sets learning goals in literacy, mathematics, science, social studies and 21st century skills. “Number one, it’s about not adding more mandates and number two, I think there’s a real question about how you’re going to assess this,”
said Emily Piper of the Iowa Association of School Boards. “Number three, we think the best approach is to infuse it into the existing curriculum through the existing standards that we have.” The issue has been around for several years as some education groups argue that fine arts is one of the first things on the chopping block when school districts must
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make budget cuts. The Iowa Alliance for Arts Education has said the legislation would help prioritize fine arts in the state. A similar bill introduced last session advanced through the Senate but did not move through the House. Rep. Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia, is co-sponsor of the bill this year. He said he’s hopeful the bill will advance out of a full committee in his
chamber. “I don’t think that we want to mandate anything that’s going to cost a lot of money,” he said. “We just want to emphasize that we believe that the fine arts are very important.” Gov. Terry Branstad proposed including fine arts in the state standards several years ago but the effort failed at the time.
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