Budget troubles in the Dubuque Community Schools are forcing the district to look at closing two of its buildings. When the school board meets in June, Superintendent John Burghart will recommend the closing of the Central Alternative High School and the Jones Hand-in-Hand Preschool.

The plan would call for the 185 students at the high school to be integrated at Hempstead and Senior while the Jones building would be renamed the Alta Vista Alternative Center and would be used for students who need additional help with school. The move is projected to save about 400-thousand dollars.

The Dubuque School district is attempting to reduce a debt of nearly five-point-five million dollars forecast in the district next year. The district has already announced it is laying off 32 teachers and more staff restructuring will be announced at this Monday's meeting of the board of education.

Police charge Dubuque student with assault while riding bus

A fight on school bus caused a scene in dubuque Friday afternoon. Police say students from Dubuque Senior High School started fighting so the driver pulled over in the 600 block of west Locust. Students involved in the fight ran off. Police charged one student with assault, more charges are possible.

Dubuque man gets 11 years

Skipping out on the second day of his drug trial last fall has cost a Dubuque man an additional year in prison. Corey Woodard, 38, of Dubuque was sentenced to 11 years in prison in federal court in Cedar Rapids on Thursday. He was charged with cocaine possession. He got 10 years for the drug charge and another year for skipping out on his trial. He was arrested later the same day at a Wisconsin motel.

New Eagle Point Entrance

Visitors to Eagle Point Park for the annual Order of the Arrow Mother's Day Pancake Breakfast will notice a beautiful new entrance to Dubuque's most popular picnic location The new fee collection building and roadway was completed last fall at a cost of $272,000. Dept. of Leisure Services manager, Gil Spence, says at least ½ of that cost was the new roadway. The previous collection building was a small former one hour photo booth with no restroom facilities. It was put into service 23 years ago when the $1 per car admission fee went into effect. The new building was designed to compliment the architecture of the other park structures.

Lukan Legislative Wrap-Up

Iowa State Representative Steve Lukan says lawmakers accomplished quite at bit during the recently completed legislative session, but there is still work to be done. Lukan says he was happy about health care legislation passed by legislators and a bill providing new funding for County Veterans Affairs Offices. But Lukan says he was disappointed with other pieces of legislation, such as the one that gave the Governor a 10-percent pay hike during the day of the session... Lukan says instead they should have focused on some kind of property tax reform or relief that would have heped those families.