Hawkeye Community College referendum passes on third try

The third time was the charm as voters in ten northeast Iowa counties approved Hawkeye Community College’s 25-million dollar bond referendum Tuesday night. The passage will now set in motion money for classroom upgrades as mechanical and technology upgrades over a ten year period. The measure was approved overall at 63-percent. It needed a 60-percent supermajority to pass. Hawkeye vice president Greg Schmitz said college representatives aggressively got the word out this time around and it led to 35 percent more voters coming to the polls.Schmitz explains some of the immediate needs for the college, they’ll add a classroom addition and then renovate the medical professions facility.Schmitz says Hawkeye Community College’s enrollment has continued to grow over the years and so passage of the bond issue has very important.