The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page I4

Page 4I Moines Sunday Register three public uni- ersities, at 68.4 percent, ontinue to exceed the av- rage national six-year raduation rate for four- ear colleges, according to a report released last week the Iowa Board of Reg ents. he national average for he 2007 entering class of reshmen is 48.9 percent. I addition, the one-year etention rate for entering lasses of 2012 at the three egents schools was 86 ercent. Nationally, the a verage was 77.7 percent. a look at gradua- ion and retention rates by I owa university: University of Iowa Six-year graduation ate for entering class of 2 007: 69.6 percent Four-year graduation ate for entering class of 2 007: 46.2 percent One-year retention ate for entering class of 2 012: 85.8 percent Iowa State University Six-year graduation ate for entering class of 2 007: 68 percent Four-year graduation ate for entering class of 2 007: 36.1percent One-year retention ate for entering class of 2 012: 87.1percent University of orthern Iowa Six-year graduation ate for entering class of 2 007: 66.5 percent Four-year graduation ate for entering class of 2 007: 35.2 percent One-year retention ate for entering class of 2 012: 82.9 percent Honors for career, ollege readiness The State Board of Edu- ation last week honored hree programs and one tudent for work done to nsure high school eniors are career and col- ege ready.

he Iowa Department of ducation, in partnership ith ACT, identified the onorees. They include: Nathaniel Klein, a tudent at Mount Vernon igh School. He was select- for his high academics a nd extensive extracurric- lar activities. Mount Pleasant High chool, honored for the xtensive programs it off ers students designed to nsure career and college eadiness. Northeast Iowa Comm unity College, with main ampuses in Calmar and eosta.

The college was onored for its work with he private sector to ensure hat is being taught will eet the needs of an evolv- i ng work environment. Bodine Electric Co. in eosta. The business was onored for its leadership i partnering with Northe ast Iowa Community Coll ege and private businesses ensure students have the ption to leave high school or high-skilled employ- ent. by Register staff EDUCATION REPORT Graduation rates eat U.S.

average on eBay and paid $2,800 to the ity of Hampton for what long a go had been driven by that fire chief. still shiny ed with a fat cherry on top a nd an ear-splitting siren ounted on the hood but ill be repainted green soon nough. Ward already has randed it with Melrose de- als. I got your slot yet, ut call Ward said to ush about preparations for St. Day arade in downtown Des oines.

ou might recognize Ward a a fixture of the annual par ade, organized by the Friend- Sons of St. Patrick, that egan in the late 1970s and in ecent years has drawn as any as 25,000 spectators. He oofs the entire route wearing oth a big smile and a loud, reen leisure suit. He leads the ay for the Melrose banner a nd a throng of 100 or more ellow pedestrians roughly he population of the city ho help represent his rabidly I rish hometown. also owns the festive 1 944 pumper truck and vintage arney Fife-style 1956 Ford olice car seen annually in the arade.

umor has it that the Irish lans with ties to nearby unin- orporated Georgetown, a erennial friendly rival in the ompetition for parade trop hies, are building a giant ucket of beer for their float. matter: ancestors ail from Georgetown, so he ins either way. ard been a full-time esident of Melrose since he eft for the Navy and spent our years sailing the globe a board a destroyer during the orean War. He still lives in he house on the south side of es Moines where he and his ate wife raised six kids. One of is sons, Tom, 51, died in July rom multiple cancers.

elcher and her late hus- and moved in across the treet from the Wards and aised three kids of their own. he also lost a son to cancer ast year. ard and Melcher jokingly efer to themselves as and have found ompanionship with each other ate in life. ard worked as a barber on he south side and, finally, fully etired in December. He also pent 21years as a state-em- loyed firefighter at Des oines International Airport.

ut the last thing Ward i ntends to give up is his Irish ride. known on the streets of elrose as the Lepre- But his No. 1nickname i Twinkle. Maybe not the ost imposing name for a odfather, but he have uch say in it. He was deemed fast as a as a child frol- i cking on the streets, and stuck.

says that never been ick a day in his life. also ever smoked a cigarette.) still owns his paternal home in elrose, where he and Melc her spend much of the sum- er fishing farm ponds. elrose has withered since he coal mines closed, along ith a pair of banks and other ocal businesses. Ward still herishes memories of being chooled here by nuns, raised a diet of cornbread and eans, playing euchre and ancing to the tune of the nick- l-per-record juke box in the ormer K.C. Hall.

here was a mass exodus of esidents in the wake of World ar II, Ward said. Some of the acant downtown acades have since been rep ainted with murals to make it ook as if a blacksmith hop or law office to welcome ustomers. et this remains the proud ealm of such Irish families as urran, Ryan, Navin, Hannam, ronin and Walsh. elrose even boasts its own larney Stone in the downtown ark. course there are both arieties of spirits: St.

Patr Catholic Church is erched just up the hill from Pub that Mike and ary Helen Feehan took over ast year. he town is refurbishing the ormer Farmers State Bank uilding so that a new grocery tore can open there. Twinkle is a ommunity garden partly on property and some arsh land where the town arvests tomatoes each year. ut not even the Godfather Melrose can compete with he fame of the 1937 boys bask etball team that boasted an ndefeated 33-0 season and on the state championship a gainst schools of every size. he 10 boys on the team and heir coach all were novices ho practiced in a makeshift ym inside an opera house.

all in heaven now, ut we sure still praise them said Evelyn Tierney, he local writer who published he official town history. We talk about like it appened agreed ard, who helped rally sup- ort for a stone monument to he team in downtown Melrose. I case you wondered, this I rish Godfather never has isited the real Ireland where is ancestors hailed from ounty Cork. The best he could was to peer into the foggy urk from the deck of his avy ship anchored off the I rish coast. ut if Ward had the chance rather would return to ome, which he considers one the most beautiful cities on arth.

elrose is homeland nough for him, so he and Melc her make regular pilgrim- a ges, if even just for lunch. A nd his annual stroll through owntown Des Moines on St. Day is the highlight his calendar. tips more money in a ay than his dad ever earned icking penny-per-bushel corn, ard mused. I never had such a great he said with a twinkle in is eye.

ven in his twilight years, hrough inescapable loss and orrow, this leprechaun re- ains a true believer in the uck of the Irish. Kyle Munson can be reached at 515-2848 124 or See more of is columns, blog posts and video at Des- oinesRegister.com/munson. Connect with im on Facebook (Kyle Munson's Iowa) and witter MUNSON Continued from Page 1I Leo Ward of Des Moines holds his hands together after he put on his Irish green suit, which he wears annually for the Des Moines St. Day parade. BRYON PHOTOS Ward drives his 1967 Plymouth down the streets of Melrose.

Leo Ward, also known as the Godfather of Melrose, gives a tour of his hometown on hursday..