CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — Voters across 18 Iowa counties will decide Nov. 3 whether to approve an $88 million bond referendum that Kirkwood Community College leaders say would fund renovations and expansions aimed at improving student training, increasing capacity and updating aging facilities.
Kirkwood officials say the bond would support upgrades for both students and faculty, including improvements to learning spaces designed to mirror real-world workplaces.
Kendra Lindloff, Dean of Health at Kirkwood, pointed to the college’s simulation area used to train students in realistic medical scenarios. “Here in our simulation area we like to run our students through real life scenarios,” Lindloff said. “So, what you’re looking at here is our emergency room area, and this was built and established in the early 2000’s; and we’ve had quite a few students that have utilized this equipment. With the bond referendum, updating the monitors, and updating our beds to make it look like our community partners, so, students can have that easy transition.”…