Tuesday was back-to-school day in the listening area. It marked the end of summer vacation and was a good day weather wise for doing so. The were no heat concerns as sometimes happens when school starts in late August in Iowa. Marshalltown had a one-hour early out on the first day of school, they will have another one-hour early out on Wednesday as they will do so throughout the school year for professional development purposes for staff. Two other schools in our region will have their first days of school Wednesday, including the Green Mountain-Garwin and the Grinnell-Newburg School Districts.