By LESLEY CHRISTIANSON
Staff Writer

District 423 Assistant Superintendent Allen Stoeckman has accepted the superintendent’s position at Yellow Medicine-East schools.

Among the 24 applicants, Stoeckman was one of the four chosen to interview and the first choice of the YME school board and administration. Stoeckman has signed a three-year contract with the Granite Falls district and is in the process of negotiating pay.

Before giving the offer, a group of YME staff and administration visited Stoeckman in Hutchinson to observe his job at the local district.

By LESLEY CHRISTIANSON
Staff Writer

For most 17-year-olds, prom is the acme of the high school year. For Hutchinson High School junior Michael Massmann, it was his last chance to share the experience with his classmates.

By this time next year, while area juniors and seniors will be preparing for the special occasion, Massmann will be training at Fort Benning, Ga., as a soldier in the U.S. Army.

By LIZ MARCUS
Special to the Leader

Before I begin my recommendation of the film “Across the Universe,” I should point out that it is for a mature high school audience. That said, I adore this movie. It is an incredibly accurate depiction of America in the 1970s.

Starring Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess, it follows the lives of a group of teens/young adults growing up in the midst of the confusion and hatred of war, civil rights violence and drugs. The story is told with the help of songs by the Beatles, which are redone very well.

By LEAH OLINGER
Special to the Leader

I went on a trip to New York recently, with 120 Hutchinson High School band and choir students. At first, my apprehensions were high. I could not possibly imagine 120 students together for a week, and among sillier things, going to a hot dog stand together. Who knew if this was even possible?

By LUKE JENSEN
Special to the Leader

Feng shui can be used for many different things. For example, external environment surrounding homes and offices, planning interior space, designing, etc.

Making your house have “good” Chi:
* Have bright lights to lift energy.
* Place water in the southwest area of your home.
* Metallic wind-chimes in the northwest for luck.
* Put dragons or potted plants in the east to bring wealth.
* Have a pair of phoenixes, or a pair of Mandarin ducks to bring success.

What not to do:
* Never have your door facing your bed.

For nearly two decades, Karla Cross has worked for St. Anastasia School in Hutchinson. Now, she’s moving on.

Beginning July 1, she’ll be the director of schools and continuing education for the Diocese of New Ulm. “I’ll still be serving the school,” she said, “just in a different capacity.”

Cross will be responsible for coordinating and supporting 16 Catholic elementary schools and three high schools. She’ll also coordinate and direct continuing education for clergy and lay ecclesiastical ministers.

For more on this story, see the Leader's May 6 print edition.

The Austin Post-Bulletin reports Tom Hiebert is one of six candidates selected from a pool of 13 for first-round interviews for the superintendent’s position at Southland Public Schools.

Hiebert is superintendent of McLeod West Schools, but his contract expires June 30. Southland Public Schools will have a vacancy when its superintendent, Gary Kuphal, leaves June 30 for a job at Plainview-Elgin-Millville school district.

First-round interviews will take place May 6 and 7. Two or three finalists will be selected for a second round of interviews, which has not yet been scheduled.