Katie Dahl
Staff Reporter

Recently gas prices are on the rise which can make commuting expensive from home to school, but an affordable alternative to driving for some is the transit system.

The Mason City Transit offers affordable fares, 50 cents per ride and $17 for a monthly pass.

With the current gas prices averaging a little over $2 .50 a gallon and climbing, a person would be able to ride the transit four times to equal the price of one gallon of gas.

"The transit is a great way to save money and meet new people," Transit Director Pat Otto said.

Dr. Arlo Stoltenberg, a NIACC instructor, said his main reason for riding the transit is the unlimited rides for $17 a month.

According to Stoltenberg, he has been riding the transit ever since it has been in operation in the fall of 1971.

The northeast route goes out to NIACC twice every hour, 12 and 42 after the hour.

"It's not really hard to get used to, it's easy to remember," Stoltenberg said about the transit schedule.

According to Otto, most of the transit riders ride the transit because they don't have any other option.

"Since the gas prices are relatively new, we haven't seen an increase in riders," Otto said.

There are five transit routes that run throughout Mason City that include north central, south central, east central, northwest and west central route.

All bus routes run Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. except for the west central route that runs from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The transit system is not offered on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Tokens for the Mason City Transit are available at City Hall on the first floor.

For more information about the Mason City Transit call (641) 421-3616.

Jeff Milbrath
For the Logos

The Information Technology students presented their Electronic Portfolios to Information Technology faculty, local area employers and other college faculty and staff last spring on April 22 and 29.

The purpose of these presentations was for the students to verbally express and visually show, through their Electronic Portfolios, the skills they have gained in their program of study as directly related to their future employment or education goals.

Kim Caponi from the Career Center and Dr. Mark Johnson, vice president of Academic Affairs, were just two of the many judges for the event.

The students were given up to 10 minutes to present their portfolios and were given feedback right away.

"The presentations by the students is a great opportunity for those who don't know the IT program to see how we use E-Portfolios as an assessment tool and also we get to show off our terrific students," Mary Mosiman, an IT program leader and coordinator for the presentations, said.

Although the presentations were not graded, they do provide constructive feedback as well as a positive and helpful experience for the students, according to Mosiman.

"The students get a real feel as if they were at a job interview and were showing off a portfolio of their work," Mosiman said. "The IT program and portfolios presentation does not only benefit our students but it also benefits the instructors by helping them create good relationships with our students."

The experience has additional benefits.

"Another way the student presentations benefit our program is instructors from other areas get to judge and evaluate the technology courses we offer," Mosiman said.

Last year was NIACC's first year of offering the Electronic Portfolio course and so far it has been successful, Mosiman said. This year the Electronic Portfolio course is required for all Information Technology students.

The course will also be open to all students on campus who have completed the beginning web-page design courses.

If you are interested in joining the Information Technology program, enrolling in the Electronic Portfolios course or judging the student presentations for next year, please contact Mary Mosiman at mosimmar@niacc.edu.

Samantha Donisi
Assistant Editor

The rising gas prices are making everyone think twice about how much they drive their vehicles. However, getting to class each day is something students have to deal with.

Alternate means of transportation are an option for students during the warm weather months.

The bike trail that runs from the NIACC dorms to out past the Mason City High School is one of those options.

The trail is approximately two miles long and was completed in 2002.

Mark Suby, park director for Mason City, said the bike trail is more expensive than it looks.

"It was a project that was entirely done by the Mason City city staff, and costed about $92,104 to create, when all was said and done," Suby said.

The trail is scenic, being tree-lined and running by the river for much of its length.

For students looking to conserve gas, riding their bicycles to campus is an option to cut down the costs during those nice fall days.

In addition to providing a cheaper means of transportation, utilizing the path is a good way to keep in shape.

Students and staff alike can benefit both financially and health-wise from the bike trail.