By: Kylie McAllister [Yearbook Editor]

Many MHS students woke up early yesterday morning to find an exciting e-mail on their phone or computer announcing that there will be an early out yesterday and today! It was also announced that tomorrow will also be an early out. With the forecast not showing much mercy, many suspect that we may have a week of early outs, and may even need to reschedule this friday night’s football game. The reason that not only Marion but other Cedar Rapids Schools are having early outs is because of the heat. The heat indexes are expected to climb up into the high 90’s and even 100’s. The temperature is very high so the school’s without air conditioning get really hot. While some classrooms may have some form of air conditioning it is not enough to keep the whole school cooled down. Students have a hard time focusing when it is so hot.

With all the schools, businesses, and homes blasting their a/c, desperately trying to keep cool, Alliant Energy needed to find a way to conserve the town’s power. They decided to turn off the power at the high school after everyone left in order to avoid overuse of energy in Marion and the surrounding areas.

The fall sports have also ran into an issue with the heat. If the heat index is too hot, sports aren’t allowed to practice after school unless in an air conditioned place. With the high school not open because the power is shut down, many sports had to reschedule for a cooler time of day, change practice location or even cancel the practice. The volleyball team had to have their practice at Vernon Middle School and the football team had to schedule their practice for later in the evening.

The heat has been causing many problems for teachers and students, but hopefully they will be able to find a way to enjoy their early outs in spite of it.