Education & Classes in Fort Dodge

Deb Cazavilan loves teaching people how to cook so much that she even found a way to reflect it in her company's domain name, www.CanYouBakeaCherryPie.com. She discovered this passion for sharing her craft while working as a chef in her former restaurant, The Little Blue House, where she started hosting cooking lessons in the kitchen. That grew into Wooden Spoons Workshops and Cooking Classes, and today, Deb welcomes aspiring chefs to her studio kitchen for hands-on classes covering topics from artisan pizzas and holiday pies to paella and gluten-free cookies. She may even share a pointer for making her blue-ribbon-winning Ankeny mudslide pie. Hint: she uses chocolate, not mud and slides from a science department's old projector room.

In Stuart Alexander's perfect world, every garden is a wonderland. Blades of grass form an undisturbed carpet of green, flowers burst with intense color and fragrant smells, and trees provide shady havens for weary travelers. Now, after spending years as an event planner and designer, Stuart works his artistry outside as part of 5th Room Landscapes. Working with seasoned landscapers and garden experts, Stuart's team oversees all facets of domestic plant life, from designing and installing gardens to maintaining creations throughout all seasons yet to come. Their spaces are as usable as they are beautiful, encouraging homeowners to spend more time barbecuing in the summer, leaf-peeping in the autumn, and protecting the yard from territorial hockey players in the winter.

Current coach and former player Nick Nurse built his 25-year basketball career on a beautiful shot. He still holds the record at the University of Northern Iowa for highest three-point shooting percentage, and his fundamental approach to instruction led him to nine championships as a head coach in the Euroleague and the 2010-2011 NBA Developmental League championship, the same season he won Coach of the Year. His most recent accolade was an invitation to be an assistant on the Great Britain national team in the 2012 Olympics.

Coach Nick’s formula for success has remained simple: work hard, practice, and live forever. He brings this philosophy to his shooting and point-guard academies. Boys, girls, men, and women of all ages and ability levels can improve their games by working on their basic skill sets. Shooting camps focus on the most underrated aspect of basketball, shooting, by forcing students to repeatedly hoist the “Pill” practice ball through the hoop. The "Pill" uses alternating color panels and bold, straight lines to help players see the backspin and release angle they put into each shot, making it easier to adjust where necessary. Point-guard academies take these skills to the next level by adding work with dribbling, passing, and on-court vision.:

In addition to boasting years of firearms training and NRA certifications, Learn 2 Shoot Iowa's owners and instructors John McLaughlin and Frank Scaglione (a former law enforcement officer) can always tell you the weather. A well-rounded pair, each boasts achievements in the gun range as well as outside of it, which include working in the meteorology departments of TV stations, John's work with the Federal Aviation Administration, and Frank's ownership of an advertising agency. At Learn 2 Shoot Iowa, the pair brings knowledge culled from extensive firearms training to teach law-abiding adults the fundamentals of safely operating firearms. Together, they've created exclusive classes and private lessons to meet local students' needs and also teach official NRA courses for novices and experienced marksmen.