The Iowa Knights of Columbus hosted their annual State Spelling Bee in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday, March 8th. Four students from the local Pella Knights of Columbus spelling bee held in January, one from each grade level from fourth through seventh grade, participated in the state competition. For the second consecutive year, fifth-grade homeschool student Alex Bishara was the champion. Alex out-spelled his fourteen competitors over 84 rounds lasting more than two hours to achieve the title. The winning words were “finicky” and “retail.” Fourth-grader Gavin O’Dell placed third, while Addie Droegemueller (sixth grade) and Carey Van Wyk (seventh grade) represented from the local council.