(Radio Iowa) – The presidents of the three state universities held a general discussion their budgets for the next fiscal year Wednesday during a meeting with the State Board of Regents. University of Northern Iowa president Mark Nook says the new nursing program is one area they are trying to help the state. “The nursing program officially launches this fall we have 30 students admitted to that program, the first cohort the initial cohort of nursing students,” he says, “and in the spring we will admit another 48 students into a cohort.” He says they have other areas where they are also focusing on the need for workers in the state.

“We’ll also be making investments in the material science engineering and material science engineering technology programs. Both of these are essential for Iowa’s manufacturing workforce needs,” Nook says. U-N-I has a general operating budget of around 174 million dollars, which is a four percent increase from the previous year. Iowa State University president Wendy Wintersteen talked about the two-point-eight million dollars in additional funding the school received to develop a future ready workforce.”It’s allowed us to invest in 26 faculty and staff who are supporting six initiatives to grow high demand STEM programs that meet the state’s workforce needs and produce innovative solutions for business and industry,” Wintersteen says. She  highlighted one area where they will prepare students to use new technology:

“New Faculty in computer science are equipping students to leverage the benefits of A-I in areas such as automated driving systems, robotics, cybersecurity, data visualization, and machine learning,” she says. I-S-U’s general fund budget increase two-point-five percent from the previous fiscal year to nearly 726 million dollars. University of Iowa president Barbara Wilson talked about the school’s efforts to be efficient. “We spend 11 cents of every dollar on administration and 89 cents of every dollar on instruction,” Wilson says. “And just to give you a sense of what that looks like among our Big Ten peers that’s eight cents lower than the Big Ten average on administrative spending.” Wilson says that allows the university to put more into educating students. Wilson also talked about the retention rate for new students.

“We started the strategic plan at 88 percent in F-Y 2020, and when the plan started, we we were inching our way up and we’re now at 89-point-three percent. Our five year goal was 90 percent, and I suspect we’re going to get there before the five years, and so we’re challenging each other to think about what our new metric should be,” Wilson says. The University of Iowa’s general operating budget also increased by two-point-five percent to nearly 823 million dollars.

The Regents requested a state funding increase of 14-point-eight million dollars, but the Iowa Legislature approved only a 12-point-three million dollar increase, and the Board raised tuition at the U-I and I-S-U by three percent. U-N-I’s tuition was increased by two percent.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a man from Red Oak was arrested today (Thursday) at around 12:40-a.m., following a traffic stop at 4th St. and Commerce Drive, in Red Oak. 23-year-old Dyllan Hunter Hansen was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine/1st offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery report two people were arrested at around 9:30-p.m. Wednesday, near Stanton. 43-year-old Christopher Lowrance, of Stanton, and 35-year-old Megan Guffey, of Villisca, were taken into custody in the 2400 block of 225th Street, on charges of Public Intoxication. The pair were transported to the Montgomery County Jail in Red Oak and held on $300 bond, each.

EVANSDALE, Iowa (KCRG-TV) — HBO Max is set to release a three-part documentary series about the abduction and deaths of Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins, KCRG reports. Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook disappeared on July 13, 2012, while riding their bikes in Evansdale. Investigators found their bikes but no sign of the children.

Hunters found their bodies five months later, about 25 miles from where they were last seen alive. Investigators said they have followed up on 2,000 leads, but no one has been charged in the case yet.

A trailer for the HBO Max series, called “Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric And Elizabeth,” was released on Monday.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI-TV — Authorities have identified a man who was killed by Des Moines police officers after a report of a no-contact order violation turned into a chase and a shooting, early Tuesday morning. Sgt. Paul Parizek, spokesperson for Des Moines police, told KCCI, that officers responded around 3:30 a.m. to a home to investigate a report of a person violating a protective order. Police found the suspect, who has since been identified as 45-year-old Weston Dean Derby, from Bellevue, NE, driving near the scene and attempted to stop his vehicle.

The suspect then fled from officers, who started a pursuit. That pursuit ended about one mile away, when the suspect’s vehicle left the roadway to the south and got hung up in vegetation, according to law enforcement. Parizek said officers’ body camera footage shows the suspect attempting to flee from the officers on foot before pulling a handgun.

Two officers fired their service weapons. One of the officers was hit and the suspect was also hit in an exchange of cross-fire. Derby was pronounced dead at the scene.  The injured officer was in stable condition at a nearby hospital and expected to recover.

(Radio Iowa; UPDATED) – Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says he’s concerned about what state law says about how crop land and pastures are to be restored after a hazardous liquid pipeline is built. “Should we look at that law? I think we can,” Naig says. “Eminent domain use should be rare. It should be used when there are significant property agreements in place.” But Naig says the legislature’s priority should be establishing guardrails and defining terms.

“I would be careful of going in and saying specifically: ‘This kind of project should or should not be allowed,'” Naig said. “Look at those broader principles. Does it have an overwhelming impact?…Is it used in cases where there’s voluntary agreement? What’s the right number for that?…Maybe some additional teeth in the restoration process to ensure that land is useful afterwards. I think those are things that are very logical to look at after we’ve gone through a process now.” Naig has read through the Iowa Utilities Commission decision granting a construction permit to Summit Carbon Solutions.

“Nobody likes eminent domain. Nobody, but Iowa law allows for it and Iowa law allows for it when it’s justified. How is it determined whether it’s justified? Utilities Board. Should we look at that law? I think we can,” Naig said. “Eminent domain use should be rare. Eminent domain should be used when significant voluntary agreements are in place.” But any eminent domain changes would be for projects proposed in the future, not the Summit pipeline. Naig says there could be an upside for the ethanol industry and corn growers if the pipeline’s built.

“Whether you like it or not…there could be an expansion signal even sent to the ethanol industry as we look at now using ethanol to make sustainable aviation fuel. If you’re going to make sustainable aviation fuel, you’ve got to lower the carbon intensity of ethanol,” Naig said. “There are many ways to do that, but we should be looking at all the options there. So is there potential value in this? Yes.” Naig expects lawsuits will be filed to challenge the state-issued construction permit for the pipeline and he says there may be other things lawmakers can learn through that process.

Naig made his comments during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa P-B-S.

Pottawattamie County, Iowa – Pottawattamie County is continuing a commitment to make communication with its residents a top priority by hosting another town hall meeting in Oakland, its third in the last 16 months. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14 th, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. The informational discussion will occur inside the Oakland Community Center at 614 Dr Van Zee Road, with no formal deliberation or action from the Board of Supervisors.

Pottawattamie County held two similar forums in 2023, providing an opportunity for residents to hear from county leaders about the latest developments. “Understanding residents aren’t always able to attend our weekly meetings, we continue to do our best to find ways to engage and inform,” said Susan Miller, Chairperson for the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors. “We selected a venue for this town hall meeting that may be easier to access for some of our rural residents, a time of day that may be more manageable, and a time of year that doesn’t interfere with harvest season,” said Miller. “We’ve been strategic in our planning of the event.”

PowerPoint slides are expected to accompany brief presentations by leaders of several county departments during the meeting, before concluding with a question-and-answer session with those in attendance. “We’ve bolstered communication through our website and social media channels, but creating avenues to deliver information in-person remains important as well,” said Miller. “This platform allows an opportunity to outline the services our departments work hard to provide and celebrate the many reasons that make Pottawattamie County a special place to work, live, and play.”

Representatives will also be on hand to provide guidance to property owners and residents impacted by tornadoes, storms, and flood events occurring between April and July. FEMA Individual Assistance is available and team members will provide survivors with application status updates and referrals to community resources. Those impacted by the April tornadoes have until August 23rd to apply for FEMA assistance.

About the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors: Regularly scheduled meetings for the Board of Supervisors are held every Tuesday at 10:00am. To view archived meetings, visit YouTube.com/PottawattamieCountyIA. To learn more about the Board of Supervisors, visit PottCounty-ia.gov/departments/board_of_supervisors.

(Radio Iowa) – When school starts in less than a month, students in 10 Iowa districts will go to school just four days a week. Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair says it’s happening because of a recent change in Iowa law. It lets schools choose to calculate the required amount of classroom instruction each school year by the total number of days or just over a thousand hours.

“I have started the process of looking at the results,” she says. “We always want to know how this is impacting student achievement, how this is impacting families who utilize public schools.” Over 16-hundred districts in 24 states have opted for a four-day week and most offer child care on the other weekday. Sinclair says research shows parents depend upon schools for child care.

“Unless the data prove us otherwise in student achievement or in a family’s ability to maintain meaningful work, I’m happy letting those local school districts make those decisions,” she says. There’s been some push-back in other states on a four-day school week. A bill introduced in Louisiana sought to ban four day school weeks and legislators in Missouri and Texas have considered limiting which districts can switch to four days a week.

(The following Iowa school districts will have four-day weeks: Cardinal Community, East Union, Highland, Martensdale-St. Mary’s, Mormon Trail, Moulton-Udell, Murray, North Iowa, Saydel and Waco.)

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa advocate for Ukrainian immigrants says it’s become harder to get people out of the war-torn country. Martha Hulshof of Ireton has helped about 150 Ukrainians move to northwest Iowa through her sister, who is a missionary in western Ukraine. Hulshof says the process that has taken a couple of months can now take more than six months. She hasn’t being told why there’s been a delay, but says it is putting lives at risk.

“It’s heartbreaking what is going on over there. It’s war. And people forget since we don’t see on the news anymore what war’s really like with all the death and torture.” And Hulshof says flooding has compounded the issue of finding help for the refugees.“The situation here is hard, and it’s just that much harder to find houses and vehicles when people here have lost so much, too,” Hulshof says.

Hulshof says she is looking for northwest Iowans who want to open their homes to Ukrainian refugees.

(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is mirroring the national trend with a slight drop in deaths due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide, according to a report from a non-partisan public health policy organization.

Dr. Nadine Gracia, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, says figures for 2022 show the first substantial drop in those deaths in five years, though there’s still much work to be done. She says the long-term trend is still alarmingly high.

“In the state of Iowa, the data show that there were over 1,600 individuals who died due to alcohol, drugs and suicide,” Gracia says. “That was about a 1% decrease from the previous year. We saw decreases in alcohol induced death and drug overdose deaths, but there was actually an increase in suicide deaths by 6%.”

Over the past two decades, the study finds deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide in the U.S. increased by 142 percent. Gracia says drug overdoses, in particular, rose relentlessly in the past ten years as synthetic opioids gained in popularity. She says rural residents appear to be especially at risk.

Trust for America’s Health graphic

“We do see, for example, higher death rates among people who died from suicide from people who are living in rural areas, people who are men,” Gracia says. “For drug overdose deaths, we also see higher rates for adults who are ages 35 to 54, as well as males.”

In the report, “Pain in the Nation 2024: the Epidemic of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths,” researchers found a slight drop in the combined rate of alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths, but that rate is still more than double what it was 20 years ago. Gracia points to a lack of access to treatment options.

“You look at the state of Iowa, for example, about 59% of the state’s residents actually live in an area that has a mental health care shortage,” Gracia says, “so we need to assure that we’re bolstering and increasing access to mental health care services for anyone and everyone who needs them.”

To save lives, she says more work needs to be done to implement prevention and harm reduction strategies, and to ensure access to mental and behavioral health care.