(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Supreme Court is hearing arguments today (Tuesday) over President Biden’s plan to forgive student loans, a plan Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley calls “reckless” and which would cost the federal government nearly one-trillion dollars. Grassley, a Republican, says the student loan system is deeply flawed and students and families need help in making better informed decisions about borrowing for college. “I often hear from Iowa families who are dissatisfied and confused by the complex student loan borrowing program, however, the federal student loan forgiveness doesn’t fix this problem,” Grassley says. “It would only shift the responsibility for repaying loans away from the original borrower and force it upon the American taxpayers.”

Grassley is introducing three bipartisan bills with Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, which he says would offer more counseling, resources and clarity to the student loan process. Grassley says Biden’s plan would erase ten- to 20-thousand dollars in debt for each student who qualifies, and millions may qualify. “It’s not fair to force the cost of this plan on taxpayers who didn’t seek an advanced degree or who already paid off their loans,” Grassley says. “My bill empowers students with the tools that they need to make informed decisions about borrowing for school.”

Grassley says the trio of bills would ensure that students get the full picture when choosing a college and taking out a loan. From the initial college search, to the acceptance of financial aid, to counseling once in college, Grassley says the bills would help students avoid sticker shock, find the best college for their budget and avoid taking out ill-advised, oversized loans. He says a societal change is forcing a shift in how we think about college.

“You go back 25 years and the attitude was in American society if you didn’t have a B.A. degree or a graduate degree, you weren’t going to amount anything,” Grassley says, “and you’re finding people that get a four-year degree, they go back to a community college to get some skill so they can pay off their loans.”  Grassley says much of the student debt conversation is focused on repayment of that debt, while he says we need to fix the process on the front-end before students get in over their heads. A news release from Grassley’s office says the three bills are:

• The Understanding the True Cost of College Act which would create a universal financial aid offer form and standardize terms used to describe financial aid to allow students to more easily compare financial aid packages between schools.
• The Know Before You Owe Federal Student Loan Act would strengthen the Higher Education Act to enhance the current loan counseling requirements for institutions of higher education.
• The Net Price Calculator Improvement Act would improve the effectiveness of and access to net price calculators.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports two people were arrested on separate charges, Monday. 21-year-old Jeremiah Lee Whitney, of Creston, was arrested for Driving while Barred. Whitney was cited and released from the scene. And, 48-year-old Dorie Marie Shiltz, of Creston, was arrested Monday night for OWI/1st offense. Shiltz was transported to the Union County Jail where she was later released on $1000 cash or surety bond.

Creston Police said also, a woman from Kellerton reported Monday afternoon, that sometime midnight and 11:30-pm January 25th, someone broke off her windshield wiper while her vehicle was parked at Southwestern Community College, in Creston. The damage estimate $178.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Citing issues related to Police staffing, especially on the day shift, Atlantic City Administrator John Lund is expected to request the City Council, Wednesday afternoon, pass a Resolution “Adjusting Overtime Pay for Sergeants and Assistant Police Chief for the Period of Feb. 16, 2023 through March 17, 2023. Lund says “The Atlantic Police Department has undergone an extended period of staffing difficulties, with the day shift having been particularly impacted.”

“Our Police Chief, Assistant Police Chief, Sergeants and Officers,” Lund says, “have had to cancel vacations, cut short scheduled vacations, and add 12-hours shifts on scheduled days off, after having worked three 12-hour shifts in a row, in order to maintain our minimum level of coverage of two officers on the streets, per shift.” John Lund says normally, the City offers traditional compensation time at 1 1/2 times the regular hourly rate for all hours worked outside their scheduled hours or on a scheduled day off, or all hours in excess of 104 in a seventeen day period. “However,” he said, “This compensatory time is functionally useless, as officers are not even getting their scheduled days off, or pre-planned vacactions.” He says “Taking random days off using compensatory time is off the table.”

Lund says along with the Mayor, he and Police Chief Devin Hogue have moved to address the issue, decisively mitigate the situation and bolster morale, and to prevent the further erosion of staffing levels, by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Union for the officers (AFSCME). “The MOU” he says, “allows for a period of double pay to replace the traditional time and a half Overtime in the form of compensatory time, for the period of Feb. 16, 2023 through March 17, 2023, for those officers working the day shift of 6-a.m. to 6-p.m.” And, while the MOU addresses the day shift union officers, it does not address the Sergeants and Assistant Police Chief that work outside of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“The resolution will see to it our non-union supervisors are offered the same benefits that the unionized officers receive,” Lund said. He noted also, that Chief Hogue has been taking on a lot of the shifts, “including a 15-day work marathon with zero financial benefit and no compensatory time.” Lund adds, “I will continue to work with [the] Mayor on how we can rectify this situation.” And, while traditionally, resolutions such as the one proposed would typically go through the Personnel and Finance Committee, Lund says “There are legal and personnel issues involved that are inappropriate for discussion in a public meeting.”

The issue, he said, needs to be addressed immediately.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, along with other law enforcement agencies in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area, including those in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, moved to full digital radio encryption. The Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, said law enforcement radio channels were moved to full encryption on February 27, 2023 at/about 2:00pm. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, including their dispatch center and the agencies they serve, made the switch for several reasons. Officials say “We’re doing so in conjunction with other area agencies to increase safety for our deputies, officers, and citizens involved in incidents to which we respond.”

Encrypted communications prevent criminal elements from knowing when and where first-responders are dispatched. They also help to ensure that the personal information of persons contacted by deputies and officers is protected from public disclosure. Authorities say “We understand that our radio traffic is used for lawful purposes both by members of the media and by private citizens. In order to maintain transparency while balancing the needs of public safety, radio traffic on primary dispatch channels is now available via a Broadcastify audio stream after a 30-minute delay.

The unedited audio feed can be found in the link below. It should begin appearing in “police scanner” apps as soon as those apps update their lists.

https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/39895

In order to protect personally-identifiable information, radio channels designated for informational use, e.g., checking warrants, missing persons, and driver’s license information, will not be made available.