(Radio Iowa) – There’s an Education Committee in the Iowa House, but the House Speaker says a comprehensive review of the state’s colleges and universities is long overdue — and he’s establishing a new committee to do it. Republican Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis will be chairman of the House Higher Education Committee.

“It’s no secret that we have a workforce shortage in this state and I think many people have seen the fact that our institutions have been distracted by ideological agendas rather than actually filling the needs of Iowa’s workforce,” Collins says, “so we’ll be looking at a comprehensive review of Iowa’s higher education system.”

Collins led the effort to force the recent closure of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices at the three state-supported universities. Collins say there’s been great progress on that front, but the panel may push for the elimination of some courses or majors. “I think when you’re looking at some programs, for example when they focus on teaching literally a major in Social Justice, I think there is a question that needs to be asked: ‘What is the return on investment for the taxpayer and should our constituents be paying for those kinds of academic programs?” Collins asked rhetorically.

“…We have a lot of members in the House Republican Caucus that are passionate about reforming our system and making sure that we’re not wasting taxpayer money on initiatives or agendas that do not benefit Iowans. We have to make sure that Iowans are getting a return on their investment when it comes to these institutions.”

Collins says the focus will not just be on the three public universities in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City, but on Iowa’s community colleges AND the state’s private colleges and universities. Taxpayer money is used to provide Iowa Tuition Grants to students at those private institutions who are Iowa residents. “Last year we looked at what kind of course offerings and what return on investment Iowa taxpayers are getting with the Iowa Tuition Grant,” Collins says. “I think there is work in the future where we could look on ensuring when we are providing dollars to these institutions that they are focused on those high demand fields.”

In recent years bills to eliminate tenure at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa were introduced in the legislature, but Collins does not expect that policy to become law. “That issue’s been considered in the past. I don’t think it’s something that that legislature’s serious about, though,” Collins says. “There is a value to tenure and making sure the individuals are able to freely teach ideas.”

Collins was just reelected to a second term in the Iowa House. Collins earned a degree in business management from Iowa State University. He also has a master’s in public administration from Drake University. House Speaker Pat Grassley has announced all House committee leaders for the 2025 legislative session. Next year’s list of Senate committee chairs has not been released.

(Rural Creston, Iowa) – A collision between a semi and a pickup truck Thursday evening (11/21) in Union County resulted in a law enforcement estimated $2,800, but no one was injured and there were no citations issued. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says the collision happened on a gravel road at the crest of a hill, at around 6:43-p.m.

Authorities say a 1997 Freightliner semi driven by 26-year-old Grant M. Miller, of Redding, was traveling west on 205th Street, at approximately 4-to 5-miles per hour, pulling a grain hopper-style trailer. A 2019 Toyota Tacoma pickup driven by 25-year-old Marti Rae Sutton, of Corning, was also westbound and attempted to pass the semi when the rig began to turn into a driveway. Sutton told Deputies she didn’t know the semi was about to turn, because it wasn’t signaling to do so. Miller said he couldn’t remember whether he had flipped-on his turn signal, and that the sun was making it difficult to see.

The semi struck the pickup on the right front side. An investigation was unable to determine if the semi’s turn signal was on.

(Radio Iowa) – An exhibit now running at the History Center in Cedar Rapids tells the story of a local communications company that reached around the world and into space. Center curator Tara Templeman says they got a chance to tell the story of the Collins Radio Company as part of their STEM education efforts. “They designed some virtual reality training on their products that pilots can use to help them navigate in low visibility. And so we were able to bring that headset into a display to show people how Collins got from Art Collins being a kid playing with ham radios in his parents’ attic to what Collins is today,” she says.

Collins created the company in 1931 and provided radio equipment for some historic efforts in American history. “Arctic expeditions and sending people into space when you wanted to make sure that people would be heard and that contact would be continuous, you went with Collins,” Templeman says.

The work on the arctic expedition led to interest from the military and more work during World War Two. Collins later focused on aviation and then the company helped with the effort to land on the moon. The company merged with Rockwell International in 1971 to form Rockwell Collins and then Rockwell Collins merged with United Technologies Corporation to form Collins Aerospace in 2018. Templeman says the exhibit chronicles that history with a touch of the most modern technology

“There is the virtual reality headset that people can try on and go through a simulation of landing a plane in Alaska, and then we do have video footage that is playing that is very similar to what the person wearing the headset is seeing,” she says. The exhibit opened this month and is expected to run for three months. “The first floor of the museum is free to view, so there’s no cost to see the Collins exhibit specifically, and there’s a handful of artifacts that are on display that tell the history of some of the early Collins employees and innovations a little bit on how art Collins got Collins started in the first place,” she says.

The History Center is open noon to four p-m on Tuesdays and Fridays, 4 to 8 p-m on Thursdays, and 10 to 4 p-m on Saturday. She says they can make arrangement for special visits with groups.

(Radio Iowa) – The Holiday Train will be chugging into four Iowa communities for free concerts next week to get folks in the yuletide spirit. Terry Cunha, spokesman for the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad, says this is the 26th year for the holiday train tradition and it’s a sight to behold, especially at night. “It’s a really beautiful scene as the entire train is lit up with Christmas lights and beautiful displays,” he says, “just demonstrating the joy of the holiday season.”

Once the locomotive comes to a halt, the music begins, as the train is quickly converted into a stage where singer KT Tunstall and the band American Authors will be putting on a show. “One of the train car’s doors open up and then we have our musical artists performing a live set that includes some of their great hits,” Cunha says, “but also, of course, many Christmas songs that our crowd can sing along and enjoy during the 30-minute performance.”

Photo courtesy CPKC

The concerts are free, but the Calgary, Canada-based railroad is working with local non-profits in each of the four Iowa communities where the train will be stopping. “Bring a non-perishable food item that can be donated to each of the charities that will be set up at each show collecting donations at each and every stop,” Cunha says. “What we raise stays in the community and helps those in need in each of the stops that we’re visiting.”

Since its inception in 1999, the Holiday Train has raised more than $24-million and more than five-million pounds of food for community food banks. Stops are planned November 27th in Clinton, Davenport and Muscatine with a final Iowa stop on November 28th in Ottumwa.

See a live train tracker at cpkcr.com/holidaytrain.

WASHINGTON, D-C (via the Iowa Capital Dispatch) —  The 2025-26 form to apply for federal student aid is now available to all students and families, the U.S. Department of Education said Thursday. The department used a staggered approach to launch the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — to address any issues before the form became available to everyone at a later date. Though the department beat its Dec. 1 full launch deadline by 10 days, the form is fully available roughly two months later than the typical Oct. 1 date.

The department gradually ramped up the number of people able to complete the form since early October through four testing rounds that have featured more than 167,000 FAFSA submissions. Meanwhile, a bill to ensure the federal student aid form is available by Oct. 1 annually has passed both the House and Senate with sweeping bipartisan support. It’s now up to President Joe Biden to sign the measure into law.

Senior department officials said they do not have a position on the legislation but reiterated that they are on track to launch the 2026-27 FAFSA by Oct. 1, 2025.

2024-25 FAFSA mishaps

The decision for a phased rollout came after the 2024-25 form — which got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in December 2020 — witnessed its fair share of glitches and errors, which prompted processing delays and left students and families feeling frustrated and confused. The department worked to fix these errors as well as issues that prevented parents without Social Security numbers from completing the form. “We recognize that the FAFSA challenge required an overhaul at the (Office of) Federal Student Aid, so we got to work,” U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on a call with reporters Thursday.

“We made key changes at FSA, including better accountability and an increase in outside technical expertise — we held listening sessions, engaging 300 organizations, and we incorporated the feedback from our students, from parents, schools, software vendors, state agencies and other partners,” he said.

HARLAN, Iowa — A boil advisory has been issued for the entire city of Harlan in Shelby County following a water main break, resulting in pressure loss for the entire system. Officials say city crews dealt with multiple main breaks throughout the day on November 20th, and were able to keep the system pressurized before another main break drained the city water towers completely around 11:45 p.m., Wednesday. Repairs are underway. Once repairs have been completed, the system will be refilled, and the affected area will be disinfected and flushed.

Approximately 2700 service connections are affected by the break. City officials are also notifying affected residents via Facebook and radio broadcasts. City officials say there is no reason to believe water quality has been compromised, but as a precaution, customers are encouraged to boil water that will be consumed or used for food preparation. Water should be boiled for two minutes and allowed to cool before use. Water is safe to use for showering, laundry, general washing and outdoor use without boiling.

Bacteria samples will be collected for testing. The boil advisory will be lifted once two consecutive sets of bacterial samples have tested negative for bacteria.

Officials with HMU (Harlan Municipal Utilities) said (as of 11:05-a.m., Thursday), that cases of Water have been donated by Fareway, Hy-Vee and Bomgaars. Water can be picked up at the HMU office at 2412 Southwest Ave until 4:00 pm. Water can be picked up at the Vet’s Auditorium between the hours of 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Limit is 1 case per vehicle/family.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency reports the Pottawattamie County Long-term Disaster Recovery Center, located at 205 S. Main St., Council Bluffs, will be closed Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29, in observance of Thanksgiving. Regular hours (Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM) will resume Monday, December 2.

At the LT-DRC, Disaster Case Advocates are available to help survivors navigate the recovery process, and answer questions about available local, state, and federal assistance and how to apply. Survivors can also check their FEMA or Small Business Administration (SBA) status, receive assistance with their federal assistance applications, including how to file an appeal on a denied federal application, and receive ongoing assistance with unmet needs. Survivors are encouraged to visit the LT-DRC during its hours of operation.

Additional Ways to Reach a Disaster Case Advocate:

• Apply online homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/assistance, DCA Online Form
• Call 515-675-1884
• Email DisasterCaseAdvocacy@iowa.gov

Disaster survivors from Pottawattamie County with ongoing or unmet needs can also get connected to assistance by completing the online Pottawattamie County Needs Assessment Survey. You can find more information on the emergency management agency’s website.