(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department says three people were arrested over the weekend. On Saturday, 21-year-old Ethan Wyatt, of Glenwood, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. He posted a $1,300 bond and was released. Also arrested Saturday, was 30-year-old Sandon Slater, of Glenwood. Slater was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He posted a $1,000 bond and was released.

On Sunday, Glenwood Police arrested 32-year-old Elisabeth Coffey, of Glenwood, for OWI/1st offense. Coffey was taken into custody following a crash that took place a little after 1-a.m., Sunday, in the area of 4th and Linn Streets, in Glenwood. A Glenwood Police Officer was providing assistance with a traffic stop, when he heard a crash. He proceeded around the block and upon arrival, noticed a 1993 Ford Crown Victoria had struck a mailbox. The driver’s side of the Crown Vic and the left front side of a legally parked & unoccupied 2007 Chevy Malibu about 20-yards to the south of the Ford, were damaged.

Coffey was checked-out by paramedics but refused treatment. She was transported to the Mills County Jail and later posted a $1,000 bond. Damage from the incident amounted to $7,100 altogether.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Iowa’s public universities are seeing increased interest in on-campus living from new and returning students, citing convenience and satisfaction with offered resources by their colleges. Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa and University of Iowa have all reported expecting higher numbers of students living in their residence facilities, in part due to more returning students wishing to stay on campus. At UNI, a near-record number of returning students submitted housing contract renewals, about 15% more than last year, a news release stated.

More than half of UNI’s new residents are choosing to participate in the Live 2 Succeed program. High costs off campus could also be a reason to live in university housing, Rafanello said, especially rising food prices due to inflation. With rent, utilities and even commuting becoming more expensive, the price tags of living on and off campus are similar. It makes sense students would go with the option that affords them more, he said.

ISU converts single rooms to doubles

Iowa State University housed just over 10,000 students in the fall, according to Vice President for Campus Life and Director of Residence Michael Harwood. That’s about 96% of the university’s capacity. ISU is seeing increased interest in on-campus housing, especially from returning students, prompting the college to shift some rooms from single to double occupancy. Around 150 spaces are being made available to meet the greater need, and the residence system governance report stated this would bring the university’s capacity to 10,566. ISU is expected to reach about 97% capacity in fiscal year 2025, according to the report, or just over 10,250 students. According to research from ISU, students who live on-campus have a 34% higher retention rate, 38% higher four-year graduation rate and 5% higher grade-point average than students who live off-campus.

UI keeps residence hall open

High numbers of returning students wanting to live on campus and record numbers of admissions applications have led the University of Iowa to keep Mayflower Residence Hall open another year, while keeping it on the market for sale. More than 1,500 students have applied to live on campus another year according to UI spokesperson Steve Schmadeke. The UI has also heard anecdotally that students are staying on campus for its location, support systems and not having to deal with rent and cooking. Von Stange, UI assistant vice president for student life and senior director of university housing and dining, said at a board of regents meeting that 94% of respondents to a student satisfaction survey would recommend on-campus living to new students.

Schmadeke said the university is also seeing a record number of applications from prospective students. The UI began the 2023-24 school year at 98% capacity, and according to a board of regents residence system governance report, the university is forecast to be at full capacity this fall with the increase in students living on-campus and the closure of Parklawn Hall due to lack of interest from students.

The UI expects to have enough space to accommodate all students wishing to live on-campus, according to Schmadeke.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Cass County are slated to meet at 9-a.m. on Tuesday March 19th in the Courthouse Board Room in Atlantic. Their agenda is as follows:

The order of agenda items may change based on when personnel are available and when time allows.
1. Call to order
2. Approve Agenda
3. Approve minutes from the March 5, 2024 meeting
4. Public Comments
5. Monthly report by Jotham Arber on Environmental Health
6. Presentation by Tim Miller, with the Anita Food Pantry, requesting funds to pave access the property
7. Approve Resolution 2024-07 Abatement of Taxes for 405 Cherry Street in Atlantic, IA under Iowa Code 445.16
8. Report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken
9. Monthly report by Debbie Schuler on General Assistance and Mental Health for the month of February
10. Appoint Peter Smith to Cass County Condemnation in Eminent Domain for the 2024 term
11. Supervisor Committee Reports
12. Filed Reports: Clerk of Court
13. Approve claims
14. Adjournment
15. Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 2, 2024

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(Radio Iowa) – Construction is underway on two new housing projects in northwest Iowa to help ease the housing crunch, but many more units are needed in that region — and statewide. Amy Keairns, the neighborhood services supervisor for the City of Sioux City, says they’re helping developers pay for two apartment buildings, including converting an old high school. “There will be 71 total units of affordable housing created,” Keairns says, “but there is such a need in our community for affordable housing.” Keairns says that demand extends throughout the state. The two projects will also include a total of eight units for people who are homeless, including outreach services.

“So, they can be self-sufficient and then hopefully living on their own,” she says. Sioux City awarded two contractors more than one-point-two million dollars in American Rescue Plan money to help pay for the two apartment buildings. Keairns says she wishes they could do more. “We’re limited on the dollars that we receive,” Keairns says, “and we’re always seeking out other opportunities for additional funding and additional partnerships to try and do even more as far as new housing units and services as well.”

The apartments will be ready for people to move in next year. The Iowa Finance Authority estimates that by 2030, there will be a statewide shortage of 55-thousand rental homes for lower-income Iowans. Now, more than 20% of the lowest earners spend more than half of their income on housing.

• Possession of Controlled Substance–3rd or Subsequent Offense (‘D’ Felony)
• Possession of Burglar’s Tools (Aggravated Misdemeanor)
• Possession of Controlled Substance-Cannabidiol-1st Offense (Serious Misdemeanor)
• (2 counts) Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drug (Serious Misdemeanor)
• and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Simple Misdemeanor).

His cash-only bond was set at $10,000.

Vernon T. Nellis

COLFAX, Iowa — [KCCI]  A body was found by search and rescue crews in the debris of a home destroyed by fire Saturday, in rural Jasper County. According to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, a fire at a residence in the 8800 block of 52nd Avenue West, near Colfax, was reported around 10:45 p.m. Saturday. When fire crews arrived, they found the home fully engulfed in flames with at that time, was an unknown number of occupants.

As crews worked to put out the fire, they learned there may be one individual inside the home. Crews from several agencies worked throughout the night conducting a search and recovery for the occupant, but the process was slowed by the heat of the fire and the removal of debris by heavy equipment.

At approximately 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, crews located the body of a deceased individual in the home’s basement. The remains will be taken to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny for identification and autopsy.

The fire remains under investigation.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will meet at 8:30-a.m. Tuesday, March 19th, in their Board Room at the courthouse in Red Oak. On their agenda for the morning, is the following:

1. Call meeting to order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Roll call of members

4. Approval of Agenda – Order at discretion of Chairman

5. Read minutes as presented. Chairman to call for any additions/corrections to said minutes.

6. Board chairman will ask the audience for any comments, limited to two minutes per person.

7. Supervisors: Weekly committee/assignment updates

8. Secondary Roads Update

9. Jan Norris – Pipeline comments

10. Veteran Affairs Update

11. New Business

1. 1. Approve 2024-11 Resolution for TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE DETOUR L-SC702-69

   2. Approve Secondary Roads FY2025 Iowa Department of Transportation Budget

   3. Approve Secondary Roads FY2025 5 Year Construction Plan.

2. Discuss and start agenda items for next meeting

3. Announcements – The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26, 2024, 8:30 a.m.

4. Adjournment

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(Iowa Capital Dispatch) –  The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports there are at least 721 water body segments in Iowa that do not meet water quality standards for  recreation, public water supplies and the protection of aquatic life, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR has drafted its latest list of “impaired” waters that it is required to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every two years. The list is based on data collected by the department and numerous other entities between 2020 and 2022, and it is used to guide restrictions for stream pollution for sources such as wastewater treatment systems.

The number of impaired water body segments — which can be lakes, wetlands and parts of streams — declined about 4% from the last report in 2022. But just 24% of stream segments and 30% of lakes that were sampled were deemed healthy. Elevated bacteria concentrations were the most-cited cause of impairment.

The DNR assessed more than 1,400 segments for the latest report, which is a little more than half of the total segments identified by the state. The 387 segments deemed “healthy” by the DNR are mostly composed of waters that meet some quality standards but lack sufficient data to determine that all the standards are met. Only 24 water body segments had proof they met all the standards, up from 15 in the last report two years ago.

The DNR noted 47 fish kills during the monitoring period. Animal waste, fertilizers and pesticides accounted for more than half of them. The causes of a third of the kills were unknown.

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) -Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra of Iowa has introduced a bill looking to protect long term solvency of social security. The “Save Our Seniors Act” would require the Congressional Budget Office to include the honest projection of Social Security’s financial health in its 10-year economic outlook. Feenstra said this is to ensure the funds are made available for seniors.

“We have to protect and preserve our social security system. And thoroughly, the federal government sees that there’s an endless supply of dollars, this isn’t true,” Feenstra said. “That’s what my bill addresses is that the Congressional Budget Office have to understand that with eight in eight years, we’re going to run out of money for Social Security.”

Feenstra said spending is out of control and he wants to make smart economic decisions.

(Radio Iowa) – A Midwestern kid who loved “Star Trek” grew up to be a principal mechanical engineer for NASA who’s worked on every Mars mission since Pathfinder, which took the first rover to the Red Planet in 1996. Kobie Boykins will be in central Iowa this week to tell his personal story, and to discuss the next big project for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a lecture he’s calling: “Beyond Earth: The Quest for Life on an Icy Moon.”

Graphic provided by Des Moines Performing Arts

“A mission that we’re going to launch later this year called Europa Clipper, to Jupiter, and while we’re at Jupiter, we’re going to be exploring the icy moon of Jupiter called Europa,” Boykins says. “Mostly, we’re going to be talking about the engineering that went into building this vehicle, some of the decisions that went on, and talk about some of the problems and how we fixed them.” As a boy in Omaha, Boykins says he used to sit on his rooftop and gaze up at the stars. He adored “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” particularly the character Geordi La Forge, chief engineer on the starship, Enterprise. Boykins says he always wanted to be the person who was asked to fix things.

“I thought it was very interesting to figure out how things work and then be asked, ‘Hey, how does that work and what would you do? How would you make it better? How would you build that?'” Boykins says. “I think it was probably in fifth grade where I had a teacher that sort of connected with me in some way — magic, I don’t know — that put me on a path to say, ‘Hey, you could be whatever you want,’ and at that time, I wanted to be Geordi La Forge.” In addition to the Pathfinder mission, Kobie designed the solar arrays that powered the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. He also helped build the seven-foot-tall rover Curiosity, which carried 10 different tools, 17 cameras and a laser. While placing robotic rovers on the Martian surface is a tremendous accomplishment, many others (including a few billionaires) are focused on landing -humans- on that dusty red planet, 140-million miles away. Does he see that happening anytime soon?

“We have the technology to send a human being to Mars today. The bigger problem is that the technology is not there to make sure that the human beings stay alive. That’s part of the struggle,” Boykins says. “Will it happen within the next decade or the next two? I think that’s approximately the scale that we’re talking about.” Boykins is chief engineer on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, and he’s been awarded NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal, one of the highest honors given to NASA employees and contractors. Still, after all his successes with rovers on Mars, Boykins says his biggest thrill is when he learns he’s inspired someone else.

“That’s sort of the legacy for me,” Boykins says, “that I have people that were students or individuals that were looking for what their career might be, and they heard me give a talk about how much I love being able to do this work and this job and they decided, ‘Yeah, this is the path I want to be on,’ and they ended up in the same path, or in the same place that I am. Those are amazing stories to me.” Boykins will appear Thursday as part of the Explorer Series at the Des Moines Civic Center.

On the web at DMPA.org