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.

(Radio Iowa) – Most Iowans who smoke want to quit, according to a tobacco cessation specialist, and today is the day for them to give it try as part of the annual Great American Smokeout. Andy Link, associate director for cancer centers at the American Cancer Society, says quitting cold turkey is exceptionally hard, as is giving up cigarettes for a full day. He suggests starting out small by just delaying your smoke break. “Waiting 30 seconds or waiting a minute before they light that next cigarette, that’s actually helping them begin to quit smoking,” Link says, “just changing a pattern, changing a habit a little bit.”

The majority of Iowans don’t smoke and Link has some advice for non-smokers who’d like to encourage their smoking friends to kick the habit. “Have a sympathetic ear in the sense of, you could ask them questions,” Link says. “What are their triggers? Hey, if all else failed today, can you just maybe not smoke for 30 seconds? Or, what do you need from me? How can I help you?” Link says the number of smokers in Iowa is falling, but very slowly. “Thirteen percent of females and 17% of males currently smoke in the state of Iowa,” Link says, “and smoking accounts for about 85% of all the lung cancer cases that are seen in Iowa.” Estimates show 2,700 Iowans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, while 1,400 of those cases will result in death.

For nearly 50 years, the Smokeout has focused on helping people to quit smoking, and Link says the day also applies to people who vape. “It is not an alternative for people to not smoke or to quit smoking. It is not a quit smoking aid,” Link says. “Vaping is very much similar to tobacco smoke, and it’s just as addictive, and in our eyes, equal to tobacco smoke.”

Experts at the American Cancer Society are available 24-seven to provide support, from questions about quitting smoking to looking for local resources to help you quit. Call the toll-free Quitline: 800-QUIT-NOW.

(Radio Iowa) – Volunteers in north-central Iowa are taking part in a national effort by collecting gifts for the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox this week. Cindy Long of Sheffield leads the effort and says they are looking for donations of several items that can be placed in the shoeboxes. “Some school supplies, with some hygiene items, like a comb, a brush, a toothbrush, no toothpaste or anything liquid can go in it, but a toothbrush, maybe a washcloth,” she says. She says they also need donated toys.

“Maybe a wow item, like a deflated soccer ball and a pump, or a big stuffed animal, something that the child can not only have supplies to go to school with and kind of take care of themselves, like the toothbrush, but something they can hold and realize that there’s somebody out there, including Jesus, that loves them,” Long says. Long says the organization’s goal this year is to fill 12 million shoeboxes across the country.

“We reach kids that have never had a gift in their life, who have never had a toothbrush. I know we go to some orphanages where I heard that there’s one toothbrush for the girls that they all share,” Long says. “Some kids can’t go to school because they don’t have their own pencil or notebook. And then, of course, if they don’t have that, they’ve never had a toy.” There are many drop off locations for the shoeboxes including at the First Covenant Church in Mason City, at the Evangelical Free Churches in both Iowa Falls and Belmond, and at the Christian Reformed Church in Parkersburg.

Operation Christmas Child has been collecting and delivering gift-filled shoeboxes to children around the world since 1993.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she’s pleased a panel in the U-S House that’s been focused on threats from Communist China for the past two years will continue its work in the next congress. “I really hope I’m still on the Select Committee and I’m excited to hear that this is a bipartisan priority,” Hinson says. “Speaker Johnson has said it would continue to be a priority and I know it was as well for Minority Leader Jeffries.” The panel has focused on a variety of economic and security issues. Earlier this month, the bipartisan leaders of the committee asked the firms that make computer chips about any ties they may have with China. Hinson says the global supply of computer chips has been and will continue to be a key focus for the committee.

“So when you talk about chips, Taiwan still certainly under the gun,” Hinson says. “China continues its aggression and continues to step up its military training exercises in the region, so that would be devastating to not just the American economy but the world economy if they were able to disrupt chip manufacturing out of Taiwan.” Hinson says there are concerns that China could disrupt other supply chains, for things like the active ingredients for medicines produced in the U-S. “We also are planning to have more of a deep dive, I think, on trade issues. I think trade is going to be a priority for the new administration,” Hinson says. “…You’ll continue to hear our committee do work in that space and try to make some good recommendations on policy.”

Hinson, a Republican from Marion, has been on the House Select Committee on Communist China since its first meeting in early 2023.

(Radio Iowa) – A man and woman from Georgia are in custody after a bank robbery in West Des Moines. West Des Moines Police say a bank near the Jordan Creek Shopping mall was robbed late Wednesday afternoon and a suspect and a getaway vehicle were identified. State Troopers stopped the vehicle on Interstate-80 near Anita, more than 50 miles from the bank.

A man and woman from a county in the southwest Georgia were arrested. The man has been charged with first degree theft and second degree robbery. The woman has been charged with aiding and abetting those crimes. Both are being held in the county jail in Adel since the bank was in Dallas County.

(Ames, Iowa) – Police in Ames report a man from Illinois was arrested Wednesday afternoon, about 25-minutes after a woman was shot in a parking lot, in Ames. Authorities say 33-year-old Lyndon N. Dembry, of Chicago, was taken into custody at around 3:16-p.m. in the 4500 block of Mortensen Road. He faces felony charges of Attempted Murder (a Class-B Felony) and Dominion and Control of a Firearm by a Felon (a Class-D Felony), along with Domestic Assault while displaying a dangerous weapon (an Aggravated Misdemeanor).

Ames Police say they received a report of a shooting in the 4700 block of Mortensen Road at around 2:53-p.m., Wednesday. When officers arrived, they found a woman who had been shot in the upper body. She was transported to a hospital in Des Moines. Her name and a report on her condition was not immediately released.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health, in Atlantic, have announced (that as part of National Rural Health Day), the facility has earned a 2024 Performance Leadership Award for Excellence in both Patient Outcomes and Quality. Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, the Performance Leadership Awards recognize top quartile performance (i.e., 75th percentile or above) among rural hospitals in Quality, Outcomes, and/or Patient Perspective.

Cass Health CEO Brett Altman says “Our vision is to be the best rural hospital in America because we care deeply about the health of our patients and community, which means we are committed to always providing excellent quality of care and striving for the best possible outcomes. Even though the award identifies top quartile performance, we know that we are actually in the top 4 percent for both quality and outcomes. Being recognized for eight years in a row is certainly testament to the level of care provided at Cass Health, and not only are we extremely proud to achieve this award, we hope that our community is also pleased to know that the care they receive here is among the very best in the country.”

The Performance Leadership Awards are based on the results of The Chartis Rural Hospital Performance Index®, a comprehensive and objective framework for assessing how rural hospitals are performing. Index benchmarks are relied upon by rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, hospital associations, and state offices of rural health to measure performance across multiple areas impacting hospital operations and finance.

Troy Brown, Network Consultant, The Chartis Center for Rural Health, says “The Performance Leadership Awards capture the commitment, diligence, and innovation with which America’s rural hospitals approach the delivery of care within their communities. It’s a tremendous honor to be able to recognize the efforts of this year’s award winners and celebrate their achievement as part of National Rural Health Day.”