(Radio Iowa) – Enrollment at the three state universities has been holding steady recently, but there are some challenges ahead. Regents associate academic officer Jason Pontius says enrollment remains down from the record peak in the fall of 2016.  “Forty percent of that drop over that time are from Chinese national students who are choosing not to attend our universities,” he says. “And another factor that is influencing that is nationally, there’s been about a seven to ten percentage point drop in the percent of high school graduates that are choosing to go to college.”

He says there has been some recovery of the international students. “That recovery is not coming from Chinese students. It is actually coming, in part, from students from India that are increasingly attending our universities,” Pontius says. The enrollment at Iowa State, the University of Iowa and Northern Iowa is about 81 percent undergraduate students, and around 59 percent of those students are Iowa residents. Pontius says one of the issues ahead is a drop in the size of high school classes.  “Looking at a 15 percent decline between 2025 and 2029,” he says. “That data is coming from American Community Survey data. It is a sample, and generally speaking, the samples are pretty good.”

Pontius says the decline is going to likely hit nationally, but it is not evenly distributed,  “So there are major differences by region and state. The two regions that are expected to be hit the hardest are the Northeast and the Midwest, and with the least amount of impact in generally the South,” Pontius says.  Pontius says some are calling it an enrollment cliff, but he doesn’t believe it will be that severe. “While the nation looks like the class of fall of 2025 is going to be the high water mark, we are going to go it looks like a little bit higher in 2026 before the decline begins,” he says. “So yes, there is a decline. I hesitate to call it a cliff. And yes, we are looking to have the second one starting again around 2034.”

He says another issue the state schools face are surveys showing more high school graduates going directly into the workforce and bypassing college. ” That climbed in particular during COVID. Obviously, the hourly wage has gone up significantly during that time, and that may be driving some of it, and it also probably is driving some of the decline in college going rates,” he says.

Pontius made his comments during a report to the Board of Regents at their meeting last week.

(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa company that offers innovations for the quilting industry is marking its 50th year in business this week with a series of events, give-aways, classes and celebrations. Melissa McAfee, president and owner of Nolting Manufacturing, based in Hiawatha, says they make what are known as “longarm” quilting machines, which are a big help for individual home quilters all the way up to the industrial level.

“Doing a large quilt like queen size or king size, it can be really difficult to try to have consistency in your stitches and the way it looks and a lot of fabric to try to get through that small area,” McAfee says, “whereas your longarm actually is on a big frame, and you walk with it. You have it all set out so your machine moves versus your fabric moving.” A series of 14 classes are being offered for novices and experts in a range of quilting-related topics.

“We have classes starting here on Tuesday, throughout the whole week, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday classes, and we have some free, some paid classes,” McAfee says. “They’re all on our website, www.nolting.com, and we’re going to be having some cake and lots of specials on our longarms.” While it’s predominantly something women do, McAfee says plenty of men are involved in quilting, especially from the technology side. Plus, she says quilting isn’t just for grandmothers, either.

Nolting Pro – Longarm Quilting Machine (Nolting image)

“When I first purchased the business in 2019, the overall quilting market was about $4.2 billion,” she says. “A market survey just came out showing that in the next year or so, it’s going to be up to a $5-billion market, so it is growing, and it’s growing fast.” The company was founded in 1974 by Fred Nolting, who designed and engineered the longarm quilting machine.

(Sioux City, Iowa) – The Sioux City Police Department is investigating a missing persons report. Authorities on Sunday said that on November 3rd , 50-year-old Joshua Eldridge was reported missing in the Sioux City area. Eldridge is described as being a white male, 5′ 9″ tall, and 175 Ibs.

Joshua Eldridge

If anyone has information on the whereabouts of Joshua Eldridge please contact the Sioux City Police Department at (712)279-6440.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has not announced whether she intends to seek reelection in 2026, but she is giving a few hints about her 2025 policy agenda. Reynolds held a campaign fundraiser last month and talked about her record so far. “I’ve signed five tax cuts into law over the last six years, lowering taxes for every single Iowan who pays them,” Reynolds said, to cheers. “January 1, we’re going to a flat, 3.8% flat and fair tax.”

Two years ago, at a Republican Governors Association forum, Reynolds said her goal was to eliminate the state income tax by the end of her current term, which ends in early 2027. However, Reynolds has indicated her focus in 2025 will be on a reducing tax that’s collected by LOCAL governments, like cities, counties and school districts. “We’re working on property tax,” she told the Westside Conservative Club on October 30. “We know we still have work to do there, so hang in there. We’ve shaved off $250 million, but we know we still have work to do.”

The latest report on STATE tax revenue indicates the state will take in a billion dollars less in income taxes over a 24 month period due to the tax cuts Reynolds has signed.  “But you know what the other component of that is you have to keep spending in check,” Reynolds said. “You can still invest in priorities that are important to Iowans…you just have to do it responsibly.” Reynolds signed a law in 2023 that has consolidated state agencies and she suggests there’s more to come.

“We’re not done. First of all, the culture that it’s creating, just that kind of environment and the collaboration between my agencies — it’s exciting,” Reynolds said. “It’s generating new energy and a passion to really look at how else we can change government and make it more innovative and just really responsive to the people that we serve, so that fires me up and believe me, there’s so much opportunity there.”

Democrats in the legislature say the tax cuts Reynolds has already signed will lead to cuts in state services and warn a reduction in state support of public schools is ahead when the next round of income tax cuts take effect. During her remarks at the Westside Conservative Club in late October, Reynolds addressed the criticism of her tax cuts. “We can sustain them and we’re doing it in a responsible manner,” Reynolds says. “Believe me, I am very conservative…I am not going to be the governor who cuts taxes to raise them again.”

Reynolds says the state has enough money as a cushion in case there is a downturn in the economy — and a more dramatic decline in state tax collections. There’s a BILLION dollars in the state’s cash reserve plus a two-and-a-half BILLION dollar budget surplus. There’s also three-point-75 BILLION dollars in the state’s Taxpayer Trust Fund.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Six people, including three juveniles, were injured Sunday afternoon when a car and an SUV collided west of Glenwood, in Mills County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2023 Honda Accord exited Interstate 29 northbound at Exit 35 and onto the Highway 34 eastbound ramp, before turning westbound onto the eastbound lanes of Highway 34. The car continued westbound in the eastbound lane, striking a 2006 GMC Yukon SUV head-on. The accident happened at around 12:45-p.m., Sunday.

The driver of the car , 49-year-old Philip Wilson, of Tea, South Dakota, and the driver of the SUV, 40-year-old Eric Meyer, of Glenwood, were injured, along with Meyer’s passenger, 34-year-old Miranda Sims, of Glenwood, and the three juveniles. The names and ages of the juveniles were not released.

Two of the juveniles suffered minor injuries and were not taken to the hospital. The third juvenile, along with Meyer and Sims, were transported to Bergen-Mercy Hospital by Mills County and Silver City EMS. Wilson was transported to Jennie Edmundson Hospital by Silver City EMS.

None of the injuries that required transport to the hospital were considered to be life-threatening.  The Patrol says two of the adults and two of the children were not wearing seat belts.