(Radio Iowa) – The most recent federal data shows the number of stalking reports connected to the University of Iowa and Iowa State University campuses increased last year, but officials say the statistics are misleading. For the University of Iowa, there were over 100 separate reports classified as stalking, but Mark Bullock — the university’s assistant vice president for public safety — says only 45 police reports were filed.

“And 32 of those occurred at our hospital,” Bullock says. “That includes a significant amount of violations of no-contact orders. These families that we’re bringing into our children’s hospital sometimes don’t have the greatest family dynamic, they have histories of domestic violence — things that have happened away from our campus — and they bring with them no-contact orders and they’re at the hospital together, violating those no-contact orders. That counts as a stalking case.”

The six other University of Iowa cases classified as stalking in the annual federal report on campus crime statistics were actually extortion cases according to Bullock. “A trend that we call ‘sextortion’ where somebody will reach out to somebody on social media, start a conversation, they share inappropriate pictures,” Bullock says, “and then it’s ‘I’m going to send these pictures to your family if you don’t send me an Apple gift card.'”

Michael Newton, I-S-U’s vice president for public safety, is also chief of campus police. He says most of the I-S-U cases identified as stalking in the federal report are things that happen online.  “It’s something we’re seeing not just at Iowa State, but nationally we’re seeing this trend,” he says. Newton says most stalking reports at Iowa State are about unwanted messages rather than in-person behavior. “What I’ve found with these cases, though, involving our students generally if they get authorities involved, if they get police involved we tell the person to knock it off, they stop,” Newton says. “…I’ve had a lot of conversation with my student advisory board and others about what can we do to get people to have better interpersonal skills and be able to tell people themselves that ‘Hey, I don’t want to have contact anymore,’ or ‘I don’t want to be involved with you,’ instead of a text message.”

Newton says it’s worth noting the annual federal report on crime data from all U-S college campuses defines stalking as not just engaging in conduct that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of others — which can be lead to criminal charges. It also defines stalking as activity which can cause emotional distress. “You will see things that appear in our statistics that aren’t state law violations. They’re more of an annoyance. They’re more of a harassment issue,” he said. “…One we had recently was just unwanted email, text after text.”

University of NORTHERN Iowa officials report there were 16 reports of stalking and harassment on the Cedar Falls campus last year.

(Radio Iowa) – Today’s Black Friday shopping extravaganza, followed by Small Business Saturday, marks a vital kickoff to the holiday shopping season, which a University of Iowa College of Business professor says could be make-or-break time for countless Iowa merchants.

Professor Peggy Stover, who directs the UI’s Marketing Institute, says some businesses may have a so-so 11 months and they rely on this weekend’s events to kickstart consumers for December to meet their margins and stay afloat.

“They’re very important, especially for the small retailers in Iowa, since so many of them are competing against your big box retailers,” Stover says, “and then you have, of course, the online retailers who have managed to carve out a significant market share of the holiday shopping.”

Not too many years ago, a majority of stores opened on Thanksgiving Day to beat the Black Friday deals, but there was a backlash that returned the holiday’s focus to family, reserving Friday for the shop-’til-you-drop enthusiasts. Now, very few retailers are open on Thanksgiving, and even many grocery stores will be closed.

“I think it’s both a great PR move by retailers, but it also comes on the heels of consumers just really realizing that the unsung heroes during the holiday season are the retail workers,” Stover says. “They oftentimes are not able to enjoy the holiday season, much like the rest of us, because they have to work.”

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Many factors may impact the shopping season ahead, including interest rates, inflation, and credit card debt. Stover also says there’s a demographic change and a shift in mindsets coming, for which retailers will need to brace.

“You have Gen Z and then the younger Millennials, who they would prefer to pay for an experience versus goods or a product,” Stover says. “Another thing to take into account is that Gen Xers are starting to retire, so now you’re losing a consumer base that could have had more disposable income.”

Stover predicts the holiday shopping season ahead will be robust, with a retail sales increase of between two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half percentage points from last year. She says, “Overall, holiday shopping is going to be strong again this year.”

DES MOINES, Iowa — [KCCI] – Court records show a Polk City woman was under the influence of methamphetamine when she caused a crash that killed her son. Abby Amenson, 41, has been charged with homicide by vehicle-operating under the influence in the crash that killed 10-year-old Maxwell Amenson last summer.

Authorities say she crossed the center line on Northwest Fisher Lane and hit another vehicle head-on July 7. Court records say authorities found drug paraphernalia and meth inside the woman’s purse in a search after the crash.

(Radio Iowa) – Research at Iowa State University has discovered how structures within turtle genes fold onto each other, which I-S-U biology professor Nicole Valenzuela says is a key to how the animals function.

Turning genes on and off allows the turtles to survive in harsh environments.

It is believed this is why some turtles can survive weeks without oxygen and some can withstand extreme cold. Valenzuela says understanding the genetic basis of the turtle traits could be leveraged for biomedical uses in humans.

Valenzuela says there is much more research ahead before they can determine how these traits could be used to help humans.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa D-N-R has released three studies on the environmental and economic impacts of recycling in the state. The D-N-R’s Laurie Rasmus says the studies are part of its Sustainable Materials Management Initiative as they try to get a better handle on what we are throwing away.

One study looked at how the bottle deposit law works.

Rasmus says the studies of the waste dumped at the landfills yielded a lot of information on what is thrown away in Iowa.

The studies also help them tell the true cost of what we throw away.

Rasmus says they hope to find more ways to use the waste.

She says recycling has to be a multi-step process.

You can see the results of the studies at iowadnr.gov/SMM.