(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is criticizing the U-S Department of Education for delays in releasing the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Grassley, a Republican, says bureaucrats at the ed department have failed to offer clear guidance to students, families and universities on how to navigate the application form, which he says could impact access to aid for many thousands of students, while also penalizing farm families. “Farmers may, because of inflation of land prices, may have a lot of wealth, but they may not have the income to send their kids to school,” Grassley says, “and particularly if they’ve got more than one kid in college, then maybe they won’t qualify for Pell Grants and guaranteed student loans.”

Grassley says the redesigned FAFSA was supposed to streamline the federal financial aid process and help one-and-a-half million more students, including over 13-thousand-500 Iowans, to access the maximum Pell Grant award. The new FAFSA was made possible through bipartisan legislation Congress passed in 2020. He says that was three years ago and we’re still waiting. “This is an effort to socialize aid to colleges for the first time since the 1960s. We can’t penalize small business and farmers because they might have a lot of wealth,” Grassley says. “You’ve got to base it on the income because if the families don’t have an income, then their kids aren’t going to go to school.”

Federal education officials announced earlier this month the new FAFSA would be available by December 31st, but Grassley says they neglected to specify a date and warned of processing delays in the coming months, escalating uncertainty for students and their families.  “Usually that’s done by October 1st and so it’s going to take these colleges a long time to get on top of it,” Grassley says, “and so you aren’t going to be able to know whether you’re going to be able to afford to go to college just because of the slowness of the bureaucracy.”

Grassley is calling on the department to focus on implementing the simplified FAFSA process, rather than transferring student loan debt to the taxpayers.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Two Davenport men were sentenced yesterday related to their involvement in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy.  According to public court documents, Jordan Thomas Hopper, 25, and Austen Michael Thomas, 26, were part of a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl from 2020 to 2022. The fentanyl was pressed into blue pills with “M30” on them (meant to look like prescription Percocet pills). The conspiracy resulted in numerous overdoses.

At sentencing, the Court found Hopper to be responsible for three overdoses caused by the ingestion of pills containing fentanyl. Hopper was sentenced to 420 months in federal prison. Thomas was not specifically found to be responsible for any overdoses but was also sentenced related to his unlawful possession of a firearm. Thomas was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison.

Others charged as a part of this conspiracy include: Linder Kai Divos, 27 of Davenport, who was sentenced to 14-and-a-half years in federal prison; Kathan Daniel Wiley, 23 of Davenport, who was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison; and Marshall Matthew James Carver, 26 of Davenport, who is pending sentencing.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department.

(Cedar Rapids, Iowa/KCRG) – Police are investigating reports of a teacher assaulting two students at a Cedar Rapids school. One parent told KCRG TV that on Monday a teacher at Johnson STEAM Academy yanked on her son’s hoodie, choking him. Another parent said the same teacher slapped her daughter in the face. The school district confirms a teacher has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation unfolds. Police say the investigation is ongoing, and prosecutors have not filed charges.

The Cedar Rapids Community School District released the following statement:

“Cedar Rapids Community School District is aware of the reported incident and is thoroughly investigating said situation consistent with the law and our policies and procedures. The staff member has been placed on administrative leave during the process. Being an active student and staff investigation, we cannot comment on the details. Student safety and well-being are the utmost priority as we continue building safe and secure learning environments for all.”

(Madison County, Iowa/KCCI) — A former EMS worker is suing Madison County after she was fired last year. KCCI says the woman claims she was discriminated and retaliated against. Kayla Whitten and Madison County Ambulance Service Director Tadd Davis were terminated during an internal investigation. A third employee, Bryan Snyder, resigned.

In her lawsuit, Whitten claims she was facing sexual harassment from other paramedics that Davis knew about. Davis allegedly told the other EMTs to stop, but Whitten says they did not listen. Whitten also details in her lawsuit that she entered a relationship with another EMT, Bryan Snyder, who was separated from his wife at the time, and that Whitten became pregnant. Whitten says she was fired after the two broke up.

She claims the Madison County Board of Supervisors told her they “could not trust her because she was pregnant by a married man.” The county has denied many of Whitten’s claims and says her employment was terminated for legitimate and non-discriminatory reasons.

The case has since been moved from Madison to Warren County. A scheduling conference is set for next week.

(Mount Ayr, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Ringgold County report a woman from Kellerton was arrested Dec. 8^th on an outstanding Ringgold County warrants charging her with two felony counts of a Controlled Substance Violation/Intent to Deliver. 63-year-old Tammy Lynn Downey was being held in the Ringgold County Jail on a $20,000 cash-only bond. She posted bond and was released. Her preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 28^th.

Tammy Lynn Downey (Ringgold Co. S/O photo)

*Any potential criminal charges identified above are merely allegations and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

(Des Moines, Iowa/WHO-TV) — As more travelers take to the skies to reach their holiday destinations, the TSA is reminding those planning to travel with firearms about the right way to pack them. TSA rules require guns to be packed in a locked hard-sided case that is padded on the inside and the weapon also has to be unloaded. According to the TSA, “Firearm magazines and ammunition clips, whether loaded or empty, must be securely boxed or included within a hard-sided case containing an unloaded firearm.”

This handgun was detected by TSA officers in a passenger’s carry-on bag at Des Moines International Airport (DSM) on April 20. (TSA photo)

WHO-TV report so far this year, TSA agents at the Des Moines International Airport have stopped seven guns — all of which were loaded — during screening. In 2022, 15 guns were found during TSA screening at the airport. If there’s room in your suitcase to pack the firearm case, TSA officials recommend doing so. Some airlines will require guns that are only in a firearm case to be picked up at the baggage office after arrival at the destination. Check with your airline on their policies.

If you don’t declare a firearm you could face a civil penalty of up to $15,000. You can find out more about the TSA’s rules for traveling with firearms and ammunition at https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Two people have been charged with perjury and fraud for allegedly conducting a scheme to obtain forgeries of car titles out of Iowa. According to court documents out of Woodbury County, 32-year-old Rhonda Vermilyea, of Sioux City, would forge the owner’s signature of the Sioux City towing company she worked for on abandoned vehicle affidavits from mid-2020 to January 2023. She would then allegedly supply those forged documents to 52-year-old Christopher Abelson, of North Sioux City, South Dakota so that he could obtain a fraudulent Iowa Dealer’s Title, allowing him to sell them. By forging the owner’s signature, it implied that the vehicles were in the towing company’s possession and sold with a fraudulent bill of sale. The documents specified that none of the transactions actually occurred, and the owner was not aware of the employee’s alleged schemes.

Vermilyea allegedly admitted to receiving phone calls from Abelson with the VIN, make, model, year, and color which she would use to falsify an odometer disclosure, damage disclosure, abandon vehicle affidavit, and bill of sale. The information on more than 60 vehicles had been falsified. According to the documents, Abelson allegedly started by charging $500 per title, which increased to $1,000 over time. When the scheme had come to an end, he obtained over $30,000 for all titles involved in the case. Since the forgeries implied that the vehicles had been sold by the company, it would have created a ‘huge tax issue for the company’ due to the unreported income. None of the vehicles were ever in Iowa, or the company’s possession at any time, per Vermilyea and Abelson’s admissions, documents state. Additionally, Vermilyea allegedly did not send notices to previous owners of the vehicles, or possible lien holders which is required by law.

Vermilyea and Abelson told officials that they knew what they were doing was wrong, and not “100% by the code,” according to the documents. Vermilyea admitted to acting on her own, using her knowledge base with abandoned vehicles and their paperwork at the request of Abelson. No other employees of the company are known to have conspired with Vermilyea and she has since been fired from the company, according to the documents.

Vermilyea and Abelson were both arrested and charged Wednesday with first-degree fraudulent practice, perjury, and conspiracy to commit non-forcible felony. Vermilyea was also charged with one count of forgery. The case originated out of Woodbury County.

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – A northwest Iowa man is receiving a Medal of Valor in Des Moines from Gov. Kim Reynolds, for the heroic effort he made to save the life of a man and his dog in Siouxland. KTIV reports A-J Krieg lives in Sioux Falls now, and works as a welder, but he comes back to help on a family farm that is near Cylinder, Iowa in Palo Alto County. On Nov. 28th, he was working on the farm when he realized there was smoke coming from an old house that belonged to an elderly neighbor. Then he called the fire department and went to the house to investigate.

With black smoke billowing from the house, he was able to provide a hand from a window and save the man and his dog. Krieg told KTIV he knew in the moment he needed to spring into action.

The ceremony will take place Monday (Dec. 18th) at the Iowa Capitol Rotunda at 10 a.m.