State officials are urging more Iowa high schoolers to fill out the federal form required to qualify for most financial aid for college. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds says completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA can be a student’s first step toward “transforming” their life.

“The average federal Pell Grant for Iowans last year was $3348,” Reynolds says. “Filing the FAFSA may also help students obtain state and school-based financial aid, yet many seniors especially those from low-income (families) and who could be the first of their family to go to college may be intimidated.” Reynolds says the form has been “streamlined” and students have more time to file. As of last Monday, February 6th, 59 percent of high school seniors had filed the financial aid form. Reynolds says some Iowa high schools have really “low completion rates,” and there’s a new initiative to track which students have filled out the forms.

“That includes Akron-Westfield Senior High School, which jumped from 47 percent of students filing last year to 71 percent filing so far this school year, so that’s tremendous progress,” Reynolds says, “and we still have a lot of time left for the seniors to file.” Last year, about half of the Iowa seniors who completed the “FAFSA” process quality for federal Pell Grants. More than 70 Iowa school districts are now using a new website to track students have completed the paperwork. Karen Misjak, executive director of Iowa College Aid, is maintaining the website. Her agency distributes 70 MILLION dollars in state tuition assistance to college students and the “FAFSA” is used to determine who gets those grants.

“Iowa also sets the deadline to file a FAFSA at July 1, but there’s no reason to wait,” Misjak says. “Some scholarships and grants have earlier deadlines and even some have ‘first-come, first-served’ basis, so the earlier you complete your FAFSA and you’re in the system, then the better chances you (have) of receiving financial aid to go to college.” Again, “FAFSA” stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Go to  https://fafsa.iowa.gov/  to track “FAFSA” completion rates for more than 70 Iowa high schools.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Terry Branstad says he’d like to see his fellow Republicans in the legislature pass a “modest” hike in the state minimum wage. “I just think we need to look at what our neighboring states are doing,” Branstad says. “I want to keep us competitive.” Iowa’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, identical to the federal minimum wage. Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois all have higher base wage rates.

“I don’t want anything that’s going to destroy jobs, but I do think the present minimum wage has been in place for some time and it may be appropriate to do a modest increase over a period of time,” Branstad says, “like some of our neighboring states have done.” A bill that’s eligible for debate in the Iowa House would nullify the higher minimum wage rates approved in four Iowa counties, restoring a “uniform” statewide minimum wage rate of $7.25 an hour. Branstad says it “makes sense” to have a uniform minimum wage.

“I want to work with the legislature on this issue, but my preference would be to see a modest increase in the minimum wage, phased in over a period of time,” Branstad says. “But obviously this is a legislative issue and I always reserve judgment on bills until I see them in their final form.” The last time the Iowa legislature voted to raise the minimum wage was in 2007 when Democrats were in control of both the House and Senate. It was the first bill Democratic Governor Chet Culver signed into law.

(Radio Iowa)

Democrats in the legislature says Republicans are “railroading” a bill that narrows union negotiating rights public sector workers. The bill was revealed last Tuesday and it’s likely to be debated in both the House and Senate this week. “Republicans need to slow down the bill on collective bargaining and take time to listen to Iowans.” That’s Senate MINORITY Leader Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids. HOUSE Minority Leader Mark Smith, a Democrat from Marshalltown, says “thousands” of Iowans attended forums and rallies this weekend to raise concerns about the bill.

“Iowans want to be heard on this issue and are fed up with this being ‘fast tracked,'” Smith says. A public hearing on the bill is set to begin at 6 p.m. tonight (Monday) in a statehouse committee room. Nearly a thousand people have registered to speak. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, the top Republican in the legislature, says the G-O-P is not skipping any of the traditional steps for this bill.

“We’ve said all along we plan to use a pretty normal process,” Upmeyer says. “So the bill was introduced, subcommittee, committee, public hearing and then we’ll have a full debate on the bill.” However, the length of the debate may be measured in days rather than hours. The Democratic leader in the senate says Democrats intend to discuss each of the 67 sections of the bill in detail.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University has lost an appeal in a federal free speech lawsuit that affirms student rights regardless of political viewpoint. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that ISU administrators including President Steven Leath violated First Amendment rights of two students who were top officers of the ISU chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws.

The students planned to print T-shirts depicting the school mascot and a marijuana leaf but Leath and others claimed it violated the school’s trademark policy. The appeals court upheld a federal judge’s ruling that declared the school’s policy violated the students’ free speech rights and barred the university from prohibiting printing the T-shirt.

The case drew support from conservative Christian groups which say they’ve faced free-speech discrimination on campuses.

Iowa’s cattle producers are asking their fellow Iowans to help find Iowa’s Best Burger in 2017. In this year’s quest, the Iowa Beef Industry Council (IBIC) and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) are encouraging you to nominate your favorite burger, whether it’s gourmet or down-home style. This is the eighth year the two groups are holding the annual Iowa’s Best Burger contest, which officially kicks off February 13. All nominations must be in the IBIC office by 5 p.m. on March 13, 2017.

In order to recognize these great burgers, IBIC and ICA are asking Iowans to nominate their favorite burger for the award, and those nominations can be made by mail, text, or online. Details about the contest, rules, and nomination forms are available on the Iowa Beef Industry Council’s website, www.iabeef.org. Burger lovers can also find a link to the online nomination form at the Iowa Beef Council Facebook page; or by texting BEEF to 313131. Photos of your favorite burger can be shared socially using #IABestBurger.

Katie Olthoff, Director of Communications for the ICA, says “There are three ways to nominate your favorite burger. We are accepting nominations online at www.iabeef.org; by texting BEEF to 313131, which will provide a link to the online voting page, or a paper nomination can be mailed to the IBIC office.”

The nomination period ends March 13, 2017. The top 10 restaurants with the most votes are eligible for the title of Iowa’s Best Burger. The top ten finalists will be announced on March 20. Finalists will receive a certificate and will be eligible for the secret taste-test of contest judges. The 2017 Best Burger in Iowa will be announced on May 1 and will kick-off May Beef Month.

In 2016, more than 6,200 nominations for 311 restaurants were received in the contest. The final winners in previous years are: 2016 – The Chuckwagon Restaurant, Adair; 2015 – The Cider House, Fairfield; 2014 – Brick City Grill, Ames; 2013 – 61 Chop House Grille, Mediapolis; 2012 – Coon Bowl III, Coon Rapids; 2011 – Rusty Duck, Dexter; 2010 – Sac County Cattle Company, Sac City.