(Radio Iowa) – A judge has ruled in favor of a state senator who was sued over a car he bought his daughter. State Senator Adrian Dickey of Packwood was sued by his daughter, his ex-wife and her husband. They claimed Dickey had placed a lien on the car without his daughter’s knowledge and his daughter needed the insurance money to buy a new car because the Toyota Dickey bought her had been totaled. The judge has ruled there’s no evidence Dickey defrauded or cheated his way into being the lien holder and the nearly 24-thousand dollar insurance payout will go to him. Dickey says the decision clears his name and shows the lawsuit lacked merit.

The judge also ruled on a counter-suit in which Dickey accused his daughter, his ex-wife and her husband of trying to injure his reputation. Dickey sought 120-thousand dollars in damages. The judge awarded him a dollar ($1). Dickey’s ex-wife and her husband told the Ottumwa Courier they would not appeal the decision and are happy to put this case and their interactions with the senator behind them.

Dickey says the court’s decision shows the lengths that some are willing to go to tarnish his reputation.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst says she’s seeing increased support for a bill she introduced last year to reverse the inclusion of family farms and businesses as assets in the new federal student aid application. Ernst said the legislation is picking up steam in the wake of a Government Accountability Office report detailing decreases in completions of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) this year. The FAFSA was released to the public three months later than usual last year. After its launch, students, families and universities experienced technical issues and other problems that led many universities to push back their financial aid timelines by months.

According to the Government Accountability Office report, FAFSA submissions from first-time applicants decreased by 9% this past cycle, as of late August, and the total number of applicants dropped by 3%. About 1.6 million students started but did not complete a FAFSA application this past cycle, according to the report. Data from the National College Attainment Network states that Iowa has seen an almost 10% decrease in FAFSA submissions from last year, as of mid-September. Lower-income students were impacted the most, according to the report. There was an 11% drop from dependent applicants in the $30,001-$48,000 income range and a 6% decrease from independent applicants with $30,000 or less in income.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, left, spoke with higher education leaders and students March 25, 2024 at Graceland University in Lamoni. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

In a news release addressing the report, Ernst said the Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act has received the endorsement of 24 education and agriculture groups. The bill would once again make family farms and businesses exempt from the assets definition in the FAFSA.

(Des Moines, Iowa/KCCI-TV) — On the top of minds for school district leaders, law enforcement members, parents, students, and more across the country is school safety. This is especially heightened as hundreds of reports of threats have come in nationwide. On Thursday, an Iowa task force met to come up with recommendations to present to state leaders to improve infrastructural safety. The Governor’s School Safety Bureau met Thursday morning. More than a dozen school administrators, law enforcement officers, and more shared their thoughts and ideas of what’s working now and what can continue to be done. The goal is to come up with a recommendation by December 31 to present to state legislators.

Ideas stemmed from improving locks, identifying which school administrators would take on what roles if an emergency occurred, the use of the Safe and Sound reporting system, and more. In addition to utilizing a whiteboard to jot down ideas, the group also looked at some infrastructural moves made by other states’ school safety bureaus.

There are more meetings to come where other recommendations will be discussed before Dec. 31. The next meeting will be focused on what is the best way to spend funds school districts have available, what can can be done to fortify district buildings, along with what are the best practices to provide that school safety.”

(Johnston, Iowa/KCCI-TV) –  The Johnston Middle School was briefly placed on lockdown status on Thursday afternoon after a weapon was reported in a restroom in the building. According to the district, a student reported seeing a weapon in an upstairs restroom around 2:48 p.m., and the school was placed in lockdown. All students and staff were required to stay in their current locations until given the all-clear, which came 20 minutes later when students were dismissed at 3:08 p.m.

The District cancelled all evening activities while an investigation into the incident was being conducted. The Johnston Police Department says that after a “thorough search” of the school building, no weapon was found. A student was taken into custody.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is reminding every Iowa voter to have a plan in place to be successful in casting their ballot this election. Whether you plan to vote absentee by mail, early absentee in-person, or in person at the polls on Election Day, it’s never too early to make a plan. Those who plan to vote absentee by mail should be prepared to request their absentee ballot by October 21, 2024. Part of that plan should also include tracking your absentee ballot. Iowans can visit VoterReady.Iowa.Gov to track their ballot. This process allows Iowa voters to see if and when their local county auditor has received the absentee ballot request, the specific date that the ballot was mailed out, and the date the county auditor received the ballot back from the voter. Iowa law requires absentee ballots to be returned to the county auditor’s office by the time polls close at 8pm on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5.

In efforts to remind Iowans to head to the polls, political parties and candidates may send voters “absentee ballot request” mailings. In some instances, this may result in one voter receiving multiple mailings regarding absentee ballot requests. County auditors have a number of procedures in place to ensure that if multiple absentee ballot requests do come in from one voter, only one absentee ballot will be mailed out. Iowans are encouraged to call their county auditor if they have any specific questions regarding this process.

It is important that political parties and candidates that coordinate absentee ballot mailings to Iowa voters first and foremost ensure their processes follow Iowa law (Iowa Code Ch. 53) and secondly, verify with the post office that their mail pieces are in compliance with postal regulations. This due diligence should also include confirming the cost of return postage and who will bear this cost, and making sure an accurate return address is included in the event the mailing is undeliverable.

Iowa voters who plan to vote early absentee in-person can do so at their county auditor’s office or a special satellite location. Voters who plan to vote in-person at their polling site on Election Day can find their polling site at VoterReady.Iowa.Gov. Every voter who votes in person must present their voter ID (Iowa driver’s license, voter identification card, non-operator ID, military or veteran ID, passport, or tribal ID card/document).

Iowa’s election integrity approach requires multiple layers and following Iowa law and election procedures are critical to maintaining safe and secure elections. If Iowans are looking for additional information on this process and other voting processes, please visit VotingProcess.Iowa.Gov for a video series about different voting procedures and laws in Iowa.

DATES TO KNOW:

October 16: First day absentee ballots can be mailed; first day of in-person absentee voting
October 21: Voter pre-registration deadline; deadline to request an absentee ballot to be mailed; both by 5pm
November 4: Last day of in-person absentee voting
November 5: Election Day, polls open from 7am-8pm; absentee ballots must be received by county auditors by 8pm

(Des Moines, Iowa) — Gov. Kim Reynolds, Thursday, announced the appointment of Christine Hensley to the Iowa Board of Regents.  Early in her career, Hensley worked closely with developers on affordable housing projects across the state of Iowa as a business development manager for Midwest Housing Equity Group. Hensley also previously served as Vice President of Community and Government Affairs for Bank of the West after acting as a Des Moines City Council member for 24 years.

Hensley has served as president of the Iowa Student Loan Corporation, Iowa League of Cities, and the Metro Advisory Council among other boards. She currently serves as chairperson on the Horizon Science Academy governing board. Standing out from her list of honors, Hensley was inducted into the Iowa Women Hall of Fame in 2017.

“Chris is a remarkable person who has shown time and time again what it means to be a true leader in her community. Across her long and accomplished career in education, business, and elected office, Chris has proven she has the skills and innovative spirit necessary to work alongside our regent universities in the pursuit of academic excellence for our students,” Governor Reynolds said. “I’m confident she will work collaboratively with her fellow board members to ensure graduates are prepared for success in Iowa’s diverse economy.”

“I am honored to be appointed to the Iowa Board of Regents. I appreciate the confidence Governor Reynolds has in me with this appointment,” Hensley said. “I look forward to learning from my fellow board members and working with them to ensure our universities are able to provide outstanding education to the citizens of Iowa.”

Hensley attended Drake University and St. Joseph Academy. She was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Grandview University in 2017.  Her appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa’s undergraduate insurance degree program has only been around a year, and it’s already being named among the top ten such programs in the country. Martin Grace, who heads the U-I’s Risk Management and Insurance program in the Tippie College of Business, says it’s a thrill to see national recognition for such a new effort. “The program has actually been around for a number of years,” Grace says. “You could get a minor in it, or they called it a certificate, which sounds better than a minor, but it’s like four or five classes, and then last year, they made it an official major.” More than 200 students have signed on for the new major at the Iowa City institution.

“It seems like it’s relatively small, but that’s a strong signal of commitment by the Tippie College as well as the university to support this academic field,” Grace says. “It’s actually a professional field, and it makes our program very strong.” This week, U.S. News and World Report named the U-I’s insurance degree program number-eight in the nation, its first appearance in the rankings. While the state is widely known for its hogs, corn and soybeans, more than 200 insurance companies are headquartered in Iowa. “It’s as important as agriculture in the state, and you think of this state as being an agricultural state, but to have another sector that important?” Grace says. “I think it’s like 12-and-a-half percent of the state’s GDP. In the typical state, it’s one-sixth of that.” He says the risk management and insurance industry is the state’s largest non-agricultural economic sector, while the finance and insurance industries account for some 95-thousand Iowa jobs.

“It’s not just insurance sales, right? So a lot of what insurance companies do are pay claims and invest. So there’s just a lot of jobs, finance jobs, there’s some sales jobs, but the insurance companies in Iowa don’t just sell in Iowa. They sell all over the country.” He predicts the demand for risk management and insurance graduates will continue to grow, especially as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce refers to Des Moines as a “global hub of the insurance industry.”

(Radio Iowa) – The latest report from the U-S Drought Monitor showed a slight improvement with six percent of the state showing no dry conditions. D-N-R hydrologist Tim Hall says the majority of the state is listed as “abnormally dry,” or just before the drought level. “That’s either a precursor to or remnants of coming out of drought. So in the conditions we’re in where we’re kind of on the edge of being in drought and not being in drought,” Hall says. There are some areas in western Iowa and far northeast that have moderate drought. Hall says the dry weather can be an asset to farmers right now.

“From an ag producer perspective, being dry is great because it doesn’t cause any problems with getting into the field. You get really good grain dry down. Those are all good,” he says. Hall says it would not be good to go much longer without some rainfall. “Thinking forward to the next crop year, we need to be adding some moisture into the soil profile,” Hall says. “So it’s not good when we have a September like we’re in. This is likely to end up being the driest September ever on record for the state of Iowa.” Hall says when you look outside of agriculture needs, the state’s water systems are okay.

“Fortunately for the state of Iowa, we had some wetter than normal months for most of the last 12 months, going back to October of last year. So coming out of some pretty decent wet months this spring and early this summer, we’re in much better shape than we would be had we not had that rain,” he says. Hall says rain naturally drops off as we head through fall and into winter, so making up the gap from the dry September may not be easy.

(Bethesda, MD) – Officials with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report John Deere is recalling multiple models of its Compact Utility Tractors over concerns that their brake systems could fail, creating risk for crashes or injury. The Illinois-based company says there have been four reported incidents — including one hospitalization, two injuries, and some minor property damage. The recalled Compact Utility Tractor models are 1023E, 1025R and 2025R. John Deere says those models can be identified by the model numbers printed on the machines’ hoods. Consumers should stop using these tractors immediately.

The affected models were sold by authorized John Deere dealers from November 2017 through July 2024, and cost between $12,700 and $21,000. The company estimates about 147,900 units are affected. Customers can also check serial numbers for recalled models at the John Deere recalls page.

(Courtesy of John Deere via U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

John Deere advises customers to stop using the affected machines and to contact an authorized John Deere dealer to schedule a free repair of the front bell crank in the brake linkage. The company says it’s also reaching out to known purchasers directly.

For more information, customers can visit John Deere online or call Deere & Company from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET Saturdays.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal appeals court could take months to decide whether Iowa’s new immigration law that makes illegal reentry a state crime can be enforced. During a hearing in federal court yesterday (Thursday), Iowa’s Solicitor General said the law was passed in response to an immigration crisis and he argued local law enforcement should be able to arrest and charge migrants who were previously deported or denied entry into the United States. American Immigration Council Deputy Legal Director Emma Winger says some immigrants with permanent legal status could be prosecuted under Iowa’s law.

“There’s nothing that truly protects our clients from arrest, prosecution, imprisonment and then orders to leave the country other than a federal court order,” Winger says. “And that’s of course what we’re asking for.”

Winger spoke with reporters after the hearing. The U-S Department of Justice and immigrants rights groups filed the lawsuit that challenged Iowa’s law and earlier this year a federal district court judge issued an order to block it from being enforced. Iowa’s law is similar to a Texas law which has also been blocked by court action.