(Radio Iowa) – The University of Northern Iowa is the state school that has struggled the most with maintaining enrollment and saw another drop in the just released fall numbers. University spokesman, Peter Morris, says they have seen some positives in their efforts despite the fall drop. “You know, really what we’re focused on is the fact that, you know, we really had an uptick in transfer students, you know, we’re up 22 percent in our transfer students, and some of that is due to our partnerships with the Iowa community colleges,” Morris says. He says getting transfers students is one way to handle factors out of their control –like historically low unemployment rates.

He says the historical data shows a correlation between higher unemployment and enrollment at all levels of colleges. A majority of U-N-Is students are Iowans and Morris says is another issue facing the college — as more high school kids are going straight into a job. “So that combined with the economy, we’re more of those folks are choosing go directly into the workforce and positive pursuing a higher ed degree, you know, those are contributing factors,” he says. The school recently rebranded and is trying to create a larger presence throughout the state. Morris believes that is working.

“I think one of the things that I’ve consistently heard is, hey, you know, we’re, we’re seeing your presence, we’re seeing your brand in places that maybe it’s been absent before. So I think we’re seeing some return on that investment,” Morris says. Fall enrollment on the Cedar Falls campus dropped around 200 students to eight-thousand-949. It was the fifth straight drop in enrollment at U-N-I. Iowa State University saw a drop as well, while the University of Iowa saw a slight increase for the fall.

Atlantic, IA—Cass Health’s Senior Life Solutions team is hosting a free community walk in support of Suicide Awareness Month on Saturday, September 17, 2022 beginning at 7:00 pm at the Rotary Shelter at the Schildberg Recreation Area. The event is being co-hosted by Healthy Cass County and Cass County Iowa State University Extension. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), there are, on average, 130 suicide deaths per day, and throughout 2020, there were an estimated 1.2 million suicide attempts. Each September, many across the country work together to help bring awareness to suicide and encourage education to help in the prevention of more lives lost.

Karmen Roland, RN, Program Director of Senior Life Solutions, says “Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month is a chance to take time to stop and assess yourself and those around you to ensure those you need help have access to it and aren’t living at risk. By raising awareness and educating people about the signs that can indicate someone is having suicidal thoughts or are possibly in danger of attempting suicide, we can help to prevent suicide from happening.”

The event will kick-off at 7:00 pm with local speakers who will share their story on how suicide has touched their lives. The walk portion of the evening will begin around 7:30 pm. Participants will walk the trail loop at the Schildberg Recreation Area. Information about mental health services and community resources as well as light refreshments will be available at the Rotary Shelter.

If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call 911 immediately. If you are in crisis or are experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

For more information about the walk, check out the Facebook event or call 712-250-8100.

(Radio Iowa) – Proud Iowa parents who’ve already posted photos online of their kids heading back to school might consider taking them down. Lisa Schiller, with the Better Business Bureau, says sharing pictures of your child holding a sign on their first day of the new school year could create risks.  “Back to school photos with those children holding a board with their full name, age, height, and other details,” Schiller says, “that’s great for your own personal information, keep it in the home, but don’t put it on social media.”

Schiller explains how those popular photos could become dangerous in the online environment.  “Scammers or predators could actually use this information to commit identity theft or they could use it to earn your child’s trust,” she says. Also, all of that data could be used to steal your — or your child’s — identity, or it could be used to guess passwords and break into online accounts.  Schiller says, “You may want to remove personal information from your account that others can see, like your telephone number or your address.”

It’s important to check your social media settings to see with whom you’re exchanging information. Also, look over your “friends” list and make sure what you’re sharing is going to the correct people. Some settings mean if a friend hits “like” on your post, all of their friends can see it, too.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal agency suggests increased noise would be the major impact of a railroad merger that would increase train traffic in some parts of eastern Iowa. The Surface Transportation Board is considering Canadian Pacific’s acquisition of Kansas City Southern Railway. Joshua Wayland, an environmental specialist at the agency, says the increased traffic along the merged line would increase the risk of derailments, hazardous materials spills and collisions. “But we expect that the risk of such incidents would remain small throughout the combined network,” he says, “and that most incidents that would occur would be minor and would not result in any injuries or fatalities.”

The agency calculates there would be a small increase of vehicle delays at rail crossings along the proposed Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern line.  “We project that there would be approximately 24.9 involving trains and motor vehicles per year under the proposed acquisition,” Wayland says, “compared to 19.1 accidents compared to the no-action alternative.” The agency’s Environmental Impact Statement suggests a rail line that stretches from Canada to Mexico would reduce truck traffic in the United States. “The applicants expect that approximately 64,000 truck would be removed from highways each year due to these truck to rail diversions,” Wayland says.

There could be increased truck traffic at terminals where products are unloaded from the trains, but Wayland says regulators don’t expect that to cause much disruption on streets and highways.

Police in Creston arrested a man from Polk County, for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order. 24-year-old Aristides Esau Perodomo was taken into custody at the Union County Courthouse. He later posted a $300 bond, and was released.

Police in Red Oak, early this (Friday) morning, arrested a woman on a drug charge. Authorities say 18-year-old Lanee Joe Harmsen, of Clarinda, was arrested at around 3:54-a.m. in the 1600 block of Broadway Street, in Red Oak. She was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/1st offense, a Serious Misdemeanor. Harmsen was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $1,000.

(Radio Iowa) – August saw below-normal rainfall — but drought conditions did improve in some parts of the state. The D-N-R’s Tim Hall says some areas didn’t get the rain from thunderstorms. “You sort of have to look at it regionally. And some parts of Southeast Iowa were accepted exceptionally dry in the month of August,” Hall says. August was the fifth straight month with below-normal precipitation, and Hall says the state needs a rainfall rally.”To get out of a drought that’s been sort of lingering and brewing for a couple of years, it’s going to take month over month over month of above normal rainfall,” he says.

“We haven’t seen but one month this year, where we’ve had above normal rainfall statewide. We haven’t seen the conditions that we’d like to see that’ll start to dig us out of this long-term condition.” Rivers and streams are running low in some of the drought areas — which can lead to more problems.”There’s water quality issues that come along with decreased streamflow and groundwater. There’s some communities battling nitrate issues. So in northwest Iowa, it’s not very good. And if you look at the streamflow in southeast Iowa, it is also trending downward,” according to Hall.

The fall months are not normally the wettest of the year in Iowa — but Hall says there is some positive recent history. “Going back to 2016 — a really wet September, 2017 a really wet October, 2018 a really wet September, 2019 a really wet September, and last year a really wet October. So we’ve seen the emergence of the trend I think that shows September and or October being above normal for precipitation,” Hall says. He says the timing of the rains are key to rebuilding subsoil moisture. “There is there’s ample opportunity to get some much needed rainfall going into the winter. Depends how much we get and how much gets locked into the soil moisture before the ground freezes,” Hall says.

The latest drought monitor showed just a slight increase in the percentage of the state that doesn’t have any type of drought.

(Montgomery County, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a man from Elliott was arrested Thursday (Sept. 8th), for Felony, possession of a stolen vehicle. 38-year-old Cory Ross Smith was being held on a $5,000 bond in the Montgomery County Jail. Additional information is not available.

(Radio Iowa) – The dean of Iowa State University’s history department says he experienced a surprising sweep of sadness at the news Queen Elizabeth had died. Simon Cordery was born outside of London and his family moved to the U.S. when Cordery was 15. “She’s the only head of state, like most Britons, I’ve ever known and her presence was always a source of stability,” he says. “It lent a sense of permanence to an ever changing world.”

Cordery. who has dual citizenship in the United States and the United Kingdom, says the queen was an incredible ambassador for all things British — even for people like him who aren’t necessarily in total support of the idea of a monarchy. “Depending on what happens to the monarchy in the next 50 years, and as a historian I wouldn’t dare to even begin to speculate, I can imagine she that will be perceived and interpreted as a person who saved the monarchy at a time of incredible trial and uncertainty,” Cordery says.

Simon Cordery. (ISU photo)

Her uncle abdicated from the throne to marry a twice divorced American and Elizabeth’s father became king until his death in 1952. Elizabeth ascended to the throne at the age of 25. “Her ability to become in many ways a voice of the British people surprised and delighted a lot of English and Scottish and Irish and Welsh people who didn’t really know what to expect from this admittedly very young princess,” Cordery says. Elizabeth’s eldest son is now King Charles the third and Cordery suspects he’s in for a bit of a rough ride.

“He’s got a tough act to follow. I don’t envy him and he’s had a lot of bad press, of course — some of it his own making and some of it just because of who he is,” Cordery says. “…I can’t imagine that he will make any major missteps. The question is how strong of an advocate will he be for maintaining the commonwealth, how much of his time will he be able to devote to making sure that the infrastructure that his mother has so carefully nurtured will remain in place.”

Cordery is teaching a class in western civilization this semester and he’s looking forward to hearing students’ reactions to Queen Elizabeth’s passing. “I’m curious to know my students’ response to this news,” he says. “I’m curious to know how quickly they learned about it, what their immediate thoughts were, how they feel about it all.”

Several Iowa elected officials issued written statements after the announcement that Queen Elizabeth had died. Senator Chuck Grassley’s staff released a photo of Grassley with the queen after her 1991 address to the U.S. congress. Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to be flown at half staff until after the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth on Monday, September 19th.

(Radio Iowa) – Testimony began today (Thursday) with the playing of a 9-1-1 call in the first-degree murder trial of a Merrill man accused of killing his son. The jury heard from the dispatcher — and heard two 9-1-1 calls made by Thomas Knapp’s wife Darlene on the day of the shooting.

In the second call, Darleen Knapp says her 51-year-old son Kevin Juzek, is trying to defend himself against his father who has a shotgun.

Plymouth County Deputy Rick Singer testified that they found Knapp walking with his hands in his coat and he had trouble understanding them.

Knapp is hard of hearing and during testimony sat in a wheelchair wearing a pair of headphones. The trial will resume Friday at the courthouse in Le Mars.