(Radio Iowa) – The leader of the union that represents state prison employees says higher pay for new prison workers is a good start, but the state should offer incentives to keep veteran prison staff from leaving. Todd Copley is president of AFSCME Council 61. “As the union, we’re all for getting people paid what they should be, but there are employees that have worked here for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years that should be getting paid more than what they are getting paid right now also,” Copley says. “…Corrections officers are grossly underpaid.” Copley says the starting pay for new workers should be the new base wage or salary for employees who work in similar positions.

“You have employees that have worked at these penitentiaries for four years that are now making a shade over what a new employee has got,” Copley says. His other concern is the signing bonuses for new employees in the Department of Corrections. Copley isn’t calling for ending those bonuses, but he says there should be a requirement that the employee stay on the job for some period of time.

“There is no ‘you have to work here for five years,'” Copley says. “…There’s no stipulation to that whatsoever, so theoretically the state is stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime. It makes no sense.” And Copley says retention bonuses should be considered for correctional officers with years of experience, so they don’t leave for a better paying job or choose to retire early. Copley worked in Polk County government for nearly 32 years. He was elected president of AFSCME Council 61 last July.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Today (Thursday), the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announces the new Behavioral Health Service District Map which defines seven geographic service and planning areas effective July 1, 2025. The district map was created using a data-driven approach to ensure that resources are allocated effectively to support the full array of behavioral health needs in Iowa.

Iowa HHS worked with stakeholders to gather feedback on these district maps to be overseen by the Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organizations (BH-ASOs). The stakeholder engagement efforts had a turnout of over 1,000 attendees across all sessions. In addition to stakeholder feedback, identification of areas of high need, access to care, and city and county boundaries were used to designate the districts.

These new districts consider equitable resource distribution, minimizing service disruption, enhancing access to quality care, and addressing the specific needs of specific populations. The district map is a first step in building a new geographic foundation for an integrated and efficient behavioral health system that serves all Iowans.

To learn more about the process, please see the District Map Overview.

Learn more about the Behavioral Health Service System Alignment here.

Iowa HHS will be hosting a Virtual Behavioral Health Service System District Launch on Tuesday August 6 from 12:00-1:00pm. You can join the Virtual Launch with the information below:

Behavioral Health Service System District Virtual Launch

Tuesday, August 6 – 12:00-1:00pm

Join Zoom webinar here.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says a Crawford County man escaped injury during a rollover accident early Sunday morning. In their report issued today (Thursday), the Sheriff’s Office says 29-year-old Jose Angel Reyes-Mendoza, of Denison, was driving a 2006 Honda Accord southbound on Chestnut Road at around 5:40-a.m., when he swerved to miss a deer on the road. The car went out of control and ended-up in the west ditch, where it rolled over and came to rest on its wheels.

The vehicle sustained an estimated $3,000 damage. No citations were issued.

WILLIAMSBURG, Iowa (KCRG) – Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. has notified 193 workers that they are being laid off from the company’s operation in Williamsburg, according to Iowa Workforce Development’s WARN notification list. According to the WARN listing, affected employees were notified Wednesday with the layoff date listed for Thursday. Kinze is a global manufacturer of planters, grain carts, and high-speed tillage equipment.

The layoffs at Kinze come during a difficult period for farm equipment manufacturers that economists say is being driven by a slower demand for farm equipment, including tractors. John Deere has laid off hundreds of workers in eastern Iowa and the Quad Cities in recent weeks and months.

(Radio Iowa) – The presidents of the three state universities held a general discussion their budgets for the next fiscal year Wednesday during a meeting with the State Board of Regents. University of Northern Iowa president Mark Nook says the new nursing program is one area they are trying to help the state. “The nursing program officially launches this fall we have 30 students admitted to that program, the first cohort the initial cohort of nursing students,” he says, “and in the spring we will admit another 48 students into a cohort.” He says they have other areas where they are also focusing on the need for workers in the state.

“We’ll also be making investments in the material science engineering and material science engineering technology programs. Both of these are essential for Iowa’s manufacturing workforce needs,” Nook says. U-N-I has a general operating budget of around 174 million dollars, which is a four percent increase from the previous year. Iowa State University president Wendy Wintersteen talked about the two-point-eight million dollars in additional funding the school received to develop a future ready workforce.”It’s allowed us to invest in 26 faculty and staff who are supporting six initiatives to grow high demand STEM programs that meet the state’s workforce needs and produce innovative solutions for business and industry,” Wintersteen says. She  highlighted one area where they will prepare students to use new technology:

“New Faculty in computer science are equipping students to leverage the benefits of A-I in areas such as automated driving systems, robotics, cybersecurity, data visualization, and machine learning,” she says. I-S-U’s general fund budget increase two-point-five percent from the previous fiscal year to nearly 726 million dollars. University of Iowa president Barbara Wilson talked about the school’s efforts to be efficient. “We spend 11 cents of every dollar on administration and 89 cents of every dollar on instruction,” Wilson says. “And just to give you a sense of what that looks like among our Big Ten peers that’s eight cents lower than the Big Ten average on administrative spending.” Wilson says that allows the university to put more into educating students. Wilson also talked about the retention rate for new students.

“We started the strategic plan at 88 percent in F-Y 2020, and when the plan started, we we were inching our way up and we’re now at 89-point-three percent. Our five year goal was 90 percent, and I suspect we’re going to get there before the five years, and so we’re challenging each other to think about what our new metric should be,” Wilson says. The University of Iowa’s general operating budget also increased by two-point-five percent to nearly 823 million dollars.

The Regents requested a state funding increase of 14-point-eight million dollars, but the Iowa Legislature approved only a 12-point-three million dollar increase, and the Board raised tuition at the U-I and I-S-U by three percent. U-N-I’s tuition was increased by two percent.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a man from Red Oak was arrested today (Thursday) at around 12:40-a.m., following a traffic stop at 4th St. and Commerce Drive, in Red Oak. 23-year-old Dyllan Hunter Hansen was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine/1st offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery report two people were arrested at around 9:30-p.m. Wednesday, near Stanton. 43-year-old Christopher Lowrance, of Stanton, and 35-year-old Megan Guffey, of Villisca, were taken into custody in the 2400 block of 225th Street, on charges of Public Intoxication. The pair were transported to the Montgomery County Jail in Red Oak and held on $300 bond, each.

EVANSDALE, Iowa (KCRG-TV) — HBO Max is set to release a three-part documentary series about the abduction and deaths of Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins, KCRG reports. Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook disappeared on July 13, 2012, while riding their bikes in Evansdale. Investigators found their bikes but no sign of the children.

Hunters found their bodies five months later, about 25 miles from where they were last seen alive. Investigators said they have followed up on 2,000 leads, but no one has been charged in the case yet.

A trailer for the HBO Max series, called “Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric And Elizabeth,” was released on Monday.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI-TV — Authorities have identified a man who was killed by Des Moines police officers after a report of a no-contact order violation turned into a chase and a shooting, early Tuesday morning. Sgt. Paul Parizek, spokesperson for Des Moines police, told KCCI, that officers responded around 3:30 a.m. to a home to investigate a report of a person violating a protective order. Police found the suspect, who has since been identified as 45-year-old Weston Dean Derby, from Bellevue, NE, driving near the scene and attempted to stop his vehicle.

The suspect then fled from officers, who started a pursuit. That pursuit ended about one mile away, when the suspect’s vehicle left the roadway to the south and got hung up in vegetation, according to law enforcement. Parizek said officers’ body camera footage shows the suspect attempting to flee from the officers on foot before pulling a handgun.

Two officers fired their service weapons. One of the officers was hit and the suspect was also hit in an exchange of cross-fire. Derby was pronounced dead at the scene.  The injured officer was in stable condition at a nearby hospital and expected to recover.