IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa has banned four fraternity chapters after a two-month investigation spurred by a number of alcohol-related incidents. School officials announced Thursday that Delta Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the UI chapter of Kappa Sigma International Fraternity can no longer operate as student organizations at the university. The Kappa Sigma chapter, known as Beta-Rho, was also removed from its national organization after hazing allegations.

The university began cracking down on Greek life after a student died at an out-of-state fraternity event in 2017 . Fraternities have since been banned from having events with alcohol. Students and faculty have been working on a strategic plan on how to improve “risk management, health and safety” at fraternities and sororities. The plan will be announced next spring.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 31-year old Waymond Lee Foster, Sr., of Afton, was arrested Thursday morning at his residence, for domestic assault. Foster was later released from the Union County Jail on his own recognizance.

(Iowa News Service) DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa has a unique problem – it’s the only region in the country where job openings outnumber unemployed job seekers. Advocates of community college say they could help fill that gap if more students considered a two-year degree. The Iowa governor’s “Future Ready Iowa” initiative includes a higher-ed credential for 70 percent of all state residents by 2025, compared to the current 58 percent. Des Moines Area Community College President Rob Denson says too many Iowans still don’t access the educational opportunities in their own backyard. “We think that many students really don’t understand the good opportunities that may even be available in their own hometown,” says Denson. “That they could actually graduate from high school, go to a community college for one or two years and then, pick up a skill that pays extremely well.”

Denson says the most obvious reason that students attend community college is the financial advantage, but they also feature flexibility and smaller classes. Sixty percent of jobs in Iowa require more than a high-school diploma, but no more than a two-year degree. Denson says many jobs listed on the Iowa Workforce Development website require minimal investment of time and financial resources – and federal dollars are often available for tuition. “Information technology – we now have two-year IT graduates in the central Iowa area making $90,000 a year,” says Denson. “Advanced manufacturing, tool-and-die, health care – tremendous demand, so those jobs pay very well.”

Denson says high school counselors need to be ready to talk to students about the advantages of attending community college. “What we need to do is spend more time and more investment in increased counseling for careers in the K-12,” says Denson. “And I talk to many students who have had great counselors, but the counselors have not had time to spend time, to let these students know what their opportunities are.”

The average annual in-state college tuition in Iowa was nearly $20,000 dollars for the last academic year. Iowa’s median income is about $56,000 per year.

(Radio Iowa) — For Iowans who are sending off holiday packages to loved ones in far-away locales, you’d be wise to get them wrapped and ready to go this weekend. Kristy Anderson, spokeswoman for the U-S Postal Service, offers a reminder of the upcoming deadlines. “First Class mail is going to be December 19th,” Anderson says, “Priority Mail is December 20th and if you use Priority Mail Express, December 22nd.”

For more information about packaging or postage, visit usps.com/holidaynews.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports an inmate at the jail was served with a warrant Thursday afternoon, for Violation of Probation. 35-year old Richard Jack Franks, of Council Bluffs, who was being held in the jail for violation of a No Contact order, was presented with the warrant and turned back over to jail staff. His bond was set at $5,000 on the Probation Violation warrant. And, a Deputy was dispatched to the intersection of Railroad Highway and Idlewood Road at around 12:20-a.m. today (Friday), for an unknown injury accident. A caller to 9-1-1 reported a vehicle was on its top in the ditch, with a man still inside. The caller also advised there were beer cans in the vehicle, and that the man was hanging by his seat belt. The driver, identified as 28-year old Joseph Michael Greiner, of Underwood, was able to get out of the 1998 Honda Accord by himself, before the deputy arrived. Greiner was arrested for OWI/1st offense. Bond was set at $1,000.

The Creston Police Department reports two arrests took place, Thursday. At around 4:30-a.m., 27-year old Shari L. Lowe, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Cass County warrant for Violation of Probation. She was later released on $10,000 bond. And, at around 3:10-p.m. Thursday, Tyler J. Hightshoe, of Afton, was arrested on two counts of Theft in the 5th Degree, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree. His bond at the Union County Jail, was set at $1,900.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines voters will have to decide again in March whether to raise the local sales tax by a penny. The Des Moines Register reports that the City Council will vote Monday on a spending plan for the estimated $37 million the 1-cent tax could generate in its first year. The money would be split evenly between property tax reductions and a handful of quality-of-life initiatives.
The city will set a March 5 referendum date early next year.

Last March, a majority of the city’s voters approved a 1-cent increase, but the measure failed after a majority of suburban voters rejected it. But in May, the Iowa Legislature canceled a state rule that required cities with contiguous borders to vote together on local option sales tax issues.

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Eight northwest Iowa families are fighting a company they blame for not doing enough to address the smell of dead, rotting hogs from a nearby rendering plant. The Des Moines Register reports that an attorney for the Estherville families filed a motion this week pushing for Emmet County leaders to take stronger action against Central Bi-Products, a Minnesota-based company.
The families say the county isn’t doing enough to ensure the problem gets fixed after three years of “extremely noxious, highly objectionable odors.”

The families’ attorney filed a motion to intervene in an Emmet County petition that seeks $4,750 from Farmers Union Industries, the parent of Central Bi-Products, for violating its conditional-use permit. The plant’s owner has said it’s making improvements that should reduce the odor.