IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa has agreed to pay $55,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that its 2015 presidential search violated the open meetings law. The university doesn’t admit any violations in the settlement, which was made public Wednesday. But Iowa has agreed to abide by several transparency measures during future presidential searches, including streaming the open portions of search committee hearings and giving three days notice for such meetings whenever possible.

The deal resolves a lawsuit that had initially been filed by retired professor Harold Hammond during the 2015 search, which resulted in the controversial hiring of business consultant Bruce Harreld.
Retired professor John Menninger refiled the case after Hammond died in 2016.

The case alleged that the 23 search committee members improperly met outside the state of Iowa and improperly closed meetings. Attorney Gregg Geerdes, who represented both men, will receive $55,000 in legal fees.

A regular meeting of the Cass County Board of Supervisors takes place 8:30-a.m. Friday in their Boardroom at the Courthouse. During their meeting, at about 8:35-a.m., the Board will enter into a closed session to discuss legal matters with the Cass County Attorney.

When they return to an open session, the Board will act on a Resolution to enter into an agreement to abate the tax, and assign a tax sale Certificate on parcel of County-owned property in Griswold, and act on the suspension of taxes on a parcel in Atlantic.

In other business, the Supervisors may act on appointing an additional member to the Cass County Local Foods Policy Council. They’ll also receive regular reports, as available, from the various County Department Heads who would normally appear at the Board meetings.

Officials with the Atlantic High School report the Iowa Association for College Admissions Counseling will sponsor a “College Fair,” Monday, Sept. 17th, at the High School. The event takes place from 9-until 10:15-a.m.  High School Guidance Counselor Craig Fredin, says 65 representatives from post-secondary institutions will be present to speak about opportunities at their colleges, vocational and technical schools, as well as military services.

The IACAC has established 30 College Day/College Night programs throughout the State to provide a supportive environment for students to obtain information, and appropriate counseling that will prove helpful in students’ college selection process. Students, parents or interested adults from Atlantic and surrounding communities are invited to attend the event next Monday morning.

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

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor has asked a judge for a psychological examination of a man accused of setting a fatal Sioux City fire. Woodbury County court records show the prosecutor filed a motion Tuesday regarding 51-year-old Robert Mahoney. He’s pleaded not guilty to charges of arson and involuntary manslaughter in the Feb. 4 fire that killed 51-year-old Wanda Blake.

Mahoney’s attorney has filed notice that she may use a defense of diminished capacity. The prosecutor’s motion says Mahoney has been examined by a mental health expert on behalf of the defense and says that state law therefore entitles the prosecution to have Mahoney examined by a state expert.

The records didn’t say when the judge might rule on the motion. Mahoney’s trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Sioux City.

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

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MURRAY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man from northern Iowa died in an accident involving a tractor in eastern Nebraska. The accident occurred Tuesday evening, about 3 miles southeast of Murray. The Cass County (NE) Sheriff’s Office says the man became pinned between a tractor tire and a machine he was trying to attach to the tractor. The sheriff’s office says the man already was dead when deputies and medics arrived. He’s been identified as 61-year-old Richard Kruse. He lived in McIntire, Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) — A delegation of Iowa farmers is in Washington D-C for the National Farmers Union Fly-In, underway through tomorrow (Friday). Iowa Farmers Union president Aaron Lehman (LAY-mun) says getting a new Farm Bill through Congress is their first major goal. “We want to see a Farm Bill taken care of here in the dwindling days of the session,” Lehman says. “We need a strong safety net in place. We need some certainty for our farmers. Negotiations are ongoing but we need to see that work pushed through to a good conclusion.”

He says trade disputes on multiple fronts are costing agricultural producers billions. “Our folks are extremely concerned about the trade situation,” Lehman says. “They want to talk to both administration officials and to members of Congress and let them know how dire the situation is an how we need a long-term solution that’s going to bring some real results to the marketplace.” Lehman says they’ll also be talking to our elected leaders about issues like market concentration in the agribusiness industry. “And we’ll also be talking with folks about our concerns as a lot of farmers in Iowa are impacted by pesticide drift,” Lehman says. “We want to be sure that’s going to be handled in the right way as well.”

Lehman says the best lobbyists for rural America are farmers themselves and that’s why this Fly-In is so important.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new survey report says the Iowa farmland average values have dropped 1.7 percent in the past six months. The report from the Iowa Chapter of the Realtors Land Institute says the decline over the past six months left the values at a little over $6,800 an acre. But the report issued Tuesday also says the values climbed 1.2 percent higher over the past 12 months.
Values went up in the past six months only in northeast Iowa, rising 0.7 percent. The report blamed the state decline in part on tariffs that affected crop prices and on rising interest rates.

Police in Creston say a teenager driving a 2007 Dodge Caliber suffered from a possible medical condition that caused her car to hit a parked vehicle Wednesday morning. 16-year old Heylee Marie Shields, of Creston, complained of pain after the collision, and was transported by her parents to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. The accident that happened as Shields was traveling east on W. Spencer Street at around 8-a.m., Wednesday. Her vehicle hit a legally parked and unoccupied 2004 Ford F-150 pickup.

The vehicles sustained a total of $7,000 damage, with the Dodge totaled in the collision. No citations were issued.