(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a 2017 ruling that allowed lawsuits directly against state officials for monetary damages under the Bill of Rights of the Iowa Constitution.The unanimous decision came in a case where a garbage truck driver sued the state after being charged with interference with official acts for not helping a D-O-T officer conduct a safety inspection of his truck. The charge was later dropped.

The Supreme Court ruling says the ruling six years ago in the case of workers’ compensation commissioner Christopher Godfrey is not supported by constitutional text or history. The ruling also says Godfrey has been difficult to apply because our court has had to spin out new rules of law to accommodate these new types of claims. And Godfrey has undermined the established allocation of responsibility between the legislative and the judicial branches of government.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University researchers are getting a National Science Foundation grant to study if people who get cybersick while using virtual reality headsets can adapt over time. I-S-U psychology professor Jonathan Kelly predicts virtual reality will have an increasingly bigger role to play in education, work and social life, and researchers want to make sure everyone can have equal access to it without feeling woozy.

“If we can address some of the usability problems now,” Kelly says, “then it’ll pave the way for VR to be a bigger tool and have a bigger impact on society.” The researchers already know women tend to experience motion sickness from V-R more often than men. Now they want to find out if people who get cybersick can adapt to virtual reality and eventually not feel sick. Kelly says there are tools that can help narrow peoples’ fields of vision while using virtual reality. They’re kind of like training wheels that gently expose someone to V-R.

Taylor Doty using VR headset. (ISU photo)

“And then we could kind of take off the training wheels, as it were, and say, ‘Okay, now you’re free to explore VR and you’re not going to get sick.’ So that’s kind of like the ultimate goal,” Kelly says. “I don’t know whether that’s really achievable.” He says researchers want to see virtual reality be as accessible as possible, especially as it becomes more widely used. The grant is for 600-thousand-dollars.

(by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The requirement that applicants for state teachers’ licenses be at least 21 years old is being eliminated. The bill getting rid of that minimum age for Iowa teachers cleared the legislature unanimously this year and the governor has signed it into law. Senator Sandy Salmon of Janesville says the change is important for students who’re taking community college classes during high school.

“Many students graduate from high school with their AA degree and so they finish up their bachelor’s by the time they’re 20,” Salmon says, “so this enables them to go straight into the teaching field.” Representative Thomas Moore of Griswold is a retired educator and coach. He says in today’s Iowa, prospective teachers who’re enrolled in community college and high school at the same time are penalized for completing college before they’re 21.

“This is important because a school could have a great candidate in a student teacher, but is unable to offer a job due to their age,” Moore says, “or a candidate could have a glowing resume, but has to wait a year for employment due to age or a candidate takes another job in a separate field because of age and decides that is a better fit.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 71 percent of the people teaching in Iowa schools in 2021 had started in the profession when they were under the age of 26. No other state had a higher percentage of teachers who got their initial teaching license when they were in their early 20s.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office, today (Monday), released information on arrests/incidents taking place from April 28th through May 3rd.

On May 3rd, Deputies in Adams County arrested Jose Ivan Hernandez, of Lenox, on an active warrant for FTA (Failure to Appear – in court) on an original charge of Child Endangerment. Hernandez was booked into the Adams County Jail, and later released on a $1,000 cash-only bond.

On May 2nd, 22-year-old Marlene Trevino, of Lenox, was arrested for FTA on an original charge of Child Endangerment. Trevino was booked into the Adams County Jail and held on a $5,000 cash-only bond.

Deputies in Adams County arrested 33-year-old Mildred Douglas, of Red Oak, April 30th. Douglas was taken into custody on a mittimus warrant, and was being held in the Adams County Jail to serve a sentence.

And, on April 28th, Deputies in Adams County conducted a traffic stop at around 8:50-p.m.. Upon further investigation and a probable cause search of the vehicle, Deputies located approximately 10 pounds of marijuana, and two-pounds of synthetic marijuana. They arrested the driver, 20-year-old Abby Marie Read, of Lincoln, NE., on charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp, Intent to Deliver less than 50-kilograms of Marijuana, Intent to Deliver Synthetic Marijuana, speeding and a headlight violation. A passenger in the vehicle, 21-year-old Kaleb Anthony Davis, of Clarinda, faces the same charges, with the exception of the moving violations. Both parties were booked into the Adams County Jail and held on a $13,300 cash-only bond, each.

*”Any potential criminal charges identified above are merely allegations, and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report two arrests: Late last Friday morning, 55-year-old Richard James Linfor, of Red Oak, was arrested on a warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $1,000. And, at around 1:15-a.m. Sunday, 52-year-old Shantel Leigh Baker, of Glenwood, was arrested for Public Intoxication. Her bond was set at $300.

CRESTON, Iowa (May 8, 2023) – Senior Tristen Rice, Creston Schools, has been awarded the 2023 Special Education Teacher Scholarship of Iowa in recognition for her academic accomplishments and educational goals. By May of 2023, Rice will earn both her high school diploma and an associate degree. This required completing several college, winter and summer courses throughout the school year.

After graduation, Rice plans to study at Northwest Missouri State University where she will study elementary and special education. Ever since she was a little girl, Rice knew she wanted to be a teacher. “My goal is to not only teach these special minds the desired material, but mostly to help them gain enough confidence to know that they are just as capable as everyone else in the world,” she said.  Rice credits her grandmother as an inspiration for her hard work and resilience. “My grandmother is the most hardworking person I know and has never failed to put her family first,” Rice said.

About the Award: The Special Education Teacher Scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who plans to study education, with a focus on special education. Co-sponsored by ClaimAid Consulting Corporation and the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB), the scholarship is awarded based on a number of requirements, including educational goals and academic accomplishments.

ClaimAid is a leading provider of comprehensive Medicaid eligibility and enrollment services, school-based billing and claims resolution for schools, hospitals, patients, individuals and their families. IASB is a nonprofit organization representing Iowa’s 327 public school districts, nine area education agencies and 15 community colleges.