CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The conservative student group at the University of Iowa called “Young Americans for Freedom”, or YAF, says it’s facing backlash for hosting a controversial speaker on campus next Monday. According to KCRG-TV, the group is no stranger to hosting controversial speakers, including Chloe Cole, who transitioned to a male before de-transitioning back to being female. Since announcing Cole’s visit, YAF claims that almost all of their promotional material has been destroyed.

According to the University’s policies on free speech, all student groups have a right to invite speakers to campus, as well as hang flyers and chalk campus sidewalks. It is prohibited for other students to vandalize or remove those messages. And YAF’s experience aligns with a recent Associated Press and University of Chicago study, that found 47% of adults believe liberals have “a lot” of freedom to express their views, whereas only 20% say the same for conservatives.

But University Democrats argue that’s due to the nature of college campuses. Both groups believe that free speech is important, but University Democrats argue student safety and well-being should be prioritized.

Despite the controversy, YAF still plans to host Cole on Monday, though they said they wouldn’t be surprised if the event draws protests, similar to when activist and Conservative commentator Matt Walsh visited campus back in April.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The State of Iowa released new information Thursday about the number of students who received approval for an education savings account voucher. Nearly 19,000 Iowa students received state approval for a private school voucher. Here’s a breakdown of the new information:

• 29,612 ESA applications were submitted
• 18,893 applications were approved
• 5,927 were denied because of residency or income requirements
• 4,792 applications were closed because they were duplicates or the applicant wanted to close it

The state also released data related to how many approved applications each county in the state of Iowa had. Polk County had the most approved applications in the state, with 3,179. Sioux, Scott and Linn counties each had more than 1,000 applications. Pottawattamie County had 403 approved applications. Decatur, Louisa and Ringgold counties had zero approved applications.

Democratic House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst told KCRG_TV she’s concerned that the number of approved vouchers is already over budget. “So, we had planned and we had been told that the program would cost $107 million dollars. We’re now at $144 million dollars that this program will cost and so those are taxpayer dollars that are leaving public education and going to private schools,” Konfrst said.

Konfrst says she’s worried about the effects of the program on rural schools. “We don’t know what happens when a school closes in a community. I worry about these communities as the state sends more dollars to private school and fewer to public school,” Konfrst said. Konfrst says school vouchers are an opportunity for the Democratic Party to make gains in the next election.

“School vouchers are unpopular with Democrats, they’re unpopular with Republicans, and they’re unpopular with ‘no party’ voters. Iowans can smell when something isn’t right and they know it’s not right to send $144 million dollars of our tax dollars to private schools,” Konfrst said.

Right now, only the number of approved vouchers has been released. We don’t yet have the total number of students who were approved for a voucher that then decided to leave public school. Districts have until October 15th to report that to the state. In a statement, Governor Reynolds says, “These numbers reflect that Iowans were hungry for educational freedom. Empowering parents wasn’t just a campaign slogan or empty rhetoric. It was a promise, and I am excited to say we are delivering.”

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — A man was arrested on Wednesday after allegedly admitting to intentionally setting a home on fire with several people inside. According to complaint documents filed by the Sioux City Police Department, Secoyah Papakee Roberts, 24, started the fire at a multi-family residence on the 1500 block of Jackson Street at 6:06 a.m.

The documents state that 12 people lived there, and 10 of them were home at the time. Papakee Roberts allegedly purposely set the fire in close proximity to the stairway that leads to second-floor bedrooms. Papakee Roberts was charged with charged with first-degree arson and criminal mischief on a $35,000 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 23.

Six of the residents were trapped upstairs and had to be evacuated from the residence through the windows with the assistance of firefighters’ ladders. The documents noted that Papakee Roberts admitted to being responsible for the fire, and he believed that there were people inside.

The home sustained damage in excess of $10,000 and will require “multiple hours worth of work and material to restore the residence to its pre-fire condition,” court documents stated.

CEDAR RAPIDS – Cedar Rapids Police said Thursday they were investigating the death of an adult male in the 2000 block of Wiley Blvd SW as a homicide. Officers were called at approximately 5:09p.m. on October 12, 2023 and arrived on-scene to find a single adult male who was pronounced deceased on-site.

Investigators are asking for witnesses to this event to come forward with any information by calling 319-286-5491.

No further information is available at this time. There is an active, on-going investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Someone who bought a Powerball ticket in Iowa missed a share of Wednesday night’s massive jackpot by just one number. The ticket, purchased at a Casey’s store in Clarion, matched four of the first five numbers — and the Powerball — to win $50,000, the Iowa Lottery wrote in a blog post Thursday morning.

A player in California won the $1.765 billion jackpot, the second-largest lottery prize after rolling over for 36 consecutive drawings. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s drawing: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and Powerball 10.

The $50,000 prize in Iowa had not been claimed as of noon Thursday. Neither had a $2 million prize from Saturday’s drawing, for which a ticket purchased at a Casey’s in Tiffin matched the first five numbers and missed the Powerball.

Prizes above $250,000 must be claimed in person at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

EAGLE GROVE, Iowa (KCCI) — An important member of the Eagle Grove Fire Department just had his 80th surgery at age 21. But his support squad is behind him, and it has gotten even bigger. Lance Hennigar helps Eagle Grove Fire and Rescue take pictures and notes. Hennigar was born with several birth defects that required all of these surgeries.

Earlier this week, the Coralville Fire Department sent an engine to take him to the hospital for a kidney transplant. Hennigar’s family says it went well, and he is in the hospital recovering. His family expects them to stay there for the next six months.

You can still donate to the fundraiser by writing a check to the Eagle Grove Fire Department in the care of Lance Hennigar at 210 East Broadway, Eagle Grove, Iowa 50533.