(Radio Iowa) — Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City is denying allegations made by a Des Moines-based political action group that some of the college’s international students are being exploited. The group Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement claims 57 students from Brazil and Chile were lured to Iowa under false pretenses by public and private recruiters and it amounts to human trafficking. Western Tech vice president, Troy Jasman, says the students came to the college last summer on what’s called a J-1 visa program through the U-S State Department. He says it allows them to study culinary arts and have real life work experience. He says the State Department requires an internship of 32 hours a week — but it does not require a paid internship. Jasman says the college worked with local businesses to get the students paid internships.

Iowa C-C-I says eleven of the exchange students claim they were promised free tuition, housing, food, job training, and job placement in their field of study. Jasman says the exchange students were told in detail what they would be provided. “They knew that the college would provide, with the help of partnering businesses, they would provide scholarships for tuition, fees and housing,” according to Jasman. “And then the students were not promised — they knew that that was part of their own cost was for food — as well as making sure that they had the health insurance coverage.”

Jasman says he did hear from the U-S State Department that a few students were unhappy with the job portion of their experience. “If a student worked at a particular business, they might have thought that there wasn’t enough diversity in their internship experience. Maybe they were doing just one type of function, where they really should have had more functions,” Jasman says. “Many of our students who were at one of businesses loved the job — but unfortunately the State Department said that they believed that there should have been more work experience for the students — so we had to discontinue working there.”

Jasman says some of the students were upset when they had to quit working at those businesses. Jasman says the college is trying to make sure that the students are receiving the education and experience they came here to get. He says there were no formal complaints filed at the college by the students and was surprised by the release sent out to local media. No local groups had apparently received any complaints from the students. Linda Holub of the Siouxland Coalition Against Human Trafficking says she can not comment on the students because she was not aware of any issues involving them before Monday.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A drug dealer who sold cocaine and guns from his downtown Cedar Rapids apartment has pleaded guilty. Federal prosecutors say Raven Burkhow entered pleas last week to several charges, including conspiracy to sell drugs, use and possession of a firearm and possession of machine guns, a sawed-off shotgun and a pipe bomb. His sentencing hasn’t yet been scheduled. Officers who searched his apartment seized 20 firearms, including the machine guns and shotgun; the pipe bomb; cocaine, silencers; and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Burkhow faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and a possible maximum of life.

Firefighters in Harlan responded to a structure fire at around 6:15-this (Tuesday) morning. Upon arrival on the scene at 2306 6th Street, in Harlan, crews could see the living room of the home was completely engulfed in flames, with a window broken out in the front of the house. The fire was contained mostly to the living room, with smoke damage throughout the entire house.

Authorities say one resident in a basement bedroom was awakened by smoke alarms in the house and was able to get out safely. The other two residents were already at work when the fire started. The Harlan Fire Department was on scene for about two hours. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

(Thanks to Michele Andersen/KNOD – Harlan)

The Griswold School Board, Monday evening, approved a Retirement Compensation Package for Nancy Taylor, Board Secretary and Superintendent Secretary. Superintendent Dave Henrichs explained to KJAN News the details of the package. He said in year one, they will let Taylor be compensated for her unused vacation days, up to $6,000. And then in years two and three, when they’re combined with year one, will total $18,000. That’s somewhat parallel, he says, to how the certified staff retirements are handled.

The Griswold School Board also approved several resignations effective at the end of the school year. They include: Eric Baker, High School Business teacher; Donnie Weed, MS/HS Special Education teacher; Laura Carlton, Football/Cheerleading sponsor; Chad Rodgers, MS Football Coach, and Lexi Rielly, MS/HS para educator, who resigned at the end of December.

The Board Monday then entered a closed session to discuss negotiations strategy with a Certified Bargaining Unit.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP)- Officials say British-based BAE Systems will maintain a presence in the Cedar Rapids area after it completes a deal to acquire Collins Aerospace’s military GPS business. BAE announced Monday that United Technologies Corp. had agreed to sell the GPS business for $1.925 billion. The Gazette reported that a BAE spokeswoman says plans are for the GPS business’s 675 employees to stay in their Collins facilities until the deal closes. Those workers then would become employees of BAE Systems and transition to a new facility in the Cedar Rapids area. The spokeswoman says it’s not clear where and when that would occur.