(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa’s new president says proposed tuition increases at the school are reasonable, but Barbara Wilson says she will be looking for financial aid and scholarships to help students struggling to pay escalating tuition costs. “I think the goal is to allow increases when needed, but to keep them very manageable and closely connected to inflation and/or to the amount money we get from the state,” Wilson said, “and when the state keeps us at a level playing field, we don’t have a lot of other levers.”

The board that governs Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa is scheduled to vote on proposed tuition hikes next week. Fall tuition is expected to go up more than two-hundred-80 dollars for in-state students at Iowa and Iowa State and by one-hundred-15 dollars for Iowa residents attending the University of Northern Iowa. Wilson says while the added costs may strain some families, the University of Iowa still has lower rates that many of its peers. Wilson, who officially started her new job July 15th, has met with Governor Reynolds and some legislators already.

A bill to ban tenure died in the 2021 legislative session, but it advanced farther in the process than ever before. Wilson says academic freedom is critical to the university’s ability to recruit faculty. “They’re not going to come here if somehow tenure is threatened or their ability to do the kind of work that they need to do and that will certainly be a really important part of my goal, is to help people appreciate that,” she says, “not just legislators, but taxpayers, families, students.”

Wilson, a Wisconsin native, was the executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Illinois before she was hired to lead the University of Iowa.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kate Payne)

The Adair County Board of Supervisors are expected to set the date for a Public Hearing on a Fiscal year 2022 Budget Amendment during their meeting 9-a.m. Wednesday, in Greenfield. Their action will follow a report from County Auditor Mandy Berg pertaining to the amendment.

In other business, the Board will discuss withVeterans Affairs Director John Schildberg, a VA Director/Assistant. And, in his report, County Engineer Nick Kauffman will present the final voucher for the N-22 Jackson Bridge replacement project, along with his regular report on Secondary Roads Dept. maintenance and activities.

The meeting takes place in the Adair County Courthouse Courtroom. The public is allowed to attend, but in-person attendance will be limited to 21 people, to allow for social distancing. The meeting may also be accessed by calling 605-313-6157, a few minutes before the meeting begins.

(Radio Iowa) – A man convicted of a southeast Iowa murder that happened 45 years ago has died of natural causes in an Iowa prison. Ular Winfun shot Morris Green to death on July 31, 1976, in the back of the Six-Pack Tavern in Keokuk. The two men had worked together on a painting crew for some time. There was “bad blood” between the two according to an Iowa Supreme Court ruling on the case and the court outlined the events that led up to the shooting. Winfun had his girlfriend buy a gun, he did some target shooting that afternoon and that July evening back in 1976 he was at the tavern, drinking both beer and Tequila Sunrise cocktails.

After Green got to the tavern, Winfun shot Green once. After Green fell to the floor, Winfun fired five more shots into Green’s body. Winfun then left the tavern, walked to the Keokuk Police Station and turned himself in. Winfun died yesterday (Monday) the age of 66, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Corrections. He’s been in prison since February of 1977. The Iowa Supreme Court rejected Winfun’s request for a new trial in 1978 and ruled there was more than ample evidence he was guilty of first degree murder.

(Radio Iowa) – A 15-year-old girl was found dead inside a vehicle at a Cedar Rapids apartment complex early Tuesday morning and police say it appears she had been shot. The vehicle was heavily damaged and police were called the scene on a report of a single-vehicle accident. The girl was found in the driver’s seat of the car and investigators say an autopsy will determine the cause of death.

A news release from Cedar Rapids Police indicates the girl had been wounded by one or more gunshots and it appears to be a targeted shooting, but they have no suspects.

Police in Harlan, Tuesday, issued a report on arrests and accidents.

On July 14th, 28-year-old Jacob Patrick Sweeney, of Audubon, was arrested following a traffic stop, and charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. One day earlier, 47-year-old Kenneth Leroy Fineran, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on an active Pottawattamie County warrant.

On July 12th, 20-year-old Chase Isaiah Ditzler, of Afton, was arrested following a traffic stop. Ditzler was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with theft in the 2nd degree. There were two arrests in Harlan on July 7th: 20-year-old Kathleen Margaret Petersen, and 37-year-old Troy Dakota Weekborg, both of Harlan, were arrested for domestic abuse assault.

There were also two arrests on July 3rd: 24-year-old Justin Andrew Dickinson, of Harlan, was arrested for driving while barred. Dickinson also had an active Carroll County warrant. And, 36-year-old Tiffanie Ann Newcomb, of Kirkman, was arrested for driving while barred.

Harlan Police also reported five accidents, none of which resulted in any injuries. In one incident, a 2006 Chevy 3500 pickup driven by Dalton Henscheid, of Omaha, backed into a mailbox July 5th, at 1002 Broadway Street, in Harlan. The pickup was towing on a 1963 Snow trailer, a 2014 Ford F-Series pickup registered to Justin Folley, of Harlan, when the vehicle came off the trailer. Henscheid left his pickup to go after the runaway vehicle, but did not properly put his pickup into park, first.

The pickup struck a mailbox and stopped. The other pickup rolled down the hill eastward, striking mailboxes, landscaping, an antique bell and stand for the bell, plants, a retaining wall, a parked 2000 Ford Taurus (registered to Dalton Henscheid, of Omaha), and a boat trailer. The boat trailer was knocked into a home, causing damage to the garage door.

Another incident occurred July 8th, when a 2002 Chevy Silverado driven by Ethan Leinen, of Portsmouth, was pulling into a parking spot on the east side of a building at 2111 23rd Street. The vehicle’s brakes failed, causing the pickup to cross the curb and strike the building.