Iowa State Fair officials have revealed another Grandstand act for this year’s fair and it should please fans of hard rock from the 1980s. Def Leppard will perform on Saturday, August 15. The English rock band previously played the Iowa State Fair Grandstand in 2008 and opened for KISS last summer at Wells Fargo Arena. The opening acts for Def Leppard on August 15 will be Styx and Tesla.

Previously announced Grandstand acts for the 2015 Iowa State Fair include Casting Crowns on August 13 and Alabama on August 20. Tickets for the shows will go on sale later this spring. This year’s Iowa State Fair is scheduled for August 13-23.

LINK: http://www.iowastatefair.org/on-stage/grandstand/

(Radio Iowa)

A report from the Iowa Department of Education shows the state leads the nation in the percentage of students under age 18 enrolled in college level courses. Jeremy Varner of the department’s Division of Community Colleges, says another report shows the number of students enrolled in both high school and community college classes or “jointly enrolled” hit a record of nearly 43-thousand. “It is pretty significant, Iowa has some great policy in place that gives students the opportunity to get a jump start on their college education, which saves them money, reduces student debt, provides them a lot of opportunity,” according to Varner.

Varner says Iowa provides opportunities to students across the spectrum. “Many states focus on kind of elite students and giving them kind of a jump on a liberal arts education,” Varner explains. “But we, 42-percent of the courses that are offered are in the career and technical areas. And so Iowa provides students broad access to career tech opportunities as well.” Iowa students enrolled in an average of seven-point eight (7.8) credit hours, or two to three college courses during the 2013-14 school year.

“It’s an opportunity for students to reduce their debt, get a jump on college, maybe get some general education courses out of the way that might help them to reduce their time to degree — or maybe take on a second major,” Varner says. “It also allows students to start down a career pathway in career technical areas, so students can make progress toward a nursing degree or a degree in information technology or something like this.” There is another advantage for students who take a college course while still in high school.

“They get a sense of what college is about before they show up,” Varner says, “so it reduces that shock when students matriculate. They get a sense of what those expectations are, get some success under their belt, especially for first-generation students.” Students take college courses in three ways: through joint programs at their high school, through colleges where the courses aren’t available at the high school, or by paying tuition on their own to attend. Varner says 88-percent of the students take the college courses through a joint relationship with their high school, which they can take for no cost.

(Radio Iowa)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — An Iowa couple are being charged in Virginia with sex trafficking after a woman found in their recreational vehicle said they were holding her against her will. The U.S. attorney’s office says 36-year-old Aldair Hodza and 31-year-old Laura Sorensen of Clive, Iowa, made in an initial appearance Thursday in federal court.

The two were arrested on Jan. 6 east of Richmond in New Kent County after police said a frightened and malnourished 20-year-old woman told officers the couple had physically and sexually abused her. She also said she had been forced to engage in prostitution during the trip from Iowa to Virginia.

The government said Sorensen and Hodza told officers they were on vacation.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former Creighton University President John Schlegel has been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer. The Omaha World-Herald reported Thursday the Jesuit priest who led Creighton during a period of growth between 2000 and 2011 shared news of his diagnosis in a letter. Schlegel asked for prayers from his family and friends as he decides whether to undergo chemotherapy or let the disease take its course. He says this week’s letter may be his farewell, but he does not fear death.

Schlegel is currently pastor of Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee. He was born in Dubuque, Iowa in 1943. Before becoming president at Creighton, Schlegel was president of the University of San Francisco, another Jesuit college. Earlier in his career, he also worked at Marquette University and John Carroll University.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — By posting online all of his personal email from his eight years as Florida’s governor, Jeb Bush sought to show himself as a tech-savvy executive, in touch with constituents and an active administrator. But tucked away in a small percentage of those hundreds of thousands of messages were the names, birthdates and Social Security numbers of more than 12,000 people. A data security firm, Identity Finder, audited the database. By Thursday, Bush had removed the private information from all but a few hundred of the emails he had posted to a website, jebemails DOT com.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 28-year-old man who fell into a large tank filled with chemical cleaning solution has been rescued. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded yesterday to a call that an employee had fallen into a vat of chemical cleaner at Chemorse, Limited in Des Moines.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 30-year-old Davenport man has been sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and other crimes. The Quad-City Times reports that Devyn Fix was sentenced Thursday for the shooting death of 18-year-old Thomas Taylor in September.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa assistant coach Brian Ferentz has been named the program’s running game coordinator. Ferentz, the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz and a former three-year starter for the Hawkeyes, has served as Iowa’s offensive line coach for the past three seasons. He’ll continue to coach the linemen.