(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would limit the number of out-of-state students admitted to the medical and dental schools at the University of Iowa has cleared initial review in the Iowa House. At least 75 percent of the students accepted would have to be residents of Iowa or graduates of an Iowa college or university if the bill becomes law. Republican Representative Tom Jeneary, of Le Mars graduated from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry in 1985. “I’m personally in favor of this bill,” Jeneary says. “I know the year I graduated dental school there were a significant percentage of people in my class that did not stay in the state.”

Republican legislators say the state needs more doctors and dentists, especially in rural Iowa and the bill could help. Dr. Gerard Clancey, senior associated dean of the University of Iowa College of Medicine, is encouraging legislators to look at the big picture.”I get to work a lot with our students and they are very much driven by their level of debt as to where they choose to practice,” he said. “Some students will incur, on average, a debt of $250,000.”

According to a lobbyist for the University of Iowa, 70 percent of current students in the College of Medicine are Iowa residents. The bill under consideration would require the university to submit a report to the legislature each year showing how many graduates of the medical and dental schools live in Iowa in that first year after earning their degrees.

(Radio Iowa) Republicans on an Iowa House subcommittee have advanced a bill that would pull state funding from public schools if a New York Times series about slavery is used in history classes. Representative Skyler Wheeler, a Republican from Orange City who is the bill’s sponsor, says the “1619 Project” is projecting a clear viewpoint. “It seeks to distort facts, not simply teach them and it does so as leftist political propaganda masquerading as history,” Wheeler said.

Rita Davenport, who spoke at a statehouse subcommittee hearing, says the 1619 project promotes Black victimhood. “In my 57 years, I’ve never felt that I could not achieve anything because of my race,” Davenport says. The bill would financially penalize public K-through-12 districts, community colleges and the three public universities for each day the 1619 project is used as history curriculum. Pete Hird, a lobbyist for Iowa Federation of Labor, says the bill amounts to censorship of history. “I think we should address the real problem,” Hird says. “Racism exists. What are we doing about it?”

Representative Ras Smith, a Democrat from Waterloo, says American history is complex and banning literature like the 1619 Project is a slippery slope. “America’s about the opportunity to have diverse thought, rigorous debate about what it means to be an American,” Smith says. Bills have been introduced in a handful of other states to ban the use of the 1619 Project in public schools. A committee in the Republican-led Arkansas legislature voted down one of those bills yesterday (Tuesday).

(Update 4:27-a.m.: Subject was located near the Evangelical Free Church. He will be transported to CCMH for evaluation and treatment of possible frostbite.)

Atlantic Police, Atlantic Rescue and Cass EMS were called at around 3:55-a.m. Wednesday, to the area of 405 E. 21st Street (21st and Oak Streets), to help look for an 83-year old male with Dementia, who went missing about 15-minutes earlier. Unsure which direction of travel he may have been headed. The man’s name is “Alan.”

No description of the subject was given or immediately available, other than he was wearing shoes. If seen please contact the comm center or call 911. The temperature at the time of his disappearance was 7 degrees above zero.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Rapids has become the second city in Iowa to form a citizens review board for the police department. The board approved Tuesday is designed to hold law enforcement accountable and promote equity in the city’s policing. The nine-member board was approved after months of discussion between community leaders and city officials. The board will advise the city on police policies and practices, review citizen complaints and be on the committee that hires the police chief. Mayor Brad Hart said the city will begin a campaign next week to encourage residents to apply. Iowa City has a similar board.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa public health officials have selected Microsoft to develop an online vaccination scheduling system as they seek to improve the state’s low national rankings for the rate of doses administered. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Monday posted notice online that it intends to award an emergency contract to the software company. The agency told bidders that it would award a separate contract to run a vaccine call center later this week. The selection of Microsoft came after the agency last week gave potential bidders one day to respond to an emergency request for proposals seeking work.

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nomination of Tom Vilsack to lead the Agriculture Department is getting a chilly reaction from many Black farmers who contend he didn’t do enough to help them the last time he had the job. The former Iowa governor served eight years as agriculture secretary under President Barack Obama. Vilsack is trying to assure minority farming groups and the senators who will vote on his confirmation that he will work to “root out generations of systemic racism” in the agency. But many Black farmers fault him for failing to address a backlog of discrimination complaints in the department and for firing a Black woman for remarks that he later learned were taken out of context.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Residents in Nebraska and Iowa woke up to bitterly cold conditions Tuesday morning, leading to slick streets that contributed to multiple crashes in the Omaha area. The National Weather Service issued a wind chill warning for parts of 13 counties in central, east-central and south-central Nebraska, with wind chills near 30 below zero that could cause frostbite on exposed skin in under 10 minutes. The warning covered the cities of Grand Island, Hastings, York, Loup City and Central City, among others. High temperatures for Tuesday were expected to climb only into the single digits around Grand Island and up to 10 degrees in Omaha and western Iowa.

A man from Kansas City, Missouri was arrested Tuesday night in Fremont County, after allegedly attempting to steal a semi from an area near Percival. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports 42-year old James Bradley Mall was taken into custody at around 7:35-p.m., for Operating a Motor Vehicle without Owner’s Consent. Mall was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $2,000 bond.

James B. Mall

His arrest followed a report at around 6:48-p.m., about a disabled vehicle off I-29 at mile marker 14, and a man seen walking along the interstate.  Upon the deputy’s arrival, the male was unable to be located. About 45-minutes later, deputies were called to the area of the 2000 block of 195th Ave in Percival, for a report of a male, matching the same description, attempting to steal a semi. The caller advised his semi was warming up in his driveway when a male entered the semi and tried unsuccessfully to shift the semi into gear. The male then left the scene, walking to a nearby house.

Soon afterward, Deputies made contact with the male, who was subsequently identified as James Mall.