(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa’s public universities and community colleges would see flat funding for the upcoming fiscal year if proposed education appropriation legislation is passed, causing concern for some lawmakers. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Senate Study Bill 1231 would set fiscal year 2026 state funding for the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Board of Regents and the institutions it governs, Department for the Blind and other individual programs. Under the bill, general university funding for the University of Iowa would stay at almost $223.5 million, Iowa State University funding would remain at more than $178.4 million and funding for the University of Northern Iowa would remain at almost $101.9 million.

While neither the University of Iowa or Iowa State University requested any general funding increases, the University of Northern Iowa asked for an additional $2.5 million for the upcoming year, which was not reflected in the bill. Sen. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, said Tuesday during a subcommittee meeting on the bill that data from the board of regents shows around 66% of the higher education system budget is driven by tuition, with less than 30% made up of state appropriations. Public education is incredibly important, she said, and when the Legislature keeps funding flat for state universities and community colleges — especially with national challenges all colleges must weather — the students and families paying to attend them feel the hurt of rising costs.

Funding for community colleges is listed at close to $235.9 million, the same as last year. Katrina Holck, representing Community Colleges for Iowa, said many community colleges are concerned  about the proposed funding as well. Lobbyists expressed general support for the legislation during the meeting, including proposed funding of $10 million for a health care professional incentive program and more than $2.3 million for the therapeutic classroom incentive fund for school districts.

Other funds left out of the legislation mentioned by commenters included the Iowa Tuition Grant program, $14 million for paraeducators and other civil work personnel and a $335,000 ask for a dyslexia endorsement tuition reimbursement program.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Any communication from schools on immunization requirements would have to include information and requirements for families seeking an exemption under a bill sent to the governor Tuesday. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, House File 299 was passed by the Senate 32-16. The bill requires all Iowa K-12 schools, as well as child care centers, community colleges, universities under the Iowa Board of Regents as well as private universities using the tuition grant program, to include information on exemptions when communicating with students and families about vaccine requirements. For child care facilities and K-12 schools, information on vaccine requirement exemptions must also be published on their website and be included in student registration documents.

Republicans who spoke in support of the measure said it was needed because there were some reports of school staff falsely claiming that vaccines were required — with no exceptions — for students to be able to attend school.

Iowa law requires students to receive vaccinations to enroll in schools, including receiving the polio, measles, hepatitis B, varicella and meningococcal vaccines while in the K-12 school system. However, families have the ability to opt out from these requirements if vaccinating their child “conflicts with a genuine and sincere religious belief.” The law does not require families to obtain a waiver or specify their religion to claim the exemption. Medical exemptions can also be granted by a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who finds a required vaccination would be harmful to the health and well-being of the child or a member of their family.

While exemptions exist, Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Marion, said the bill “risks sending a mixed message about the importance of the safety of vaccines” by emphasizing vaccine exemptions, potentially putting students in danger by diminishing herd immunity.

As of April 24, there were a total of 884 confirmed measles cases in 29 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The largest outbreak has been in Texas, where two unvaccinated children died from the disease. Though no cases have been reported in Iowa since 2019, according to state public health officials, the neighboring states of Illinois and Minnesota have reported confirmed measles cases in 2025.

The bill, which the Iowa House passed in March, goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds for final approval.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Red Oak Police Department reports a man from Emerson was arrested this (Wednesday) morning, following a traffic stop in the 1700 block of 200th Street. 45-year-old Brian Wayne Price was taken into custody at around 12-a.m., for Driving While Barred. Price was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is trying to prepare northeast Iowa residents for black bear sightings in the area. D-N-R biologist Vince Evelsizer says there have already been a few early sightings of bears who stayed here this winter. He says the most bear activity happens in late May and through most of June during bear breeding season. Evelsizer wants anyone who spots a bear to call the D-N-R so they can keep track of the animals. He says you can help keep bears away by getting rid of pet food, bird food, human food, or garbage that attracts them. Evelsizer says it’s exciting for anyone to see a bear wandering around, and it’s okay to watch or get a picture, but stay a healthy distance of somewhere around 100 yards or more.

DNR officials have been meeting with local conservation boards, police departments, sheriff’s offices and dispatchers from counties in northeast Iowa to discuss how to respond when black bears come strolling through later this spring. Evelsizer says during the breeding season, a few black bears are more likely to disburse from Minnesota and Wisconsin, where populations are much larger and growing. Minnesota has an estimated 16,000 black bears, while Wisconsin’s population is around 24,000. “Black bears are not that far from Iowa’s border,” Evelsizer said. “We typically have two to five bear sightings each year, which we believe are usually younger males. They are relatively timid, and just looking for food and/or females. It’s new and exciting, but can lead to human-bear conflicts.”

Bears have been responsible for destroying bee hives and have been found on back decks and in back yards emptying bird feeders. If a bear does show up around the house, he said try to scare it from a safe distance because bears don’t like loud noises. “Use loud noises, like yelling at it, clapping two pieces of two- by- fours loudly, or banging pots and pans,” he said. “Give bears plenty of space to move on and also, take away food attractants,” he said. “Do not feed bears as that rewards the bear for coming into town and associate’s humans with food. Removing any outdoor pet food dishes, bird feeders, trash cans and grills into secure locations will help to avoid conflicts and encourages the bear to move on.”

A Black Bear

Meetings were held in Dubuque and Fayette with city and county officials from Winneshiek, Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette and Dubuque counties, connecting officials who will likely be involved in one way or another when a bear appears this spring. “We don’t want to block the bear’s travel, or back it into a corner. If a bear climbs a tree to escape onlookers, it can jeopardize the safety of the bear itself – you need to give it plenty of space. Folks can enjoy seeing a bear, but from a safe distance. It’s a neat thing, but give it space – as in 100 yards or more,” he said. “It would be nice, in an ideal world, that we would know when a bear is coming through ahead of time, to notify citizens so they can remove any attractants,” he said. “Sometimes that happens, thanks to our citizens, area DNR staff and local partners, and that helps us track the bear’s location occasionally to keep tabs on its travel.”

Iowa has gone from having an occasional visiting bear, to more frequent visiting bears to now having two- to- four bears move in and over-winter. And could see more in the future. “Sightings are still of individual bears. We haven’t documented cubs or a breeding population yet,” Evelsizer said. Students from Drake University modeled habitat across Northeast Iowa favorable to black bears, as part of a capstone project, and determined that with its larger sections of timber, Northeast Iowa could support up to 1,100 black bears. Black bears are native to Iowa, but had been eliminated by the late 1800s as the state was settled. Since the species was gone, black bears were not listed as a furbearer species by the Iowa legislature of the day, and currently have no protection in the state.

“The public is keenly interested in bears and we hope to be proactive with education and outreach as the bears move in to the state,” he said. “It’s pretty exciting to think about that – there might be a bear in the woods,” Evelsizer said. “Some people love bears; some people are scared to death of bears and bear attacks, because of the amount of misinformation out there.” The biggest takeaway, he said, is that between 1900 and 2009, there was only one black bear fatality in Minnesota, none in Wisconsin, and two in Michigan. Bear attacks are extremely rare, and most incidents involved unsecured food sources, he said. “We encourage Iowans to give black bears space if they see one. It is a large, wild animal. Also, enjoy the sighting and continue to enjoy the outdoors. Residents in Minnesota and Wisconsin have learned to live with bears,” he said.

The Iowa DNR is a member of BearWise, a national organization that provides information on living responsibly with black bears around the home, when recreating in the outdoors, and more at www.bearwise.org.

(Radio Iowa) – Unofficial results show a Democrat has won a special election to represent southeast Cedar Rapids in the Iowa House. Former Representative Sami Scheetz, a Democrat, resigned April 1st and was appointed to a vacancy on the Linn County Board of Supervisors. Democrat Angel Ramirez had about 80 percent of the votes counted by 10 p.m. last (Tuesday) night. She’s executive director of a non-profit program in Cedar Rapids that provides money and mentoring to people who plan and complete community projects.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is planning to meet with groups around the state to tout ideas that offer farmers different income streams — and keep more people in rural Iowa. Vilsack’s first stop was Tuesday afternoon in rural Warren County. “Happy to talk about other issues if you want to, but I wanted to make sure I had a chance to talk about this alternative, because I’m excited about it,” Vilsack said. “…I hope that you can see the benefit of it.”

Vilsack, who served a dozen years as the nation’s secretary of agriculture, says the tax code should remove the steep financial penalty that prevents young farmers from acquiring land from older relatives. And he says incentives from the government and the private sector should support small and medium sized farmers who do things like plant diverse crops, install solar panels to generate electricity to sell to a utility, or convert manure into methane.

“But it doesn’t just have to happen at the federal level, it could happen at the state level, it could happen at the local level, it could happen with philanthropic investment because when you generate opportunity like this, you’re not only generating more income for farmers, but you’re also creating supply chains and those supply chains have jobs connected to them,” Vilsack said. “And those jobs, by the very nature of them, will be in rural places.”

About two dozen people attended the event, organized by the Iowa Democratic Party. Vilsack says he’s ready to have more events like it around the state. “As many as it takes to have people understand that there’s an option and that there’s an opportunity for a real debate and conversation about the future of rural places and for small and midsized farming operations,” Vilsack told reporters. “It doesn’t have to be ‘get big or get out.'”

Vilsack, who served two terms as governor, says he is not running for governor, but as the 2026 campaign begins, Vilsack says he wants to outline a set of rural issues that merits consideration. “From my perspective all too frequently we have campaigns that are about telling people what they already think or what they already support or what they already know,” Vilsack said, “as opposed to saying here’s where we are, here’s where we should be or we need to be and, as a leader, I want to take you there.”

Vilsack says Governor Reynolds decision not to seek a third term is creating new energy — in both parties.  “We now have two parties, two candidates who will tell how they’re going to lead us,” Vilsack said. “Where are they going to take us? What are they going to do to get us to a better place? How do they define that better place? That is a great opportunity for the state and it’s a great opportunity for every candidate to be creative, to be bold in their concepts and ideas.”

And Vilsack says when he announced in 2006 that he wouldn’t seek a third term as governor, that opened up opportunities for others in both parties to compete for governor and other elected offices.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill headed to the governor’s desk would change how the state defines bullying and harassment in schools. Current law says bullying could be based on a list of traits like race, religion, sexual orientation or political belief. Senator Lynn Evans, a Republican from Aurelia who’s a retired superintendent, says he’s reviewed school district policies to see how the law is being enforced.

“In some school districts, if you don’t meet those laundry listed identities, they’re passing it off as two kids that were having a disagreement or misunderstanding or a skirmish,” Evans said, “when truly it is an imbalance of power that is the definition of bullying.” Senator Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville, says bullying is under reported in some school districts because current law is misinterpreted.

“The bill removes that confusion,” Salmon says, “and clarifies that all students should receive an equal level of protection.” The bill defines bullying and harassment as repeated and targeted acts and conduct that create a hostile school environment for a student. Republicans in the House and Senate supported the bill. Democrats opposed it. Senator Matt Blake, a Democrat from Johnston, says it means students will have to endure repeated harassment before schools can step in.

“What this bill does is it makes it harder for students like me that were bullied to seek protection from the schools,” Blake says. Senator Mike Zimmer, a Democrat from DeWitt, says the change isn’t necessary because current state law is clear.  “If an administrator is misinterpreting this, this (bill) is not going to solve that,” Zimmer said. “That’s an issue that’s got to be handled internally between the superintendent and their subordinates.”

Zimmer is a former teacher and coach who also served 17 years as a principal at North Scott and Pleasant Valley High Schools.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports the winner of Tuesday’s Special Mayoral Election in Lewis won by a separation of just two-votes. Unofficial results from the Lewis Community Center voting site, show Christopher Jahnke won the race by receiving 71 (or, 47.82%) of the votes.

The next closest candidate out of the five who were running to fill the position of Mayor, was Nancy Cerica-Joens, who garnered 69 votes (45.70%) of the total 151 votes cast. Voter turnout amount to 63.98% of the total number of registered voters in Lewis (236),

The other candidates each received less than 10 votes:

Jeffrey Witt, 6; Anthony Sorbello, 3; and, Russell Miller, 2.

The position of Mayor became vacant when the former mayor resigned. The results of the vote will become official when they are canvassed by the Cass County Board of Supervisors.

Marion, IA – Eastern Iowa 2nd District Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, today (Tuesday) ruled-out a potential bid to run for Governor in Iowa. In her statement today, Hinson said “I have been humbled by the outpouring of support and encouragement from people all across Iowa asking me to run for Governor. After much prayer and conversation with family and friends, I have decided to stay focused on my mission in Washington, working with President Trump to Make America Great Again.

Congresswoman-elect Ashley Hinson.

We have a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to make real, lasting change in our country right now, and I’m committed to the fight to make Washington run more like Iowa. I am also committed to electing a conservative Governor in Iowa — I’ll be out on the campaign trail doing everything I can to help keep Iowa the best place in the world to call home. It is a tremendous honor to serve Iowans every day, and I will always work as hard as I can for you.”

(Creston, Iowa) – An accident this (Tuesday) afternoon in Union County caused a total of $20,000 damage to the vehicles involved, but no one was injured. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek SUV driven by 19-year-old Abigail Tallmon, of Afton, was traveling north on Lark Avenue at around 2:20-p.m., when Tallman slowed down to yield for a road grader traveling slowly on the roadway.

A 2015 Chevy Equinox SUV driven by 19-year-old Kristi Travis, of Creston, was topping a hill as she was northbound on Lark Avenue Due to the dust kicked-up by the grader, Travis was unable to see the Subaru in front of her. She was unable to slow down in-time to avoid hitting the SUV from behind.

Both vehicles were disabled in the collision. No citations were issued.