(Iowa News Service) – Despite pushback from the Trump administration on colleges and universities recruiting foreign students, the University of Northern Iowa is part of a new exchange program. The school is partnering with a university in Thailand to allow students to earn international business degrees, through its “2+2” business degree partnership program. Students from Assumption University in Thailand can take two years of classes at home and finish their international business degree at Northern Iowa’s Wilson College of Business in Cedar Falls.

Chris Schrage, global opportunities coordinator at the University of Northern Iowa, said the opportunities run the gamut. “Accounting, finance, management, marketing, supply chain,” Schrage outlined. “All of our majors are aligned with their majors.” Schrage pointed out the “2+2” program is largely self-funded by students and private donors, which should allow the university to sidestep the controversy over international students in the U.S.

Beyond earning educational credentials, Schrage noted the program also takes cultural differences into account, helping students become better employees for international companies after they graduate. “Understanding how both sides do business will help build the trust and know what steps to take in both situations,” Schrage emphasized.

Northern Iowa is in the process of recruiting students now and Schrage added they hope to have Thai students on the Cedar Falls campus next year.

DENISON, Iowa – An estimated 500 gallons of wastewater entered the Boyer River early Sunday morning due to a valve malfunction at Smithfield Fresh Meats Corporation in Denison. The company notified the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Field Office in Atlantic about the incident.

The valve malfunction allowed wastewater to flow through an open storm drain, discharging into the Boyer River. Upon discovering the issue, Smithfield staff promptly closed the storm drain, halting the release of wastewater to the Boyer River.

The DNR is currently monitoring ongoing cleanup efforts. Until cleanup is complete, the public is advised to avoid contact with the Boyer River. No dead fish have been reported at this time.

The DNR will evaluate appropriate enforcement action following the conclusion of its investigation.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Master Gardeners have a busy month planned in May! On Saturday May 10, the group will host their annual Spring Plant Sale on the Cass County Fairgrounds. A few weeks later, on Wednesday May 21, the annual Master Gardener Bus Trip will leave from the fairgrounds for a day of education, garden exploration and plant nursery shopping. Any interested member of the public is invited to both events to help kick off the start of the gardening season!

The Plant Sale begins at 8 AM on May 10, and will be held in the front parking lot of the Cass County Community Center on the fairgrounds at 805 W 10th Street in Atlantic. The event promises to have a wide variety of perennials available for gardeners to add to their landscape this year, as well as lawn tools, décor, and gardening books. Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best selection. The sale closes around 10 AM or when most plants are sold out. All items will be sold for a free will offering, with all proceeds used to support Master Gardener community grants, scholarships, and other projects around the county. A resource table with information on spring gardening topics and local projects will also be available.

For the annual spring sale, the Cass County Master Gardeners offer a variety of perennial plants from their own gardens, as well as plants dug from gardens in the local area. Plants expected on the sale so far include daylilies, grape hyacinth, sedum, ferns, hosta, columbine, walking onions, mukdenia, and a variety of houseplants and succulents. Others may be added closer to sale day. Community members are welcome to donate plants to this event, and members may even help you dig! If you are dividing perennials in your yard this spring and have extra plants to donate, please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale. The Atlantic FFA chapter and horticulture students will also be set up at the plant sale again this year, offering tomatoes, peppers and flowering annuals for sale. All FFA plants will be sold at a separate booth and individually priced. Information will also be available on student plant sales from other Cass County schools.

The annual Bus Trip on May 21 features a full day of garden visits, educational activities, and a chance to explore and shop specialty plant nurseries. The trip heads east this year, and includes stops near Lorimor, Cumming and Norwalk in central Iowa. The bus departs the fairgrounds in Atlantic at 8 AM and returns around 6 PM. The trip is coordinated by the Cass County Master Gardeners, but is open to everyone. Registration closes on May 15, or when the bus is full. Registrations are taken on a first-come basis, so register soon and be sure to reserve your spot on the bus! The cost is $65 for the day, which includes transportation, a meal and snacks. Registration forms are available at the Cass County Extension office, and can also be found on the Cass County Extension website at www.exension.iastate.edu/cass. A full itinerary is on each registration form.

The goal of the Master Gardener program is to provide local community service and education in horticulture.  The Cass County Master Gardeners utilize funds raised from their annual spring and fall plant sales for community projects across the county, include maintaining community garden spaces, providing education programs to youth and adults, and providing financial support to local horticulture projects and scholarship opportunities. Other upcoming events from the Master Gardeners include a local garden walk on June 22 and the fall plant sale on September 13. Master Gardeners will also be providing education to community members at events throughout the summer.

For more information about the plant sale, bus trip, and other Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu.  In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/master-gardener-program to keep up with local events and tips for gardening and learn more about becoming a Master Gardener in Iowa!

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds’ bill to provide 16 MILLION dollars in new grants to partnerships between child care centers and preschools that provide a full day of care to four-year-olds has cleared the Senate. The grants could be up to 100-thousand dollars a year over a three year period and could be used for things like expanding four-year-old enrollment or providing transportation between a preschool site and a child care center. The bill would require shifting funds from existing child care programs. Senator Lynn Evans of Aurelia says Senate Republicans decided to have the changes go into effect in the middle of next year after hearing concerns about making the changes immediately.

Senate Democratic Leader Janet Weiner says the bill is not a real solution for Iowa’s child care crisis.

Senator Molly Donahue, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says it would make more sense to provide state funding for a full-day of preschool for four year olds.

Evans says full-day preschool would cost the state another 90 million dollars. The bill would qualify the state for five MILLION dollars in additional federal funding and Evans state funding will still be provided to support half a day of preschool for four-year-olds. The bill also eliminates the requirement that preschool programs partner with a public school district in order to get state funding. Evans says churches and non-profit groups may choose to open more preschools as a result.

The governor says two-thirds of Iowa four-year-olds are currently enrolled in preschool and her bill seeks to help working parents find seamless options for preschool as well as child care.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is suing the Des Moines Register over the paper’s public records request for email conversations among the governor’s staff and a West Des Moines city councilwoman who is president and C-E-O of Lutheran Social Services in Iowa.

Reynolds says her lawsuit is a move to protect the use of executive privilege for all Iowa governors of the past, present and future. According to the lawsuit, the governor’s office provided over 800 pages of documents to The Register, but withheld four documents “containing candid private advice and counsel from her most senior advisors.” The lawsuit reveals the newspaper had asked for emails with and about the head of Lutheran Social Services in Iowa. It indicates The Register gave the governor’s office a deadline of today, April 25th to produce the four documents.

A spokesman for the governor says she is confident the judicial branch will recognize governors have a constitutional executive privilege in Iowa to receive confidential communications and work product from their closest advisors.

(Radio Iowa) – A nonprofit that promotes soil and water conservation on Iowa farmland says federal grant money that was put on hold has now been released. Conservation Districts of Iowa executive director Dien Judge says they support 500 locally-elected soil and water conservation district commissioners. “These programs are really about the future and looking toward saving our precious natural resources here and making sure that farmers generations ahead of us will have the same opportunities we have,” he says. Judge says they can rehire staff laid off in February.

“What is means for landowners, farmers is that, if you’ve got projects you want to get done, there’s staff that can work on that,” Judge says. The nonprofit laid off 38 of 39 staff in February after the Trump administration froze federal funding. “Most of them are coming back, so we’re very happy about that,” he says.

Judge says Inflation Reduction Act funds are still frozen, but non-IRA grant money is coming through and invoices are being paid.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Page County Attorney James L. Varley, Friday (today) reported the following activities in the Iowa District Court for Page County for the week of April 7, 2025:

• 34-year-old Jason Lee Brooks, of Clarinda, appeared with counsel and pled guilty to Theft in the Fourth Degree. Brooks was sentenced to 6 months in the county jail. His sentence will be served at the Clarinda Correctional Facility where he is currently incarcerated. Brooks was ordered to pay court costs, surcharges, court-appointed attorney fees and a fine of $430.
• 31-year-old Colton Frank Sederburg, of Council Bluffs, appeared with his attorney, as well, and pled guilty to Burglary in the Second Degree. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The sentence was suspended, and Sederburg was placed on probation for 3 years. As a condition of probation, he will reside at the Residential Correctional Facility until maximum benefits are achieved. Sederburg was ordered to pay a fine of $1,370, suspended, and restitution.

All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Officials with the Nodaway Valley School District in Greenfield have announced the selection of Mr. Logan Doty, as the new Principal of the Nodaway Valley High School. Doty currently serves as the Assistant Principal at the Fort Madison Elementary School. Prior to that, he was the Dean of Students at Ft. Madison. Nodaway Valley officials say prior to his administrative roles, Logan Doty taught 7th and 8th grade social studies.

Logan Doty (Ft. Madison CSD photo)

He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, MO., and a Master of Science in Education Degree from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, MO. Mr. Doty said he is “Excited to join Nodaway Valley High School as Principal and become part of a community that values education, relationships and growth.” He said also that he “Looks forward to leading and lerning alongside out outstanding students and staff.”

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that could ensure severely injured police dogs get speedier care is way to the governor. Senator Cherilynn Westrich, of Ottumwa, says K-9 officers often do dangerous work.  “These highly trained dogs help seize drugs, sniff out explosives, detain criminals, locate missing people, and uncover forensic evidence at crime scenes,” Westrich says. “This bill allows an emergency medical care provider to provide veterinary medical services by diagnosing or treating a severely injured police dog.” Under current law, a vet has to be called to a crime scene to provide care to a police dog that’s critically injured. Under the bill, E-M-Ts would not be required to provide care to a police dog, but could volunteer to do so under certain conditions.

“The police dog must be on duty, the police dog has suffered a severe injury and treatment is immediately necessary to stabilize the dog,” Westrich said. Representative Mike Vondran of Davenport says the bill also requires E-M-Ts to treat all injured humans first before attending to an injured police dog. “Our police dog friends, our partners in law enforcement, quite often are put into some of the very most dangerous situations,” he said. “As a result they can often by wounded by gunshot, by stabbing, by slashing — very close contact injury.” The bill also provides liability protection to E-M-Ts who volunteer to treat a police dog wounded in the line of duty. Representative Eric Gjerde (JER-dee), a Cedar Rapids police officer, says during a recent training session, videos illustrated how K-9 officers often deflect a suspect’s attention from human officers. “One of the videos a perpetrator was stabbing at the dog rather than coming at the police officers with a knife,” Gjerde said.

While the bill would let E-M-Ts to treat police dogs at a crime scene, the injured K-9s could not be transported to a veterinary clinic in an ambulance intended for humans. The bill cleared the House and Senate with the support of 137 legislators. One lawmaker voted against the bill.