DUBUQUE, Iowa (Telegraph Herald) — A Dubuque-based furniture manufacturer is considering moving some production of a signature product to Mexico and Asia. Flexsteel Industries Inc. CEO Jerry Dittmer told the Telegraph Herald the possible change in production of Flexsteel’s blue steel spring would be part of an effort to expand the company’s global footprint and shorten its long lead times for customer delivery. Dittmer says the movement of some production is not a done deal, but the plans have been shared with union representatives. Flexsteel says its patented blue steel spring is “at the core” of Flexsteel’s furniture quality.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s colleges and universities are warning legislators of a looming “cliff” or drop off in student enrollment. The decline is projected to be about seven percent, starting in the 2024 academic year. While that’s partly due to a decline in Iowa’s fertility rate, Iowa College Aid Commission executive director Mark Wiederspan says a growing percentage of Iowa K-through-12 students are minorities — and only 55 percent of black and Latino students who graduate from an Iowa high school currently enroll in college. “Take what we are providing you as the best-case scenario,” he says. “It is likely that the decline could be greater than what we are projecting right now.”

University of Northern Iowa president Mark Nook says there are already 15-thousand unfilled jobs available in Iowa, most of which require technical skills gained through some sort of training or a degree beyond high school. “If we’re going to see a decline in our college enrollments and our economy is going to continue to accelerate towards more and more technology, this is a biggest issue for our workforce and our economy than it is for our higher education institutions,” Nook said. “Our higher education institutions are going to be part of the solution because we’re going to work very hard to get more and more of those students into higher ed and ready for those jobs.”

There’s a projected decline in college enrollment in nearly all 50 states. Central College president Mark Putnam says Iowa’s colleges and universities are building relationships with K-through-12 students in Iowa, to make the jump to college seem like the natural progression. “If we’re not in there, a bigger barrier can grow because people see us as being separate from them,” Putnam says. Northeast Iowa Community College president Liang Chee Wee says online classes could expand the number of students who could enroll — but there are pockets of the state where that is not feasible. “Now, when you’re in the school setting, everything is okay,” Wee says, “but some of our students, when you go home, the spinning cycle will be there.”

More than 228-thousand students were enrolled in Iowa colleges, universities and community colleges in 2018/2019 academic year.

(Radio Iowa) — Republicans in the Iowa Senate want the state to hire a business to determine whether Iowans who get government food assistance or Medicaid coverage are eligible for welfare benefits. Supporters of the plan say a private firm doing this work in other states can quickly flag problems, so the State of Iowa doesn’t extend welfare benefits to people who are not U.S. citizens or people who’re hiding assets or double-dipping by getting benefits in another state. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, says he’s been working on this concept for three years to deal with a 10 percent error rate. “It’s time to do something about it,” Schultz said.

Schultz pointed to estimates suggesting the state could save 10-million dollars a year with the private company doing welfare eligibility checks rather than the 500 state employees who do it today using an ancient computer system. Democrats in the senate criticized the plan, arguing the state would recoup far more by going after tax fraud. Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, says “Go just as aggressively against the tax cheats who owe us money.”  She says businesses that fail to pay all they owe to workers should be investigated.”We lose $600 million each year in this state on wage theft alone,” Jochum said, “and yet that bill’s been buried for years.”

Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, accused Schultz of “grinding away” at the poor. “When it comes to poor people, by God, we’ve got to squeeze ’em,” Bolkcom said. “…This is a mean bill. It’s going to save a few bucks by taking food out of people’s mouths.” Senator Schultz, who said at the start that he’d been called “Dr. Evil” for proposing the bill, replied to Democrats in his closing remarks on the legislation. “You don’t want limits on health care. I mean, your number one presidential candidate right now is an avowed socialist….I mean, you say you’re against fraud, but really you’re not against fraud,” Schultz said. “You want to give it to them anyway (with) Medicare for All,” Schultz said.

Senate Democrats shouted their objections to that characterization and there was a brief time-out in the debate. A few minutes later, Schultz tiptoed up to another barb. “Oh, I’m guessing the whole Andrew Yang Universal Income line ain’t gonna go either,” Schultz said. The Senate’s BILL now goes to the Republican-led House for consideration.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers plan to hold hearings to investigate problems at a state-run institution for people with intellectual disabilities. House Government Oversight Chairwoman Mary Ann Hanusa says she’s planning a meeting with no date yet confirmed. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds didn’t object to legislative oversight hearings when asked Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations that the former director was planning to conduct human sexual arousal experiments and had begun questionable hydration therapy on patients and deaths were occurring at a rate that concerned employees.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City mother has complained to the local school board after she says her sixth-grade daughter suffered a broken arm and elbow at the hands of two other middle students carrying out a viral online prank. The Sioux City Journal reports that the woman told the board Monday night her daughter had been hurt on Feb. 7, when two West Middle School classmates cajoled her into a jumping contest, then kicked the girl’s feet out from under her, causing her to fall on her shoulder. Called the “skull breaker challenge,” the prank was made popular on the social media platform TikTok and has led to reports of children across the country suffering serious head and other injuries.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa court officials say 15 people have applied to fill the Iowa Supreme Court vacancy that will occur when Justice David Wiggins retires in March. Each of the 15 applicants will get 20 minutes in which they’ll be interviewed by the Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission on March 6 in the Supreme Court Courtroom in Des Moines. Immediately following the interviews, the commission will begin deliberations to select a slate of three nominees to forward to Gov. Kim Reynolds for consideration. Reynolds will then have 30 days to appoint a new justice.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide in the crash deaths of two men in Des Moines. Polk County court records say the lawyer for 23-year-old Alejandro Contreras entered the pleas Tuesday. No trial date has been set. Police say the crash occurred around 11:45 a.m. Thursday, when a southbound car struck an eastbound car that had just entered a roadway. Two men in the eastbound car died after being rushed to a hospital. They’ve been identified as 26-year-old Mauricio Ruiz Quintana and 22-year-old Brayan Martinez Ruiz. They lived in Windsor Heights.