IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A state board has ruled the Iowa Board of Regents didn’t negotiate in good faith with unions from two public universities because it delayed negotiations until passage of a law limiting public employee bargaining rights. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the Public Employment Relations Board ruled last week that the regents deliberately delayed holding meetings starting in mid-December 2016 with the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students at the University of Iowa and United Faculty at the University of Northern Iowa while it waited for lawmakers to approve limits on public-sector union bargaining rights.

The board ordered the regents to not repeat such delaying tactics. The regents also must post flyers at the universities in the fall notifying employees they violated the law. The changes approved by legislators reduced the number of mandatory subjects for negotiation to only base wages.

Officials with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office report numerous arrests took place over the past couple of weeks. Most recently: On Tuesday (6/18), Deputies arrested 42-year-old Ryan Nicholas Schwery, of Harlan, after a search warrant was executed at his place of residence.  Schwery was charged with Controlled Substance Violation – delivery of Methamphetamine, failure to affix drug tax stamp, possession of controlled substance meth 3rd or subsequent offense, prohibited acts, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to jail without incident and is currently being held on a $10,300 cash or surety bond.

On Sunday, Crawford County authorities arrested 30-year-old Jonathan Wayne Sparks, of Woodbine, as a result of a traffic incident. Sparks was turned over to Shelby County Deputies and transported to the jail, on an outstanding warrant for Violation of Probation.  His bond cash or surety bond was set at $1,000. Last Saturday, a Shelby County Deputy arrested 29-year-old Angela Michelle Williams, of Manilla, on a violation of a contact order charge.  Williams was released on her own recognizance the follow morning after appearing before the magistrate, and given a future court date.

Last Friday, authorities arrested 38-year-old Tabbatha Christine Collier, of Missouri Valley, on outstanding warrant for violation of probation charge.   Collier was transported to the Jail without incident and then released the following morning after posting the required $1,000 cash bond and given a future court date for the charge. On June 13th, a Shelby County Deputy arrested 33-year-old Jason Paul Crouse, of Council Bluffs as a result of a traffic stop.   After further investigation, it was determined that Crouse had a suspended license, therefore was arrested for driving under suspension.  He was transported to the Jail without incident and released the following afternoon on his own recognizance.

June 9th, authorities arrested 18-year-old Kaitlin Janet Polzin, of Elliott, for being a minor in possession of alcohol, and violation of no contact order.  Authorities were called to a disturbance on Umbrella Road where it was determined upon further investigation, that Polzin was in possession of alcohol and in violation of a previously set no contact order. She was transported to the Jail without incident and held without bond until appearing before a magistrate, and then released on her own recognizance the follow morning with a future court date set.

On June 6th, Pottawattamie County authorities arrested 21-year-old Morgan Earl Cox on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for original charges stemming back from April 2019. Cox was transferred to Shelby County Jail without incident and initially held under a $5,000 cash or surety bond.  As a result of a plea agreement, Cox was sentenced to 10 days in jail and given credit for time previously served. He was released on June 11th. And, 50-year-old Mark Allen Boardman, of Tennant, was arrested June 6th, on charges of Theft 2nd-Motor vehicle parts/accessories and Altering or changing VIN numbers.  His arrested was the result of an investigation stemming from a complaint filed within the Sheriff’s Office. Boardman was transported to the Jail without incident and is currently being held on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

(Radio Iowa) — A sequel is in the works for an Iowa film made in late 1977 after Zenith announced that they were closing their electronics manufacturing plant in Sioux City. Local filmmaker George Lindblade shot the movie called “We Didn’t Want it to Happen This Way” in association with the local Machinist’s Union to chronicle how the 15-hundred Zenith jobs went overseas and to Mexico. “We followed about seven families who had worked at Zenith through their course of the day and what on their lives,” Lindblade says. “I then eventually wound up going to Taiwan, Hong Kong and then to Mexico to visit plants where our jobs were taken to,” Lindblade says.

Now 42 years later, Lindblade says there’s interest in updating the story. “I got a call about a month and a half ago from a production company in New York — saying that they had reviewed several films of closing plants — and they had arrived at the Zenith one in Sioux City Iowa that they said they wanted to do the follow up on,” Lindblade explains. The rights to the original film have been obtained from the machinists union and next month a crew will come to Sioux City to begin the process of talking surviving Zenith workers or their family members. “They are proceeding to come to Sioux City sometime later in July. It will be originally a scouting party to find out who is alive and who would be willing to be interviewed as to how it impacted their life,” according to Lindblade.

Lindblade has begun reaching out to some of those former Zenith workers — as he also tries to see how many are left to tell their story in a new film. He says that will be a concern as some were close to retirement when they were first interviewed. Lindblade says they know of at least two people who have died and they are reaching out to anyone who was in the first film or knows someone who was. If you worked at Zenith in Sioux City or know someone who did, you may contact Lindblade at 712-255-4346.