(Urbandale, Iowa/Iowa Capital Dispatch) – For the first time ever, financial aid given to undergraduate students by state universities has surpassed the amount provided by the federal government, according to the Iowa Board of Regents.  According to a board financial aid report, in the 2023-2024 academic year, institutional financial aid for undergraduate students grew by more than 5% to $319 million, the fourth consecutive year of increases. Federal undergraduate aid sat at just over $311 million in the same year.

With federal, state, institutional and other forms of financial aid combined, students received a total of $1.18 billion in financial aid, an increase of $600 million from the previous year.  The board discussed its annual financial aid report at its Thursday meeting after hearing presentations from financial aid experts at Iowa’s public universities.

Iowa State University Student Financial Aid Director Chad Olson said in Iowa, as well as across the U.S., federal financial aid has decreased due to less support provided for federal work study programs and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. Regent David Barker called the change in federal financial aid allocations “striking,” as it has dropped from almost $246 billion in 2010-2011 to just under $141 billion last academic year.

State aid grew by $6.5 million in the 2023-2024 academic year due to the implementation of a state workforce grant program, according to the report. According to the report, students with the most financial need receive the most financial aid, on average. Students with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $30,000 or less paid an average of $12,254 in 2023-2024, an increase of almost $350 from the previous year. The only income level to not see an increase in net price was the $30,001-$48,000 range, which decreased by just over $350.

The average net cost of all public university students at all income levels in Iowa was $18,660, according to the report. The University of Northern Iowa has the lowest average net price of $15,931, with Graceland University in Lamoni in second place and ISU in third with $17,374. The University of Iowa ranks fifth behind Buena Vista University in Storm Lake with an average net price of $20,121. UNI Director of Financial Aid Tim Bakula said during the meeting the net price of a public university education in Iowa is, on average, around $6,000 less than the net cost of attending a private university.

Presenters also spoke about the debt incurred by some Iowa college students, which UI Director of Student Financial Aid Brenda Buzynski said the total average has decreased from previous years due to fewer students graduating with debt.  According to the report, debt levels have generally remained steady, but the percentage of students who borrow funds for college decreased at each university, all sitting between 50% and 60%. Nonresident debt remains higher than resident debt, the report stated.

University students in Iowa have dealt with changes that have come about with the new FAFSA, presenters told the board, from more Pell grants to fluctuating aid amounts due to new assets that must be listed and the removal of consideration of siblings also in college. The Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act, introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst and Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado in early February, would exempt farmland and operational equipment, as well as small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, from being listed on the federal student aid form as assets.

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Vietnamese native formerly of Des Moines was sentenced Thursday, to three years in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

According to public court documents, in 2020 and 2021, 45-year-old Long Ly used his connections in the Des Moines Vietnamese community to convince five victims to let him file unemployment benefits claims on their behalf, even though the victims were employed and ineligible for unemployment benefits. Several of the victims had little English-language proficiency. Ly also submitted unemployment benefits claims for himself, even though he was gainfully employed.

In submissions to Iowa Workforce Development, Ly misrepresented that he and his victims were unemployed. And in some of the submissions, without his victims’ knowledge or approval, Ly filed unemployment benefits claims with Iowa Workforce Development directing benefits payments be sent to bank accounts Ly controlled.

As a result of Ly’s misrepresentations, Iowa Workforce Development issued nearly $100,0000 in benefits payments to Ly and his victims to which they were not entitled. Some of the benefits payments included funds which had been authorized and paid in connection with COVID-19 pandemic emergency declarations.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Ly will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Ly was also ordered to pay $72,872.20 in restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a Creston teen was cited following an accident Friday night. Authorities say 17-year-old Broderick Phelps was driving a 2005 Nissan 350 eastbound on Union Street at around 9:15-p.m., when he lost control of the car. The vehicle left the road as it was rounding a curve and spun out, coming to rest on the north side of the road. No injuries were reported. The car sustained disabling damage amounting to a police-estimated $5,000. Phelps was cited for Reckless Driving.

And, there were no injuries or citations reported following an accident Thursday afternoon, in Creston. Authorities say an SUV driven by 29-year-old Brandon Phipps, of Creston, struck Buick SUV driven by 58-year-old Leona Shepherd, of Creston, causing a total of $7,500 damage. The accident happened at around 4:30-p.m., on Highway 34 (Taylor Street), near the intersection with Pine Street.

According to the police report, the SUV driven by Shepherd was waiting to pull out onto Taylor Street from 101 W. Taylor. The SUV driven by Phipps was on Taylor Street, waiting to turn left into the parking lot at 101 W. Taylor. A third (no contact) vehicle was stopped on Taylor Street, waiting to turn left onto Pine Street. When Phipps went to turn, he didn’t see the vehicle traveling west in the outside lane, authorities say. When he accelerated while turning into the parking, his SUV struck Shepherd’s SUV.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig is back from a trade trip to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Naig says both countries present a lot of trade opportunities. “To Guatemala being the largest economy in Central America, both very good markets for us, from a soybean meal, from a corn, from a corn, from a pork, beef and turkey standpoint as well, and we think both have a real upside from an ethanol standpoint,” he says.

“We can help Costa Rica and Guatemala on two fronts. One is, you know, to help supply their livestock industries with feed. And so we do that through exporting soybean meal, dry distillers grains and corn, but also the consumer. You know, their rising incomes, they are looking for more protein,” Naig says. He says representatives of Iowa’s beef industry were on the trip. “Iowa corn fed beef is very, very desirable, competes well, dark turkey meat as well. So these, markets, represent multi faceted opportunities for us,” he says. Naig says the accessibility of the two countries is a positive.

Mike Naig (Iowa PBS photo)

“There’s a tremendous logistic advantage, logistical advantage for us to go down the Mississippi, across the Gulf and into ports in Central America,” Naig says. “So we have a logistical advantage, and then you match that up with the quality and the consistency that we can supply. We’ve got some very, very good customers in those two countries.”

The Iowa Economic Development Authority was on the trip with Ag Department as they worked to connect Iowa companies with markets for their products and service.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency late this (Friday) night, issued a BURN BAN, in effect immediately and until further notice! Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Hamman issued a statement on social media, saying the ban was necessary as a result of “Multiple, large and out of control field fires.”

Hamman said numerous fires were reported Friday (Feb. 28th), “As a direct result of Red Flag Conditions (Temperatures, High Winds & Low Relative Humidity) throughout the entire area. All fires originated from previously burnt brush piles from approximately 1-2 weeks ago, that had rekindled due to the strong sustained winds and eventually spread to dry adjoining grass and fields.”

Hamman said “While conditions two weeks ago were conducive to light and burn brush piles, we have quickly dried out due to the extreme warm up this week. Regardless of issuing an Open Burn Ban yesterday, today or tomorrow, it would not have changed the outcome today due to the extreme weather conditions. This is why we stress the importance of monitoring these piles for several weeks after they have burnt or request that once they are burnt, to please bury them or put soil on top.

“A special thanks,” He said, ” goes out to the US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska for monitoring the fire trends today and quickly alerting us of wildfire detections via satellite, they were able to detect (5) fires prior to them being reported to 9-1-1.

“Another special thanks goes out to all the area farmers who quickly responded to all the different fires today with tractors & discs as well as all of our responding fire departments. Most all have fulltime jobs and are volunteers who give up their time to help when called upon.

“Lastly,” Hamman said, “A special thank you to Montgomery County 911 and all the area dispatchers who had a difficult day with all of the fires. At one point, we had (4) active field fires within Montgomery County ongoing. They fielded numerous calls and answered all radio traffic without hesitation and with the upmost professionalism.”

(Images are from the MCEMA Facebook page)

A brief list of each fire is listed below:

(1) At 11:30am, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of a wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska satellite radar in the area of US HWY 71 x US HWY 34. Montgomery County 911 received a 9-1-1 call shortly after reporting a field fire in the area of 220th x T Ave and fire departments were dispatched. The fire quickly grew out of control, jumped the road and was eventually contained with fire suppression units and tractors & discs. Crews were on scene for roughly 2 hours.
1 minor injury reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile. Estimated 45 acres burned.
Responding Agencies:
Villisca FD
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Red Oak Fire Department
Corning Iowa Fire Department
Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office – Red Oak, Iowa
Montgomery County 911
(3) Tractors & Discs

(2) At 1:08pm, Montgomery County 911 received a report of a small field fire in the area of 230th x C Ave southwest of Red Oak. Fire crews from the initial fire were released and responded as well as surrounding county mutual aid partners. The fire was quickly contained by a tractor and disc and with the first arriving fire units.
No injuries reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile.
Responding Agencies:
Red Oak Fire Department
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Emerson Volunteer Fire/Rescue Association Inc.
Essex Fire Rescue
Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency
Montgomery County 911

(3) At 2:01pm, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of another wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska satellite radar in the area of US HWY 48 x H Ave. Fire crews from the second fire were released and dispatched to the scene as well as additional mutual aid partners. Once initial crews arrived on scene, a fast-moving field fire was ongoing and additional out of county mutual aid resources were requested along with several area farmers with tractors & discs. Fire crews remained on scene for roughly 6 hours at this incident scene due to numerous piles of debris smoldering.
1 minor injury reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn piles. Estimated 150 acres burned.
Responding Agencies:
Red Oak Fire Department
Elliott FD
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Grant FD
Griswold Fire & Rescue
Carson Fire and Rescue
Macedonia FD
Clarinda FD
Numerous Tractor & Discs

(4) At 2:48pm, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of an additional wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska satellite radar in the area 110th x O Ave. Mutual aid crews responding to the HWY 48 x 110th fire were diverted and found an ongoing field fire in the area of 155th x Pine Ave. A tractor and disc was already deployed in the field assisting to create a fire break and out of county mutual aid partners were requested due to the large ongoing fire west of Elliott. Crews remained on scene for roughly 90 minutes.
No injuries reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile.
Responding Agencies:
Grant FD
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Villisca FD
Essex Fire Rescue
Clarinda FD
(1) Tractor and Disc

(5) At 3:18pm, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of an additional wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska satellite radar in the area of 270th and O Ave. Montgomery County 911 also took a call reporting this field fire and fire crews that were enroute to the previous fire were redirected and quickly contained the field fire with additional assistance from tractor & discs that were on scene or arrived shortly after. Crews were on scene for 1 hour.
No injuries reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile.
Responding Agencies:
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Villisca FD
Clarinda FD
(3) Tractor and Discs

(6) At 3:38pm, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of an additional wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska via satellite radar in the area of 110th x C Ave. Smoke was quickly visible at the HWY 48 x 110th fire and out of county mutual aid was requested as there were no available fire units within Montgomery County due to numerous ongoing field fires. Some units were able to be released from the HWY 48 x 110th fire to aid the out of county mutual aid resources and additional tractor & discs were called or responded directly to the scene. Crews were on scene for 2 hours.
No injuries reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile.
Responding Agencies:
Red Oak Fire Department
Griswold Fire & Rescue
Carson Fire and Rescue
Macedonia FD
Oakland Fire and Rescue
Henderson FD
Clarinda FD
Numerous Tractor & Discs

Other agencies providing assistance during those incidents:
Mills County Emergency Management Agency
Pottawattamie County Emergency Management
Page County Iowa Emergency Management \ E 911
Cass County Iowa Emergency Management Agency
Cass County 911 Center

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds today (Friday) signed the bill into law that removes the words gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The governor released a video statement saying the signing of the bill into law safeguards the rights of women and girls.

Reynolds says it is about the biological differences, and that is all.

Reynolds says that also forced Iowa taxpayers to pay for gender reassignment surgeries.

The Governor acknowledged this is a sensitive issue for some, and says many of whom have heard misinformation about what this bill does.

Reynolds says the bill does strengthen protections for women and girls, and she believes that is the right thing to do. The law goes into effect July 1st.

(Radio Iowa) – The head of Sioux City’s Human Rights Commission says some of the most vulnerable people in the community will suffer after the city council slashed the commission’s budget this week by more than a third, or 140-thousand dollars. Executive director Karen Mackey oversees the panel that enforces anti-discrimination laws.

City officials say property tax cuts passed by the Iowa Legislature have led to a tighter financial outlook. Mackey says it’s too early to tell where cuts will take place, but staffing will likely be reduced. She says she knew money would be tight, but had no idea the city council would cut next year’s budget so deeply, and now the commission’s future is uncertain.

The commission has a staff of five full- and part-time employees who investigate anti-discrimination laws in Sioux City.

Part of the board’s funding also comes from the U-S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The commission also organizes an annual multicultural fair and Mackey fears because of budget cuts, the event planned for next month will likely be the last.

(Radio Iowa) [updated 4:48-p.m.] – Counselors have been at each of the Webster City school buildings today after a high schooler was killed in a car crash on the way to school this morning.

The Iowa State Patrol says a John Deere tractor driven by 16-year-old Logan Baldwin of Webster City was struck by a car driven by 69-year-old Brian Vandeer of Webster City. The impact sent the Baldwin tractor into the ditch and rolled over. He was thrown from the tractor and died at the scene. Vandeer was transported to Van Diest Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

The Webster City School superintendent says Baldwin was on the way to school.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG-TV) – A lawsuit claims the former head of the University of Iowa OB-GYN department secretly used his own sperm to get at least ten patients pregnant. The children only learned of the fertility fraud decades later. One brother and sister took an ancestry.com DNA test and discovered the father they grew up with wasn’t their biological father. Instead, their father was University of Iowa Health Care’s Dr. John Randall, who was the head of the OB-GYN department in the 1950s.

Iowa’s Fraud in Assisted Reproduction Act became law in 2022 as a way to hold medical employees accountable when reproductive measures are changed without the parents’ consent. But now the Iowa Supreme Court has to decide if the law can be used to penalize past actions. Doctor John Randall died in 1959.

The advocacy group ‘Right to Know’ had a hand in helping the Act get passed, and its founder said the law was intended to help all victims of fraud going forward, but especially providing closure to ones from the past. However, state attorneys didn’t interpret the Act this way because those children were born before the law existed. The Supreme Court has heard the arguments in the case, but it will take a few weeks for them to issue their final ruling.

AVON LAKE, Iowa [KCCI] — A man and a dog were rescued after falling through the ice on a lake in southeastern Polk County, Thursday. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and animal control were dispatched to Avon Lake around 4:45 p.m. on Thursday for a report of a dog that had fallen through the ice. While en route, a second 911 call was made, indicating that a man had gone onto the ice to rescue the dog and had also fallen through the ice. Authorities say a nearby neighbor saw the incident and used a small boat from the shoreline to slide across the ice to the man in the water. The man was unable to get into the boat, but was able to hold on until deputies arrived on scene.

With the help of local citizens and a Carlisle police officer, a Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy was able to throw a rope to the man and pull him to the shore. The man was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution, the PCSO said. The dog that had fallen into the water was also found and is OK. Authorities warned residents against walking onto ice in ponds and lakes as the weather warms up, and encourages precautions for pets for those who live near open water.

Firefighters practice ice rescue techniques in southwest Iowa (File photo – Courtesy of the Red Oak Fire Department)

In a separate incident, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man who died after falling through ice in Linn County Thursday afternoon. KCRG reports 46-year-old Brian Thomas of Marion died after he was taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to the 8100 block of Chain Lakes Road, near Palo, at about 2:40 p.m. Thursday. First responders found three men on the bank of the lake near. The sheriff’s office said all three had fallen in, two had pulled the third man to the shoreline, but he was unconscious. First responders initiated CPR on Thomas who was unconscious. He was then taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The other two men were taken to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia.Thomas’ remains were taken to the State Laboratory for an official autopsy.