(Des Moines, Iowa) – Members of the University of Iowa Health Care workers union demanded double-digit wage increases, set language on workplace violence response, included bereavement time and more. The Iowa Board of Regents countered Friday with a proposal for an annual 3% wage increase. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the Iowa Board of Regents bargaining team met with members of the UIHC chapter of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa to begin bargaining for the union’s 2025-2027 contract.

Staff nurse and union member Laramie Wall said the main problems driving the union’s proposed contract include recruitment, retention and giving employees a higher-quality work experience. Included in the union’s 27-page proposal is language defining different types of leave and how much employees would be entitled to, including bereavement, parental, vacation and compensation for overtime. It also detailed a new grievance process allowing appeals to higher-ups if the matter hasn’t been resolved with the immediate supervisor.

The contract also outlined plans for de-escalation training, allowances for the time after an employee has been assaulted or otherwise experienced violence in the workplace and more. Salaries for new and returning employees would increase by 14% in July 2025 and 12% in July 2026 under the union’s proposal. The board of regents bargaining team offered an annual 3% increase in base wages and salaries over the next two years, the same rate included in the 2023-2025 contract. It did not include any other sections or language the union proposed.

The University of Iowa Health Care employee union met with the Iowa Board of Regents bargaining team Feb. 14, 2025 to trade initial proposals. (Photo courtesy of the University of Iowa)

Friday’s bargaining session went quite differently those held in the past.  having helped in contract negotiations a decade ago, Wall said. Before bargaining law in Iowa changed to limit the number of mandatory topics in union negotiations, Wall said there was much more of a back-and-forth, with groups leaving the table to discuss things privately before returning to negotiations. That didn’t happen this time.

“It’s really disappointing,” Wall said. “I suppose, to me, it’s contrary to the entire premise of collective bargaining when … there isn’t even a negotiation, much less a bargain.”

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – An analysis of groundwater monitoring near coal plants in Iowa shows elevated levels of toxic heavy metals and pollutants.  Environmental groups say the long term effects on groundwater are another reason to stop burning coal in Iowa. The study, released by Iowa Environmental Council and Sierra Club, was conducted by the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University and based on data collected by MidAmerican Energy Company at five coal plants it operates.

Michael Schmidt, an attorney for the Iowa Environmental Council, said the study shows that continuing to burn coal causes expanded exposure to pollutants like mercury, arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals, which impacts public health. A spokesperson for MidAmerican said the Sierra Club study is “misleading” and highlights certain pieces of data to “to further its agenda.”

The study pertains largely to the disposal of coal ash, which is a general term for the byproducts produced while burning coal, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Coal ash is stored in either landfills or ponds which have ash and liquid ash residues. Coal ash can also be recycled, and according to the American Coal Ash Association, 62% of the coal ash created in 2022 was recycled into products like concrete and gypsum panels.

According to the Sierra Club and IEC analysis, MidAmerican has contributed to nine coal ash ponds and six coal ash landfills, totaling more than 700 acres. EPA established rules for coal ash, also called coal combustion residuals, or CCR, in 2015 after determining the improper disposal of coal ash was “linked to cases of harm to surface or ground water or to the air.”

The 2015 rules addressed the risks of the metals and contaminants found in coal ash seeping into groundwater, blowing in the air and of “catastrophic” failures of coal surface compounds. Under the new rules, operators were not allowed to dispose of coal ash near certain areas like wetlands, had to establish groundwater monitoring wells and install liners into new ponds to prevent leaching into groundwater. EPA has updated the rules several times since 2015, most recently in 2024, to include regulations, including groundwater monitoring, for inactive coal ash ponds at inactive electric plants.

Geoff Greenwood, media relations manager with MidAmerican Energy said the company has not pushed for “rollbacks” to federal regulation around CCR. Greenwood said the industry is highly regulated, and MidAmerican is in full compliance. As regulation around CCR changed over the years, Greenwood said MidAmerican “closed, cleaned and consolidated all previously operated coal ash impoundments.”

The study looks at the Ottumwa Generating Station, the Walter Scott, Jr. Energy Center near Council Bluffs, the Louisa Generating Station near the Quad-Cities and the George Neal facilities near Sioux City, which are owned by MidAmerican.

MidAmerican, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, committed to close its coal plants by 2050. In 2023, coal accounted for 23% of MidAmerican’s total energy generation.

(Sidney, Iowa) – The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Friday (Feb. 14th), released a report on 29 arrests that took place between January 1st and Feb. 1th, 2025. You can see the entire list on the news page at kjan.com and through a shared link to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Among those arrested over the past, was:

• 34-year-old Tyler Milton Study, of Thurman, for OWI/2nd offense.
• 39-year-old Patricia Anne Tropser, of Hamburg, for Possession of a Controlled Substance (3rd or subsequent offense) and Driving Under Suspension.
• And 33-year-old Dyson Patrick Tobin, of Sidney, for Intent to Manufacture/Deliver Fentanyl, Willful Injury – Bodily Injury, Going Armed with Intent, and Domestic Assault with Bodily Injury.

HERE IS THE FULL LIST:

January 1, 2025 – February 14, 2025
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports the following arrests:
Tyler Mitchell Flakus
• Age: 26
• Address: Omaha, NE 68157
• Location: 130th St/US Hwy 59
• Charge Description: Possession of a Controlled Substance (1st, 2nd, 3rd offense)
• Arrest Date: 01/01/2025 @ 23:29
• Release Date/Reason: 01/02/2025 @ 01:34, Cash Bond
Caine Michael Petersen
• Age: 27
• Address: Council Bluffs, IA 51501
• Location: 2814 200th St, Sidney
• Charge Description: Criminal Mischief 5th Degree
• Arrest Date: 01/08/2025 @ 10:11
• Release Date/Reason: 01/08/2025 @ 10:28, Book Through
Duanenisha Labrenda Jackson
• Age: 25
• Address: Sioux Center, IA 51250
• Location: 2814 200th St, Sidney
• Charge Description: Failure to Appear/Contempt of Court
• Arrest Date: 01/08/2025 @ 11:42
• Release Date/Reason: 01/08/2025 @ 11:52, Book Through
Neil Alexander Mendez
• Age: 45
• Address: Olathe, KS 66064
• Location: I-29 NB, Percival
• Charge Description: OWI – 2nd Offense, Interference with Official Acts
• Arrest Date: 01/09/2025 @ 07:08
• Release Date/Reason: 01/09/2025 @ 12:10, Cash Bond
Colton Frank Sederburg
• Age: 31
• Address: Council Bluffs, IA 51501
• Location: 380th Ave/190th St, Shenandoah
• Charge Description: Ineligible to Carry Weapon, Theft 5th Degree (<$300)
• Arrest Date: 01/09/2025 @ 08:30
• Release Date/Reason: IN CUSTODY
Paul Clinten Bolton
• Age: 55
• Address: Glenwood, IA 51534
• Location: 2814 200th St, Sidney
• Charge Description: Violation of Probation
• Arrest Date: 01/09/2025 @ 17:31
• Release Date/Reason: 02/06/2025 @ 08:19, Time Served
Michael Dean Magaw
• Age: 63
• Address: Shenandoah, IA 51601
• Location: 4200 Block Manti Rd, Farragut
• Charge Description: OWI – 1st Offense
• Arrest Date: 01/09/2025 @ 19:49
• Release Date/Reason: 01/09/2025 @ 20:50, Cash Bond
Terry Lee Prine
• Age: 60
• Address: Sidney, IA 51652
• Location: Rupp Rd
• Charge Description: Driving Under Suspension
• Arrest Date: 01/10/2025 @ 08:30
• Release Date/Reason: 01/10/2025 @ 10:03, Cash Bond
Jessica Lea Jordan
• Age: 35
• Address: Shenandoah, IA 51601
• Location: 211th Ave, Percival
• Charge Description: Tampering with Witness, Sale of Schedule IV/V Drug to Minor
• Arrest Date: 01/10/2025 @ 14:39
• Release Date/Reason: IN CUSTODY
Curstie Dawn Kier
• Age: 51
• Address: Sidney, IA 51652
• Location: Hwy 2 and Bluff Road
• Charge Description: OWI 1st Offense
• Arrest Date: 01/13/2025 @ 14:47
• Release Date/Reason: Own Recognizance
Nathan Wright Hanus
• Age: 26
• Address: Omaha, NE 68122
• Location: I-29
• Charge Description: OWI – 1st Offense
• Arrest Date: 01/17/2025 @ 15:46
• Release Date/Reason: 01/17/2025 @ 18:06, Cash Bond
Nicole Joy Severtson
• Age: 32
• Address: Sioux Falls, SD, 57103
• Location: 2814 200th Street, Sidney
• Charge Description: Failure to Appear
• Arrest Date: 01/18/2025 @ 14:49
• Release Date/Reason: 01/19/2025 @ 11:01 Surety Bond
Elizabeth Marie Merriett
• Age: 36
• Address: Shenandoah, IA 51601
• Location: 1500 Blk W Sheridan Ave
• Charge Description: OWI-1st Offense, Outside Agency Warrant
• Arrest Date: 01/22/2025 @ 21:02
• Release Date/Reason: IN CUSTODY
Jeffrey Lynn Jennings
• Age: 65
• Address: Farragut, IA 51639
• Location: 211th Ave, Percival
• Charge Description: Violation No Contact Order
• Arrest Date: 01/23/2025 @ 10:57
• Release Date/Reason: Cash Bond
Jon Kelly Rycroft
• Age: 55
• Address: Thurman, IA 51654
• Location: Plum Creek Road, Thurman
• Charge Description: Domestic Abuse Assault 1st Offense
• Arrest Date: 01/23/2025 @ 14:51
• Release Date/Reason: 01/24/2025 @ 16:17 Cash Bond
Gabriel Austin Richardson
• Age: 18
• Address: Hamburg, IA 51640
• Location: 2001 Main St, Hamburg
• Charge Description: Outside Warrant/Want
• Arrest Date: 01/24/2025 @ 09:35
• Release Date/Reason: 01/24/2025 @ 09:50, Transferred to Other Agency
Arlan Jack Pavlenko
• Age: 71
• Address: Kansas City, MO 64119
• Location: Cubby’s Convenience Store, State Hwy 2, Percival
• Charge Description: Possession of Marijuana – 2nd Offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Interference with Official Acts
• Arrest Date: 01/24/2025 @ 23:59
• Release Date/Reason: 01/27/2025 @ 17:28, Cash Bond
Jonathon Scott Jackson
• Age: 30
• Address: Hamburg, IA 51640
• Location: 404 A St, Hamburg
• Charge Description: Domestic Assault – Bodily Injury – 1st Offense, Fugitive from Justice
• Arrest Date: 01/29/2025 @ 22:54
• Release Date/Reason: IN CUSTODY
John Allen Strange
• Age: 63
• Address: Riverton, IA 51650
• Location: 710 Alice Ave, Riverton
• Charge Description: Violation of Probation
• Arrest Date: 01/30/2025 @ 22:41
• Release Date/Reason: 02/09/2025 @ 10:15, Surety Bond
Luis Hector Alvarez
• Age: 39
• Address: Houston, TX 77061
• Location: Sapp Bros, Percival
• Charge Description: Theft 1st Degree (>$10,000)
• Arrest Date: 01/31/2025 @ 01:06
• Release Date/Reason: IN CUSTODY
Brandy Nicole Strange
• Age: 38
• Address: Farragut, IA 51639
• Location: Hartford Ave/Tecumseh Ave, Farragut
• Charge Description: Possession of Controlled Substance – 1st, 2nd, 3rd offense; Possession of Marijuana – 1st Offense
• Arrest Date: 02/01/2025 @ 20:29
• Release Date/Reason: 02/02/2025 @ 19:23, Surety Bond
Carissa Marie Davis
• Age: 42
• Address: Nebraska City, NE 68410
• Location: 2101 Park St, Hamburg
• Charge Description: Child Endangerment, OWI – 1st Offense
• Arrest Date: 02/01/2025 @ 21:29
• Release Date/Reason: 02/02/2025 @ 11:29, Cash Bond
Debbie Sue Harrison
• Age: 62
• Address: Sidney, IA 51652
• Location: 1400 Northridge Rd, Sidney
• Charge Description: OWI – 1st Offense, Possession of Marijuana – 2nd Offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
• Arrest Date: 02/02/2025 @ 20:11
• Release Date/Reason: 02/06/2025 @ 10:34, Surety Bond
Tyler Milton Study
• Age: 34
• Address: Thurman, IA 51654
• Location: 2400 Block Waubonsie Ave, Tabor
• Charge Description: OWI – 2nd Offense
• Arrest Date: 02/04/2025 @ 09:56
• Release Date/Reason: 02/04/2025 @ 11:55, Surety Bond
Luis Hector Alvarez
• Age: 39
• Address: Houston, TX 77061
• Location: 2814 200th Street
• Charge Description: Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Facility
• Arrest Date: 02/07/2025 @ 11:03
• Release Date/Reason: IN CUSTODY
Patricia Anne Trosper
• Age: 39
• Address: Hamburg, IA 51640
• Location: E St/Washington St, Hamburg
• Charge Description: Possession of Controlled Substance (1st, 2nd, 3rd offense), Driving Under Suspension
• Arrest Date: 02/07/2025 @ 19:15
• Release Date/Reason: 02/08/2025 @ 09:59, Own Recognizance
Dakota Issiah Hanika
• Age: 26
• Address: Lincoln, NE 68506
• Location: 400 Block Washington, Hamburg
• Charge Description: Violation of Probation
• Arrest Date: 02/08/2025 @ 11:12
• Release Date/Reason: 02/09/2025 @ 04:56, Cash Bond
Jacob Ryan Holland
• Age: 23
• Address: Elkhorn, NE 68022
• Location: Mile 13 I-29 NB, Percival
• Charge Description: Possession of Marijuana – 3rd Offense
• Arrest Date: 02/09/2025 @ 14:59
• Release Date/Reason: 02/09/2025 @ 00:00, Cash Bond
Dyson Patrick Tobin
• Age: 33
• Address: Sidney, IA 51652
• Location: 2568 170th St
• Charge Description: Intent to Manufacture/Deliver Fentanyl, Willful Injury – Bodily Injury, Going Armed with Intent, Domestic Assault – Bodily Injury
• Arrest Date: 02/10/2025 @ 13:55
• Release Date/Reason: IN CUSTODY

It should be noted that a criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The United State Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, reports a Waukee man was sentenced Friday (2/14/25) to 32 years in federal prison for fraud, money laundering, and fentanyl distribution. According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, 36-year-old Stephan Rashad Haley, also known as “Ace” and “Bosh,” acquired large quantities of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl from multiple drug sources and distributed the fentanyl-laced pills in the Southern District of Iowa. During an October 2023 search warrant at Haley’s Waukee residence, law enforcement located a stolen, loaded pistol, marijuana, cocaine, and pills containing fentanyl. Haley used the stolen pistol during an October 2023 shooting at an apartment complex in West Des Moines. At sentencing, the Court found Haley was responsible for more than 12 kilograms of fentanyl.

From May to August 2023, Haley also participated in a vast, multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. Working with coconspirators located throughout the country, Haley recruited at least three other individuals to open fraudulent bank accounts and deposit stolen checks. The portion of the conspiracies in which Haley participated caused an intended loss of over $3.5 million to more than 10 victims.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Haley will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Haley was also ordered to pay $66,437 in restitution.

Ten of Haley’s co-defendants in the fraud and money laundering case remain set for trial, currently scheduled to begin on June 23, 2025. Eight co‑defendants have pleaded guilty.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and West Des Moines Police Department, with assistance from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Clive Police Department, United States Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Des Moines Police Department, Secret Service, and numerous state and local agencies from across the country.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

(Radio Iowa) – There was an uptick in Iowa home sales in January, plus a dramatic increase in the number of homes put up for sale. According to data from Iowa REALTORS, there was a four-point-eight percent increase in the number of home sales that closed last month compared to January of last year. The group’s president says that’s an indicator home buyers are accepting higher interest rates as normal. The median price for Iowa home sales in January was 220-thousand dollars — that’s up two-point-three percent from a year ago. The number of Iowa single family homes listed for sale in January grew by nearly 30 percent.

Read more, HERE.

(Radio Iowa) –  State regulators have issued a total of 80-thousand dollars’ worth of fines to three different companies that Iowans may use to place online bets on sports. Churchill Downs Technology, also known as Twin Spires, is paying the 20-thousand dollar fine for either contacting or setting up online wagering accounts for 17 people on the state’s so-called self-exclusion list. It means those people voluntarily asked to be prohibited from entering a casino or placing bets. Penn Sports Interactive — the sports betting operation associated with the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs — is paying a 20-thousand dollar for letting 51 people place proposition bets on men’s basketball games between N-C-A-A teams and teams in the N-A-I-A.

That type of betting market not allowed in Iowa. Penn Sports was fined another 20-thousand dollars for sending two marketing emails to someone who put themselves on the state’s self-exclusion list so they would not get those sorts of email. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission also issued a 20-thousand dollar fine against Circa Sports, which offered certain types of wagers on an Iowa versus Michigan game that are not allowed under Iowa law.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 2:50-a.m. today (Saturday), in Red Oak, resulted in an arrest. Red Oak Police report 37-year-old Jose Alfredo Perez-Gomez was taken into custody in the 900 block of Valley Street in Red Oak, and charged with OWI/1st offense. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

Atlantic, IA – The Atlantic Community School District (ACSD) is reminding families that the deadline for open enrollment applications for the 2025-2026 school year is fast approaching. All applications must be submitted by March 1, 2025, to be considered for the upcoming academic year.

Open enrollment allows families residing in one Iowa school district to enroll their children in another public school district. This process provides parents with greater flexibility in choosing the best educational setting for their children. Parents and guardians interested in open enrollment should complete and submit the required forms before the deadline. Late applications may be subject to restrictions or may not be accepted, per Iowa Department of Education regulations.

For more information or to obtain an open enrollment application, please visit the Atlantic Community School District website at ACSD Website or contact the district office at 712-243-4252 or jnicklaus@atlanticiaschools.org

(Radio Iowa) – The fine for businesses that violate Iowa’s child labor laws by having teens work too many hours or work too late at night has been lowered this week. The penalty had been $10,000, but has been lowered to $2500 for having a teenager work beyond the allowed time limits in state law. Mitchell Mahan, an attorney with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, says $10,000 is the maximum amount for any child labor violation, including a worksite fatality if the employee is under 18.

“If a child is in the wrong occupation which is presumptively more dangerous, we still have a $10,000 penalty that applies,” Mahan says. “It just seemed, reading the statute, if the highest we could go is $10,000, maybe it shouldn’t apply to working 10 minutes late.”

Iowa Capitol’s western facade (RI file photo)

Peter Hird of the Iowa Federation of Labor says it’s the wrong approach to enforcing child labor limits.

“We have seen examples in Iowa and other states where younger children are working night shifts or on job sites during the day. We believe the law should act as a deterrent to discourage employers from employing children at times when kids should either be receiving education or getting the necessary rest,” Hird says. “If Iowa were to find a dozen kids working on a night shift…this rule would be a penalty break for those bad actors. If anything, penalties should be increased for this type of behavior.”

Governor Reynolds signed child labor changes into law in 2023 to allow 14- and 15-year-old olds to work up to six hours on a school day and ’til 9 p.m. on school nights or until 11 p.m. during the summer. Iowa law also allows children of any age to work at a business owned by their family. Under a rule change that took effect this week, a parent no longer has to be present when their child works at the family’s business.

The changes were discussed earlier this week during a meeting of the legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee.