With pressure building for lawmakers to deal with racial injustices that have triggered mass protests, top Republican leaders said Friday they are working with Democrats to address some immediate concerns and lay plans for future action. Democrat lawmakers and racial justice activists proposed immediate legislative action to ban most police choke holds, bar the hiring of law officers who have a record of serious misconduct and give the state attorney general and county attorneys the authority to investigate police misconduct. Erin Murphy is Lee Enterprises Des Moines bureau chief; he KXEL Live & Local listeners on Friday there are a variety of political reasons for the measure being advanced at this time. Sen. Majority Leader Jack Whitver said Friday GOP leadership agrees with much of what’s being proposed.
Iowa’s public university students will be back this fall to have “as full a range of on-campus experiences as possible” – without a tuition increase, at least for now. The Board of Regents unanimously agreed Thursday to freeze tuition rates across its three campuses for the fall semester. The regents this fall could re-evaluate tuition and fee rates for the spring semester at UNI, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. However, UNI issued a news release indicating tuition would be frozen for the full academic year on its campus. Students testified at the regents meeting in favor of a full year freeze on tuition at all campuses.
University of Iowa football strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle has been placed on administrative leave after several black former players posted on social media about what they described as systemic racism in the Hawkeye program. Head coach Kirk Ferentz made the announcement Saturday night, calling it “a defining moment” for Iowa’s football program. Dozens of former players took to social media to detail the issues they allege they saw and experienced while playing at Iowa. The 51-year-old Doyle has been Iowa’s strength and conditioning coach since 1999, when Ferentz took over the football program.
Last Monday on KXEL Live & Local, we told you about this year’s Cedar Valley Champions of Character recipients; now comes word that two of those have been recognized by the statewide Robert D. and Billie Ray Center. Receiving the state’s Student Organization of Character is Waterloo East High School’s JROTC program. Servpro of Black Hawk County received the Business of Character honorable mention honor. East High JROTC is a leadership development program that is meant to inspire young people to be better citizens. Servpro is a fire and water cleanup and restoration franchise. Jerry Gallagher of the Cedar Valley Champions of Character committee says such recognition is important to encourage good customer service. This year’s traditional recognition ceremonies have been cancelled due to the pandemic.
A Waterloo chemical plant will pay a nearly $80,000 civil penalty to settle violations of the federal Clean Air Act following a spill last year that hurt a worker there. The federal Environmental Protection Agency says Hydrite Chemical has also taken necessary steps to return its facility to compliance. In April 2019, a worker received burns from liquid sulfur that spilled as it was being unloaded from a tanker rail car. Sulfur melts at about 240 degrees, and the element is liquefied when it is loaded into rail cars and then reheated for unloading.
A Waterloo woman has been sentenced to probation in connection with the overdose death of a toddler who swallowed medication while riding in her car. A Polk County District Court judge sentenced 39-year-old Amanda Leonard–Hellum Thursday on a charge of felony neglect of a dependent person. Authorities said Leonard-Hellum declined to seek medical attention for the 2-year-old, whom she was trying to adopt, as she was driving from Waterloo to visit her boyfriend in Des Moines in June 2019. Police were called to the boyfriend’s apartment the following morning, and the child was found dead. She was charged with child endangerment causing death, but the charge was reduced as part of a plea agreement.
The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that the wife of a man killed in an accident at an Iowa amusement park in 2016 can proceed with a federal lawsuit and that the park’s insurance company may have to pay damages. The court ruled Friday that the insurance company for Adventureland Park in Altoona must provide a defense for the operator of a water ride. The lawsuit accuses Adventureland employee Stuart Glen of negligence that led to the death of his co-worker Stephen Booher. Gladys Booher is seeking damages including loss of earnings, physical and mental pain and suffering, burial expenses and punitive damages.
