IOWA CITY, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH/KCRG) – State universities are planning to increase tuition for undergraduate and graduate students once again this fall, pending approval from the Iowa Board of Regents, according to board documents released Tuesday. If approved by the board at its June meeting, University of Iowa and Iowa State University resident undergraduate students will see their tuition increase by 3%, with a proposed 2.7% increase for in-state, undergraduate students attending the University of Northern Iowa. The regents will consider the proposals at their April 23-24 meeting on the ISU campus. UNI is the only state university to propose a larger tuition increase rate than last year. Both the UI and ISU had 3% increases in the 2024-2025 school year, while UNI tuition increased by 2%. Out-of-state undergraduate students will also see their tuition increase, according to the proposed rates document. The proposed rate increase of 0.9% from the UI is the only one coming in lower than resident increases. ISU requested a 4.5% increase for nonresident students and UNI requested 3%.
DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH/KCRG) – A bill to waive university tuition and fees for Iowa law enforcement has moved out of a House subcommittee with support from its members and the public. House Study Bill 329 would require Iowa community colleges and public universities to waive tuition and fees for “peace officers,” defined in Iowa Code as sheriffs, deputies, police officers, certain parole and probation officers, security officers employed by a state university, conservation officers, and qualified employees of the Department of Transportation or an aviation authority. Dependents of peace officers are also eligible for waivers, with certain parameters. The bill would create a reimbursement fund for the waivers and place it under control of the state’s College Student Aid Commission, with a proposed $10 surcharge added to automatic or remote traffic citations providing the money to fill the fund. The commission would use money allocated to the fund to pay back colleges and universities who have applied the cost of the waivers they provided to students.
INDIANOLA, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH/KCRG) – A state-licensed EMT from Indianola is facing two felony charges of grooming minors to commit an unlawful act of a sexual nature. Police allege that in October 2024, 37-year-old Jeremy Dean McCormick of Indianola took a 15-year-old female and a 16-year-old female on a shopping trip to eastern Iowa. He allegedly took the two teens to a Victoria’s Secret store, where he purchased underwear for both of the girls. Prior to that incident, police say, one of the two teens had previously gone to a Victoria’s Secret store with McCormick where he purchased underwear for her. According to police, the girl alleged McCormick knew she was a minor and that after both shopping trips, he asked her to send him photos of her in the underwear he had purchased for her. McCormick has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of grooming. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 5, 2025. Separately, the Iowa Bureau of Emergency Medical and Trauma Services has issued an emergency order suspending McCormick’s EMT license, citing his arrest. The board alleges his “continued practice of emergency medical services constitutes an immediate danger to the public health, safety, and welfare.” A hearing date on the suspension has yet to be scheduled.
VINTON, Iowa (KCRG) – AmeriCorps workers are being demobilized across the country, including here in Iowa, by the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). AmeriCorps employs more than 500 workers and sends out hundreds of thousands of volunteers on service projects across the country. The agency works with nonprofits and faith-based organizations, as well as state and local partners on those service projects. Representatives with Indian Creek confirmed Wednesday that their AmeriCorps workers were sent home. It’s unclear how many people are impacted.
