IOWA CITY, Iowa (Iowa Capital Dispatch/KCRG) – The Iowa Board of Regents has selected Carson Holloway as the new director of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, opening a new chapter for the center amid conflict over its development. Board of Regents President Robert Cramer said he appreciated the “time and energy” center interim director Luciano de Castro put into the center in its first year of operation, but disagreed with the narrative de Castro presented in his annual report to the General Assembly. Holloway currently serves as chair of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s department of political science and interim chair of the philosophy department, according to his curriculum vitae. He also launched a constitutional studies forum at the university in 2022. In the report, de Castro lists instances of what he called potential illegal actions taken by board of regents staff and University of Iowa officials that limited the center’s development and progress in setting up courses and other programming. Regent Christine Hensley, chair of the board’s Center for Intellectual Freedom committee, said she had many learning opportunities during the “long, drawn-out” director search process, including learning that the center’s model is unique in the U.S. and that other civics centers want to see this one succeed. As there was no “playbook to go by” in creating this center, Hensley acknowledged they operated on a trial-and-error basis.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa’s Cold Case Unit has received $15,000 to further investigate unsolved cases. Attorney General Brenna Bird says the Prairie Meadows Board of Directors awarded the grant to support advanced DNA testing. State officials say this could finally bring answers to families awaiting justice in Iowa’s cold cases. There are 532 cold cases across the state, according to the unit’s website. “I launched the Iowa Cold Case Unit because no one should get away with murder,” Bird said. “If these funds bring answers to just one family, to just one community, it will be invaluable for the cause of justice.” Anyone with information on a cold case is asked to call the tip line at 1-800-242-5100, visit iowaattorneygeneral.gov, or email coldcase@ag.iowa.gov.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A $1 million payment will erase decades of accumulated operating losses at ImOn Ice Arena and give the venue money to cover day-to-day expenses. The payment comes from hotel-motel tax revenue, which city officials say has increased as data center construction workers help fill local hotel rooms. The $1 million payment would cover accrued losses and leave approximately $350,000 in working capital—money available for daily operating expenses and short-term financial obligations. The payment will go to VenuWorks of Cedar Rapids LLC, which operates the city-owned arena. The funding is designated for ImOn Ice Arena. Replenishing the arena’s operating account would also help avoid internal loans between venues managed by VenuWorks. Cedar Rapids collects a 7% tax on hotel stays. That revenue supports city-owned entertainment venues, grants for nonprofit organizations and the city’s general fund. The arena is among several city-owned venues supported by that revenue. City officials say a roughly 40% increase in hotel-motel tax revenue is making the arena payment possible. They attribute part of that increase to workers staying in local hotels while building data centers in the area.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A man who led Cedar Rapids police on a chase onto the Coe College campus in January, has been sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison. The Northern District of Iowa says Dondre Minor, 30, pleaded guilty in May to being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Minor to 111 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after his prison term ends. Minor was arrested by police in January after leading officers on a pursuit that went through the Coe College campus. Minor eventually crashed his car into a backyard. Minor, who had already been convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, was on federal supervised release at the time of his arrest. In May, Minor pleaded guilty to state charges of eluding. Court records show he was sentenced to 40 days in the Linn County jail.
