DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau/KCRG) – Two top leaders of the Iowa Board of Regents announced Monday they will step down from their positions on Thursday. President Sherry Bates will leave the board entirely, while President Pro Tem Greta Rouse will resign from her leadership position but remain on the board. The board oversees all three state universities. Board members were not available for comment. In a statement, both members said they want to spend more time with family. Gov. Kim Reynolds said she is grateful for Bates and respects her decision. Bates has served as president since February 2024. Former Gov. Terry Branstad originally appointed her to the board in 2014, and her current term was not set to expire until 2029. Rouse started her tenure as a student representative on the board in 2008. The Board of Regents meets Wednesday to elect new leadership.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa is among four states that will now have access to federal voter registration data after the state filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration. The Iowa Attorney General’s office sued last year, saying Homeland Security would not grant access to the data after an audit by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. The audit found 277 non-citizens voted or are registered to vote. A previous audit said there were more than two thousand. Court documents show the Trump administration agreed to settle the lawsuit Friday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will also provide Florida, Ohio, and Indiana officials access to the federal immigration database. The Iowa Attorney General’s office says this agreement will last for 20 years.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI/KCRG) – A Waterloo man was arrested Sunday night after police say he broke into State Auditor Rob Sand’s home. According to court documents, 41-year-old Jeffrey Moffett was in the home when the Sand family returned Sunday from being out of town. When officers arrived at the scene, the complaint says Moffett was wearing clothes that belonged to a member of the household and refused to leave, saying that the house was his. Police wrote in the complaint security alerts indicated Moffett had been there since Friday. Sand, a Democrat, is running for Iowa governor. Police told KCCI the break-in was not politically motivated. Moffett has been charged with second-degree burglary and two counts of interference with official acts. Criminal complaints state Moffett fought with officers, injuring one’s elbow and cutting another one on the hand. A spokesperson for Sand declined to comment on the situation.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says a man was arrested and charged with an OWI Sunday evening. Juan Garza Gomez, 35, was pulled over for speeding around 11:30 p.m. on US Highway 6 East. An officer says there were several open Modelo cans and a cut lime in the center console of the SUV. The Sheriff’s Office says Garza Gomez failed a field sobriety test and had a blood-alcohol content of 0.12.
