From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
A Black Hawk County supervisor faces another sex abuse charge. Prosecutors charged Christopher Schwartz with third-degree sexual abuse. Court documents on this latest incident say he raped someone at his home in 2024. Schwartz already faces charges for two other cases from 2023. Court documents say he sexually assaulted someone while they were incapacitated in those incidents. Schwartz still serves on the Board of Supervisors.
Two top staffers at the Iowa Pension Employment Retirement System are now on investigative leave. IPERS CEO Greg Samorajski and Chief Benefits Officer Steven Herbert are now on paid leave, but the Reynolds’ administration has not revealed exactly why. Her office has previously said that the IPERS CEO had to be placed on leave because of misconduct allegations. IPERS manages about $45 billion in assets for more than 400,000 public employee workers.
A financial crisis may force Iowa City Schools to close buildings, or risk a budget disaster in just a few years. Financial advisors with the company PFM questioned why a district its size operates four high schools. The advisors said if the district doesn’t consider closing buildings, it could be stuck in a difficult financial situation in another three to five years.
Iowa farmers are pushing back after a statewide program that connects Iowa schools with local farmers was left out of the state budget proposal. The “Choose Iowa” program is an initiative aimed at connecting Iowa schools with nearby food producers. But there is no money allocated for it in a proposed state ag budget. This comes as a non-budget bill moving through the legislature would make a pilot version of that program permanent.
John Deere has agreed to pay $99 million as part of a settlement. It would settle a 2022 class action lawsuit accusing the company of monopolizing repair services. Deere has faced a handful of “right to repair” complaints over the years. The company was accused of withholding repair software and conspiring with authorized dealers to force farmers to use their services for repairs. Those who sued claim Deere and its dealers could then charge them higher prices and reap the benefits. Deere has denied any wrongdoing. The settlement still needs final approval from the court.
