Governor Branstad’s request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration for 19 Iowa counties from a storm in June has been approved. Residents impacted by the storms can now apply for grants through FEMA and the Iowa Department of Human Services website.
More than 500 state inmates were successfully transferred to the new prison in Fort Madison over the weekend…and now the old one sits vacant. Governor Branstad says he’s brainstorming with the community to figure out what to do with the old facility. The old Fort Madison state prison is the oldest penitentiary west of the Mississippi River.
A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit by seven Iowa residents who claimed their constitutional rights were violated by the city of Des Moines’ traffic camera use on I-235. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs’ claim of violation of due process and equal protection rights were without legal merit in the case.
A search panel for a new University of Iowa president has started interviewing more than 40 applications for the post brought in from an outside firm. A handful of candidates are expected to be on campus next month for visits.
The city of Urbandale is taking a look at its housing and commercial development areas later this month…with the help of the EPA. The project will include private researchers, city officials, and the EPA to look at current housing and talk about plans for development and how to accommodate a workforce with those future housing ideas. The group will meet on the 27th and 28th.
The Iowa Board of Regents won’t just be discussing a tuition hike in its meeting this week…but it will also mull over Iowa State’s budget requests…including a $70 million athletics department request from 2016. Last year the school asked for $62 million.
With the announcement of a new co-chair to the governor’s STEM Advisory Council last week, Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds says the group is making significant strides in helping teachers prepare for the school year in math and science classes. Reynolds says they’ve been fielding grants from private companies to help pay for training and materials.
A Creighton University survey says there will be slow to no economic growth over the next three to six months in Iowa and other Midwest and Plains states. The report shows growth among non-durable-good manufacturers offset weaker conditions of durable-goods manufacturers.
A $10,000 grant from Wells Fargo is going toward DMAAC’s downtown urban campus’s English as a Second Language program. About 500 students go through the program each year, and the courses help learners develop skills for the workforce and be more successful in their semester courses. The class is free to ESL students.
