The state Board of Regents next week will consider renewal of the service operating agreement between Iowa Public Radio and the regents that includes a provision for IPR to conduct itself consistent with Iowa open meetings and open records laws. The regents meet next week in Iowa City, and the agenda information was released Wednesday. [...]

Mount Mercy University President Christopher Blake is not expected to return to the university after his one-year sabbatical ends next May, a school spokeswoman said Wednesday. The Mount Mercy spokeswoman also confirmed that Provost Melody Graham has taken a leave of absence. “From what I understand, they are two separate employee matters and they were [...]

DES MOINES – Iowa Democrats kept their promise to help middle-class Iowans during the just-completed 2013 session, party leaders said Wednesday. “Democrats delivered,” said Rep. Tyler Olson, a Cedar Rapids Democrat who also serves as chairman of the state Democratic Party. That was especially true on issues related to health care, education and tax policy,’ [...]

Sen. Tom Harkin’s papers from decades in the U.S. Congress will end up at Drake University, not Iowa State University. Harkin and Drake leaders made the announcement official Friday in Des Moines. Drake will create the Tom Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement, a nonpartisan center designed to serve as a hub for [...]

Gov. Terry Branstad today is hailing the members of split-control Legislature for their landmark session achievements. The five-term GOP governor says lawmakers succeeded in approving significant property tax relief, transformational education reform, and meaningful health modernization that focuses on quality outcomes for low-income patients while modernizing of the Medicaid system. The governor noted that the [...]

IOWA CITY – The Iowa City school district will not go after a federal grant that would help pay for police officers in schools, but the debate over the underlying issue is not necessarily over. The school board voted 7-0 Tuesday night not to apply for a Community Oriented Policing Services grant to place one [...]

The Luther College board of regents has appointed David Tiede as interim president of the college, effective July 1. Luther President Richard Torgerson will leave his post with the college on June 30. Tiede’s appointment at Luther is for a period of 12 months, or until the permanent position is filled, officials said. Tiede is [...]

The split-control Legislature inched toward adjournment on its 18th day of overtime session Tuesday. House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said progress on the outstanding issues holding up the session’s end was “excellent” and he told reporters “I think that there’s a very real possibility that we are done tomorrow.” Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council [...]

Five juveniles were arrested following a fight at City High School in Iowa City early Monday morning. According to a press release from the Iowa City police department, police sent an officer to the high school for extra patrol as a precaution following an incident over the weekend that police anticipated might spill over into [...]

Despite a vote of no-confidence by the University of Northern Iowa faculty and criticism from a national academic group, retiring UNI President Ben Allen still believes controversial budget cuts and program closures last spring were the right decisions for the future of the university. Allen on Wednesday said going into those decisions last year, he [...]