What You Need To Know: Feb. 15, 2017

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING DEBATE HEATS UP: Legislation to make sweeping changes to Iowa's 43-year-old public employee collective bargaining law is either a 'much-needed breath of fresh air' or 'vendetta politics,' according to opening arguments of what the floor manager said is 'likely to be a spirited discussion.' Sen. Nate Boulton of Des Moines said of the proposal, 'This bill is not modernizing, it's marginalizing. This isn't tweaking … this is destroying.' Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/government-politics/iowa-house-senate-members-clash-as-collective-bargaining-debate-begins-in-earnest/

ARREST IN IOWA CITY SHOOTING: A Cedar Rapids man has been arrested in Illinois in connection with a shooting at Pheasant Ridge Apartment complex in Iowa City. Darius E. Davison, 20, of Cedar Rapids, was taken into custody by the United States Marshal's Service in Bloomington, Ill, early Tuesday in connection to the shooting last week in Iowa City, A warrant for Davison's arrest was issued Feb. 8 with a charge of attempted murder. Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/news/cedar-rapids-man-arrested-in-connection-with-iowa-city-shooting/

UI FACULTY RESIGNATIONS UP SHARPLY: The University of Iowa last year again saw an increase in faculty resignations, pushing the annual total to its highest in at least a decade and supporting UI President Bruce Harreld's push for improved faculty compensation. In the 2016 budget year, 94 UI faculty members resigned, up from 90 in 2015. That 90 represented a spike from 2014, when 66 people resigned. 'If we're going to be competitive (nationally), we've got to stop the exodus of faculty, and we need to bring new talent in,' UI President Bruce Harreld said. Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/higher-education/report-university-of-iowa-sees-increase-in-2016-faculty-resignations-when-compared-to-2015/

O'KEEFE'S EXPERIENCE COMES AT A COST: Ken O'Keefe was crucial in the early years of Kirk Ferentz's Iowa coaching career. Then he spent five years coaching with the Miami Dolphins. Now in 2017, Ferentz again will lean on O'Keefe. 'His depth of experience, his wealth of experience,' Ferentz said Feb. 5. 'Not only in terms of the positions he's held, but the various level he's coached at. He's going to be an outstanding resource for everybody on our staff. And that's going to pay extremely well. Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/sports/iowa-pays-for-ken-okeefes-wealth-of-experience/