News

During this year’s legislative session, the Iowa House of Representatives and the governor’s office used an Iowa-based AI-native program to help streamline the legislative process for evaluating and tracking bills, a first for the state.

A University of Northern Iowa employee is suing the institution after she was demoted from an assistant vice president position, alleging discrimination against her age that led to her taking a pay cut as well as her title and some duties being handed off to younger coworkers.

A Cedar Rapids man is honoring his mother, a court clerk who died last year, by establishing a nonprofit to create a children’s library in the Linn County Courthouse. His mom noticed many parents have to take their children with them to the courthouse when handling legal matters, and providing books could help distract them.

Also in this week’s Government Notes, Linn County Supervisors award $28K in historic preservation grants

Iowa’s Forest Reserve Program, which provides a tax incentive for property owners to maintain woodlands, remains intact after this year’s legislative session, but the Iowa Woodland Owners Association anticipates the fight to keep the program to continue.

About to graduate with a psych degree in spring 2024, her focus turned toward the medical college admission test, University of Iowa senior Krisha Keeran on March 13, 2024 had just finished taking her final MCAT practice exam when she and her dad took off for a bike ride that would end with weeks of hospitalization and months of rehab.

“With this technology, what we've been able to do for patients is really revolutionary. And the University of Iowa is at the cutting edge now, both in delivering the care and training the next generation of surgeons to do it.”

The North Liberty Police Department has seen unusually high turnover in the last year. Since April 2024, more than two-thirds of its officers have resigned. Now, the department is working to rebuild, with emphasis on better communication and officer satisfaction.