Gazette Daily News Podcast: May 4 and 5, 2024

– Iowa’s graduation rates have been incorrectly calculated for the last 10 years

– Justice Department intends to sue to block Iowa immigration law

– 300 tornadoes hit U.S. in April, second-most ever

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Episode Transcript

Coming up, what led to Iowa’s graduation rates being incorrectly calculated for the past 10 years?

And later, the Justice Department intends to sue in order to block a new Iowa immigration law

Plus, 300 tornadoes hit the U.S. in April

Welcome to the weekend edition of the Gazette Daily News Podcast. This podcast gives quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom. I’m Bailey Cichon.

For the past decade, Iowa’s four-year and five-year high school graduation rates have been reported higher than the actual rate. Why? An error in the calculation code used by the Iowa Department of Education.

According to a Friday news release from the department, the error was identified during a review of the code. According to reporting by The Gazette’s Grace King, the calculation error resulted from students who transferred between school districts and later dropped out being erroneously removed from the database rather than being included as non-graduates.

Correcting the error dropped many area school districts’ 2022 graduation rates. For example, the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s 2022 graduation rate was originally reported as 80.3 percent. After the correction was made, it is 76.8 percent.

The graduation rate for Iowa’s class of 2023 is 87.5, which is a decline from the graduation rate reported in previous years because of the error. The department reported that the graduation rate is consistent with the national standard.

Read the full story by Grace King at the link in this episode’s description or at thegazette.com.

Next, the Justice Department intends to sue to block the enforcement of a new Iowa immigration law that criminalizes quote-unquote “illegal reentry”. Thursday, the Justice Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton sent a letter to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird that said the department intends to file a lawsuit to block Senate File 2340. Reynolds signed it into law last month. Boynton wrote quote, “SF 2340 is preempted by federal law and violates the United States Constitution,” end quote. To prevent the lawsuit, Iowa must agree to refrain from enforcing the law. Boynton gave the state a deadline of Tuesday.

Reynolds has attributed increases in fentanyl seizures, drug overdose deaths and human trafficking to illegal immigration issues. In a statement, the governor said quote, “The only reason we had to pass this law is because the Biden Administration refuses to enforce the laws already on the books. I have a duty to protect the citizens of Iowa. Unlike the federal government, we will respect the rule of law and enforce it.” end quote.

The Iowa law is set to take effect July 1. It makes it a state crime for someone to enter Iowa after being previously deported or barred from entering the United States. The offense is an aggravated misdemeanor, which carries up to a two-year sentence. In some cases, like for those with certain prior convictions, the state crime would become a felony, punishable by up to five to 10 years in prison.

For those convicted under the new law, Iowa judges would be required to issue an order that requires the person to return to the country from which they entered the United States. Additionally, the order must specify the manner in which the person would be transported to a U.S. port of entry. Undocumented immigrants could face felony charges for non-compliance.

A similar law passed in Texas is temporarily blocked. A federal appeals court is weighing a challenge to a lower court’s ruling that found the law quote “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.” end quote.

Boynton wrote that by imposing state-level criminal penalties for violating federal laws barring unlawful reentry into the U.S., Iowa’s law effectively creates a separate state immigration scheme.

This past week, marches and vigils were held in Iowa City, Davenport, Waterloo and Des Moines to protest the new Iowa law. Immigrant rights advocates warn the law will lead to widespread racial profiling and stereotyping while eating up already stressed state court and law enforcement resources. Some law enforcement officials have said they don’t have the tools and resources available to enforce the law.

Next, 300 tornadoes hit the U.S. in April, according to reporting from The Washington Post. That’s the second-highest in the month on record. Of those 300, 24 hit Western and Central Iowa on April 26 alone. The average number of tornadoes in April is 182 and the most on record was 757 in April 2011. At least six people died in tornadoes in April and all of the deaths occurred in the last week of the month. Three tornadoes in Oklahoma killed four people. Iowa and Kansas each lost one person.

As tornadoes crossed Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa on April 26, the Omaha-area tornadoes were the strongest to hit the area in a decade. Several were recorded as EF3 or severe. The most severe tornado to hit Iowa twisted through the small town of Minden. It reached nearly a mile wide and its path of destruction ran 40.9 miles through Pottawattamie and Shelby counties.

Find a link to each featured story in this episode’s description or at thegazette.com.

Now let’s take a look at the weather in Cedar Rapids. Saturday it will rain. Expect a high of 67 degrees and a low of 41 degrees. Sunday will be partly cloudy. Expect a high in the upper-sixties and a low of 47 degrees. Monday it will also be partly cloudy. Anticipate highs in the mid-70s and a low in the upper 50s.

Thank you for listening to the Gazette Daily News Podcast. Stay updated with the latest Eastern Iowa news at thegazette.com. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com