Vanessa Miller

The University of Iowa next week will ask the Board of Regents to give various forms of approval for up to $180 million worth of construction in the coming months and years — including a new $20 million gymnastics and spirit squad training center and an updated Hawkeye football team locker room.

Receiving no increase in general education funding from the Legislature in its last session, Iowa’s Board of Regents for the upcoming term has more than halved its ask from last year’s $32 million to $14.8 million.

The State of Iowa, on behalf of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, has agreed to pay a former pediatrics fellow more than a quarter million dollars to settle a lawsuit in which she accused UIHC of denying her disability accommodations, retaliating against her, and breaching its contract with her – “kneecapping Dr. Riley’s career aspirations.”

On U.S. News & World Report’s list of “2024 Best Colleges” – which involved “the most significant methodological change in the rankings’ history” following widespread criticism of its wealth- and prestige-favoring metrics – Iowa’s public universities experienced meaningful movement, both up and down the charts.

The University of Iowa is moving ahead with a $75 million modernization of its nearly century-old memorial union, including plans to transform its former Iowa House Hotel into a new student well-being center and create a new “public plaza” overlooking the Iowa River.

Mercy Iowa City has arranged tours of its health care facilities next week for potential bidders interested in competing for its assets against the University of Iowa – which last month made an initial “stalking horse” bid of $20 million to buy the 150-year-old community hospital. Also, Mercy pensioners have obtained an attorney to ensure continued payment.

The same day in July that Mercy Iowa City’s largest bondholder petitioned a Johnson County judge to appoint a receiver to take control of its operations – a move hospital officials said compelled them to file for bankruptcy days later – a pair of recently terminated Mercy executives also filed suit against their former employer, accusing the hospital of ghosting them and shorting them hundreds of thousands.

Under revisions to proposed procedures for the historic sale of Mercy Iowa City, the 150-year-old community hospital might not remain a health care facility, might not go for $20 million, won’t give the University of Iowa the “bid protections” it once offered, and won’t complete the sale this month.

Mercy Iowa City is facing

All three of Iowa’s public universities have larger student bodies this fall than last -- as of their official 10th-day census -- including the University of Northern Iowa, which has been watching its enrollment trend down for more than a decade.

Although Mercy Iowa City has agreed to an initial $20 million offer to sell substantially all its assets to the University of Iowa, hospital officials Wednesday told creditors, retirees and others that they didn’t perform any appraisals or assessments of their property before making the deal.

University of Iowa police are investigating a body found on campus Wednesday morning, although “the death is not believed to be suspicious.”

The State Appeal Board on Tuesday agreed to pay $2.52 million to settle six lawsuits against University of Iowa Health Care — with the university paying most of that total under a new agreement inked last week upping the cap on what doctors and their insurance will cover.

More than a year away from a trial of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, its University of Iowa chapter, and two former brothers -- accused of sexually assaulting a fellow UI student, recording the attack, and disseminating the video -- a judge has agreed to move the case outside Johnson County, citing a “violent protest” and “inflammatory” online comments after allegations went public two years ago.

A deal with a consultant shows it could be paid a “success fee” of $250,000 if it arranges a sale to continue Mercy’s health care mission.