Featured Stories
– Iowa Department of Transportation faces “huge workload” to repair medians
– Iowa House Republicans push new AEA, teacher pay plan.
– Iowa Orchestra Announces Concertmaster
– Former intern becomes Alliant’s Iowa president
Episode transcription
Welcome to the weekend edition of The Gazette's daily news podcast. This podcast brings you the latest headlines from the Gazette newsroom. I'm Becky Lutgen Gardner.
First, the Iowa Department of Transportation said there is a “tremendous amount of work” to repair medians damaged in January's storms. More than 200 vehicles crashed into a cable barrier in the median of Interstate 80 during a series of snowstorms in January. This is a significant number considering that Iowa typically conducts approximately 900 strikes on all of Iowa's interstates throughout the winter.
If you've driven down Interstate 80 since the storm, you've probably seen a lot of fencing in a mess. In some cases, iron columns have been flattened or pulled out of the ground. Colorful markers indicate sections that need repair.
Repairs to them are currently being carried out.
“This is an important safety feature on our roadways, so we want to make this a reality,” said John Hart, director of the Iowa Department of Transportation's Bureau of Maintenance. However, the damage occurred over a two-week period, and in some areas the damage was even more severe, “resulting in a huge amount of work to be done all at once.”
Next, Iowa House Republicans advanced a new regional education agency plan on Thursday.
Democrats, parents and education officials praised, but still balked at the way state education agencies are delivering services.
Advocates and lobbyists for education groups, including the AEA, told lawmakers in a House subcommittee that the new plan represents significant progress compared to Gov. Kim Reynolds' original proposal and legislation moving forward in the Iowa Senate. he said.
The new House bill removes a key part of the Reynolds proposal that would have allowed school districts to contract with other parties, such as private companies, to provide special education support services to students with disabilities.
Iowa's local education agencies would continue to be the sole provider of special education assistance to school districts, but the House proposal would change the funding structure and delivery of other services.
Committee Chair Rep. Schuyler Wheeler said the bill is still a work in progress and promised more changes as the bill moves forward.
He said: “We have an opportunity to improve the system. And we have an opportunity to win, not just for our students, but for our entire school.”
He has a daughter with autism and said the issue is “very near and dear to me personally.”
The Senate advanced Reynolds' original proposal with amendments out of committee late Wednesday.
Base pay increases for teachers and staff would be phased in over two years under a plan also advanced Thursday in the Iowa House of Representatives.
The bill would increase the minimum salary for first-year teachers to $47,500 in the 2024-2025 school year and $50,000 in the 2025-2026 school year.
Education advocates who spoke at Congressional hearings praised the phased-in approach, saying it gives school districts time to plan and adjust their budgets.
The Alliant Energy Board of Directors has appointed Mayuri “May” Fahringer as president of the utility's Iowa Energy Division, effective May 1.
Farlinger, who began his career at Alliant as an intern in 2004, will also serve as vice president of operations. She replaces Terry Kouba, who is retiring.
“May is an outstanding leader and I am confident that she and her team will continue to meet the expectations of our customers and communities across Iowa,” said Lisa Barton, president and CEO of Alliant Energy. I am confident that we will surpass that.”
Farlinger most recently served as vice president of customer and community engagement for an Iowa utility.
Finally, Orchestra Iowa hired a concertmaster with ties to Iowa. Julia (SAHA ROV A) Sakharova will take up the position that had been vacant since before the pandemic. Iowa Orchestra Maestro Timothy Hankewicz announced her appointment late Friday, saying, “Julia brings her incredible talent to the Iowa Orchestra stage, and we are thrilled to have her on board.'' I'm excited.''
(Sa-ha-rov-a) Sakharova is from Russia and has many achievements both at home and abroad. She also taught master classes at the University of Iowa School of Music. During her childhood in Russia, she performed for several visiting Cedar Rapids Rotary members. They arranged for her to come to the United States to receive the medical care she needed and remained nearby for years.
Weekend weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Saturday will be sunny with a high near 32. Saturday night will be sunny with a low near 26. Sunday will be sunny with highs near 45. Sunday night will be mostly clear, with highs near 32 degrees. Monday will be partly sunny with highs near 50 degrees.
Links to each story featured in today's episode can be found in the episode description or on Gazette.com.
Thanks for listening to The Gazette's Daily News Podcast Weekend Edition. I'm Becky Lutgen Gardner.
