1+ hour, 15+ min ago (327+ words) University of Iowa and Iowa State University classes will happen as planned Nov. 30, 2025 4:07 pm CEDAR FALLS " Due to last week's winter storm that dumped nearly 15 inches of snow on the Cedar Falls-Waterloo area, the University of Northern Iowa is canceling all classes Monday "to provide students more time to return to campus from Thanksgiving break." The University of Iowa in Iowa City and Iowa State University in Ames " both of which received less snow from the storm that blanketed Iowa last week " will hold classes on Monday as planned. "Due to travel conditions from the recent winter storm, UNI is canceling classes on Monday, Dec. 1," according to a brief notice distributed Sunday. UNI's Waterloo-Cedar Falls area received 14.5 inches of snow on Friday and Saturday, paired with low temperatures reaching 13 " about 10 degrees below normal, according to the National Weather Service. Monday's…...

11+ hour, 53+ min ago (1418+ words) Nov. 30, 2025 5:30 am AMES " The hundreds of faculty, staff, students and community members who offered feedback on the two finalists for Iowa State University president gave higher marks to and more positive comments for the candidate not chosen " Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Benjamin Houlton. "Ohhhh, please please please select Ben Houlton for the next president," one person wrote in the anonymous comments portion of the online feedback forms provided to the Board of Regents about the finalists, all of which were obtained by The Gazette through a public-records request. "He's the inspiration and energy we are craving!" Echoing the sentiment of many who gave their opinion on the finalists, another respondent said Houlton "would move the university in exciting new directions and offer ideas and perspectives desperately needed at Iowa State University. "We should not be…...

1+ day, 19+ hour ago (823+ words) UIHC cites strong demand in spending up to $25 million more to add capacity Nov. 29, 2025 5:30 am NORTH LIBERTY " Exceeding expectations in some patient categories " like those needing emergency care or to be admitted overnight " University of Iowa Health Care's new orthopedics-focused hospital in North Liberty already is "becoming an anchor for the growing community" after just six months, officials said. "UI Health Care's North Liberty campus, which was originally designed for future growth with built-in shell space, is seeing more patients and higher acuity cases than anticipated, creating a need to expand facilities," UIHC officials reported this week in celebrating the North Liberty campus' half birthday. The numbers report comes two weeks after UIHC received Board of Regents permission to spend up to $25 million more expanding and outfitting the brand-new $525.6 million, 469,060-square-foot hospital " already. "The number of patients seen at the…...

4+ day, 23+ hour ago (406+ words) The governor said block grants would provide states with more flexibility in education spending Nov. 25, 2025 5:34 pm DES MOINES'Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said the state is in a "good place" to receive nearly $157 million in federal education funding by block grant rather than through the U.S. Department of Education, arguing that it will help eliminate "bureaucracy." During the annual turkey pardoning at the governor's residence in Des Moines Tuesday, Reynolds told reporters that the state's push to receive federal education funding in the form of block grants'fixed amounts of money from the federal government that can be used for a broad range of purposes'will help streamline the process and provide states with more flexibility in education spending. Reynolds has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump's and Education Secretary Linda McMahon's efforts to dismantle the DOE and transfer its responsibilities to…...

5+ day, 2+ hour ago (285+ words) Nov. 25, 2025 2:43 pm Susan Stuebner has been named the 26th president of Simpson College after serving as its interim leader during the fall semester. The private university, located in Indianola, announced in a news release Tuesday its board of trustees unanimously selected Stuebner to officially take on the role after the completion of a performance review by higher education search firm Academic Search. Stuebner joined Simpson as its interim president in late July after the death of president Jay Byers in April. When she was first introduced to campus, college board Chair Terry Handley said Stuebner and the board would decide together if she wanted to stay, in consultation with the Simpson community and subject to a review of her work during the fall semester. He said in the release it was an "easy" decision to make in the end, looking at…...

5+ day, 3+ hour ago (349+ words) Nov. 25, 2025 2:09 pm Cornell College will shut down degree programs in foreign languages and music after a review of "student enrollment data and student interest," according to a message sent to students, staff and faculty. The message, also published online by the Mount Vernon university, stated it looked at the data and consulted with the university's Faculty Council "to determine where we will be making changes" in the 2026-2027 academic year. As a result, Cornell will halt its "major courses of study in" more than 10 areas, including classical studies, French and Francophone studies, German studies, religion, and bachelor's of music in the general, performance and K-12 tracks. Spanish will also be eliminated as a major, the message stated, though a minor option will remain available. Music programs outside of choir and choral ensembles, contemporary and popular music and musical theatre are also being…...

6+ day, 11+ hour ago (974+ words) I will always struggle to convey to the world how important Jay was to my life" Nov. 24, 2025 5:30 am IOWA CITY " Students in University of Iowa professor Jay Holstein"s courses knew not to sit in the aisle, pull out a sandwich, keep their phone ringer on or doze off. They knew that Ridley Scott"s "Blade Runner" wasn"t about a retired police officer hunting androids and that Ernest Hemingway"s "Old Man and The Sea" wasn"t about fishing on a skiff. And they knew that when they walked out of one of Holstein"s iconic courses from a Van Allen Hall auditorium packed with students of all ages and majors, they would never see the world the same. Legendary UI religious studies professor Jay Allen Holstein died Nov. 14, 2025 following a brief illness. He was 87. "It grieves me greatly…...

1+ week, 11+ hour ago (902+ words) Debate breaks out over political balance of advisory council leadership Nov. 23, 2025 5:30 am IOWA CITY " Thanks to personal invitations from Gov. Kim Reynolds, 100 percent of the scholars, researchers, and university faculty across the country asked to serve on an advisory council for a new Legislature-mandated University of Iowa-based Center for Intellectual Freedom said yes. That swelled the council from a minimum nine members, as required by House File 437 that created the UI center in the last Legislative session, to 26 members " most of whom convened last week for the first time to introduce themselves, pick committee assignments, and pass bylaws, among other things. "The Legislature was really important in making this center exist, but Gov. Kim Reynolds also was really helpful and provided instrumental support for us," interim center director and UI economics professor Luciano de Castro said during Tuesday's meeting. "She…...

1+ week, 12+ hour ago (610+ words) Home / Special Sections / Celebrating Entrepreneurship John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Startup Incubator helps students turn ideas into reality Nov. 23, 2025 5:00 am This story first appeared in Celebrating Entrepreneurship 2025, an annual special section that highlights the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Corridor. Entrepreneurship is alive and well at the University of Iowa. When a student has a spark for a business idea, the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Startup Incubator is the perfect place for them to connect with resources for exploring the next step. "At the pre-incubator, or "idea stage," we help students turn sparks into something tangible," said Director Janice Baldes. "Many start with just a problem they"ve noticed or an idea they can"t shake, and we guide them in validating the need, shaping the concept and building confidence to take it further." Currently, the program has about 30 students in this…...

1+ week, 20+ hour ago (1393+ words) No direct financial ties, but past associations raise questions Nov. 23, 2025 5:00 am Last year, the Cedar Rapids Community School District approved two separate contracts totaling $670,000 with Boston-based consulting firm District Management Group to analyze staffing procedures and implement a new model for the sake of a more "efficacious" workforce. This past Spring, CRCSD cut over 200 staff positions, including about 77 teaching positions. Despite those cuts, the district still is spending money on consultants. Some of those firms have ties to CRCSD Superintendent Dr. Tawana Grover. There is no evidence that Grover is directly financially benefiting from CRCSD's consultant expenditures. But in light of a multimillion dollar budget deficit and several other factors, they are deserving of examination. At its upcoming annual summit for public school district leaders at a posh Times Square hotel in New York City, District Management Group will put…...