Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“Intellectual freedom isn’t about swapping one orthodoxy for another,” Mathis said. “It’s really about teaching students to listen carefully, and to understand a position before they agree or disagree with it …” — Liz Mathis, member of the advisory board for the Center for Intellectual Freedom at University of Iowa, arguing for more student involvement in conversations about the center.
A Black schoolteacher at Ottumwa High School sued the district for allegedly failing to discipline students for racist behavior. (Photo courtesy of Ottumwa Community School District)
A school teacher who alleged the Ottumwa public schools encouraged students’ racist behavior by failing to impose sufficient discipline has won a $425,000 judgment against the district.
In June 2023, Robert Bender, who is Black, sued the Ottumwa Community School District in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, seeking damages related to alleged harassment, discrimination, retaliation and violations of the federal Civil Rights Act.
Panelists speaking Dec. 6, 2025, at the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, from left, are center Interim Director Luciano de Castro, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education David Barker, state Rep. Taylor Collins, state Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen and Regent Christine Hensley. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Members of the advisory council for the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa met Friday to discuss next steps in the search for a permanent director and their hopes for the center’s future.
The field of applicants for the director job — currently held on an interim basis by Luciano de Castro — has been narrowed from 62 to four candidates by the advisory council, which itself has seen a reduction in numbers after 11 members resigned.
Several Iowa mental health professionals have been charged recently with violating regulations concerning their relationships with clients.
Luther College is partnering with a Minnesota school district to provide its students with preferred admission guidelines and scholarship funds.
Local and state officials across the country are bracing for possible federal election interference from now through Nov. 3 — even as they remain unsure of what will actually happen.
Kalshi, Polymarket and the Coalition for Prediction Markets have spent at least $3 million this year on lobbying and campaign contributions across the federal and state levels, according to a new report from the government watchdog group OpenSecrets, Stateline reports.
An unprecedented increase in cooperation between local and state law enforcement and federal immigration officers helped drive up immigration arrests.
COMMENTARY
The Iowa Legislature's one-day special session on Friday left a lot to discuss -- including the political ramifications of the estimated $1.4 billion in incentives lawmakers approved for an out-of-state company that plans to locate a steel mill in southeast Iowa.
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