Iowa Board of Regents

So

I do, I do love a blizzard, but, uh, Secondly, just point out, we were covering, Brooklyn Grazie and my staff was covering the Board of Regents this week.

And UNI has now officially received permission from the Regents to open essentially the Chuck and Barbara Grassley Center where the senator's papers will be donated.

So they approved it on his birthday, which was nice.

Interestingly, they withhold the naming of the Grassley Center until he leaves office.

Sand's Republican opponent, Zach Lane, does not support legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

A plan to keep the University of Iowa's Center for Intellectual Freedom independent from the university has been approved by the Board of Regents.

The plan includes keeping the center's records separate from the university, including correspondence and financial records.

And the center's budget would be approved by the board, but wouldn't need approval from the university.

I'll be

real honest with you right now.

They're not satisfied with the document, but they are an advisory committee, and the Board of Regents has final authority to approve that.

Hensley says the advisory members had a chance to submit additional suggestions, which they did not do.

Nationally, the number of high school graduates will decline by about 400,000 students by 2041, and Iowa is expected to see a 9% decline in graduates in the same time period.

More in-depth enrollment information is expected to be released by the Iowa Board of Regents later this fall.

You can read all these stories in full and more news at businessrecord.com. Next up, we have our statewide headlines with the news you need to know from across Iowa.

NextEra Energy will receive a loan of up to $1.9 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy to support the restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo.

University of Northern Iowa is seeking approval to create a new center dedicated to public service legacy of U.S.

Senator Chuck Grassley and his wife, Barbara, in a proposal that will be considered by the Iowa Board of Regents at its meeting next week.

The proposed center, which would serve as a university-wide resource with state and national reach, is not intended to function as an academic department or research or policy center, according to information provided to the Regents.

Instead, the center would focus on civic education, public engagement, leadership development, and public programming, as well as the preservation of documents pertaining to Grassley's 67 years of public service.

The measure passed with broad bipartisan support, 83-2 in the Iowa House and 39-4 in the Senate.

The legislation also created a Nuclear Energy Workforce Fund administered by the Iowa Board of Regents, with programs potentially ranging from certificate training to university engineering pathways.

Lawmakers directed officials to consider the task force's recommendations when developing those programs.

Task Force Chairman Mark Nutt said the panel believes advanced nuclear reactors could play an important role in providing affordable and reliable power as Iowa's electricity demand grows, while also supporting the state's economic development goals.

More than 35% of Iowa public school districts had 100 or more students choosing to open enroll to another public district or public charter school during the 25-26 school year, according to data from the Iowa Department of Education.

A pair of trade companies hired to help build the University of Iowa's new $525.6 million hospital in North Liberty are suing the Board of Regents and the project's construction manager for not paying them a combined $2.4 million.

Price Industrial Electric Incorporated, based in Robbins, said it's owed $1.6 million for work on the 469,060-square-foot hospital that opened in April of 2025 and already is undergoing more construction to build out space initially left vacant.

Ely-based T&K Roofing Company likewise said it's owed $809,251, according to lawsuits filed this month in Johnson County District Court.

T&K performed its respective obligations pursuant to to its subcontract with J.E. Dunn.

However, J.E. Dunn has failed to pay T&K the amount due and owing, according to its August 3rd lawsuit against the Regents and J.E. Dunn Construction, the Kansas City-based company the board hired as general manager for its UIHC at Forever Green Road construction project in North Liberty.

J.E. Dunn was directly involved in subcontracting T&K to work on the North Liberty Hospital, but it involved a second middleman in Price Industrial Electric's contract, according to its lawsuit.

In that case, J.E. Dunn first subcontracted with Johnson Controls Fire Protection for a discrete scope of work, which then entered into a subcontract with Price.