Iowa Unemployment Lower, Also Dip In Job Growth
(Des Moines, IA) — Unemployment is slightly lower in Iowa’s latest job report, but there was also a drop in job growth. Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell a bit to 3.3 percent in March. That’s down point-one percent from February, according to Iowa Workforce Development. Health care and social assistance led all sectors, with 1,100 jobs added in March. The sector has added 43-hundred workers over the past year, reaching an all-time high.
More Than 100 Iowa National Guard Soldiers Returning From Middle East Deployment
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa National Guard soldiers are back in the U.S. The National Guard says the 140 soldiers were deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, an effort to promote stability and reduce the capabilities of ISIS in Syria. A welcome home ceremony will be held in Des Moines, likely next week.
Iowa City Shooting Victim Continues To Improve
(Iowa City, IA) — A University of Iowa student shot in the head on the Ped Mall in Iowa City last month is slowly getting better. The family of Miranda Peters provided an update and thanked donors for more than $185,000 in donations to a GoFundMe campaign. The Iowa City Police Department says 17-year-old Damarian Jones from Cedar Rapids is still at large in connection with the shooting.
The ACLU Of Iowa Reaches Settlement With Iowa DOC After False Positive Drug Tests
(Des Moines, IA) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has reached a settlement agreement with the Iowa Department of Corrections. The settlement comes after three inmates were wrongly disciplined following false-positive drug tests. Under the agreement, the Department of Corrections must provide stronger evidence to prove violations occurred and implement more scientifically accurate drug-testing methods. The inmates were housed at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville. Their disciplinary records connected to the false-positive tests have been expunged.
Former Eastern Iowa MLB Draft Pick Drowns In Cedar River
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — A Cedar Rapids native and former Major League Baseball draft pick has died. Police say 33-year-old Dakota Freese may have been pulled underwater when he entered the Cedar River to retrieve items he dropped while fishing Monday afternoon. Freese was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2011 out of Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, and again by the Oakland A’s in 2013.
