Caitlyn Mills
Nine Iowa individuals charged with child pornography
Nine people were charged with child pornography-related charges in Iowa Wednesday morning. The charges came as a result of a federal investigation in the Southern District of Iowa called Operation Wirebreaker and were announced by the United States Attorney’s office.
Jane Doe, an Iowa City woman, was one of the nine charged. Those found guilty could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and receive a $250,000 fine.
New state budget may cost University of Iowa millions in funding
A new state budget being proposed by Iowa Gov. Chet Culver is expected to possibly decrease funds for the University of Iowa by 9%. The budget, which will be voted for approval by the Iowa legislature in April, could take away around $26 million from the university.
In order to meet budget cut goals, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the largest in the university, has already cut their budget by $600,000 to $700,000. Faculty positions have already been left unfilled and in order to cope with the new cuts, Dean Linda Maxson is considering furloughs that could last two or three days.
Reported smoke on Dallas-bound plane
A Dallas-bound American Eagle flight out of Eastern Iowa Airport reported smoke mid-flight late Thursday. The plane landed safely at the Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, surrounded by firetrucks on the runway, recovering all 51 passengers.
After inspection, it appeared that a smoke detector in the cargo section of the twin-engine plane had simply gone off during the flight. An airport spokesperson said something like this is routine, yet the horrible weather conditions that plagued Eastern Iowa that day had given both flight crew and passengers enough to worry about during the flight.