DMACC is reviewing and discussing its security procedures after last week’s shootings at a community college campus in Oregon. The college has a crisis management team and has hired a company to monitor social media on or near the campus, especially during large events. Students and faculty were encouraged last week to talk about the situation in Oregon, and what they’d do if it happened on their campus.
John Deere and Company has a ratified deal with the UAW. Workers approved the 6-year pact yesterday. It charges them more for medical costs, but gives them a modest pay increase. The agreement covers 10-thousand workers in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas.
The Riverfront YMCA building in Des Moines is now history. Hundreds watched from the opposite bank of the Des Moines River as the half-a-century-old structure was imploded just before daybreak yesterday. The site is expected to be used for multi-unit housing.
Governor Branstad’s executive order to set up an anti-bulling office to combat bullying in schools has raised questions among state lawmakers. Some say a law is still needed to codify the intent of the executive order. The office is run out of UNI Center for Violence Prevention.
Des Moines’ police department is a little bigger. 18 new graduates from the police academy got their badges on Friday, after 900 hours of training.
This is the start of Fire Prevention Week, and Ankeny’s fire department has lined up a week of activities to celebrate. They’re doing story time with kids tomorrow, they have an open house on Wednesday, and they’ll have a pancake breakfast on Saturday.
