Gazette Daily News Briefing, July 20
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Thursday, July 20.
We'll enjoy another sunny day Thursday. According to the National Weather Service the high will be nearly 85 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. It will be a little bit breezy, with gusts reaching as high as 25 mph. On Thursday evening the wind will calm, with a low around 59 degrees.
More than 10,000 Iowans will have their remaining federal student loan debt wiped out under fixes to the U.S. Department of Education’s income-driven repayment plans.
According to data released this week by the department, 10,730 borrowers in Iowa are eligible to have their loans automatically discharged in the weeks ahead, totaling $465 million statewide. This forgiveness requires no action by borrowers, who will be notified when their debt has been discharged.
These discharges apply to those who have accumulated either 20 or 25 years worth of qualifying months, depending on the type of income-driven repayment plan. The Department of Education will notify borrowers who reach forgiveness thresholds every two months until 2024, when borrowers still ineligible for forgiveness will receive updated payment counts.
The department announced in 2022 it would address failures in its student loan programs after details emerged about mishandling of income-driven repayment plans by the department and just how few people’s debts were canceled after 20 or 25 years, as they were supposed to have been under these plans.
Iowa politicians are pushing for a variety of bills related to improving both childcare and healthcare for children.
Families of children with complex medical conditions needing to travel out of state to receive specialized care would have fewer hoops to jump through under legislation sponsored by members of Iowa’s congressional delegation.
Iowa Republicans U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks reintroduced legislation Wednesday that would improve health care access for children with complex medical conditions by simplifying out-of-state Medicaid enrollment processes for pediatric care providers. The bill is backed by more than 200 children’s hospitals, patients and research organizations nationwide, including in Iowa.
A bill sponsored by Iowa Republican U.S. Sen Ernst would allow nonprofit child care centers, including religious nonprofits, to participate in a Small Business Administration loan program to open more child care slots.
Currently, only for-profit child care centers qualify for federal programs that help small businesses access capital. To qualify, child care centers would have to comply with usual credit requirements and licensing requirements.
Both of these bills also have Democratic cosponsors.
A man walking along U.S. Highway 30 in Cedar County was struck and killed Tuesday night as he crossed the roadway, according to an Iowa State Patrol report.
About 11:30 p.m., a Ford Expedition was traveling west on Highway 30, west of Mechanicsville, when a man who was walking on the south shoulder crossed the highway near Franklin Avenue "for an unknown reason" and was struck by the sport utility vehicle, the report stated.
Authorities have not yet released the name of the pedestrian or driver.
