This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for November 10, 2023.
It will be sunny and a bit chilly on Friday. According to the National Weather Service the high will be near 47 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area, with sunny skies. Friday evening will be mostly clear, with a low near 29.
Iowa State University’s Catt Hall — honoring the women’s suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt, accused by some of holding racist views — will permanently keep its name after an ISU name-removal committee cast a final 11-4 vote.
That Nov. 3 vote — which the university announced Thursday — followed years of investigation, review of 250 historical documents, a dozen interviews and the production of a 46-page report that generated 311 public comments.
“Why are we ignoring all of her accomplishments for women and our college because of a few words she said over 100 years ago,” one ISU student wrote to the committee, according to a collection of the public comments Iowa State released.
Catt — born as Carrie Lane on Jan. 9, 1859, in Ripon, Wis — enrolled at Iowa State in 1877 and was the only woman in the graduating class of 1880, earning a bachelor’s degree in general science.
Among her accomplishments, Catt succeeded Susan B. Anthony as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, serving from 1900 to 1904 and from 1915 to 1920. She led the effort culminating in the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920, giving American women the right to vote.
But, in doing so, Catt used racist arguments — according to historical documents and a standing change.org petition to “Rename Catt Hall” signed by 4,767 people.
“In an attempt to sway Southern states in favor of the 19th Amendment, Catt rallied white politicians by claiming that ‘white supremacy will be strengthened, not weakened, by women’s suffrage,’ ” according to the petition. “Catt’s racism has often been excused as simply a political strategy to gain Southern support rather than an ideology she actually supported.
More than 50,000 Iowa student loan borrowers have enrolled in a new income-driven repayment plan rolled out by President Joe Biden’s administration this year, the White House has announced.
The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan was announced by Biden after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his administration’s efforts to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for low- and medium-income borrowers.
In Iowa, 54,600 borrowers are enrolled in the SAVE plan, White House figures show.
The income-driven plan, which also considers the size of the borrower’s family, caps a borrower’s loan payment based on their income.
Also under the SAVE plan, if a borrower’s monthly payment is lower than the interest that accrues each month, the remaining interest is waived. The plan also makes it easier for borrowers to get their loans forgiven if they make payments on time over a set number of years.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the plan would cost around $230 billion over the next 10 years because of the increasing number of loans being forgiven. An analysis by the Penn Wharton School pegged the price at $475 billion.
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