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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
CEDAR FALLS, IA INSIDE THIS ISSUE Émilie du Châtelet 3
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31 ‘Film Lounge’ watch party 4
VOLUME 115, ISSUE 31 ‘The Upside’ review 5 Super Bowl LIII preview 6
Campus trees succumb to infestation COLBY WEBER Staff Writer
During the fall season, many students appreciate the brilliant colors of the falling leaves at UNI. However, some of the trees that produce such a spectacle are in danger. An insect known as the emerald ash borer has begun spreading in the United States, and UNI’s trees has not been immune. “The emerald ash borer was an issue for campus the moment that it was found in Michigan,” said Brian Hadley, assistant director of campus services. “It has been a waiting game to see how long it would take for it to be found in Iowa. When we were first informed that the pest was in the United States, scientists and practitioners were learning just how devastating it was. After that, our facilities began making plans for how we could manage the coming infestation.” According to Iowa State
University’s Pesticide Safety Education Program’s website, the emerald ash borer originally came from China, where it lives in ash trees without being a hindrance. The trees there were able to adapt to the insect over time so that its presence was not deadly. When it made its way to the United States in 2002, however, the trees here were not prepared for the pest. Because of this, it caused damage to a large number of trees, many of which died due to their infected areas. According to the UNI Facilities Management website, the earliest sighting of the insect near campus was in 2014 within the vicinity of Waterloo. Once the insect was sighted, they began planning in 2015 on how they would respond. The borer was found in the University Avenue vicinity by 2016. As of 2018, they have begun removing infected trees on the south side of campus next to University Avenue
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and Hudson Road. Those on the north side of campus are being treated for the disease, according to a statement from Student Body President
Drew Stensland during an NISG meeting earlier this month. At the moment, ash trees are the only plant affected
by this species. Despite this, fighting back against the insect is difficult. See TREES, page 4
PSO program divides community CECILIA MITCHELL Staff Writer
Seven full-time Cedar Falls f iref ighters, including the 2017 Cedar Falls Firefighter of the Year, have resigned since September of 2018. Citing reasons such as a hostile work environment and safety concerns, these departures have chiefly been in response to Cedar Falls’ Public Safety Officer (PSO) program. In 2005, the city of Cedar Falls implemented a paid on-call program that provided cross-training to staff from various civic departments, enabling them to provide support to police and fire safety efforts as needed. According to a guest essay published in the wWaterloo-Cedar Falls Courier by City Councilmen Frank Darrah and Mark Miller, this initiative “energized staff and generated a sense of teamwork among city staff across departments.” They cited an investigation by local public safety leadership into similarly
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integrated staffing solutions used by other police and fire departments nationwide. Miller and Darrah stated in their joint essay that they found “extremely positive example(s) of the PSO model” and other “creative ‘hybrid’ models” throughout the country. In 2015, the city council
endorsed the implementation of a PSO program in Cedar Falls. While the local police union agreed to participate, the firefighters’ union, Cedar Falls Firef ighter’s Local #1366, turned it down. In the years following, the program’s application has become a divisive
issue among civil servants and fire crews, with the community starting to take notice. “Firefighters hold a special place in my heart, as I have a history of firefighting in my family,” explained Annemarie Goldhorn, a graduate student in social work. “My grandfather and
uncle were both career firefighters and my dad served as a volunteer firefighter my entire childhood. I remember the level of training that was needed to keep our community safe. It is because of this knowledge what is happening in Cedar Falls is worrisome and scary to me.” Proponents of the PSO model argue that this system allows more personnel to respond to emergencies than ever before, at lower operating costs for the city. In the Public Safety Services’ recent “Accomplishments and Goals” report, the first accomplishment listed reads: “The number of public safety officers (PSOs) reached over 30 in 2018. This number combined with the fulltime firefighters means over 60 available for calls… We have had many instances of 14 or more trained firefighters responding immediately to the scene and more upon callbacks. This has never happened before in the history of the Fire Department.” See PSO, page 2