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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42 CEDAR FALLS, IA
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2022
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 45
GNUS
CAMP IS LIFE
SPERTZ
GNUS PAGE 5
CAMP IS LIFE PAGE 7
SPERTZ PAGE 8
The squirrels of UNI have risen up in revolution with a thirst for vengence... and peanuts.
Kurt Warner makes a shocking return to UNI.
President Mook’s car was stolen the other day. TK Panther is listed as a suspect.
UNI student breaks record for fastest time running across Iowa MALLORY SCHMITZ Staff Writer
While the majority of students spent their spring break on vacation or enjoying the time off from classes, UNI sophomore Paul Noble had a much more ambitious goal: to run across the entire state of Iowa. Noble set out on his trek from Muscatine at 5 a.m. on March 13. Three days, 22 hours and 50 minutes later, he crossed the Nebraska border having run 279.85 miles, setting a new fastest known time for the run. Noble is considered an “ultramarathoner,” someone who runs races longer than the traditional marathon distance of 26.2 miles. As he followed his route on Old Highway 92, he averaged roughly 70 miles per day and only slept between two and five hours each night. After completing the run, Noble wrote in an Instagram caption, “Lots of ups and downs but the coolest experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world.”
COURTESY/KWWL
Paul Noble, pictured above, ran 279.85 miles across Iowa over Spring Break, setting a new record for the fastest time run across the state. Noble averaged 70 miles per day and averaged two and five hours each night.
Although his own name will sit next to the fastest known time title, Noble insisted in a post he made on Facebook that his supporters deserve the title as much as he does. “The main crew throughout the whole race consisted of my girlfriend Sam, and my mom and dad. My crew was top notch. My mom was funny and reli-
able during the trip. My dad was the logistics genius, and my girlfriend was my rock throughout the whole thing,” he wrote. Noble went on to explain how his friends and family provided meals during his run, helped check him into hotels, drove ahead of him during the night to keep tabs on oncoming vehicles,
al fund appropriation,” said Rep. David Kerr, a leader on the education budget proposal. “But this is just what fit into the budget. That’s the way I decided to move the budget forward.” Data from the Board of Regents shows state funding for the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa has fluctuated over the past 20 years. This fiscal year’s allocation of just over $486 million is nearly $20 million less than the state gave to public universities in 1999 — not adjusted for
inflation. To put that into scale: $100 in 1999 would have the same buying power as about $173 in 2022, according to a calculator by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means prices have risen significantly while the state allocation has decreased. The universities are not funded solely through state appropriations. Board spokesperson Josh Lehman identified three main funding streams for the universities: “tuition, state appropriations, and savings/reallocations.” “These three areas must
and kept him motivated with words of encouragement. “I get the credit for running across Iowa,” he wrote, “but in reality it wasn’t just me. It was all of us. Without them, I would not have finished.” During his second day of running, the previous record holder ran alongside Noble for nine hours of his 18.5 hour day. Taylor Ross com-
pleted the run in four days, 15 hours and 32 minutes in October 2020. He returned to pace Noble as he attempted to beat Ross’s own record from just a year and a half earlier. By the fourth day, as physical and emotional stress continued to grow, Noble had another special surprise. “My grandpa came out and we walked for a bit,” he wrote on Facebook. “Grandpa then asked, ‘Are we gonna start running?’ He’s 84 years old and wants to run! Talk about a true inspiration.” Noble met a crowd of loved ones and supporters when he reached Council Bluffs and finished the run at 3:50 a.m., beating the old record by roughly 15 hours. “The record is cool and all,” he wrote, “but it doesn’t compare to the journey and memories and friendships I created along the way.” This accomplishment isn’t the first ultramarathon Noble has completed. See RECORD BROKEN, page 2
Proposed GOP budget for state universities is less than 20 years ago KATIE AKIN
Iowa Capital Dispatch
House lawmakers have proposed another year without a state funding increase for the Iowa Board of Regents, instead introducing a $12 million scholarship program for future teachers and students studying other high-demand professions. If the House plan passes as proposed, 2023 would be the third year in a row that the Regents universities would see no increase in their state allocation. “We don’t cut their gener-
COURTESY/Iowa Capital Dispatch
Above is a graph representing how Board of Regents appropriations are lower than 20 years ago. House lawmakers have proposed another year without a state funding increase for the Iowa Board of Regents.
be looked at collectively, as able to provide the top-notch each is interdependent on the education that our students other, to come up with total deserve,” Lehman wrote. financial resources avail- See PROPOSED BUDGET, page 2