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Coming up on ����vlogA News close up, mixed emotions as Iowa students head back to the classroom for the new school year. You kind of realize that this is an issue you know that it can happen anywhere you are, even *** place like Iowa. First, *** scare on *** central Iowa college campus. Days later, *** tragic situation at *** private school in Minnesota. We take *** closer look at the safety measures in place for schools here in our state. *** new law mandates students across the state put away their cell phones during the class this year. That includes *** ton of students who have been without them for even longer. The positive effects school leaders say they're already seeing in their students and hanging up his hat after *** storied career in broadcast news, we hear from our beloved ����vlog director of photography after his last week on the job ahead of his well deserved retirement. This is Iowa's news leader. This is ����vlog 8 News close up. Good morning and thanks for joining us for ����vlog 8 News Close up. I'm chief political reporter Amanda Rucker. Well, kids are back in school. Most just wrapped up their first week of classes here in Iowa, and *** new school year should bring excitement, but for so many, it brought back some feelings of fear just to our north in Minneapolis, *** shooting at *** Catholic school during *** time of worship has rocked the nation. Police say *** shooter armed with *** rifle, shotgun, and pistol approached the side of the church and shot through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews. It happened on Wednesday morning during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School. 2 young children were killed and 17 others hurt. Here in central Iowa, the first day of school started with some false reports of an active shooter at Iowa State University. Nationally, incidents have increased significantly since 2023, and to help tackle this, the FBI has formed *** national database to track and prevent swatting. Now the governor's school Safety Bureau says there has been *** slight increase in swatting calls. These are hoaxes aimed at causing panic and deceiving law enforcement. Iowa has its own statewide app that collects all safety threats for K-12 schools, vetting reports and taking action to keep students and schools safe. It is called the Safe and Sound Iowa app in operation since 2023. It allows people to anonymously report threats for all Iowa schools. It's very important to have open lines of communication and if somebody sees something. Um, report it, say something. To date we're sitting at approximately 835 tips. And those tips include *** number of different reports like what can be seen in this data ����vlog investigates gathered from the 2024-2025 school year. Most reports from then include intent to harm others, school safety, school threats, and weapons tips. Suicide tips, child abuse and sexual assault, and illegal items such as drugs and alcohol are also reported. Something comes in you quickly gather *** team and people you know and vet the information and and figure out as quickly as you can exactly what's going on. On the same day as the school shooting in Minnesota, the Diocese of Des Moines shared *** statement with ����vlog noting it encouraged its pastors and school administrators to be more vigilant and saying the focus will remain on continued training and preparation regarding the health and safety of children. Iowa school safety task force met more than *** dozen times in 2024, and back then they were mostly focused on how to strengthen schools' physical security in *** consistent way that's also doable for schools of all sizes and budgets. The task force came up with 14 recommendations, but almost *** year later, most of those ideas are still. Sitting on the shelf, they included things like locking exterior doors and numbering classrooms for first responders. The task force also urged lawmakers to require visitor vetting plans and secure vestibules in new buildings so that there's only one way to get inside. But lawmakers left most of these decisions and the costs up to local districts. If they can make school safety improvements, they do, but sometimes it's just too expensive and they can't take it on. Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley says there's no single law that can guarantee safety in schools, but he tells ����vlog lawmakers will keep working on solutions to protect students and save lives. Iowa schools also started last week under *** new state law. No cell phones during learning time in class. Now Aumla schools are *** year ahead. That district banned devices from bell to bell at the start of last school year. ����vlog's chief investigative reporter Suzanne Bahy returned to Aumwa to uncover what they've learned. I think my attention has kind of skyrocketed, if that's the word. In the fall of 2024, Madison was *** senior at *** Tumbler's Gateway High School and one of the first students in the state to start class without her phone. One week later she said she was less distracted than the year before. I was more focused on my phone and oh my gosh, is it going to go off. After one semester, *** tumble schools told ����vlog the cell phone ban was paying off, to be quite honest, I knew we would have *** decrease just hearing anecdotally from teachers and students saying that their grades are better than they ever have been. Maria Lance is *** Tumb school director of curriculum and instruction. After *** full year of device free learning, she says the district saw huge improvements in learning and grades. I don't think I could have asked for *** better year last year in terms of outcomes for year one of implementation of this new policy. For instance, K-12 reading proficiency was the highest it's been since 2018. Lance says there was growth in all areas, but the impact academically, socially, emotionally, the reduction in bullying and harassment. As in my role as overseeing teaching and learning and that learning process for kids, it's it's the best feeling. She hopes year 2 of the cell phone ban brings even more wins. One of the things I really hope to see is that we continue to see the decreases in failure rates, increases in students mastering the learning of whatever the class that they're in. Uh, but also things like ACT scores, um, uh, kids taking advanced placement classes, concurrent enrollment classes. I want to see continuations of those programs growing. *** 2024 Pew Research Center report shows teens report being online almost constantly when kids aren't distracted. And then they're learning, they're taking all of that in. Another huge change half the reported cases of bullying or harassment and zero founded cases at school. Superintendent Mike McGrory says most of these cases originated on social media through students using cell phones. The thing that really tugged at my heartstrings was that um the impact it had on uh females, uh, as far as social media bullying and so forth and. To know that you're making *** difference in that respect. As the timeless schools start another year without cell phones, many students across the state are putting them away for the first time. *** new state law requires all districts to restrict cell phone use during class time. Evans junior high principal Mike Davis loves the policy. I think any district needs to, they just have to be consistent from their I know the elementary is usually not *** big issue, but from your middle school, your secondary levels on up. It just has to be consistent. Ann says success starts with school staff. Our adults and teachers have to model that that that's from our custodians, cafeteria workers, our associates, and then, uh, uh, our staff. Suzanne Behnke, ����vlog 8 News, Iowa's news leader. Coming up next on Close Up, the results are in from *** special election in northwest Iowa, how voters changed the landscape in the Iowa Senate. And *** little later, after decades of storytelling through photojournalism, how our Courtney Kinzer is starting the next chapter in his own story. Welcome back to Close Up. *** Democrat has flipped *** Republican state Senate seat in northwest Iowa, ending the Republican supermajority in the Iowa Senate. Unofficial results show Democrat Caitlin Dray won about 55% of the vote, defeating Republican Christopher Pras in *** special election last Tuesday. Now the District one Senate seat opened when Rocky Dewitt died of pancreatic cancer in June. The upset happened in *** deeply red Senate district, one that Donald Trump easily won in 2024, and it's giving Democrats new hope as they look to claw back seats in next year's midterm elections. Democrat Caitlin Dre is celebrating after flipping *** state Senate seat in one of Iowa's most Republican areas. She credits her win to *** grassroots effort. We met people where they are. We knocked on over 17,000 doors. We made almost 30,000 phone calls, and we really just wanted to hear from the constituents in Senate District One. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says. The upset shows voters are ready for change. We have clear eyes as to what took place here, what it took to get this victory, and what that means going forward. It definitely is *** shot in the arm. Dre's win also broke the GOP supermajority, meaning Republicans no longer control 2/3 of the Iowa Senate. Democrats now hold 17 seats. Republicans 33. That means Republicans now will need support from at least one Democrat to confirm Kim Reynolds' nominees to state agencies, boards, and commissions during her final year as governor. This is *** step in the right direction to make sure that we have *** more balanced approach to government. But Republicans argue Democrats only pulled off the win with *** surge of outside help. In *** statement, Republican Party of Iowa chair Jeff Kaufman said, quote, National Democrats were so desperate for *** win that they activated 30,000 volunteers and *** flood of national money to win *** state Senate special election by *** few 100 votes. Hart pushed back. There were no buses of people that came in here, she says. The race was won by local volunteers, not national operatives. There were phone calls that were made because they sent out some information pieces that said, Please help. That that that doesn't that did not result in 30,000 anything. Hart says Iowa Democrats will keep *** similar approach as they try to flip more seats at the state house and in Congress in 2026. It's running good candidates, talking to folks, listening to folks, and making sure that we are doing everything we can to take what we hear and put that into action. And Dre says her victory shows Iowa Democrats can win in historically conservative areas. We have *** message that is resonating and that message is how can we help? What can we do to make your life *** little bit better? And right now that looks like making childcare and health care and housing more accessible and more affordable. ����vlog political analyst Den Goldford says it's too soon to say if Dre's win signals any long term shift. The question for both Democrats and Republicans is, was this *** fluke, which occurs occasionally. Or does this mean something in terms of any kind of voter discontent with Republicans? Goldford says what is clear Iowans are in for *** busy 2026 election season. 2026 will be the Super Bowl of electoral politics in Iowa with *** governor's seat, *** Senate seat, all four congressional seats, as well as state legislative seats. Both parties know they're on alert that they're going to have *** lot of work to do for 2026. And this could also be an indication of *** lot of spending to come. Both candidates had major backing from their state parties. Fundraising reports show that Democrat Caitlin Dre raised more than $165,000 and received nearly $95,000 in in-kind support, most of that from the Iowa Democratic Party. Her opponent also receiving *** lot of money, Republican Christian Prash, he raised over $20,000. And received more than $160,000 of campaign funding from the Republican Party of Iowa. And Dre will serve the rest of Rocky Dewitt's term. That ends in January 2027. The seat is back on the ballot in November 2026. After the break, *** new county auditor in place in Madison County after the former auditor resigned and an appointee sparks heated debates. Welcome back to Close Up. Madison County voters have elected Michelle Brant as their new auditor. The unofficial results showed the Independent defeated Republican Matthew Schwartz with 70% of the vote in *** special election last Tuesday. Schwartz was appointed to the job in July after former auditor Terry Kaczynski resigned. Voters gathered enough signatures to force *** special election. ����vlog caught up with Brandt right after the results were announced. I'm overwhelmed and I feel so full of my county's appreciation. I feel like I know I couldn't have done this without the support of so many people we all came together and we said enough is enough and we're just gonna go onward and upward. We're gonna go forward with peace and we're not gonna disparage each other and. It's gonna be really good. Now ����vlog reached out to Schwartz multiple times for comment, but he did not respond. For 50 years, he says he's had *** backstage pass to life covering big stories through his camera lens. Next, we sit down with Courtney Kinzer as he moves into retirement. And I want to personally thank you for your outstanding coverage of the rich history in Des Moines, and we wish you the best retirement from ����vlog so thank you for everything you've done. Oh, so special. At last week's Polk County Board of Supervisors meeting, ����vlog's director of photography was recognized for his decades of service to Central Iowa. Today we are honoring our legendary photojournalist who has covered central Iowa for 50 years. It's our great Courtney Kinzer. He has just retired on Friday. It is *** bittersweet moment for all of us here at ����vlog. I am lucky to have the chance to have Courtney here to share some of the highlights and moments of his career, especially special for me because Courtney was actually the very first photojournalist that did my first live shot out of college, so he took *** nervous kid and coached me up and so. Many people have similar stories to that. Also, if you are *** ����vlog watcher, there's *** good chance that most of the stories that you've seen over the years have been captured by this man over here. So thank you for your service. Well, thank you, and we have an amazing staff. We have about 12 photojournalists that work 24/7. The newsroom never sleeps. And they're all amazing. Many of them, most of them trained by you. Well, I always say that *** teacher is only success when the student surpasses the teacher, and, uh, that's my goal is to keep on. Teaching and and being the head cheerleader. I love that. Well, let's go back to your first taste of news we cover *** lot of politics here on this show and it was actually *** run in with *** president at the time, uh, Gerald Ford, who you saw you weren't even working in news yet, but tell me *** little bit about that moment and how it sparked your passion for broadcast news. Well, I had *** home movie camera that. Uh, I bought in, uh, used in 1973 and I started making home movies as one does as ***, you know, *** 15 year old, but my dad worked for the Associated Press and we watched the CBS Evening News every night and I just noticed that, oh, there's camera men that are shooting news. I thought well that could be fun so I decided I was gonna be *** TV news cameraman. But in *** very uh nerdy uh way I started going to news events with my home movie camera just as uh you know *** 1516 year old with *** home movie camera and one of the big events that I got *** press pass for. As *** student at Roosevelt High School, was Gerald Ford's visit to Iowa in October of '74 and I was cleared to be on the tarmac when he uh touched down for *** visit uh to Des Moines and uh. You know, got Air Force One landing and the moment that really struck me is all the, you know, I got shots of him coming out of the plane, but seeing *** uh *** network crew running as fast as they could from the rear of the plane to catch up with him uh deplaning, it just hit me as like, oh my goodness, that is an amazing moment and I thought that was the coolest thing. Uh, I've ever seen, it was just one of those and that that's that shot right there when I saw those, the, the ABC News pool crew. I'm like wow, that's what I wanna do so it it just stuck right then and I just kept on going to news events with my home movie camera. How crazy would it have been to have told that kid, you know, when you were there with your home movie camera that one day you would work decades for, you know, *** news station and actually go to the White House and sit down and cover presidents and you've done so much in your career. I've been very, very, very lucky, yeah, and that's where that's where it started. The home movie camera. I love it. Well, in I believe 1987 you started working for ����vlog, and since then you've gotten to cover so many things. Uh, what have been some of your favorite stories and favorite moments? Well, you know, it's just being able to uh parachute into people's lives and you know sometimes it's not their best day, but most of it, it's on their best day and being able to record. Uh, events and, uh, just put those as uh with working with some of the great reporters that we have here, great storytellers like Eric Hansen and Steve Carlin and Dana Carden and uh shoot video and they write the the words and we put it together and that's just *** magic uh uh I'm just honored to be able to I call my job the ultimate backstage path to life and every day is *** new adventure. And uh it's been *** wonderful 50 years of shooting and. Time to just uh kind of wrap it up. One of my favorite moments working with you, uh, was, and I promised my producer there's ***, there's *** point to where I'm going here, but one of my first stories with you was covering these two little kids who had their lemonade stand money stolen and I remember you just as *** human, as *** person being so wonderful to work. With knowing how to get capture all of the moments and make *** great story, but also how to be there for these kids who, you know, we were talking to but one of your favorite stories way before was another lemonade stand. I think we have *** *** moment here to play. This is not the same one, but another stand out one to you that you covered. I have this rule that if I drive by *** lemonade stand, I have to stop because I remember when my kids had lemonade stands and what *** big deal it was for them to uh. I have lemonade stands. So I did *** little photo essay about, uh, some kids in the Waterbury neighborhood that had *** lemonade stand, and some of it always those moments there are certain moments I call brain lint that have have stuck in my mind and, uh, uh, one is this girl carrying acts *** picture of Kool-Aid, but it got in her eye and she was kind of like, oh I get it in my eye and I just remember that little moment of the of the Kool-Aid sloshing around. Yeah, I think we have it. Let's see the video. Cassie, you lead the way. We're having *** lemonade stand because it's *** hot day and I think it's gonna get hotter. Look, I got my eye. It's exactly that moment, right? How cool to see. But there are so many people like that that you've just, you know, you've been *** part of their everyday lives, and it's cool to see that those stories stick with you too. Yeah, they just, just in the back of my mind all of *** sudden, even when I drive by that intersection, I go, oh, that's where I shot that lemonade stand, and but that, that little, that little nugget, uh, I have another one where I shot uh elementary school. Uh, and they were having *** sledding day and there's *** teacher that, uh, as *** part of it just said beep beep, and I don't know why, but that little, that little nugget is just, will just pop up in my head for no reason and to know that I can, uh, found it in our archives and, and, uh, those are just really wonderful moments that I'm hoping that people, you know, back then you had to record it on *** VHS machine to keep *** copy of it, but, uh, that's another. Fun moment. Now we only have less than *** minute to go here, but what's next for you in retirement? You know, we always hear you talking about your family. I hope you have more time spending with. I've got 3 wonderful kids uh Tiffany, Erin, and Brandon and I have now I have *** new grandson named Harrison. Uh, the 22 of the kids still live in LA together, and Tiffany and her son Harrison live here in town along with her dad, uh. Uh, it's just wonderful to be able to visit them and I'll think I'll do some volunteering. I still shoot wedding videos. Little plug there and uh just looking forward to relaxing. We've loved having you here Courtney and we're so excited for your retirement and we'll still keep watching your home movies, lots of your beautiful nature video. Thanks for all of your service to us and to Central Iowa. Thank you, Amanda and to our viewers, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We'll see you back here next Sunday. Have *** great day.