Throgmorton elected as Iowa City mayor

City Councilor Jim Throgmorton, who has served as an Iowa City city councilor since 2012, was named the city’s new mayor on Jan. 4 for a two-year term.

Throgmorton won an at-large seat in last fall’s council election. John Thomas filled Throgmorton’s former District C seat.

The City Council voted 6-1 for Throgmorton. Former Mayor Pro Tem Susan Mims voted against.

Kingsley Botchway, who has served on the council for two years, was elected mayor pro tem on a 5-2 vote. Mims and District B Councilor Terry Dickens voted against him.

Former Mayor Matt Hayek did not seek re-election.

Throgmorton is a University of Iowa professor emeritus of urban and regional planning.

— by Cindy Garcia

UI student killed in bus accident

Nicole Underwood, a University of Iowa senior majoring in social work, was killed in a bus crash in the Chicago area on Dec. 28.

Underwood’s death spurred the creation of a GoFundMe page, which described her as a straight-A student, dedicated to raising a $10,000 scholarship for a “hard-working student” in Human Services.

According to the page, Underwood was traveling to Chicago from Des Moines when the bus lost control 15 minutes away from its destination.

“Although Nicole may no longer be with us physically, we hope that she will still be able to help people the way she wanted with this scholarship,” the page’s creators wrote.

UI Dean of Students Lyn Redington sent a mass email on Dec. 30 expressing the UI’s condolences to Underwood’s family, friends, and loved ones. Information was also given about counseling resources in the Iowa City area.

At the time of publication, more than $6,000 had been given to the GoFundMe page.

— by Cindy Garcia