U. of Northern Iowa Will Close Museum and Lab School

To save money, the University of Northern Iowa plans to close its natural-history museum, its laboratory school, and its printing service, and to cut $500,000 from the general fund’s $4-million contribution to the $12-million university athletics budget, according to the student newspaper, The Northern Iowan. Closing the school will save $2-million a year, as well as an estimated $30-million in necessary renovation costs, the paper said. Closing the museum, which dates to 1892, will also save the cost of a renovation, but will cut only $200,000 a year from the budget, according to the Associated Press. The 110,000 objects in the museum’s collection will have to be relocated. The university’s plans face review by the Iowa Board of Regents.