It would be legal to sell and set off fireworks in Iowa if a bill that cleared the Iowa House last night (Wednesday) becomes law. Representative John Wills, a Republican from Spirit Lake, was among the 53 House members who voted “yes.” “We need to have people understand that what they do and how they do it is their responsibility,” Wills said. “This bill gives freedom back to the people and I’m in favor.”

Representative Kirsten Running-Marquardt, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, was among the 43 who voted “no.” “This bill does not make Iowa a safer place to live,” she said. “In fact, it does the opposite.” Critics cited concerns about fires started by the sparks of fireworks, as well as complaints that veterans with post traumatic stress disorder suffer from the sounds of fireworks. Representative David Maxwell, a Republican from Gibson, says he doesn’t have P-T-S-D, but couldn’t watch fireworks for several years after he got out of the military.

“I still don’t enjoy them,” Gibson said. “And I’m not a kill joy, believe it or not, but I know a number of people that really do not look forward to summertime and the 4th of July because what happened to them 40 or 50 years ago or even longer. I think we’re being a little bit shortsighted for a few bucks here.” That would be because the bill legalizes the sale of commercial fireworks in Iowa. Representative Matt Winschitl (WIND-shit-ull), a Republican from Missouri Valley, says he didn’t support the bill because of the tax revenue the state might collect.

“It’s about letting Iowans make the choice for themselves,” Windschitl says. “You’ve got 43 other states out there that allow one degree of fireworks or another beyond what Iowa does.” If the bill becomes law, it would be legal to set off fireworks between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day. Representative Dave Heaton, a Democrat from Mount Pleasant, says his dog, Molly, isn’t a fan of the fireworks that go off in his community over the 4th of July holiday.

“She gets through that, but I’ll be darned if I want to vote for a bill that makes the 4th of July year round,” Heaton said. Representative Walt Rogers, a Republican from Cedar Falls who voted for the bill, says he has “nothing but good memories” of setting off fireworks. “I can remember lots of 4th of July where we had a lot of fun with fireworks,” Rogers said. “And I remember doing the same thing with my own kids, in Cedar Falls.” A few legislators like Representative Mary Gaskill of Ottumwa admitted they were conflicted on the issue.

“I have young people in my district who really want me to vote yes on this bill,” Gaskill said. “And then I listen to the veterans and the fire fighters and those people who would be directly affected with the bill and I have changed my mind and I have decided I’m a no on this.” Representative Mike Sexton, a Republican from Rockwell City who voted for the bill, says far more Americans are injured by dog bites than by fireworks.”Folks, whatever happened to apple pie and baseball and Chevrolet and hot dogs and fireworks?” Sexton asked. “We are not talking about blowing up the state of Iowa.”

If the bill becomes law, cities and counties would be allowed to pass local ordinances restricting fireworks, plus the bill calls for a 250-dollar fine for improper use of fireworks. It would also be illegal to sell fireworks to a minor. A similar bill cleared a senate committee earlier this month and is eligible for senate debate.

(Radio Iowa)

A spokesman for Iowa’s Attorney General says getting errors removed from your credit report is going to get easier under an agreement reached with the top three credit reporting agencies. Spokesman Geoff Greenwood says 31 states are a part of the agreement to improve the accuracy of the reports. “For years we’ve been getting complaints about all of the credit reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax and Trans Union — so for the last couple of years, attorneys general have tried to address this problem,” Greenwood says.

Credit reports assign credit scores based on a variety of factors, including how well you pay your bills, how much money you’ve borrowed. Under this agreement the credit reporting agencies must implement an escalated process for handling complicated disputes, such as those involving identity theft, fraud, or cases where one consumer’s information is mixed with anothers’.

A credit report is really important, in some respects it’s a life story of your finances,” Greenwood says. “And others read those reports when they are thinking about extending you credit for a car, or a house, or maybe even hiring you.” Greenwood says this agreement also addresses one particular area of concern — the payment of medical bills. “In some cases consumers were still working things our with their insurance company, didn’t get enough time and it ends up being a blemish on their credit report. This institute some changes that we think will reduce those types of reports on people’s credit reports,” Greenwood says.

The credit reporting agencies now cannot place medical debt on a credit report until 180 days after the account is reported to the credit reporting agency to gives consumers time to work out issues with their insurance companies. Greenwood says you can get a free credit report from each of the three agencies by going to the website www.annualcreditreport.com. Then you can act to clear up any wrong information.

“If you see an error, contact the credit reporting agency and let them know about the error,” Greenwood says. “As part of this agreement, they are going to make it easier for consumers.” The agreement is sending six million dollars to the states, with 106-thousand dollars coming to Iowa for Iowa’s consumer education and litigation fund. Greenwood says credit reporting agencies will implement the changes in three phases to allow them to update their I-T systems and procedures with data furnishers. All changes must be completed by three years and 90 days following the settlement’s effective date.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa homeowners are warned to be wary of road construction crews that pull up unannounced and offer to spread a new asphalt driveway for you on the cheap. Jim Hegarty, with the Better Business Bureau, says folks in the region are already reporting cases of this familiar scam and he says, don’t be fooled.

“They’ve got trucks that look sort of legitimate,” Hegarty says. “They’ll claim they have leftover asphalt from a state job and they need to have cash and they’ll get it done for you before day’s end. Sometimes, they’ll actually start tearing out the driveway. They’ll take the cash, or if you give them a check before banking hours close, they’ll hit the local bank, cash the check and you’ll never see them again.” It’s always a risk when someone comes to your door offering a deal, Hegarty says, and if you’re not careful, you could get taken by one of these fast-talking crooks.

“These are travelers, sort of like gypsies, and they have encampments all over the South,” he says. “Whenever the weather breaks, they start to move up towards our area.” The best bet, Hegarty says, is to just say “no” and to contact a reputable, local company if your driveway needs repairs.

(Radio Iowa)

A new report shows 22-percent of Iowa’s rural bridges are “structurally deficient.” That’s the third highest rate in the nation according to the National Transportation Research Group. The report states 4,815 of Iowa’s 21,939 rural bridges are structurally deficient. Scott Neubauer, bridge maintenance and inspection engineer with the Iowa Department of Transportation, says most of the bridges at issue carry very few vehicles.

“Over 3,800 of them have less than 50 vehicles a day and about 4,500 of them have less than 500 vehicles a day,” Neubauer says. Most of the old bridges in Iowa deemed structurally deficient have weight restrictions posted. Neubauer says many counties don’t have enough money to fix those bridges and choose to focus on the structures that carry the heavy trucks and traffic volume.

“That’s why some of these stay deficient for so long,” Neubauer says. “It’s just on such a low volume road and carries such a small amount of traffic and the traffic it is carrying, the bridge is adequate…and it’s not really a hindrance to anybody, so the county just does the bare minimum to maintain it.” Neubauer notes the term “structurally deficient” does not necessarily mean the bridge is unsafe.

“You know, just because it’s structurally deficient doesn’t mean that it can’t last in that current condition for many years,” Neubauer says. According to the report, only Pennsylvania (25%) and Rhode Island (23%) have higher rates of rural bridges that are structurally deficient. Neubauer says it’s possible many Iowa counties in the coming years will direct more money toward repairing or replacing old bridges from funds generated by this year’s increase in the state’s gas tax.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As lawmakers struggle to resolve the state budget, a new conflict has sprung up about how much new money to give schools in the 2016-2017 school year. The Appropriations Committee in the Republican-led House on Wednesday approved a plan that would provide about $125 million in new dollars in that year, with some of the money going to a teacher leadership program. But Democrats say the funding level is inadequate.

Republicans had previously supported spending more money, but Rep. Chuck Soderberg, a Republican from Le Mars, said they didn’t want to “overcommit and under-deliver.” The Republican-controlled House and Democratic-majority Senate are still at odds over how much new money to provide in the upcoming school year, with Democrats wanting to offer more than Republicans.