DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate panel has advanced a bill that would prohibit in Iowa the sale of cleaning products that contain a certain sanitizing agent. The bill would prohibit a person from selling cleaning products that contain triclosan (TRY’-kloh-san) for the purpose of sanitizing. The ingredient is found in products like soaps and deodorants. Members of a human resources subcommittee advanced the bill Monday. It now moves to a full committee for review.

The Food and Drug Administration said in 2013 that there is no evidence that anti-bacterial soap cleansers with ingredients like triclosan were more effective than regular soap. The agency is reviewing the safety of triclosan in response to studies about its alleged health risks.

Minnesota last year banned triclosan in most retail consumer hygiene products.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Senate Democrats are again seeking to increase funding for school districts that expand public preschool for 4-year-olds. A Senate panel gave preliminary approval to a proposal Monday that seeks to expand the Iowa Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program, which was established in 2007. The legislation now moves to the Senate Education Committee. A similar bill failed to win full legislative approval last year.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, introduced the bill. He says students benefit from early education and the state should help more students participate. He said the price tag for the proposal would depend on the number of new students enrolled.

Rep. Ron Jorgenson, a Republican from Sioux City, said he had not reviewed the bill, but that he was concerned about the potential cost.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City mom has pleaded guilty to leaving her 10-month-old son alone in a bathtub while she smoked marijuana in another room. The Sioux City Journal reports 21-year-old Maricela Vasquez submitted her plea deal Monday to charges of child endangerment resulting in bodily injury and possession of a controlled substance.

Authorities say Vasquez was arrested in August when they responded to a 911 call, found evidence of marijuana in the apartment and discovered the baby had nearly drowned. The boy was taken to UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Regional Medical, where he was treated, released and removed from Vasquez’s custody.

A sentencing hearing has been set for Feb. 24. Vasquez faces up to five years in prison.

Officials with PRIDE (The Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise) said Monday, two legislative coffees have been scheduled in Cass County for the 2015 session. The first is at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 14, at the Cass County Museum in Griswold, 412 Main Street. Cumberland is the second host Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m. at the Fire Station, 216 Main Street.

Clarke Gerlock, vice-president of PRIDE said “The greatest thing about these coffees is our ability to talk with our elected leaders like they are our friends and neighbors, because they are.” Representives Jack Drake and Clel Baudler, and Senators Tom Shipley and Jake Chapman frequent legislative coffees in the district to hear what patrons have to say about what matters most about their children’s schools, employment and business opportunities and other important issues.

P.R.I.D.E. is the economic development organization that works on behalf of communities, businesses, and citizens for Southwest Iowa development. For additional information, please contact Clarke Gerlock at 712-774-5476, or Kenner Baxter, president, at 781-2395.

A central Iowa man was injured during an accident on Interstate 80 this (Monday) morning, in Cass County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 20-year old Trevor Volk, of Waukee, was treated at the scene of the crash on I-80 eastbound near mile marker 63, before being transported by Anita Rescue to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic. The accident that happened at around 8:04-a.m.

Officials say a 2004 Nissan Pathfinder driven by 26-year old Daniel Pazdernik, of Marshalltown, was traveling eastbound when the SUV went out of control, entered the median and came to rest in the westbound side, on its left side. A 2010 Honda Civic driven by Volk was traveling westbound and hit the SUV. Both vehicles came to rest in the median facing eastbound.

Pazdernik and a passenger in his SUV refused treatment. Each of the vehicles’ occupants were wearing their seatbelts.

A Glenwood man who eluded authorities following an incident last week, was arrested Saturday on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Failure to Appear. The Glenwood Police Department reports 36-year old Harold Rudduck also faces an Interference with Official Acts, charge. His bond was set at $4,000 altogether.

You may recall we mentioned a State Trooper stopped Rudduck last Wednesday while the man was walking on county road J-20, east of Essex. While the Trooper was checking Rudduck’s record, the man took off and disappeared into a wooded area before he could be placed under arrest.

Despite a perimeter being established and numerous law enforcement personnel as well as K9 units who engaged in a search for him, Rudduck managed to evade them and the search was called-off late Wednesday night. Authorities suspected at the time he may have been picked up by someone he knows.