DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Senate Government Oversight Committee has voted to pass 18 recommendations to the Iowa Legislature for consideration next year including a ban on secret settlement agreements and expanded whistleblower protection.

The committee of three Democrats and two Republicans voted 3-2 on party lines Tuesday to accept the committee’s findings and recommendations. The committee has met for six months, calling dozens of state workers and administrators to testify. The committee looked into alleged improper hiring practices, the exertion of political influence over judges hearing unemployment cases and several other issues raised by workers.

Chairwoman Janet Petersen, a Des Moines Democrat, says enacting the recommendations would clean up state government. Republican committee member Julian Garrett says the recommendations are campaign gimmicks meant to discredit Republican Gov. Terry Branstad who is seeking re-election.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says three people were transported by private vehicle to the hospital in Atlantic, following a rollover accident late Sunday morning. Authorities say deputies responded at around 11:25-a.m. to a report of a one-vehicle accident on 690th Street and Hamburg Road.

An investigation determined a 2002 Chevy Tahoe owned and driven by 31-year old Amanda Joy Graham, of Marne, was northbound on 690th Street when Graham swerved to avoid a vehicle slowing to make a turn. Her actions caused the SUV to roll onto its passenger side.

Graham and two passengers were transported to the hospital to be checked for possible injuries. Damage to the Tahoe is estimated at $10,000. Graham was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa attorney general’s office says a lawsuit alleging whiskey maker Templeton Rye misled consumers can proceed. The Des Moines Register reports a state law requires the Iowa attorney general’s office to evaluate the lawsuit and determine if the claims have validity to move forward in court.

The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in Illinois by a Chicago law firm on behalf of consumers in the country who have purchased a Templeton Rye bottle. It claims the company broke consumer protection laws and misled drinkers about where the whiskey is made.  The newspaper reports a second Chicago law firm plans to file a class-action lawsuit.

Keith Kerkhoff, co-owner of Templeton Rye, says the company’s lawyers will respond to the lawsuits in court.

As U-S led coalition forces continue air strikes targeting Islamic State Group positions, some wonder if troops will eventually be needed on the ground to finish the job against the radical forces. Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Kyron, isn’t advocating for troops, but he also doesn’t think the Iraqi Army is capable of eliminating the threat of ISIS. “The army fell apart and they ran away from the weapons that we gave them and the equipment that we gave them. And I don’t have faith that they can be put back together — not without a lot of Americans to stand shoulder to shoulder with them,” King says.

He says he’s not advocating sending in thousands of troops but says we know that if we send in equipment the Kurds will fight. King says the Kurdish people want their own state as opposed to a unified Iraq. “I am happy accepting a Kurdistan that would defend itself in that region. I think that would be a good thing for the United States, they would be an ally of ours. They’d be a counterbalance in that part of the world and they not let ISIS invade any further into the Kurdish region,” King says. “But they would not go to Damascus and they would not go to Baghdad, and I don’t think they should.”

King says it will likely take more than arming the Kurdish people to bring an end to ISIS though. He says air strikes are helping to slow down ISIS, but they aren’t enough either. “I don’t think its enough, it’s surely not shock and awe and it’s not rolling thunder, it’s pin pricks — strategic ones, though they seem to be strategic. So, it’s a start and they send a message,” King says. “If it can slow down the funding that’s coming into the ISIS war machine, that will be helpful.” King says the military intervention is buying time and he hopes to see a better plan by America and its allies to defeat the insurgents.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two Nebraska man were arrested last Friday on drug and other charges, following a traffic stop. 33-year old Tyson Hubbard, of Omaha, was taken into custody on a charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance. The driver of the vehicle, 26-year-old Bradley Levi Petermann, also from Omaha, was charged with OWI 1st Offense and Driving Under Suspension. Both were taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on their own recognizances.

Also last Friday, deputies in Cass County arrested 28-year old Tyler Dean Gage, of Des Moines, on two District Court Warrants for Failure to Appear. Upon his arrest, Gage allegedly attempted to smuggle a controlled substance into the jail and was subsequently charged with Possessing Contraband in a Jail. Gage was being held at the Cass County Jail on $15,000 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Leaders in Sioux City are encouraging businesses to hire veterans so it can become the first city to gain a Home Base Iowa designation. Home Base Iowa is a new private-public partnership seeking to make Iowa a job destination for veterans who’ll be relieved from active duty over the next several years. According to the federal defense department, it’s the largest drawdown of active duty forces since World War II.

The Sioux City Journal reports local officials asked employers to sign up for the initiative, making an appeal Monday at the Chamber’s annual dinner. At least 10 percent of businesses in a city, county or region must sign up to get the Home Base Iowa designation. Sioux City’s economic development director says the minimum number is about 175 for Sioux City.