(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy reports his officers are teaming-up with Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB), to ensure drivers are buckled-up as they travel roads in Montgomery County. The “Click It or Ticket” traffic safety campaign is underway now through June 1st.

Authorities note, that as of May 18th, there had been 56 fatalities on Iowa’s roads that involved a vehicle with seat belts. HALF of the motorists in those accidents were NOT wearing their seat belts. The Red Oak Police Department wants to remind everyone of these simple things:

• Distracted driving is one of the fastest growing safety issues on the roadway today. Be attentive and put the phone down.
• When you wear your seat belt, as a front-seat passenger in a vehicle, your risk of fatal injury is reduced by 45-percent. Seat belts save lives!

Chief Rhamy and the Red Oak P-D would like to remind you to “Click It or Ticket” during this public safety campaign and each time you get behind the wheel.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report two arrests. At around 5:30-p.m. Saturday, deputies arrested 45-year-old Joseph Earl Smith, of Red Oak, for Driving while barred. His bond was set at $2,000. And, at around 3:20-a.m., Sunday, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 38-year-old Tony Lee King, of Red Oak, for Interference with official acts. King was being held in the jail on a $300 bond.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report two men were arrested Sunday evening in the 300 block of E. Nuckols Street. 38-year-old Jacob Wayne Dykes-Vargas, and 28-year-old Dylan Elwood Taylor, of Red Oak, were taken into custody at around 5:40-p.m., for Accessory after the fact – a Simple Misdemeanor. Both men were transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 cash bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Eighty-three state boards and commissions are being eliminated or consolidated. Governor Kim Reynolds recommended even more for elimination, but legislators pared down her list and she has approved the final plan. Iowa-Nebraska N-double-A-C-P president Betty Andrews is raising concerns about shifting power away from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to a director appointed by the governor. The plan also eliminates several commissions in the Iowa Department of Human Rights.

“It sends a sad, unwelcoming message to communities of color, to people with disabilities and women,” Andrews says, “that civil rights and their interests are not a priority at the highest level of state government.” Reynolds says have the Iowa Civil Rights Commission be an advisory group rather than a decision-making board makes sense.

“We had a part-time board that was really managing things and it’s just too hard to do that. You need somebody that’s there full time,” Reynolds said. “…It’s just a better way for us to really manage the organization.” Reynolds says there’s never been a comprehensive review of all state boards and commissions and it’s a continuation of her efforts to make state government more efficient. A year ago, the legislature approved the governor’s plan to reduce the number of state agencies from 36 to 16.

(Iowa News Service) – The latest state tax cuts are expected to cost Iowa more than 2-billion dollars over the next two years. Advocates for tax fairness argue lawmakers are not considering the long-term consequences of those cuts on schools, workers, and livability. In the face of a dwindling population and shrinking tax base, Iowa lawmakers doubled down on tax cuts this year, and also passed a measure calling for a constitutional amendment to require any state income tax to be a single rate. Anne Discher with Common Good Iowa says lawmakers chose to cut taxes despite the state’s growing economic demands – like funding Educational Savings Accounts, which allow parents to use public education dollars to pay for private school.

Lawmakers also passed a cluster of bills that will accelerate cuts in the state income tax rate, from 3-point-9 to 3-point-8 percent, which Discher argues will have long-term economic impacts. Supporters of the tax-cut measures, including Governor Kim Reynolds, have promised more fiscal austerity.

The deeper tax cuts mean an average reduction of about 6-dollars to someone in the bottom 20-percent of the income bracket, 402-dollars for the middle 20-percent, and more than 20-thousand dollars for someone making over a million-and-a-half dollars a year. Lawmakers say they plan to cover the tax cuts with Iowa’s budget surplus, which Discher calls shortsighted.

Discher argues implementing a flat-rate income tax would be regressive and hurt lower-income Iowans most. Supporters say it would be more fair and efficient.