(Radio Iowa) -U-S House Democrats have proposed an amendment that would remove a provision by Iowa 4th District Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra that provides money in the pandemic relief bill for victims of natural disasters. Areas of Iowa damaged by the August derecho would see some of that money and Fenstra says he will push to keep it in. “Unfortunately, it seems that the outcome is already predetermined. But I am not letting this stop me. I will continue to fight for Iowa farmers, families, and Main Street,” Feenstra says.

Feenstra says he will testify before the rules committee this (Friday) morning. Feenstra says his provision was one last hope for bipartisanship in the entire reconciliation process. “I even did my due diligence and reached out to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who I know have constituents who have suffered loses from natural disasters. I was able to find common ground- but it seems Speak Pelosi doesn’t care,” Feenstra says.

He says Iowa wouldn’t be the only state to benefit. “Many states in the south and west were also affected by wildfires, severe drought, and weather-related incidences, the further harmed producers and rural businesses that were already dealing with the economic fallout of the pandemic,” according to Feenstra.

He says House Democrats would rather use the bill to pay for abortions with taxpayer money and to fund their pet projects instead of helping natural disaster victims.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Governor Kim Reynolds isn’t saying whether she’ll sign a bill that reduces Iowa’s early voting period and cuts an hour off Election Day voting, but Reynolds suggests it’s a direct response to Republicans who question the integrity of 2020 election results, adding: “There are Americans across this state that have some concerns about what happened in this last election, it’s imperative that it’s not just understood, but they feel that there’s integrity in the election process and they feel that it’s fair and it’s done in an equitable manner.”

Republicans won huge majorities in the Iowa House and Senate and President Trump won Iowa by nine points last fall — and Reynolds isn’t raising concerns with Iowa’s election results. “I think we do it well in Iowa,” Reynolds says. “I’m proud of our system. I think we’re a role model for other states, but we should always be looking at ways that we can enhance and improve.”

Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate passed the bill this week. It cuts nine days off the early voting period in Iowa and will require all absentee ballots to be in a county auditor’s office by 8 p.m. on Election Night. Ballots that are MAILED before Election Day but are not DELIVERED by that deadline will not be counted.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 34-year-old Kansas has been convicted of killing his girlfriend in Iowa in 2018. Zackery Bassett, of Elwood, Kansas, was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder in the September 2018 death of 50-year-old Andrea Solokowski, in Webster City, Iowa. Bassett was originally charged with first-degree murder in the case. Prosecutors said Bassett had abused and stalked Solokowski, of Sioux City, for more than a year before her death. An autopsy found injuries consistent with asphyxiation but Solokowski’s cause of death was listed as undetermined. The maximum sentence possible for second-degree murder is 50 years in prison. Bassett is scheduled to be sentenced April 5.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds says she’s optimistic that the vaccination of Iowans will accelerate due to the impending authorization of a new one-dose coronavirus vaccine and increased deliveries of the two-shot varieties. Reynolds said Thursday that 19.2% of eligible Iowans have received at least one dose of a vaccine and nearly 53% of residents 65 and older have had a first dose. Reynolds credits the federal government for increasing the production and delivery of vaccines to states. If current projections hold, Reynolds says most eligible Iowans may begin getting vaccinated as early as April.

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has been arrested and charged with livestock neglect resulting in death after authorities found dead cattle on his property. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that 43-year-old Brian Greazel, of Mount Vernon, was arrested Wednesday. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner says deputies called to a rural property near Libson for a complaint about neglected cattle discovered numerous head of cattle dead. Authorities say a veterinarian determined the cattle died for lack of food, water and shelter. The sheriff’s office did not say how many animals were found dead, but said 18 head were rescued from the property.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested an Iowa City landlord, accusing her of breaking into an apartment to try to forcibly remove a tenant and hitting the tenant with a baseball bat. The Gazette of Cedar Rapids reports that police arrested 67-year-old Suzanne Dashner on suspicion of burglary and assault for the Feb. 10 incident. Police files say Dashner and three men, all armed with baseball bats and a board, went to the apartment around 7 p.m. and broke in as the tenant hid in a bedroom and called 911. Police say Dashner and the men kicked open the woman’s bedroom door and threatened her and that Dashner hit the woman in the leg with a bat.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Thursday of 27-year-old Daniel Brian Foote of Essex on a charge of OWI 2nd Offense. Foote was arrested in the 1700 block of Broadway Street in Red Oak. He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – After an email chain about President Trump sparked controversy, the dean of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry is stepping down from the post in June. Last October, Dr. David Johnsen co-signed an email to dental school staff and students that criticized President Trump’s executive order banning diversity training. A conservative student responded to the email. The student was notified the next month that he had to attend a professional misconduct review hearing.

The hearing was cancelled after Republican legislators raised concerns on the student’s behalf. The dental school dean publicly apologized for the incident during a legislative oversight hearing earlier this month. The controversy was not mentioned in the announcement that Johnsen was stepping down as dean at the end of the semester. Johnsen had planned to retire in June of 2022 and he’ll serve as a pediatric dental professor in the next academic year.

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 34-year-old Kansas has been convicted of killing his girlfriend in Iowa in 2018. Zackery Bassett, of Elwood, Kansas, was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder in the September 2018 death of 50-year-old Andrea Solokowski, in Webster City, Iowa. Bassett was originally charged with first-degree murder in the case. Prosecutors said Bassett had abused and stalked Solokowski, of Sioux City, for more than a year before her death.

An autopsy found injuries consistent with asphyxiation but Solokowski’s cause of death was listed as undetermined. The maximum sentence possible for second-degree murder is 50 years in prison. Bassett is scheduled to be sentenced April 5.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says a new state website will be available, starting tomorrow (Friday), with information on COVID-19 vaccines, who is eligible to get a shot and links to providers giving shots. “But I want to be clear, you cannot schedule an appointment on this site or register to be contacted when scheduling is available,” Reynolds said, “but it will connect you to a provider for scheduling in their system.”

A private company built the www.vaccinate.iowa.gov website this past week, after Reynolds cancelled a contract with Microsoft for a website that would have helped Iowans schedule shots. The new website will have a “vaccine locator.” “You can find providers near you, click through to their websites to check availability and get details about scheduling,” Reynolds says. State officials say the website will be functional for smart phones as well as laptops and other computers. In addition, a call-in system is being set up to help Iowans age 65 and over who’ve been unable to schedule vaccinations.

The governor says operators answering calls to 2-1-1 will begin that service the week of March 8th. “In the meantime, some vaccine navigators will start tomorrow by contacting older Iowans who have reached out to their Area Agencies on Aging,” Reynolds says. The governor says the agencies have taken calls from “hundreds” of older Iowans who need help getting scheduled for a shot. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 622-thousand doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered to Iowans — and nearly 53 percent of Iowans over the age of 65 have had at least their first dose.

“The progress we’ve made over the last several weeks is pushing us toward a turning point in our Covid-19 recovery,” Reynolds says, “and I’m committed to continuing this forward momentum in Iowa.” Reynolds says it’s expected that 70-percent of the Tier One populations in Iowa will have gotten at least one dose, which includes first responders, K-12 teachers and child care workers. She says the state’s planning ahead for the -next- group.

“Essential workers and individuals with disabilities living in home settings are expected to start vaccination in early March and achieve the 70% mark in early April,” Reynolds says. “At that time, we could again expand to the next eligible group.” The governor says doses of the third vaccine, made by Johnson and Johnson, will begin arriving in Iowa next week, with an initial shipment of nearly 26-thousand doses. It will require only a single vaccination, with no follow-up booster shot. The State of Iowa is scheduled to receive more than 91-thousand first doses of vaccines next week for distribution to counties.

A woman from Polk County was injured during a single-vehicle rollover accident this (Thursday) morning, in Guthrie County. The accident happened as 62-year old Kristie Lynn Sheeder, of Windsor Heights, was traveling north on 190th Street at around 10:20-a.m.  Sheeder lost control of her 2008 Ford Edge, causing the SUV to enter the northbound ditch, where it struck a utility pole, and rolled over. Sheeder suffered possible/unknown injuries, and was transported by her sister to the Guthrie County Hospital.

The SUV sustained $8,000 damage and was a total loss. The Guthrie County REC pole sustained an estimated $2,500 damage. No citations were issued.

Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, Thursday (Today) issued an update with regard to COVID-19 and the District. You can read the message in its entirety, below: