(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would limit the number of out-of-state students admitted to the medical and dental schools at the University of Iowa has cleared initial review in the Iowa House. At least 75 percent of the students accepted would have to be residents of Iowa or graduates of an Iowa college or university if the bill becomes law. Republican Representative Tom Jeneary, of Le Mars graduated from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry in 1985. “I’m personally in favor of this bill,” Jeneary says. “I know the year I graduated dental school there were a significant percentage of people in my class that did not stay in the state.”

Republican legislators say the state needs more doctors and dentists, especially in rural Iowa and the bill could help. Dr. Gerard Clancey, senior associated dean of the University of Iowa College of Medicine, is encouraging legislators to look at the big picture.”I get to work a lot with our students and they are very much driven by their level of debt as to where they choose to practice,” he said. “Some students will incur, on average, a debt of $250,000.”

According to a lobbyist for the University of Iowa, 70 percent of current students in the College of Medicine are Iowa residents. The bill under consideration would require the university to submit a report to the legislature each year showing how many graduates of the medical and dental schools live in Iowa in that first year after earning their degrees.

(Radio Iowa) Republicans on an Iowa House subcommittee have advanced a bill that would pull state funding from public schools if a New York Times series about slavery is used in history classes. Representative Skyler Wheeler, a Republican from Orange City who is the bill’s sponsor, says the “1619 Project” is projecting a clear viewpoint. “It seeks to distort facts, not simply teach them and it does so as leftist political propaganda masquerading as history,” Wheeler said.

Rita Davenport, who spoke at a statehouse subcommittee hearing, says the 1619 project promotes Black victimhood. “In my 57 years, I’ve never felt that I could not achieve anything because of my race,” Davenport says. The bill would financially penalize public K-through-12 districts, community colleges and the three public universities for each day the 1619 project is used as history curriculum. Pete Hird, a lobbyist for Iowa Federation of Labor, says the bill amounts to censorship of history. “I think we should address the real problem,” Hird says. “Racism exists. What are we doing about it?”

Representative Ras Smith, a Democrat from Waterloo, says American history is complex and banning literature like the 1619 Project is a slippery slope. “America’s about the opportunity to have diverse thought, rigorous debate about what it means to be an American,” Smith says. Bills have been introduced in a handful of other states to ban the use of the 1619 Project in public schools. A committee in the Republican-led Arkansas legislature voted down one of those bills yesterday (Tuesday).

(Update 4:27-a.m.: Subject was located near the Evangelical Free Church. He will be transported to CCMH for evaluation and treatment of possible frostbite.)

Atlantic Police, Atlantic Rescue and Cass EMS were called at around 3:55-a.m. Wednesday, to the area of 405 E. 21st Street (21st and Oak Streets), to help look for an 83-year old male with Dementia, who went missing about 15-minutes earlier. Unsure which direction of travel he may have been headed. The man’s name is “Alan.”

No description of the subject was given or immediately available, other than he was wearing shoes. If seen please contact the comm center or call 911. The temperature at the time of his disappearance was 7 degrees above zero.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Rapids has become the second city in Iowa to form a citizens review board for the police department. The board approved Tuesday is designed to hold law enforcement accountable and promote equity in the city’s policing. The nine-member board was approved after months of discussion between community leaders and city officials. The board will advise the city on police policies and practices, review citizen complaints and be on the committee that hires the police chief. Mayor Brad Hart said the city will begin a campaign next week to encourage residents to apply. Iowa City has a similar board.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa public health officials have selected Microsoft to develop an online vaccination scheduling system as they seek to improve the state’s low national rankings for the rate of doses administered. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Monday posted notice online that it intends to award an emergency contract to the software company. The agency told bidders that it would award a separate contract to run a vaccine call center later this week. The selection of Microsoft came after the agency last week gave potential bidders one day to respond to an emergency request for proposals seeking work.

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nomination of Tom Vilsack to lead the Agriculture Department is getting a chilly reaction from many Black farmers who contend he didn’t do enough to help them the last time he had the job. The former Iowa governor served eight years as agriculture secretary under President Barack Obama. Vilsack is trying to assure minority farming groups and the senators who will vote on his confirmation that he will work to “root out generations of systemic racism” in the agency. But many Black farmers fault him for failing to address a backlog of discrimination complaints in the department and for firing a Black woman for remarks that he later learned were taken out of context.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Residents in Nebraska and Iowa woke up to bitterly cold conditions Tuesday morning, leading to slick streets that contributed to multiple crashes in the Omaha area. The National Weather Service issued a wind chill warning for parts of 13 counties in central, east-central and south-central Nebraska, with wind chills near 30 below zero that could cause frostbite on exposed skin in under 10 minutes. The warning covered the cities of Grand Island, Hastings, York, Loup City and Central City, among others. High temperatures for Tuesday were expected to climb only into the single digits around Grand Island and up to 10 degrees in Omaha and western Iowa.

A man from Kansas City, Missouri was arrested Tuesday night in Fremont County, after allegedly attempting to steal a semi from an area near Percival. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports 42-year old James Bradley Mall was taken into custody at around 7:35-p.m., for Operating a Motor Vehicle without Owner’s Consent. Mall was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $2,000 bond.

James B. Mall

His arrest followed a report at around 6:48-p.m., about a disabled vehicle off I-29 at mile marker 14, and a man seen walking along the interstate.  Upon the deputy’s arrival, the male was unable to be located. About 45-minutes later, deputies were called to the area of the 2000 block of 195th Ave in Percival, for a report of a male, matching the same description, attempting to steal a semi. The caller advised his semi was warming up in his driveway when a male entered the semi and tried unsuccessfully to shift the semi into gear. The male then left the scene, walking to a nearby house.

Soon afterward, Deputies made contact with the male, who was subsequently identified as James Mall.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Rapids has become the second city in Iowa to form a citizens review board for the police department. The board approved Tuesday is designed to hold law enforcement accountable and promote equity in the city’s policing. The nine-member board was approved after months of discussion between community leaders and city officials.

The board will advise the city on police policies and practices, review citizen complaints and be on the committee that hires the police chief. Mayor Brad Hart said the city will begin a campaign next week to encourage residents to apply. Iowa City has a similar board.

A Public Hearing over the proposed Atlantic Community School District 2021-22 School Calendar is set to take place 6-p.m. Wednesday, in the High School Media Center.

Proposed 2021-22 ACSD School Calendar

The hearing will precede a regular meeting of the Atlantic School Board, which will be held electronically via YouTube.

Superintendent Steve Barber notes the Calendar Committee met and discussed different aspects of the school calendar. Each representative from the buildings shared different options, and the team landed on the calendar (shown here), which indicates school begins August 23rd, 2021, and ends May 25, 2022. The calendar includes seven days for Christmas break, and one week for Spring Break.

Barber notes “One interesting feedback was the number of people who preferred not to have a full week for spring break. Two years ago after having a schedule that did not contain a spring break, we heard overwhelming support for a week long break.”

During the regular Board Meeting, members will act on the resignation of Janet Hascall, 4th Grade Teacher, and Contract Recommendations for: Steve Anderson, Route Bus Driver; Mark Vavricek, Special Ed car driver; Shannon Hayden, MS/HS Schuler Food Service, and Kassidy Edwards, MS Special Ed. Paraeducator. The Board will also act on approving the Band/Choir Music Trip to Florida planned for March 2021 (during Spring Break). The trip had been cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The Atlantic School Board will also act on a Resolution authorizing bids & setting the Public Hearing date for the High School Parking Lot Project and Entry Sidewalk improvements, the estimated cost for which is $840,000, and would be budgeted from the SAVE account. They will then act on approving a bid of approximately $122,530 from McDermott Roofing, for the Middle School Roof project. The bid was about 10% below the engineer’s cost estimate. The Board’s final order of business is approving a change order for the Athletic Facilities Improvement Project, in the amount of $67,964.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has unanimously passed a bill that would set up guidelines for lawsuits filed by people who accuse someone of so-called revenge porn. Representative Jarad Klein of Keota is the bill’s floor manager. “Essentially a person whose private, intimate images are disclosed by another without permission may bring a civil lawsuit against the person who disclosed the image.”

A lawsuit would have to be filed within four years of an unauthorized disclosure of intimate images. People targeted with revenge porn could sue the culprit for monetary damages. The estate of someone who’s died would be allowed to sue someone who posted sexually explicit content about the deceased. The bill now goes to the Iowa Senate for consideration.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House — for the second year in a row — has passed a bill to limit the co-payments for insulin to a hundred dollars for a one-month’s supply. Patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes take insulin to control their blood sugar, but the cost of the drug has skyrocketed. Representative Liz Bennett, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says that has caused patients to take less insulin than prescribed — or not buy it at all.

“Insulin is indeed a life-saving medication and no one should go broke simply just to try to preserve their life by using insulin,” Bennett says. Seven million Americans take insulin daily and a dozen states have established co-payment limits on insulin. A bill to set a 100-dollar-a-month co-payment limit for insulin purchases in Iowa cleared the House last year, but did not pass the Iowa Senate.

At the federal level, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley released a report early this year blasting the pharmaceutical industry for insulin price hikes. Grassley says there’s clearly something broken when a product like insulin that’s been on the market longer than most people have been alive skyrockets in price.

The Harlan Police Department reports two arrests. On Feb. 6th, 38-year old Christopher Daniel Ivey, of Harlan, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. And, on Jan. 31st, 39-year old Ronald James Traynham, of Harlan, was arrested for Child Endangerment, following an investigation.

There were also two separate accidents in Harlan on Tuesday, Feb. 9th, both of which were at least partially attributed to icy road conditions. No injuries were reported. The accidents took place in the 1700 block of Chatburn Avenue, and at 6th and Cyclone. All four drivers were from Harlan. The were identified as Anna Nelson, Lynval Arnold, Brenda Neubauer, and Shelbi Clark. No citations were issued in either incident.