(Radio Iowa) – Republican Governor Kim Reynolds confirmed in June that she plans to seek reelection in 2022, but she does not intend to use her campaign fundraiser tomorrow (Saturday) to formally kick off her bid for a second full term. Two Democrats have been actively campaigning for the chance to challenge Reynolds. State Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo compares his decision to run to his grandmother’s decision to move from Mississippi to Iowa in 1957 when she couldn’t make the rent as a sharecropper.

“As I’ve been on this campaign trail, I’ve encountered some of our party’s most influential folks who are afraid to be named publicly, who are afraid to make their voices heard, see, because they’re afraid of a vindictive Governor Reynolds, but like my grandmother, I’m not waiting,” Smith said. “You see, like my grandmother, I’m not asking for permission because in this moment is our greatest opportunity for change.”

Smith made his comments Saturday at the Polk County Democrats’ Steak Fry fundraiser. Deidre DeJear, the Iowa Democratic Party’s unsuccessful nominee for secretary of state in 2018, is the other Democrat currently running for governor. She says Democrats shouldn’t loose sight of what’s possible. “The things that we need to overcome, the challenges we see facing us, the requests that we have are not unreasonable requests. In fact, they’re not even dreams. We’re at a point where they’re basic needs,” DeJear said. “…When you’re asking for clean water, you’re not asking for too much…When you’re asking for your governor to believe in science and consider science, you’re not asking for too much.”

Both DeJear and Smith were active in 2020 presidential campaigns in Iowa. DeJear was the statewide chair for the Kamala Harris campaign. Smith was hired in November of 2019 as an advisor for Joe Biden’s campaign.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol reports a woman was struck and killed by a school bus this (Thursday) morning, in Guttenberg.

The Patrol report says 66-year-old Judy Puls of Guttenberg was crossing a street when a school bus driven by 73-year-old Ronnie Moser was attempting to make a turn and struck her. Puls died at the scene.

No charges have been filed as the State Patrol continues to investigate.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are hearing plenty about flu shots and COVID-19 boosters, but a lung doctor says another vaccine needs to share the spotlight. It’s called T-Dap, for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a spokesman for the American Lung Association in Iowa, says pertussis or whooping cough can lead to life-threatening problems. “In Iowa, there were 244 cases in 2019 which is roughly about eight cases per 100,000 which puts Iowa in the middle of all 50 states,” Galiatsatos says. “Those are 244 cases too many. Those are preventable diseases for adults and we want to make sure they understand how to prevent the disease.”

While you may have had a T-Dap or similar vaccine as a child, he says the effectiveness wears off as the years go by and most grown-ups could use another vaccine. “As adults, who should be strongly considered to get it are those who are most vulnerable to pertussis,” Galiatsatos says, “those having underlying lung conditions, asthma, COPD or emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos. (Lung Assoc. photo)

Those are the adult Americans we want to protect.” Pertussis is a serious respiratory illness that’s easily spread from person to person. It can lead to severe and even life-threatening problems, especially for people with chronic lung conditions.

“As a lung doctor, I tell patients I can help stop the progression of your disease, but any respiratory infection is going to unravel that,” Galiatsatos says. “Infection control is always a key strategy to helping people with lung conditions.” The Lung Association says people with asthma are four times more likely to have increased risk of infection and complications if diagnosed with pertussis.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Prison Industries board has approved two requests from food packing company Diamond Crystal Brands and electronics manufacturer Timberline Manufacturing to hire inmates from the women’s prison in Mitchellville. Prison officials are required by law to take steps to ensure the contracts aren’t displacing civilian workers. Prison Industries director, Dan Clark, says that’s not an issue right now as businesses have been struggling to fill job openings.

“The company’s been suffering, as many companies are…to hire enough employees to support their business. Last I talked they needed to hire more than 40 people,” he says. He says the women will earn competitive wages and get work experience that may help them continue working with the same companies once they’re released.

“We want to help Iowa employers. But also we want to help women. And then when they get out, you know, land in a job quickly,” Clark says. The director of the Department of Corrections says the job training and partnerships with businesses are part of the reason the recidivism rate in Iowa prisons has fallen for the first time in six years.

(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – All four members of Iowa’s congressional delegation have voted to send Israel a billion dollars for its Iron Dome missile-defense system. Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican from Ottumwa, was among the Republicans who spoke on the House floor during debate. “Israel has long been a key strategic ally for the United States,” she said. “Our relationship is mutually beneficial, and it is important that we work to support them whenever we can.”

A small group of House Democrats threatened to vote no this past Tuesday on the bill that provides the money to keep the government running if this particular spending item was included, so House leadership removed it from that package — for a stand alone vote on the aide to Israel today (Thursday). Miller-Meeks says the actions of progressive Democrats when it comes to Israel are disgraceful.

“For years, the United States has consistently funded the Iron Dome on a strong bipartisan basis to help Israel defend itself against rocket attacks from terrorist organizations,” Miller-Meeks said. “There has never been a situation where military aid for Israel was held up because of objections from members of Congress.” Some Democrats argued the U-S should impose conditions on aid to Israel, to ensure conditions for Palestinians improve.

In the end, however, the billion dollar funding plan for Israel’s Iron Dome passed the U-S House overwhelmingly, on a 420 to nine vote. Miller-Meeks, along with Republicans Ashley Hinson, the congresswoman from Marion, and Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull were among the “yes” votes, as was Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines.