(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – The ability to use fireworks in Iowa is controlled by local jurisdictions and varies widely — but the concern about safely handling them is the same anywhere you go. On May 5^th, the Atlantic City Council set today (July 2nd), Saturday, July 3^rd and Sunday July 4th, from Noon until 11-p.m. each day, as the OFFICIAL dates and times for fireworks celebrations in advance of and on, Independence Day.

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Lieutenant Nick Hutchinson of the Johnston-Grimes Fire Department says you can avoid problems overall by taking some time before lighting things up. “Follow the directions on them, stay a safe distance back if you are going to use them, and be careful,” he says. Hutchinson says you shouldn’t leave kids alone with sparklers or anything else. “If you are going to use fireworks, have an adult be the one who is lighting them off, not a kid,” Hutchinson says. The safety concerns continue after the fireworks are used. “Be cautious of disposal of them. That’s probably the biggest issue that we have as a fire department. Putting hot fireworks in a garbage can — which catches the garage on fire, the house on fire — that kind of thing,” Hutchinson says.

Sparklers are considered to be safer than things that shoot off and go boom. But Hutchinson says they can be dangerous because they get very hot and stay that way after the sparkle goes away. He says they tell people to make a pile of sparklers and thrown some water on them and then it is okay to put them in the trash can. Hutchinson says you should check with your local government to find the times when fireworks are legal to use.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor’s latest public health emergency proclamation makes clear the end is near on most pandemic-related regulatory relief. Last year, Governor Kim Reynolds temporarily suspended many of the deadlines for renewing state licenses and many of those suspensions already have ended. Her latest public health proclamation says Iowans should not expect the few that remain to last beyond July 25th. It means no more delays in license renewals for restaurants and bars, pesticide applicators and temporary teachers.

Tattoo artists and tattoo shops also have a tight deadline for renewing their licenses. They have until Tuesday to renew their 2020 license without a penalty In addition, next Wednesday, tattoo businesses or artists with permits that expired in 2020 will no longer be able to work until they have renewed for the 2021 permit year.

The governor has signaled that pandemic-related limitations on accessing public records and conducting public meetings in Iowa will end July 25th as well.

(Radio Iowa) – One-point-four billion dollars. That’s how much MORE in taxes was paid to the state in the last 12-months compared to the previous fiscal year. The state fiscal year ended June 30th. According to the Legislative Services Agency, there was an 18-point-six percent increase in state tax revenue during that 12-month period compared to the previous fiscal year. As you’ll recall, the final four months of THAT year were March, April, May and June of 2020 when the bottom dropped out of the economy due to the pandemic.

The state ended the fiscal year on June 30th with a surplus of about half a billion dollars. Last month, as she signed a series of tax cuts into law, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds announced she’ll be proposing more cuts to personal income taxes next year.

In this just-concluded fiscal year, Iowans paid nearly 17 percent more in personal income taxes to the state. Corporate taxes grew nearly 52 percent. Sales and use tax payments grew by 10-point-six percent.

WASHINGTON — Iowa Third District Democrat RepresentativeCindy Axne and a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thursday, voted to approve $21,901,000 in direct funding for Iowa infrastructure improvements included in the House’s surface transportation authorization legislation.

The projects receiving direct funding through Rep. Axne’s advocacy include a bridge replacement in Red Oak, a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge, and bus facility improvements for transit agencies which cover all sixteen counties of Iowa’s Third District. All six projects are included the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act, legislation that authorizes spending highway and transit projects that advanced out of the House earlier today.

Rep. Axne’s office says she successfully pushed to include six projects for Iowa’s Third Congressional District in the INVEST in America Act:

• $7,000,000 for upgrades to the Southeast Connector connecting SE 30th Street to US Route 65 near Des Moines and Pleasant Hill
• $5,000,000 for bus and bus facility upgrades at the Southwest Transit Agency, Western Iowa Transit, Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Southwest Iowa Trolley, and the Des Moines Regional Transit Authority
• $4,880,000 for Phase 1 of construction on a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge in Johnston
• $2,321,000 for construction of a new Regional Transit Facility for the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency in Waukee
• $2,000,000 for improvements to the Mills Civic Parkway at S. 91st Street and S. Grand Parkway in West Des Moines
• $700,000 for the replacement of the Red Oak Creek Bridge in Red Oak

The Stop Swaps, Protect Local Jobs Act bill aimed at ensuring federal roadway funding isn’t used to undermine competitive wages for local workers, was also included in the final bill. The measure would protect local workers from having their wages undercut by “fund swapping,” a practice where city and county governments move federal dollars out of a roadway project in exchange for state funds.

While the Senate and House will continue to deliberate on securing investments in infrastructure beyond the investments made in this bill, the current authorization for surface transportation funding expires later this year – making this bill the likely foundation for any final agreements on infrastructure.

The INVEST in America Act provides $715 billion to repair our nation’s roads, bridges, transit facilities, rail, and water infrastructure. The legislation, a five-year reauthorization of surface transportation programs and investment in water infrastructure, would provide over $3.5 billion directly to Iowa for transportation projects.

The package of legislation passed today also includes $32 billion to repair deficient bridges, including a new $1 billion grant program called Rebuild Rural Bridges. Iowa currently has the highest number of structurally deficient bridges in the country with nearly 4,500 bridges rated “poor” by the Iowa Department of Transportation. The bill also provides $37 billion in the Surface Transportation Program, a federal program for state and local transportation projects, including new allocations based on population to ensure smaller communities receive the funding they need.