(Radio Iowa) – Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says he opposes a bill introduced in the Iowa House that would let 20 percent of House or Senate members force a vote on the use of eminent domain for proposed carbon pipelines.

The House bill, which cleared a subcommittee this week, would let 11 senators or 21 state representatives file a petition to intervene in Iowa Utilities Board proceedings and lawmakers would decide whether pipeline projects get eminent domain authority to seize property from unwilling landowners.

Governor Kim Reynolds told Radio Iowa she will not support any retroactive changes that would affect applications already filed for carbon pipeline construction permits.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver on the “Iowa Press” set on Feb. 2, 2024.. (Photo courtesy of Iowa PBS)

Whitver says there are widely varying views among the 34 Republicans in the Iowa Senate.

Whitver says there has been legislation introduced in the senate that would require pipeline companies to fully restore farmland that’s dislodged along the pipeline route and that may be considered this year.

Whitver says he’d be interested in reviewing, but doesn’t have an opinion yet on another proposal that would speed up the court process for resolving property disputes along the pipeline routes.

Whitver made his comments during taping of Iowa Press which airs tonight (Friday) at 7:30 on Iowa P-B-S.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled it was not illegal for Des Moines Area Community College to pay a man a significantly higher salary than a woman who was doing the same work. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is joining with dozens of her Republican colleagues in criticizing President Biden’s actions and policies regarding the U-S border with Mexico. Hinson has signed a letter with more than 60 other G-O-P House members, calling for the president to reverse his executive actions which she says “undermine U.S. border security.”

On his first day in the White House, Hinson says Biden “immediately took executive action” to halt border wall construction and issued a moratorium on deportations and immigration enforcement.

Hinson says Biden has been “systematically and unilaterally unraveling policies that secured our border and deterred illegal immigration.” She says one of the results has been a “flood of deadly drugs” pouring into communities across the country, including in Iowa.

The president released a statement last week, saying he’s waiting on a bipartisan bill to emerge from the Senate that would provide him with more options and “new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed.” Biden says he’s waiting on Congress to provide the funding he requested last fall to secure the border, including money for more border patrol agents, immigration judges, asylum officers and inspection machines to intercept drugs.

(Radio Iowa) – Much of Iowa is seeing above-normal temperatures for the first week of February, a radical change from just a couple of weeks ago. January wrapped up with some Iowa cities reporting mid-50s for highs, and state climatologist Justin Glisan says that’s some 60 to 70 degrees warmer than the middle of the month when we were in the teens below zero, with wind chills of 40-below.

Some Iowa cities saw more than 20 inches of snow during January, and many communities ended up 10 to 15-inches above their averages for snowfall.

Say goodbye to the last of that snow! (Radio Iowa photo)

Glisan says the month concluded as the third-snowiest January on record for Iowa.

That allowed the water to filter down into the soil, he says, which brought some improvements in our statewide drought conditions. As for the month ahead, Glisan says we can expect more of what we’ve been seeing all week — warmer-than-normal temperatures.

The National Weather Service says the two snowstorms we had during mid-January dropped more than 27 inches of snow on Des Moines, which recorded its second-snowiest January on record, while the 25-plus inches that fell on Waterloo made it -the- snowiest January in history for that northeast Iowa city. It was also Waterloo’s fourth-snowiest month of any month on record.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council will hold a rare, special session, Saturday afternoon. During the 1-p.m. meeting at City Hall, the Council will enter into a closed session pursuant to Iowa Code, with regard to the evaluation of an individual’s professional competency, and “whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered,” and because “that individual requests a Closed Session.”

(Ames, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Transportation reports there were 16 aviation accidents with one fatality and one aviation incident in the state of Iowa, from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. That’s a 33% increase from 2022, and the state has averaged 13 accidents over the last five years. The report summary says:

• 10 accidents and zero fatalities occurred during Part 91 (Private aircraft) flight operations; four accidents and one fatality occurred during Part 137 (agricultural) aerial application operations; and one accident occurred during Part 135 (Commercial, On-demand) Non-Scheduled Air Taxi & Commuter operations.
• There was one fatality and two reported injuries (one serious and one minor).
• 14 aircraft sustained substantial damage and one minor damage.
• One pilot held an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, six had a Commercial Pilot’s License, and three had a Private Pilot License appropriate for the Category and Class of aircraft they were operating. Five of the accident reports did not indicate the type of certificate held by the pilot.
• 13 of the 16 accidents were under visual meteorological conditions. Conditions for the other two accidents are not reported.
• 14 flights occurred during daytime and one flight was during nighttime.
• 12 of the aircraft involved airplanes, three were helicopters, and two were not reported.
• Six accidents occurred within the airport environment (Red Oak, Osceola, Sibley, Larchwood, Ankeny, and Council Bluffs).

Fatalities Summary:
One flight involved a single fatality with a helicopter conducting aerial application that impacted wires. The NTSB report indicated that the pilot failed to identify the wires due to possible
distractions. The accident caused substantial damage to the aircraft and the pilot was hospitalized, but later succumbed to injuries.

Summary of Accidents in the Airport Environment:
There were six aviation accidents that occurred within the airport environment from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. Five accidents occurred during the landing phase of the flight and
one during takeoff. Here’s a review of the two southwest Iowa airport accidents officials were made aware of:

– At the Red Oak Municipal Airport, a pilot operating a Cirrus SR22 reported engine problems and diverted to the Red Oak Municipal Airport. Even with repeated warnings from ATC, the pilot landed the aircraft on RW 05 which was closed. The aircraft struck a barricade which resulted in substantial damage. No injuries were reported.
– At the Council Bluffs Municipal Airport, a pilot operating a Cessna 182 experienced loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined while sequencing to land. The pilot executed a forced landing in a harvested field near the airport and struck a terrace. This caused substantial damage to the aircraft. No injuries were reported.

Summary of Accidents Off-Airport:
There were 10 aviation accidents and one incident that occurred in 2023 away from the airport environment. Four accidents and one event occurred during the enroute phase of flight. One
accident occurred shortly after takeoff and the pilot was unable to make a return to the airport. Four of the accidents happened at low altitudes while conducting aerial applications under Part
137.

Three crashes occurred in southwest & western Iowa…

• A Cessna Citation 560XL operating under Part 91 near Council Bluffs, IA reportedly struck a bird enroute to Omaha-Eppley Airfield. There was substantial damage to the aircraft and no injuries were reported.
• A pilot operating a Cessna 172G under Part 91 near Neola, IA made a forced landing while enroute from Sac City, IA to Council Bluffs, IA. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and there were no injuries reported.
• A pilot operating a Bell 206B during the day near Denison, IA was conducting an aerial application flight under Part 137 when he failed to see and avoid wires. Upon impacting wires and terrain, the aircraft received substantial damage. The pilot was hospitalized but succumbed to his injuries 18 days later.

Note: This Accident Summary relies on reports from NTSB and FAA which are subject to change. Source of information is from NTSB.gov as of 01/18/2024.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill to ban guaranteed income programs in Iowa is eligible for debate in the Iowa House. The bill would affect the UpLift pilot program in Polk, Warren and Dallas Counties which is giving 110 low income households five-hundred dollars a month. The bill would let those payments continue until next January — four months before the program is scheduled to end. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison says government programs should connect people to jobs. “That’s how we get out of poverty. Fostering hard work, independence, not dependence on government and socialist programs that will not be sustainable,” Holt says. “They’re not sustainable.” Holt says the bill is socialism on steroids.

“This is an attack on American values. This is an attack on the work ethic in this country when we already are struggling,” Holt says. “Every employer that I speak to is struggling to find employees that are willing to work.” Luke Elzinga of the Des Moines Area Religious Council testified against the bill during a subcommittee hearing last month. Elzinga says basic income programs like UpLift show what low income people need extra money for. “In pilot after pilot across the country participants have used the vast majority of basic income to support their families’ basic needs of food, housing, health care, transportation and clothing,” Elzinga said.

The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee yesterday (Thursday). Democrats say the bill is a roadblock to an effort to reduce poverty in working families and will interrupt research on how recipients use the five-hundred dollar monthly stipend.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – State Representative Thomas Moore, a Republican from Griswold, has released his weekly report on activities in the Iowa Legislature. He started off by saying an education related bill is dead. HSB 542 is an act relating to education, including modifying provisions related to the number of area education agencies in this state, the calculation of the teacher salary supplement district cost per pupil, and minimum teacher salaries, and including transition, effective date, and applicability provisions.

Moore said also, he signed to Co-Sponsor Representative Steve Holt’s bill regarding illegal immigration and human smuggling. And, work he said, continues on HSB 589.

During the Health and Human Services Committee six bills were passed that now move to the House floor. Among them was…

Also…HF537 allows for live-streamed cameras in nursing homes and clearly outlines processes for residents or their legal representative to request a camera in their room. It includes protections for shared rooms and gives roommates the authority to determine whether a camera is in their room. HF2056 allows 16- and 17-year-olds to provide child care to children up to 5 years old, as long as there are two additional adults in the child care center.

(R) Rep. Tom Moore

HF2057 makes updates to the MOMS (More Options for Maternal Support) program. It allows DHHS to administer the program directly through pregnancy resource centers or through a 3rd party, strikes the requirement that the 3rd party have 3 years of experience managing pregnancy support service subcontractors, and allows for additional pregnancy support services to be provided to pregnant women beyond counseling.

Moore says the Education Committee passed five bills that move on to the House Floor:  HF134 strikes the requirement that districts must both agree before the receiving district school bus can enter into the resident district to pick up students.

It also strikes the provision that IPI enrolls not more than four unrelated students and does not charge fees or tuition. IPI is required to provide students with instruction appropriate to the student’s age, grade level, or achievement level. Students receiving IPI don’t need to be related to the primary instructor and establishes that IPI is not an accredited nonpublic school. HSB564 provides that a three-year limitation on being able to file a complaint does not apply if the conduct constitutes soliciting, encouraging, or consummating a romantic or otherwise inappropriate relationship with a student. HSB567 refers to BOEE reporting requirements. The BOEE shall report the investigative information to the proper law enforcement agency if the investigative information in the possession of the board indicates that the crime has been committed by either a licensed or non-licensed school employee.

Representative Moore can be reached at tom.moore@legis.iowa.gov and (712) 789-9954. If you would like to set up an in-person meeting or would like to visit the capitol, please let him know.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The driver of an SUV was cited Thursday night, following a non-injury accident at the intersection of Broadway Street (Highway 48) and W. Joy Street, in Red Oak. Authorities say a 1999 Chevy Tahoe driven by 63-year-old Jeffrey Wayne Halvin, of Red Oak, and a 2008 Ford Fusion driven by 18-year-old Hallie Straw, of Villisca, were both northbound on Broadway at around 7:20-p.m.  When Straw went to turn east onto W. Joy Street, the SUV struck the passenger side of the car. Halvin told Red Oak Police he was reaching for a falling soda pop and didn’t see the Ford begin to slow down and turn.

Damage from the collision amounted to $2,000. Police cited Halvin for Following too closely. Both vehicles were able to be driven from the scene.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police in Council Bluffs report a woman from Mills County faces a trio of charges, following an investigation into a fatal vehicle-pedestrian accident that occurred in December, 2023. 47-year-old Angela H. Thurman, of Pacific Junction, was charged with Homicide by Vehicle, OWI/3rd Offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd offense, along with Control of Vehicle, in connection with the death of 74-year-old Juan Avalos, of Council Bluffs. Police determined Thurman was allegedly “under the influence of multiple controlled substances” the morning of the crash.

Angela H. Thurman (Council Bluffs PD photo)

As previously reported, the accident happened near the intersection of Poplar Drive and Birch Street in Council Bluffs, at around 3:21-a.m. on Dec. 24th. Avalos was near a vehicle on the street when he was struck by a vehicle allegedly driven by Thurman. He died at the scene. Thurman was not injured. She was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail on $150,000 bond.