SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — A former northwest Iowa fifth-grade teacher charged with multiple acts of sex abuse is expected to change his plea in a federal case filed against him. Court records say a plea hearing is scheduled June 11 in U.S. District Court in Sioux City for 36-year-old Curtis Van Dam. He’s already pleaded not guilty to a count of sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography. Federal officials say Van Dam made a video or videos for his sexual gratification.

He’s also pleaded not guilty to 146 Iowa counts, including 73 counts of sexual abuse. His state trial is scheduled to begin July 17. Police say the charges stem from incidents involving numerous children over four years and that the crimes occurred at various locations, including Sioux Center Christian School, where Van Dam worked.

On the final weekend before the Iowa Primary Election, the five Democratic candidates for governor began making their final pitches for votes — and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says she’ll be ready to debate the candidate Democrats pick. One day remains before Iowans begin casting their ballots at precincts for Tuesday’s Primary Election. The five candidates for governor are making their closing pitches to voters. Fred Hubbell, a Des Moines businessman, is the perceived front-runner. “We’ve worked hard to travel around the state and meet with people and talk to people and get them interested in our campaign,” Hubbell says. Hubbell spoke to a large crowd in an Iowa City brew pub Sunday afternoon, urging Democrats to get out to vote in the Primary. “And then we need to get to work Wednesday morning, early, uniting our party, uniting all of us and going after Governor Reynolds because we need to win this General Election,” Hubbell said.

John Norris, an aide to former Governor Tom Vilsack, addressed Democrats at a Seven County Rally in Albia Saturday night. Norris says his party needs to focus on boosting Democratic turn-out in rural Iowa. “If we do the same thing again in 2016 that we did the last two cycles, trying to make up for our increasing losses in rural Iowa by just doubling down in the urban centers and think we’re going to win, we’re crazy,” Norris said. Cathy Glasson, a nurse and union organizer, hosted campaign staff and volunteers at her house in Coralville early Sunday morning. “I feel really good and optimistic about this because I think the message and the issues that we’re talking to folks about really resonate,” Glasson says.

Two other Democrats are competing for the chance to face Republican Governor Kim Reynolds this fall. Former Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman Andy McGuire says the Reynolds Administration has put people ahead of profits. “I’m a doctor. I took an oath to put patients first. I will always put people first. That’s what we need in our governor,” McGuire said, “somebody who cares about every Iowan being a success and that’s who I’ll be.” Former Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn told the crowd in Albia Saturday night that it’s time for rank-and-file Democrats to act. “Let’s start the ‘blue wave’ on Tuesday,” Wilburn said in Albia Saturday night.

On Sunday evening Republican Governor Kim Reynolds held a barbecue at her campaign headquarters in Des Moines. Reynolds told Radio Iowa she plans to debate whomever Democrats nominate. It will be her first campaign debate, but Reynolds says she’s had plenty of “tune ups” during interviews with reporters around the state and weekly news conferences with statehouse reporters. “They’re challenging,” Reynolds says. “I would not say there are softball questions.” And Reynolds says she’s “pretty confident” her campaign team will get her ready for the debates to come.

(Radio Iowa)

The process is underway to select a second company to produce medical marijuana products in the state. The end of May was the deadline for companies to file the paperwork with the Department of Public Health requesting a license, and Deputy Director Sarah Reisetter says they had more interest than the first time around. She says they received a notice of intent to apply for manufacturing licenses from eight entities and four followed through with applications.

That compares to nine companies which indicated they would apply the first time and just one which did apply and received a license. Reisetter says the time crunch between when the law was passed and the requirement to implement it kept more companies from seeking the first license. “We got those regulations written as quickly as we possibly could — but due to the requirement to have somebody license by December first — we were only able to provide potential applicants with four weeks to put their applications together,” Reisetter says. “So I think that compressed timeline in the fall of 2017 — and actually I heard from some potential applicants — that that was a problem for them.”

The applicants are asked a variety of questions about how they intend to grow the marijuana and how they will produce the medical marijuana products. “What products they intend to produce, what they are going to require in terms of qualifications for their employees, how they are going to transport the material form their facility to the dispensaries and to the laboratories. What they are going to do for waste disposal, what their security plans are,” Reisetter explains. She says the law requires them to keep the names of the applicants for the license confidential until a license is awarded. The proposals now are in the hands of a review board. “After they review the applications they will score the applications and they will make a recommendation to the department about who they think is the most qualified applicant,” according to Reisetter.

The Health Department will then award the second license on July 1st. She says the manufacturer will have one year to make the product available, which will be July 1st of 2019. “Now there is nothing that will prohibit them from bringing the product to the market earlier if they are able to do that,” Reisetter says, “but we did give them the same time frame to get up and running as our first licensed manufacturer.” MedPharm Iowa was awarded the first license to produce medical marijuana products and they are required to have them ready by December 1st of this year. The state has also issued licenses to dispensaries in Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Windsor Heights, Waterloo and Davenport to sell the products.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police are investigating an early morning shooting death in a neighborhood west of downtown. Police say officers were called about 2:15 a.m. Sunday to a report of shots being fired. When officers arrived at the home, they learned a shooting victim had been driven by a private vehicle to a hospital. The 40-year-old man later died. His name isn’t being released until relatives can be notified. Police say the shooting appears tied to a domestic dispute.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s upcoming primary will mark the first statewide test of a new law that requires voters to show identification at the polls. State officials and voting advocacy groups say they’re keeping a close watch on its rollout Tuesday. The law, which was passed last year and is being phased in, requires voters in 2018 to be asked for approved ID to vote. If someone doesn’t have that identification, they can sign an oath verifying their identity and cast a regular ballot.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The Dubuque library plans to start a service delivering books and other material to people unable to leave their homes. The Telegraph Herald reports that Carnegie-Stout Public Library officials hope to launch the service in July. Library staff say the program will give access to library resources and provide enrichment to people who need it.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa teen has been given a suspended prison sentence and probation for torching a famed covered bridge in Madison County, Iowa, that featured on the cover of the novel “The Bridges of Madison County.” Television station KCCI reports that 18-year-old Alexander Hoff was sentenced Friday, getting five years’ probation and a suspended 10-year prison sentence. He had pleaded guilty in March to second-degree arson and first-degree criminal mischief.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s upcoming primary will mark the first statewide test of a new law that requires voters to show identification at the polls. State officials and voting advocacy groups say they’re keeping a close watch on its rollout Tuesday.

The law, which was passed last year and is being phased in, requires voters in 2018 to be asked for approved ID to vote. If someone doesn’t have that identification, they can sign an oath verifying their identity and cast a regular ballot.

A person without proper identification in 2019 will have to vote by provisional ballot. That requires the voter to return within a few days with ID or the ballot won’t count. Voting advocacy groups are monitoring the law’s implementation, and several county elections officials say they’ve done extensive training and outreach.

BERTRAM, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a 60-year-old man who died after crashing his bicycle in eastern Iowa. The Linn County Sheriff’s office says Charles Cephas Peal of Bertram, Iowa, died after the bicycle crash around 9 p.m. Friday.

Peal was riding down a steep hill when he fell off the bike. He was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators say the man was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The Dubuque library plans to start a service delivering books and other material to people unable to leave their homes. The Telegraph Herald reports that Carnegie-Stout Public Library officials hope to launch the service in July.
Library staff say the program will give access to library resources and provide enrichment to people who need it.

The service will have three-week checkout periods, said Susan Henricks, the library’s director. Books, audio books and CDs will be eligible for the service, she said.
Participants will complete an application including information about what they like to read so library staff can make recommendations.

The program’s scope will depend on how many people volunteer to staff it, Henricks said. Officials plan to start advertising the program and seeking volunteers this week. The library currently provides bulk loans to more than a dozen nursing homes and residential care facilities, as well as the state correctional facility.

A Ringgold County man was transported to a hospital following a single-vehicle accident Saturday night, in Taylor County. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports 54-year old Anthony Sickels, of Mt. Ayr, was traveling south on Highway 25 at around 10:30-p.m., when his 1994 Jeep Wrangler left the road for unknown reasons, near the intersection with 190th Street.

Sickels suffered minor/possible injuries, and was transported to the Ringgold County Hospital in Mt. Ayr by Taylor County EMS. The accident remains under investigation by the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by Taylor County EMS and Clearfield First Responders.

One of the stars of the original T-V series “Star Trek” is in Iowa this weekend, reflecting on a long, prosperous life which she says has been one bold adventure after another. Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura, a bridge officer on the Starship Enterprise, is considered by many as not just an iconic actress, but as a heroine in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. “I’m honored to be thought of that way,” Nichols says, “but it was just my life. That’s the way I was.”

Nichols planned to leave the show after the first season, but had a chance meeting with a fan, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, who convinced her to stay on as she was such an incredible role model in the multiracial cast. Nichols, who’s black, and white actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, shared what’s celebrated as the first interracial kiss on American television in 1968. In later years, Nichols helped NASA recruit women and minorities to join the astronaut corps. She’s credited with bringing aboard Sally Ride, who became the first American woman in space, as well as Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space. Nichols says her first love is musical theater and she toured the country in the 1990s singing in a one-woman tribute to female jazz and blues singers. “I sing, I’m a dancer, I’m a ballerina, I talk too much, I’m an actor,” Nichols says, laughing. “I’m all of those things. I’m in all of those areas that are fascinating to me.”

The 85-year-old Nichols is still involved in the television industry. Lately, she’s been crafting a potential new show to be called “Noah’s Room,” about an white astronaut who looks back on his experiences, including the black family who adopted him and, in her words, saved his life. “I’m still working on it and I’m developing it and as I work on it, things pop up out of it, it’s real fun,” Nichols says. “If I’m involved in the producing of it or the directing of it, I’ll be really very happy.” Speaking with Radio Iowa at the Wizard World Comic Con in Des Moines, Nichols says it’s energizing to see so many fans lining up to see her, to get an autograph or a selfie with her, even more than 50 years after Star Trek debuted. It’s an incredibly loyal fan base, “just wonderful,” she says. “You would be shocked at the many people that are Star Trekkers and know more about Trekdom than I do,” she says.

The original T-V show continues to spawn spin-offs and movies, but also lives on in reruns and is still finding new, adoring viewers. In the autograph line Saturday was a young girl of around eight, clad in boots and a red skirt with a triangular gold emblem on the black lapel, a miniature version of the uniform Nichols wore as Uhura decades ago.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law this week state tax cuts of $2.8 billion over six years, touting the benefits for the middle class. Most changes in personal income tax rates go into effect in tax year 2019, including lower rates for all income brackets. The tax savings would show up as reduced withholdings from paychecks in 2019 and larger refund checks issued in spring 2020. Additional tax cuts are planned in future years.

Here’s a closer look at Reynold’s statement during a bill signing event in Hiawatha on Wednesday, and the more complex reality behind it:

REYNOLDS SAID “Next year, virtually every Iowan will see their taxes go down.”
THE FACTS: The governor’s statement is mostly true, although there are wrinkles that make the situation a little more complex than the governor suggests. All nine of Iowa’s income brackets will have lower tax rates under the new law. There are about 1.4 million Iowa residents who file state income tax returns. Of these, just over three-fourths would pay less in taxes under the new law, according to an analysis by the state Department of Revenue. Roughly another 18 percent of Iowa resident taxpayers, or about 265,000, earn less than $20,000 annually and either make too little income to owe taxes or receive enough tax credits to cover them. They won’t receive a tax cut under the new law but it doesn’t matter because they don’t pay state income taxes.

That leaves about 3.5 percent of Iowa resident taxpayers, or about 50,000, who would actually owe more taxes next year. That’s not an insignificant number but still small compared with the number or those who will benefit.