[Updated] (Radio Iowa) – Iowans could pay extra for a license plate that bears the message “don’t tread on me” if a bill that’s cleared the Iowa House becomes law. The new specialty license plate would feature the image of the Gadsden Flag, with its coiled rattlesnake on the left side of the plate. Representative Jeff Shipley of Birmingham is among the 60 Republicans who voted for the bill. “Giving the Gadsden flag the respect it deserves as a symbol which memorializes our American history and the fight that we had to fight to get our liberty,” Shipley said. The Gadsden Flag design dates back to the Revolutionary War. The snake on the flag features 13 rattles that represent the 13 colonies that revolted against Great Britain.

“I can’t think of anywhere in the world where individual rights, individual sovereignty has been more cherished and respected than here in the great State of Iowa,” Shipley said, “so I think having this display on our license plate will be another great addition to the right fabric of our state.” The fees from these specialty plates would be distributed as grants to groups that promote education and training about the right to keep and bear arms. Democratas like Representative Dave Jacoby, of Coralville, say that means the money will go to the National Rifle Association. “The bill itself diverts tax dollars from a 500% fee increase to a private organization with political agendas,” Jacoby said.

Democrats unsuccessfully proposed a series of alternatives to finance things like children’s mental health services or anti-discrimination programs instead. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst.  “There are problems in this state, there are issues this state is facing,” Konfrst said, “and we are spending time on a new license plate to fund the NRA.” Shipley, the only lawmaker to speak in favor of the bill during House debate, says the plate recognizes the right to keep and bear arms is a sacred value. “There are a lot of men and women who support the Second Amendment, practice the Second Amendment, exercise their freedom,” Shipley said, “and those people tend to contribute to the public safety we enjoy as Iowans.”

The bill now goes to the Iowa Senate, where a similar bill was introduced last year. About a dozen states sell Gadsden Flag specialty license plates, including Missouri and Kansas. The Gadsden Flag design dates back to the Revolutionary War. The snake on the flag features 13 rattles that represent the 13 colonies that revolted against Great Britain.

 DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI]  — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says President Joe Biden “has been a disaster for our country” and that she is endorsing former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Reynolds made the announcement Wednesday on her X (formerly known as Twitter) account. She had previously endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of the Iowa Republican Caucus.

Trump had criticized Reynolds in 2023 after she did not endorse him, and again when she endorsed Ron DeSantis saying “it will be the end of her political career.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Court of Appeals is upholding discipline imposed on a University of Northern Iowa professor for plagiarism. A university investigation committee found communication and media professor Gayle Pohl committed plagiarism in a book chapter she published in 2017. The committee rejected the possibility that problems in her writing were honest errors. It recommended five sanctions that included prohibiting her from applying for promotion to full professor. Pohl asked for a judicial review on a variety of claims, including allegations of bias and a lack of substantial evidence.

The Court of Appeals upheld the U-N-I committee’s findings, saying its decision making, and resulting discipline against Pohl was not illogical, unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.

(Radio Iowa) – A report finds more than two dozen Iowa hospitals are still not compliant with the three year old federal price transparency requirements. The report by the non-profit Patient Rights Advocate reviewed 43 Iowa hospitals. It found 60 percent were not compliant with the Hospital Price Transparency Rule. The founder of the non-profit, Cynthia Fischer, says when hospitals don’t comply, Iowans could end up paying much more for their medical care.

“The hospitals that were not fully compliant were missing significant amounts of the information that would help people be able to make sure their bills were right or shop upfront,” Fischer says. The feds have issued fines to 14 hospitals nationwide so far for non-compliance. No Iowa hospitals have been fined.

(Radio Iowa) – During the pandemic, some Iowans chose not to vaccinate themselves or their children, which has led to a gradual rise in some diseases that were long thought eliminated in the state and nation. Brian Simmons, an infection preventionist with Gundersen Health System, says there have been isolated cases of measles in Iowa in recent years, but no outbreaks. Measles can be easily spread when a person who’s infected breathes, coughs or sneezes, and it can lead to severe complications, even death. Simmons says it’s not necessarily a concern, but people need to be aware as it’s very contagious. The vaccine is highly effective, he says, but some people continue to campaign against getting the shots.