Ottumwa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections, late Saturday night, said 41-year-old Brandon Michael Hanners, who was convicted of Habitual Offender in Des Moines County, failed to report back to the Ottumwa Residential Facility as required, Friday.

Hanners is a 6’1″ tall, 191 pound white male. He was admitted to the work release facility on 03/07/2024. Persons with information on Hanner’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Brandon M. Hanners (Iowa DOC photo)

For more information on the state’s work release program, please see Iowa Code 904.901-904.910 

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Fire Department was paged-out to a report of smoke coming from the Edward Jones building this (Saturday) afternoon, at 508 Poplar Street. The Cass County Communications Center received numerous calls about smoke coming from the northwest side of the building, at around 2:25-p.m.

Atlantic Police and Cass County Deputy Kyle Quist also responded, with Quist using a drone to get an aerial view of the roof and surround area. Firefighters hosed-down a corner of the building where most of the smoke was observed, and the shingles had apparently burned.

According to Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel, a discarded cigarette caught some leaves on fire outside/next to the building. The flames moved up the corner of building and into the awning. Damage to the building was estimated at $2,500. There were no injuries.

(Photos by KJAN News Director Ric Hanson)

The Council Bluffs Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing Council Bluffs man. Authorities say 48-year-old David Wittwer was last seen Tuesday, April 16th, at the Walmart Store in Council Bluffs (1800 N. 16th St.).

Wittwer was wearing grey shoes, blue jeans and a black leather coat.He is 5-feet 7-inches, tall, weighs 160-pounds, has brown hair and a mustache. (see the attached photo)

David Wittwer

His family has not seen or heard from him, and are concerned for his well-being. If you know where David Wittwer is, or have seen him recently, please call 9-1-1 or the Pottawattamie County Communications Center, at 712-328-5737.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2024 Iowa legislative session ended overnight. The Senate adjourned just before 3:30 a.m. today (Saturday). And the House wrapped up the year at 4:23 a.m. (Saturday).

The final day of decisions and votes stretched over 20 hours. Lawmakers approved a billion dollar cut in the state income tax that will take effect next year. A nearly nine BILLION dollar state spending plan was finalized. The final bill sent to the governor calls for redeploying a dozen Division of Criminal Investigation agents who work at the state casinos to a task force tht will work on illegal immigration cases.

The governor recently signed a bill into law that authorizes law enforcement to arrest undocumented immigrants — and gives Iowa judges authority to issue deportation orders. It’s similar to a Texas law that hasn’t taken effect due to a legal challenge. Early this (Saturday) morning the House voted overwhelmingly to extend a moratorium on new casinos in Iowa, but the bill didn’t come up for a vote in the Senate.

DES MOINES – Gov. Reynolds today (Saturday) released the following statement in response to the conclusion of the 2024 legislative session:

“Iowa has set a course for transformation, and it was the driving force of the 2024 legislative session. We prioritized special education reform and early literacy instruction to help all students reach their potential, and increased teacher salaries to attract and retain the best educators for our schools. We cut taxes, further reducing and accelerating the implementation of a flat tax for all Iowans with taxable income. We aligned the state’s behavioral health system to support consistent, coordinated care and improve outcomes, and established Thrive Iowa to help at-risk individuals find local support and create a plan for self-sufficiency and long-term independence. We reformed an outdated system of board and commissions, further reducing government’s size and scope, and protected Iowa’s farmland by strengthening foreign ownership laws.

“Iowa is a state that values education, rewards hard work, and encourages strong families. A place where government is driven by a sense of responsibility to the people it serves. I’m proud of what we accomplished this year and I look forward to continuing to build upon our strong foundation, ensuring prosperity and stability for every Iowan.”

Lt. Governor Gregg released the following statement:

“Governor Reynolds set out to have another transformational legislative session, and she has done just that. From increasing teacher salaries to attract and keep the best educators in our state, to protecting Iowa’s farmland, to providing healthcare to the mothers that need it the most, she has set forth and accomplished a broad range of reforms and initiatives that will better serve all citizens of our state. I am proud to serve alongside Governor Reynolds as she executes a bold vision for serving Iowans.”

Governor’s Key Legislative Priorities:

Income Tax Cuts: Accelerates the flat income tax at a reduced rate of 3.8 percent, lowering the tax liability for every Iowan who pays income taxes. Returns over $1 billion to the hard-working men and women of Iowa. (SF2442)

Special Education Reform: Focuses on improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities, and providing transparency, accountability, and consistency to the state’s Area Education Agency (AEA) system. (HF 2612)

Teacher Pay Increases: Increases the minimum salary for teachers in Iowa to $47,500 and sets a $60,000 minimum salary for teacher with 12 or more years of experience for FY25 and grows those minimums to $50,000 and $62,000 starting in FY26. (HF 2612)

Improving Early Literacy: Implements evidence-based reading instruction to help students move from the critical phase of “learning to read” into a lifelong practice of “reading to learn.” Requires schools to create personalized reading plans and to notify parents of retention options if a child does not meet proficiency in grades K-6. (HF 2618)

Expanding Work-Based Learning: Establishes a $30 million Workforce Opportunity Fund, provides schools more flexibility to offer core credit for Work-based Learning opportunities, finalizes the transition to a State Apprenticeship Agency, and allows Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship participants to accrue classroom time toward student teaching requirements. (SF 2411)

Charter School Expansion: Adjusts per pupil funding to support educational freedom opportunities and allows vacant or underutilized public school district facilities to be available for lease or purchase by nonpublic or charter schools. (SF 2368)

Behavioral Health Alignment: Aligns Iowa’s 13 mental health regions and 19 substance use regions into seven unified behavioral health districts to provide consistent, coordinated services statewide and improve outcomes. (HF 2673)

Post Partum Coverage Extension: Extends post-partum Medicaid coverage from two months to one year for thousands of mothers. (SF 2551)

Thrive Iowa: Authorizes the use of resources to support the launch of Thrive Iowa, a platform that will connect individuals and families in need of assistance with support outside of government leveraging faith-based organizations and private sector networks. (HF 2698)

Strengthening Iowa’s Foreign Ownership of Land Laws: Further protects Iowa land by increasing reporting requirements, giving the Attorney General subpoena power to investigate potential violations, and strengthening penalties for foreign owners. (SF 2204)

Mega Sites: Establishes a MEGA project tax incentive program to recruit major development projects (> $1 Billion) to locate in Iowa. Includes funding for rural certified sites to also be established. (SF 574)

Streamlining Boards and Commissions: Returns accountability to the people of Iowa through their elected representatives by eliminating 83 unnecessary and redundant unelected boards and commissions. Requires an ongoing annual review process of boards and commissions. (SF 2385)

Gender Balance: Repeals gender balance requirements for appointive bodies ensuring the most qualified Iowans can serve regardless of gender. (SF 2096)

Government Regulation Review: Cuts red tape and improves Iowa’s regulatory environment, requires a regulatory analysis of all new rules, and sunsets rules unless they undergo a substantive review and are re-adopted at least every five years. (SF 2370)

Government Alignment: Eliminates barriers for newly aligned agencies to fully implement new efficiencies across state government, unlocked in last year’s legislation, to better serve Iowans. (HF 2686)

Other legislative priorities that passed during the 2024 Legislative Session:

Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person’s constitutional right to religious freedom unless it has a compelling interest and uses the least restrictive means to support that interest. (SF 2095)

Immigration: Prohibits certain aliens, as defined in 8 U.S. C. § 1101, from coming to Iowa following their illegal reentry into the United States. The bill also prohibits arrest in certain locations like churches and schools, provides immunity from liability and indemnification for enforcement actions, sets sentencing restrictions, and provides penalties. (SF 2340)

School Safety: Addresses the use of school security personnel by school districts and authorizes school employees to be issued professional permits to carry weapons. (HF 2586)

DEI Elimination: Prohibits diversity, equity, and inclusion at institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents with exceptions for compliance with federal law and accreditation. (SF 2435)

Civil Statute of Limitations for Boy Scout Victims: Allows child sexual abuse victims to make claims in the Boy Scout bankruptcy proceeding without being time barred. (SF 2431)

Graduation Requirements: Requires the department of education to conduct a comprehensive review of the state’s high school graduation requirements, core curriculum, core content standards, and educational standards, and to recommend policy changes. (HF 2545)

Mutual Insurance Industry: Allows flexibility to utilize reinsurance resources and introduces new options to acquire capital to stabilize the mutual insurance market. (HF2100, HF2490, SF2361)

Livestock Capital Gains: Reinstates the capital gains deduction from the sale of cattle or breeding livestock. Retroactive to January 1, 2023. (HF2649)

Ag Class Credit: Modifies provisions related to the curriculum provided to students enrolled in grades nine through twelve by allowing instruction related to agriculture to meet a portion of the unit requirements related to science and allowing instruction related to applied sciences, technology, engineering, or manufacturing to meet a portion of the unit requirements related to mathematics. (HF 2465)

Biomarker Testing: Improves quality of life and saves lives by including biomarker testing as a covered cost by health insurers. (HF 2668)

Teaching Licenses: Modifies requirements related to teacher intern license programs and establishes a temporary initial teaching license to be issued by the board of educational examiners to applicants who complete an alternative teacher certification program. (HF 255)

Looting: Establishes the criminal offense of looting and providing penalties. (HF 2598)

Grooming as a Crime: Establishes a criminal offense of grooming and provides penalties. (HF 2602)

Psychiatric Medical Institutions for Children (PMIC): Increases reimbursement rates for children behavioral health providers and provides family-centered behavioral health services. (HF 2402)

Meat and Poultry Inspections: Allows state meat and poultry programs to provide the opportunity for state official poultry plants to also preform custom-exempt slaughter and processing, as is currently allowed for official red meat plants. (HF2257)

Small Business Investment Programs for Veterans: Includes veterans in the small business linked investment programs. (SF 461)

Renewable Fuels Infrastructure: Provides a transition period for renewable fuel infrastructure upgrades supported by the Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Program. (HF2687)

Swatting: Relates to false reports to or communications with public safety entities, and provides penalties. (SF 2161)

Use of Local/County Funds: Provides additional flexibility to local government to use public funds to tackle the child care needs of their community. (HF 2264)

Insurance Coverage for Diagnostic Breast Exams: Requires insurance coverage for supplemental and diagnostic breast examinations. (HF 2489)

MOMs: Allows HHS to partner directly with pregnancy resource centers to provide maternal supports and services to pregnant women and new mothers. (SF 2252)

Improving Access to Professional Licensure: Several bills reduced unnecessary barriers to entry to professional licensure in high-need health care professions. (HF 2232, SF 477, HF 2515, HF 2512, HF 2013)

Rental Property Management: Eliminates unnecessary licensure for rental property management activities. (HF 2326)

Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Creates additional pricing transparency for pharmacists, prohibits bad faith negotiations as well as retaliatory business practices. Grants insurance division additional regulatory tools. (HF2099)

Traffic Cameras: Pauses the proliferation of unmanned traffic cameras including new regulations and oversight by the Department of Transportation. (HF2681)