SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge says a northwest Iowa couple owe a lawyer $2.18 million more for representing them in talks that resulted in a $7.5 million settlement with Sioux City. The judge said in her lawsuit ruling filed Monday that attorney Stan Munger’s contingency fee contract with Chad and Rosanne Plante was “reasonable and valid.” The Sioux City Journal reports that Judge Nancy Whittenburg said Munger was entitled to receive 33 percent of the settlement the city paid the Plantes to resolve claims from a 2016 bus crash that caused serious injuries to Chad Plante.

The Plantes already authorized Munger to withdraw $380,000 from the settlement. He says they told him the contingency fee agreement “is against public policy.”

Two men from Creston were arrested on separate Union County warrants, Wednesday. 29-year old Anthony Alan Short II was arrested at the Union County LEC on a warrant for Failure to Appear on an original, Driving while license denied-suspended or revoked, charge. His cash-only bond was set at $300. And, 28-year old Alex Richard Cunningham was arrested on three warrants for Pretrial Release Violation. He was being held in the Union County Jail without bond, until seen by a magistrate.

(Radio Iowa) — The House Judiciary Committee’s chairman called it a “rare moment.” Wednesday night, Republicans and Democrats on the committee unanimously embraced a plan from Governor Kim Reynolds on felon voting rights. The proposed constitutional amendment would automatically restore the right to vote to felons who’ve completed their sentences. Backers hope the proposed amendment could be presented to voters in 2022. Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton says House Republicans will meet soon to discuss how to legally define what sentence completion means. “Because I believe the voters should know what they’re voting for,” Kaufmann says.

Kaufmann says he’s interested in keeping felons who’ve done time for murder, rape or child sex abuse from voting. “I don’t think that certain classes of criminals should ever have the opportunity to get these rights back,” Kaufmann says. Other Republicans have discussed requiring felons to pay any restitution to their victims before they’d be allowed to vote.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa lawmakers are considering proposals that would let nurse practitioners and physicians assistants as well as doctors recommend medical marijuana for patients suffering from chronic pain or other ailments. The plan that has emerged in the Iowa House also would increase the potency of the cannabis products now being sold legally in Iowa. Dane Schumann is a lobbyist for MedPharm Iowa, the company producing and selling cannabis products in Iowa — and he thanked lawmakers who’re suggesting the limit on the chemical T-H-C in those products should be increased. “It’s something we’ve been asking for and a discussion we’ve been having up here for a long time,” Schuman says.

Representative Jarad Klein of Keota says he’s seeking a compromise that can get broad approval in the legislature. “We’re never going to end up in a perfect place,” Klein says, “but we can continue to take steps to provide relief to sick Iowans.” Klein says lawmakers have gotten advice from medical experts about what level of the chemical T-H-C is most appropriate in cannabis oils, creams and pills. The House bill Klein has been working on is scheduled for debate in a committee today (Thursday). A similar bill cleared a Senate panel earlier this week.