WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Republican senator is defending GOP efforts to reduce the hit to the wealthy from the federal estate tax because it helps those who invest rather than people who spend their money on “booze or women or movies.”

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley made the comments late last week in an interview with the Des Moines Register. “I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”

Under current law, when someone dies the estate owes taxes on the value of assets transferred to heirs above $5.5 million for individuals, $11 million for couples. The Senate bill doubles those limits but does not repeal the tax.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A northern Iowa radio station has fired a sports announcer and an elementary teacher who worked as a board operator for the station for racial comments about high school basketball players during an online game broadcast.

KIMT-TV reports that announcer Orin Harris confirmed he was fired Monday from Forest City radio station KIOW. The station manager for KIOW, Karl Wooldridge, confirmed that two employees were fired Monday.

The Forest City School District says it placed teacher Holly Jane Kusserow-Smidt, who worked as a KIOW board operator, on administrative leave. In a video of last Tuesday’s game between Forest City and Eagle Grove, Harris refers to Eagle Grove boys he believes to be Hispanic because of their names as “foreigners” and says they should “go back where they came from.” Kusserow-Smidt agrees and laughs.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s top elections official says his office is beginning to mail paper identification cards as part of a new law requiring voters to show ID at the polls. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says Monday that 123,000 registered voters will be sent the non-photo ID cards automatically. The Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature passed legislation last spring requiring voters to show acceptable identification at the polls, arguing it’ll maintain election integrity. There’s no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Iowa.

Acceptable identification will be an Iowa driver’s license, a non-driver’s ID from Iowa, a U.S. passport, military identification or veterans ID. The state provides the paper ID cards to certain registered voters. The identification requirement goes into effect in 2019, though voters without acceptable ID in 2018 must sign an oath acknowledging they will need it soon. In 2019, those voters will be offered a provisional ballot.

Police in Council Bluffs are asking for your help in solving a robbery. Officials say at around 7:25-p.m. Sunday, Bluffs Police were dispatched to McDonalds at 1607 West Broadway, for a report of an armed robbery at the business. An employee told officers that the suspect placed an order for food and approached the drive-thru window in a red Pontiac Grand Am with auto dealer paper plates. The driver of the Grand Am, described as a black male, displayed a handgun at the employee and stated “Give me all the money”. The employee then gave the suspect an unknown amount of cash from the register. The suspect sped off in the red Pontiac.
Anyone possibly having additional information about the robbery is encouraged to call CID at (712) 328-4728 or Crime Stoppers at (712) 328-7867.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Two people accused of killing a teenage girl in Davenport have taken plea deals. The Quad-City Times reports that 19-year-old Trevor Owens pleaded guilty Friday to involuntary manslaughter and other crimes. A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty as a youthful offender to attempted murder. Both had been charged with first-degree murder.

They’re scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 1. As a youthful offender, the younger shooter will be sentenced in juvenile court and will be under the court’s supervision until he turns 18. The case then would be sent to adult court, where a judge would determine whether to sentence the boy to adult prison or discharge him, among other sentencing options.

Authorities say 15-year-old Ayana Culbreath was killed when the two males began shooting at each other during a backyard gathering.