A small group of Republican legislators have given initial approval to next year’s spending plan for the state’s court system, prisons and public safety operations. It’s about three million dollars LEANER than the current year’s budget for those agencies. Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady had asked for a budget boost for the courts, but is getting what GOP lawmakers call a “status quo” spending plan. Cady acknowledges with state tax revenues falling below expectations, the cuts to the courts could have been deep.

“We’re prepared to go forward and continue to do the best work that we can,” Cady told reporters after meeting privately with House leaders Wednesday afternoon. “We’re just appreciative that the legislature listened to us in some respects.” Legislators are in the final stages of drafting an OVERALL spending outline for the state fiscal year that begins July 1st and some of the plans that emerged this week will cut other agencies far more — like a proposed 10 percent cut in the Department of Public Health’s next budget.

As chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, Cady is the top executive in the judicial branch of state government. Cady says he and his top aides will try to implement these cuts with the fewest “disruptions” to court services. “We just don’t know specifically what that is, but we’ll look at everything,” Cady says. During recent rounds of budget reductions, Cady ordered workers in the court system to take unpaid furloughs and courthouses were closed on Fridays. That may happen again.

“We look at problems as opportunities and we’ll look to make sure there aren’t things we can do in ways that might be able to save money,” Cady says. But Cady says the court system “will still maintain a presence in all 99 counties.” “That’s important to us, but…just as have this year, we operated on a shortfall and did it successfully and we’re confident we’ll be able to do it again,” Cady says. Legislators are NOT at work today in Des Moines. They will return Monday, with the hope of concluding the work of the 2017 legislative session sometime NEXT WEEK.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Supreme Court rules a Johnson County man can’t be charged for falsely answering an unauthorized question on a request for a gun permit. James Downey filled out the application for a gun permit in Johnson County in January of 2015. He provided his name, birthdate, sex, phone number, address, driver’s license number, place of birth, and country of citizenship on the front side of the form. Downey turned the form over to find 10 questions with yes or no answers. He answered “no” to whether he had ever been convicted of a felony.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department did a background check and charged him with making a false statement when they found he had a felony third offense O-W-I conviction. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the 10 questions were not authorized by the legislature to be on the form and an unauthorized question on weapons permit application cannot be the basis for a crime. The ruling says if it were — someone could be asked the color of their car — and then be charged if they gave the wrong color.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says two men convicted of second-degree murder for their involvement in the mob beating death of a Des Moines man in a downtown parking lot in 2013 will not get new trials.

The court’s ruling Friday says there was sufficient evidence for convictions of James Shorter and Yarvon Russell in the death of 40-year-old Richard Daughenbaugh. The ruling overturns an Iowa Court of Appeals decision last June that said the men should get new trials. Shorter and Russell, both 22, are serving 50-year sentences.

The court’s ruling leaves an opening for further appeals regarding whether their defense attorneys effectively represented them. Daughenbaugh was kicked and stomped by a group of young people after arriving uninvited at a parking lot party. He later died of internal injuries.

Weather permitting, an Easter Egg Hunt will take place in Atlantic Saturday. The event takes place on the grounds of Atlantic Specialty Care (1300 E. 19^th St.) beginning at 10:30-a.m., but Kellie Jimerson, Administrator of the facility, recommends you arrive early. You can park on the side streets, or the Atlantic High School Parking lot, where a SWITA shuttle bus will transport you to the facility and back.

There are activities for children from age 1 to10. They will be divided into four age groups when it comes to hunting for the eggs and prizes. About 15,000 eggs are purchased for filling. Jimerson said there were almost $2,500 worth of donations made available for eggs, candies and prizes.

Residents of the facility spend nearly two months filling the plastic eggs and with candy. Jimerson said they look forward to seeing the excitement in kids eyes, and their smiles. Jimerson says there’s much more going on than watching the kids find Easter Eggs filled with goodies…Hot dogs and chips are available from Hy-Vee, beverages are available from the Atlantic Coca Cola Bottling Company, and the Easter Bunny will arrive on an Atlantic Fire Truck.

There was no Easter Egg Hunt last year, because of the snow.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Lawmakers are abolishing a statewide program intended to improve reading skills of Iowa third-graders because of a lack of funding and concerns about the effort’s ineffectiveness. The Des Moines Register reports that Republican Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink of Fort Dodge confirmed plans Thursday to eliminate the program, saying lawmakers felt it would be an unfunded mandate to local school districts if state funding wasn’t available.

Nearly 25 percent of the state’s third-graders didn’t read proficiently on Iowa tests during the 2014-15 academic year. Lawmakers previously had agreed to establish a summer reading program for third-graders who failed reading tests at the end of the school year. They wouldn’t be promoted to fourth grade unless they participated in the program.

Kraayenbrink says he’s not convinced the program was the best approach.

(Updated) OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — State regulators say the Omaha day care of a woman suspected of abusing a child there has been ordered closed. Omaha police say 58-year-old Lynn Rowe has been charged with intentional child abuse, no injury. Police say she was being sought on an arrest warrant when she turned up Friday in Missouri Valley, Iowa.  She was arrested and transported to Omaha to face charges.

Police say the parents of a 4-year-old girl reported April 3 that Rowe had abused their 4-year-old daughter while at Rowe’s day care. Officials say the report was made after a worker at the day care recorded the abuse on her cellphone.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday afternoon that Lynn’s Learning Center has been ordered closed.