A key senator introduced legislation this past week that would get rid of Iowa’s popular “bottle bill,” but Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman Randy Feenstra says it’s just a conversation starter and will not be voted upon by ANY senate committee this year. “But I want it out there for discussion,” Feenstra says.

Feenstra’s goal is to have “stakeholders” convene over the summer to come up with some alternatives. ‘The Bottle Bill has done great things over the last several decades,” Feenstra says. “I think now the state needs to move forward and have a more robust and better recycling plan than just a small percentage of bottles and cans that have five cents on them, so what I’m trying to do is engage all the stakeholders and say: ‘What can we do better as a state. How can eliminate plastics and everything else that’s in the ditch or getting thrown in the dumpster?'”

Earlier this month, supporters of Iowa’s “bottle bill” financed a survey that indicates 88 percent of Iowa voters consider the deposit and redemption system for beer and pop containers is “good for the state.” Critics say the empty containers are filthy and grocery stores should not be required to accept the empty cans and bottles. Four weeks ago, a bill was tabled in the Iowa House that would have repealed the 39-year-old “bottle bill” and raised money to set up expanded recycling efforts.

Supporters of that bill say it’ll take “a few years” to come up with a workable alternative.

(Radio Iowa)

The driver of a van is dead following a crash late Friday night, in Council Bluffs. Authorities say 67-year old William D. Snyder, of Council Bluffs, died at the scene of the crash that took place at around 11:38-p.m. in the vicinity of 23rd Avenue and S. 35th Street.

Council Bluffs Police say Snyder’s 1999 Plymouth Grand Voyager was west bound on 23rd Ave when it lost control and struck a power pole, sheering off the pole. The van sustained heavy front driver side damage before coming to final rest in a field to the west of the roadway. Power was knocked out to several businesses in the area, but crews were working early Saturday morning to restore power to those affected.

South 35th and 23rd Avenue were shut down and traffic was diverted. South bound South 35th to East bound 23rd Ave was still closed this (Saturday) until Mid-American Energy can repair the power poles. The crash is still under investigation by the Council Bluffs P-D’s Special Operations/Traffic Unit, and factors contributing to the accident are not yet clear.

Two people were arrested Friday night in Red Oak, on Theft charges. Red Oak Police say 32-year old Robert Benjamin Harris was taken into custody at around 7-p.m., and 46-year old Shelby Joann Olivares was arrested at around 7:40-p.m.  Both are from Red Oak. Harris was arrested for Theft in the 5th Degree, while Olivares was arrested for Aiding and Abetting Theft in the 5th Degree.

Both were brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 each bonds, each.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the number of acres planted in wheat this year will be the lowest on record and much of that will be planted instead in soybean which will be at a record high of 89.5 million acres. Four years of good wheat growing weather led to a global glut pushing prices low making it unprofitable for farmers to grow.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A bill that would have prohibited so-called sanctuary cities and legislation that would have banned most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected are among measures not advancing beyond a procedural deadline in the Iowa Legislature. The deadline Friday required policy bills to have secured several procedural votes. Bills moving forward include proposed restrictions on how authorities can seize money from people suspected of illegal activity.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two young children in Des Moines escaped serious injury when a car crashed through their bedroom wall and landed on the bed on which they were sleeping. The Des Moines Register reports that the crash into the ground-level apartment happened Friday morning. The driver told police she went to back out of a parking spot, but put the car in drive instead of reverse, sending her into the building.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A former executive of a western Iowa transportation company has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for wire fraud. Federal prosecutors say 40-year-old Bradley Cornelsen, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced Friday in a federal courtroom in Council Bluffs and also ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution to MV Transportation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A bill that would have prohibited so-called sanctuary cities in Iowa and legislation that would have banned most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected are among measures not advancing beyond a procedural deadline in the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature. The deadline Friday required policy bills to have secured several procedural votes. Some bills have been selectively kept alive and their futures are unclear.

Bills moving forward include proposed restrictions on how authorities can seize money from people suspected of illegal activity. Other legislation would dismantle Des Moines Water Works, moving the water utility’s oversight to local officials.

Gov. Terry Branstad recently signed into law a ban on local governments raising the minimum hourly wage and reductions in compensation for workers injured on the job.