DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO-TV) — Several years ago the state expanded who needed to get an ignition interlock device (IID); making sure all those who had an operating while intoxicated charge had to use an IID if they wanted to apply for a temporary restricted license. The Iowa Senate passed Senate File 2261 on Monday afternoon 39-8, which adds a couple of changes to current state code that tries to avoid false positive samples.

The bill adds in waivers for those with medical conditions that limits their ability to blow into an IID. It also adds that the removal of a device without authorization is counted as ‘tampering’ and will be charged as such. Along with changing the language in code, where a person needs the device installed to their primary vehicle, but not every vehicle they have access too.

The senate also approved changes to what counts as a failed test on random IID tests. Currently, if a test is randomly required while an individual is operating a vehicle, it would not be deemed a violation unless the person breaks the .025 blood alcohol concentration threshold. The approved change raises the random test threshold while already operating a vehicle to .04. The reasoning is that false positives are somewhat of a reoccurring theme with these devices, and after so many failed tests, true or not, the individual’s license would be extended even longer.

Along with changes to the threshold, the bill also adds different ladders of penalties. Meaning the more tests that are failed over that limit in a certain day window, the more severe the extension of the fine.

The legislation still needs to work through the Iowa House for a chance to be signed into law.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s economy bucked the regional trend and improved slightly during March, but the monthly Creighton University survey of supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states finds the region’s manufacturing sector slipped into recession — and has been there for a while. Creighton economist Ernie Goss says the overall Business Conditions Index fell below growth neutral for the third time in four months. “When it’s all said and done, that would be when the federal government revises their numbers later on this year, I think we’re going to be able to say that the manufacturing economy in the region was in a recession for all of 2023,” Goss says. “Now not a deep recession, just a dipping into negative territory for the year of 2023 and now beginning 2024.”

The index is measured on a zero-to-100 scale where 50 is considered growth neutral. Iowa’s Business Conditions Index for March improved to 51-point-8 from 49-point-3 in February. Goss says the employment situation for the region is bleak as the Midwest’s manufacturing sector lost jobs for a third straight month.  “Twenty-seven-point-three percent of supply managers reported job losses for the month and job openings were down for all nine states over the past 12 months,” Goss says. “So the job market’s definitely weakening, but overall remains okay. Now, the manufacturing numbers are not good and that’s what we’re reporting on here.”

Wholesale prices climbed to the highest level in more than a year, and the report shows March’s inflation reading is the highest since February of 2023. Goss says last week’s deadly bridge collapse that blocked the port of Baltimore, Maryland is having ripple effects well into the Midwest. “That’s going to mean supply chain disruptions,” Goss says. “There will be more supply chain disruptions moving forward than we’ve seen in the past. Most of the survey was conducted before the disaster in Baltimore, so I expect the numbers to worsen in terms of supply chain disruptions in the weeks and months ahead.”

According to the latest month’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, there were two job openings for every unemployed worker in Iowa, which is the same ratio recorded 12 months ago.

(Radio Iowa) – The wife of a Woodbury County Supervisor has been sentenced to prison after being convicted late last year on 52 counts of voter fraud. Kim Taylor must serve four months in federal prison and four additional months on home confinement. Taylor is the wife of Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor.

In November, a federal jury convicted her on 26 counts of providing false information in registering and voting, 23 counts of fraudulent voting, plus three counts of fraudulent registration. Taylor was born in Vietnam and witnesses testified she manipulated local residents of Vietnamese descent to illegally cast ballots for family members during elections in 2020 when her husband ran for congress, then won a seat on the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors.

The federal judge who sentenced Taylor on Monday afternoon has ordered her to pay a special assessment of 52-hundred dollars. She must also serve two years of supervised release. Kim and Jeremy Taylor are the parents of six children. Jeremy Taylor has resisted calls for him to resign from the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors. He recently announced he will not seek reelection.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa legislature have voted to prevent city and county building codes that restrict what kind of siding can be used on the outside of homes. Senator Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City, says it’s a bill that benefits the vinyl siding industry.

“I don’t understand why we are voting on a bill that supports one particular industry,” Weiner says. “…This takes away local control to regular local design standards. Vinyl also happens to be very flammable.” Senator Scott Webster, a Republican from Bettendorf who works in construction, responded.

“It’s not about vinyl siding because a city could easily tell you you can’t put brick in particular areas, you couldn’t use aluminum siding in particular areas, you’ve got to paint your house a certain color in certain areas,” Webster said. “This is telling cities and counties that the ultimate local control is the home buyer and the home owner.”

If the governor signs the bill into law, there could be exceptions for cities that have building code requirements for the outside of homes that are in historic districts or homes in special purpose zones.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Legislature has unanimously voted to require that insurance plans cover diagnostic tests like M-R-Is and ultrasounds that are used to detect breast cancer. Senator Cherilynn Westrich, of Ottumwa, says a mammogram alone may not be appropriate for patients who’ve had cancer or have a history of breast cancer in their family.

“An MRI is one of the most effective tools around for finding these breast tumors,” she says, “even those in dense breast tissue which is notoriously hard to image.” According to the National Science Institute, about 10 percent of women have dense breast tissue. Westrich says she’s heard about many women who had standard mammograms regularly, but but the mammograms did not detect their tumors in the early stages of the disease.

“If it had been caught in early stages it would not have been a an issue or a smaller issue for them, but now many of them are facing consequences — and many of them are facing death,” Westrich said.

Under current federal law, insurers are only required to cover the costs of an annual mammogram. In 2017, legislators in Iowa passed a law requiring mammogram notification letters to let patients know if the test shows they have dense breast tissue and other testing might be needed.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two men were arrested on separate charges last Friday. 41-year-old Richard Steven Kraft, of Omaha, NE., was arrested on two counts Possession of Controlled Substance and possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His arrest followed a traffic stop on I-29 at around 5:45-a.m.  Bond was set at $2,300.

And, at around 10-p.m., Friday, Mills County Deputies arrested 50-year-old Dustin Clark Anglen, of Malvern, for Domestic Abuse Assault. Anglen was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – A report from State Auditor Rob Sand shows the State of Iowa spent nearly 12 BILLION dollars in FEDERAL funds the last fiscal year.

About six percent of that federal money was related to pandemic era spending. Some of it came from the CARES Act President Trump signed in 2020 and some from the American Rescue Plan Act that President Biden signed in 2021. The report covers the period from July 1st of 2022 through June 30th of 2023. It shows the State of Iowa received 46-MILLION dollars worth of vaccines during that 12 month period.

While the state gets money from 345 federal programs — about half of all federal funds sent to the State of Iowa in the last fiscal year were spent on Medicaid and food assistance programs which are administered by states.

(Radio Iowa) – State Climatologist Justin Glisan says March saw a turnaround after what was the third-driest February on record. “A statewide average of about a half an inch above normal, so definitely good rain totals across much of the state, particularly in Western Iowa where we sell anywhere from 200 to 300 percent of normal,” Glisan says. Glisan says the March precipitation helped some in battling what has been 196 days of moderate drought being reported somewhere in the state.

“So seeing increased rainfall and some snowfall in March really helped improve soil moisture conditions,” he says. “And we did see a one category improvement in the previous Drought Monitor map last week for western Iowa. So, seeing good, good outcomes out there with the wetter conditions we’ve been seeing.” Temperatures in March were also a little above normal.

State Climatologist Justin Glisan (Official photo from Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship photo.)

On the temperature side about four-point-six (4.6) degrees above average, with an average temperature of 41 degrees,” Glisan says. He says the current outlook shows some good chances for April showers. “A very strong signal for warmer temperatures getting into the middle of April along with an elevated signal for wetter conditions, which meshes well with the overall temperature and precipitation outlooks for April with higher chances of warmer temperatures and then elevated signal for wetter conditions across much of the state,” Glisan says.

(Radio Iowa) – A popular summer concert series in central Iowa is changing its venue. Andy TeBockhorst, the interim executive director of the Des Moines Music Coalition, says the 80/35 Music Festival has been held the past 14 years in the Western Gateway area of the capitol city’s downtown, but it will move to Water Works Park this July 12th and 13th.

“We’ve already seen Water Works Park be established as a premier concert venue for central Iowa, and moving the festival there does a number of things for us,” TeBockhorst says. “It opens up opportunities for additional activities, additional stages. We’re going to have stuff going on all over the park.”

The 1,500-acre Water Works Park is enormous, almost twice the size of New York’s Central Park. Another change in 80/35 this summer will be the addition of overnight camping, mirroring the Hinterland Music Festival, which is scheduled for August in Saint Charles.

“We’re learning from them and we’re partnered with them and we think it’ll be a big thing,” TeBockhorst says. “It’s just an opportunity for people to get really, fully immersed in the experience.”

The festival will feature a main stage in the paid area, and free stages for anyone to attend. In past years, 80/35 has drawn crowds of 25- to 30,000 for the music, art and culture, and he’s hoping the new venue will allow it to grow even larger.

“We’re just hoping that this is an all-new experience. This is a premier event for central Iowa and it’s one of the largest nonprofit festivals in the country,” TeBockhorst says. “It’s the only nonprofit one in Iowa and we just think it’s a really important thing for central Iowa and we can’t wait to have people come back.”

The lineup will be announced on April 12th and TeBockhorst says it will include local, regional and national bands and artists across several genres, including multi-Grammy-winning headliners each night. The theme for this year’s 80/35 is, “Some Call It Sorcery, We Call It Music.”

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports four arrests. At around 2:30-a.m. on March 27th, Deputies in Orient arrested 30-year-old Mark Donald Cooley, of Orient, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. An investigation determined the vehicle Cooley was driving contained a glass jar with a substance inside that was consistent with marijuana, various containers and packages of bud marijuana vape cartridges, and a package of edibles. A marijuana grinder with marijuana shake present inside, and a vape device with a cartridge inside marked as one that contained THC or marijuana product inside. The items were confiscated. Because he cooperated with the deputy and was truthful in his statements, Cooley was cited on the paraphernalia charge, and released at the scene. He was additionally issued written warnings for Improper Registration Plate Lamp and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability.

On March 28th, 39-year-old Brandon Michael Reilly, of Greenfield, was arrested by Adair County Deputies, on a Union County warrant charging him with two counts of Theft in the 5th Degree. Reilly posted bond  short time after his arrest, and was released from the Adair County Jail.

On March 24th at around 12:10-a.m., Adair County Deputies arrested 19-year-old Ryan James H. Cook, of Anita, for Public Intoxication. Cook was arrested in Adair and later released on a $300 bond. And, at around 12:25-a.m. on March 26th, 38-year-old Daniel Joe Wilson, of Bridgewater, was arrested in Bridgewater, for Domestic Abuse Assault/Bodily Injury or mental illness, and Child Endangerment.

Wilson was released later that day on a $2,000 cash or surety bond.