(Radio Iowa) – An advisory board Governor Reynolds assembled in mid-June is making 56 recommendations for jump-starting Iowa’s economic recovery from the pandemic. The board’s top recommendation is for the state to take steps to make child care more affordable and accessible. The group ranks universal broadband access and increasing the supply of affordable housing as other top priorities. The board, which had its final meeting this (Tuesday) morning, was led by Ben McLean, the C-E-O of Ruan Transportation Management Systems in Des Moines.

Governor Kim Reynolds says the group’s report will serve as the foundation for her 2021 legislative agenda.

Nick Bowdish, President and C-E-O of Elite Octane in Atlantic, was one of 13 business executives to serve on the panel.

The advisory board approved its list of recommendations today (Tuesday). Its final report will be drafted by the end of the month.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska woman has pleaded guilty to a reduced murder charge in the 2018 stabbing death of another woman in northwest Iowa. The Sioux City Journal reports that 22-year-old Melissa Camargo-Flores, of Dakota City, Nebraska, pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Kenia Alvarez-Flores in Sioux City on April 8, 2018. Camargo-Flores had faced a first-degree murder charge and the possibility of life in prison before the plea deal.

Camargo-Flores admitted stabbing Alvarez-Flores. Prosecutors say she had been romantically involved with the victim’s boyfriend. Camargo-Flores now faces up to 50 years in prison when she’s sentenced on Oct. 29.

FOUND SAFE. Thank you!

The Harlan Police Department is trying to locate Kevin Clark. The man left home without his medication. Additional information was not immediately available.  If you see a man matching the picture shown, or know where he is, please call the Harlan Police Department at 712-755-5151.

Kevin Clark

A man from Red Oak complained of pain and possible injury, Monday, after he was hit by an SUV while attempting to cross the street. Red Oak Police say a 2018 Chevy Equinox driven by 67-year old Charla Ann Schmid, of Red Oak, was stopped at the controlled intersection of Alix Avenue  and N. Broadway, and was in the process of turning left onto N. Broadway, when her vehicle struck 58-year old Kenneth Murray Houser, who was on the west side of the intersection before he began to cross the street. The accident happened at around 1:10-p.m.

Schmid told police she looked both ways and did not see any cars coming, prior to pulling away from the intersection. Her SUV knocked Houser to the ground during the incident. He was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Red Oak Rescue, to be checked out. No citations were issued.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – More details are being released about a deadly house explosion in north-central Iowa over the weekend. Franklin County authorities say they were called to the 500 block of 250th Street southeast of Meservey shortly after 3:35 Saturday afternoon. On arrival, rescuers were able to take one unnamed person from the house that had severe injuries and life-flight them to Unity Point Hospital in Des Moines.

Authorities later found the body of 71-year-old Janice Doane who died from injuries sustained in the accident. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the incident.

Two men from Creston were arrested late Monday morning, on separate charges. According to Creston Police, 30-year old Alex Cunningham was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a warrant for Harassment in the 1st degree. He was later released on a $2,000 bond. And, 40-year old Aaron Riepe was arrested on a charge of Domestic Assault. Riepe was being held in the Union County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing.

(Radio Iowa) – Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne and former Republican Congressman David Young dissected one another’s voting records during a debate broadcast last (Monday) night on Iowa P-B-S. The two are running in Iowa’s third district congressional district, which covers 16 southwest Iowa counties. Young criticized Axne for favoring repeal of Trump-era tax cuts. “I want to get our economy just back to where it was five months ago, one of the strongest economies in the world,” Young said. “…That was with low taxes…and we need to make sure that is made permanent.”

Axne, who was elected in 2018, said the 2017 Trump tax bill Young supported has dramatically increased the U.S. debt at a time when the economy needs an infusion of government spending to stay afloat. “The bill that you voted for — 83% of the provisions within it gave greater opportunity to corporations and the wealthiest among us at the expense of middle class families,” Axne said. Young criticized Axne for using the “proxy” voting system House Democrats set up in May, so not all members have to be present on the House floor for voting during the pandemic. “My opponent has taken advantage of that and missed votes,” Young said. “…In Iowa, if you hire somebody, you expect them to show up to work.”

Axne said the U.S. House is using online platforms like Zoom for meetings like many other organizations and her votes are being cast as directed. “I haven’t missed a vote,” Axne says. “…What we’ve done in congress is do the job that needs to get done, but we do so in a way that keeps people healthy.”

The two candidates also debated the future of the Affordable Care Act. Young argued the government subsidies for 44-thousand Iowans who get insurance through ObamaCare should not be paid to insurance companies, but go directly to the people. “When that money goes straight to the people, they’re empowered with their health care dollars, you demand price transparency,” Young said. “You’re going to get affordability, better access and better quality in health care.”

Axne said when Young was in congress, he voted to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, without a solid replacement. “You can slice and dice this any way that you would want to, but that’s what you did,” Young said. “You voted against Iowans and there’s no way to erase that history.”

Young served two terms in the U.S. House, from January of 2015 to January of 2019.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) A new word is being used to describe the dangerous practice of texting while driving, comparing it to being drunk behind the wheel. Mark Peterson, spokesman for Triple-A Iowa, says “intexticated” refers to the driver being distracted by a cell phone — and it can have deadly consequences. “When you’re intoxicated, you’re consuming alcohol or a controlled substance and many times that’s going to cause a crash,” Peterson says. “When you are texting or looking at the internet and you are using that electronic device in a manner that it is not meant to be used can cause someone to have a crash.”

A federal report finds nearly three-thousand people were killed and 400-thousand were hurt in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2018. Peterson notes, looking away from the road for just two seconds doubles the risk of a crash. While cell phones are a big distraction, our vehicles themselves can be just as hypnotizing.  “If you buy a new car these days, some of the technology that’s available to you is unbelievable. There’s very little you can’t accomplish in a car,” Peterson says. “That’s going to take away from its primary purpose. So many times, you get involved with all this additional technology, it takes away from what they’re doing, driving and paying attention.”

Under Iowa law, any motorist using a cellphone for texting — reading, writing or sending — can be pulled over, unless the vehicle is at a complete stop and off the traveled portion of the road. He lists the top three distractions for drivers as: “Number one is cell phone use, in-vehicle technologies and actually one that doesn’t have to do with technology is just conversation and talking.”

Anything that takes a driver’s attention away from driving can result in a fatal crash, Peterson says, including eating and drinking, adjusting the navigation, or picking your next podcast. Nearly one-quarter of crashes that involved a distracted driver also involved the use of a smartphone.