DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a state law passed in 2017 by a Republican-run legislature that removed bargaining rights for many state employees.
In cases filed by the Iowa State Education Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the court ruled 4-3 on Friday that the law withstands constitutional challenges. Both decisions were written by Justice Thomas Waterman, an appointee of former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad who supported the new law. Waterman found the law rational and that it should remain in effect.

Waterman was joined by another Branstad appointee and two justices recently named to the court by Gov. Kim Reynolds. They concluded the Legislature was rational in giving certain public safety employees the right to bargain over many more issues than those in unions in which fewer than one-third of members are public safety workers. The unions challenged the law, saying it violated the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution. The three dissenters say portions of the law are not rationally explainable.

Memorial Day and the traditional beginning of summer are quickly approaching.  Unfortunately, with the increase in summer traffic there will also be a rise in traffic crashes and fatalities. The Iowa Dept. of Public Safety reports last year, there were four traffic fatalities on Iowa roadways over the Memorial Day weekend; four deaths that may have been prevented.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2017 there were 10,076 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes nationwide.  A majority of those lives could have been saved if they had been wearing seat belts.  The national Click It or Ticket campaign will take place May 20 – June 2, 2019.  State and local law agencies across the state will be stepping up seat belt enforcement with the goal of protecting you and your family.

Seat Belt Myth Busters

Vehicle Type:  There seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in pickup trucks that their large vehicles will protect them better than other vehicles would in a crash.  Fifty-nine percent of pickup truck occupants who were killed in 2017 were not buckled compared to 42 percent of car occupants.*

Seating Position:  Too many people believe they are safe in the back seat unrestrained.  Forty-six percent of all front-seat passenger killed in 2017 crashes were unbelted but 56 percent of those killed in the back seat were unbelted.*

Rural versus Urban:  People who live in rural areas might believe that their chance of being in a crash is lower but in 2017 there were 12,786 passenger vehicle fatalities in rural locations compared to 10,316 fatalities in urban locations.  Of those fatalities, 49 percent of those killed in rural locations were not wearing their seat belts compared to 44 percent in urban locations.*
(*National data supplied by NHTSA)

The Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau want to remind all drivers of the importance of seat belt use.  Buckle up every trip, every time!

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a West Des Moines associate high school principal was injured while intervening in a student fight. A letter sent to Valley High School students’ families says the fight broke out around 8:10 a.m. Thursday and was a continuation of a conflict earlier in the week. Administrators had met earlier with one of the students in an attempt to defuse the situation.

District spokeswoman Laine Mendenhall-Buck says no students were injured Thursday, but associate principal David Perrigo was taken to a hospital for examination. Mendenhall-Buck says it’s her understanding Perrigo was accidentally injured and not targeted by any of the four students involved.

The letter says three students involved in the fight were taken to the school office and their parents were contacted. The fourth student left school. West Des Moines Police are investigating.

An Adair County man was transported by helicopter to Methodist Hospital Thursday evening, following a motorcycle accident north of Kent, in Union County. The Sheriff’s Office says 62-year old John Charles Boeck, of Greenfield, was operating a 2005 Triumph Rocket 111 cycle at a high rate of speed eastbound on Highway 34 at around 5:15-p.m., and failed to negotiate a slight curve in the road. The motorcycle went off the road and into the gravel before continuing through the shoulder and into the ditch.

Boeck and the cycle continued toward a building located at 2038 Highway 34. Outside the building was a moveable 4×8 sign. After the cycle and Boeck hit the sign, Boeck was ejected from the machine, which came to rest in the ditch. He was thrown approximately 40-feet from where the cycle stopped. Boeck suffered suspected serious/incapacitating injuries, and was transported by ambulance to the Creston Airport before being flown to the hospital by LifeFlight.

The motorcycle sustained $10,000 damage, while the yard sign sustained about $500 damage.

The Glenwood Police Department reports Officers this (Friday) morning, arrested 25-year old Ryan McDonald, of Glenwood. McDonald was taken into custody on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Murder in the 1st Degree. He was turned over to the Mills County Jail, and held without bond. Additional details concerning the charge were not immediately available.

(Radio Iowa) — Three people are charged with animal neglect after more than 50 animals were removed from a house in Storm Lake on Wednesday. Police were notified by a neighbor about the conditions in the house, and 30 dogs and 21 cats were removed by police officers and firefighters. Police say there was a large amount of feces and urine on the floor of the house. Officers wore hazmat suits to remove the animals.

Three people were charged with one count of child endangerment and 15 counts of animal neglect: 58-year-old Juana Munoz, 28-year-old Veronica Munoz, and 22-year-old Myra Lopez-Munoz, all of Storm Lake. A 17-year-old juvenile was removed from the house and placed with a relative. The animals were taken to a local animal hospital for evaluation. City building officials red-tagged the house until living conditions can be corrected.

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

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DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The top prosecutor in eastern Iowa’s Dubuque County says he has no immediate plans to file charges against a group that’s been violating state law by distributing sterile needles to intravenous drug users. The group Dubuque Harm Reduction has been open about its activities, sending a letter to county supervisors earlier this month that detailed the group’s services and included an offer to be a resource to the county.

The Telegraph Herald reports that the nonprofit provides medical-grade clean injection supplies and offers HIV and hepatitis C testing, wound care kits and fentanyl-testing strips. A bill legalizing such services in Iowa failed to advance during the recent legislative session. The prosecutor, County Attorney C.J. May III, says it’s obvious there’s a public health issue involved.

2020 Presidential candidate Kamala Harris will campaign in Western and Central Iowa May 23rd and 24th. On Thursday, May 23rd the Democrat Junior Senator from California will hold events in Sioux City, including a public town hall. On Friday, May 24th, Harris will campaign in Council Bluffs and Des Moines. The appearances mark Harris’ fourth trip to Iowa since announcing her candidacy for president of the United States.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)

Members of the public interested in attending the Thursday town hall in Sioux City should reserve their seat here: https://www.mobilize.us/kamalaforia/event/93080/

Harris will discuss her proposal to give the average Iowa teacher a $12,200 raise by the end of her first term, her plans to combat climate change and to address the student debt crisis, among others. This trip will be another opportunity for Iowans to hear directly from Harris about her vision for America and ask her questions about important issues.

Additional details about her visits to Council Bluffs and Des Moines will be released soon.

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

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