(Radio Iowa) — Lawmakers are considering a second attempt to penalize people who get an Iowa farm job in order to make undercover videos or harm the animals. Republican Representative Jarad Klein, a farmer from Keota, says the livestock industry is the “life blood” of Iowa’s economy and it must be protected from bad actors.

“People that are wanting to cause harm, wanting to lie, wanting to deceive,” Klein says. A federal judge recently ruled a similar Iowa law — passed seven years ago — was unconstitutional. Backers of this new bill say it matches part of an Idaho law that was recently upheld in federal court. Drew Mogler of the Iowa Pork Producers Association says the proposal will safeguard livestock farms from people who intend to “physically or financially” cause harm.

“Recently Mercy for Animals was running advertisements in Iowa, seeking undercover investigators who are committed to Mercy for Animals objective, which is to eradicate the food animal system,” Mogler said, “and we believe they are willing to take any measure to destroy that system.” Daniel Zeno of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa says while the bill appears to be narrower than the 2012 law, it likely would be challenged in court.

“Our goal is not to undermine the security, the protection of agricultural facilities. That is an important interest,” Zeno said, “…but we can’t do that by taking away free speech.” Representative Bruce Bearinger of Oelwein, a Democrat, says the bill could help deter “bio-terrorists” who seek to spread disease in swine herds and poultry barns.

“Dishonest access to those properties is a huge risk,” Bearinger said, “and I believe that this bill helps prevent any undue problems that can occur from it.” This new bill will be considered in the House Agriculture Committee today (Wednesday). It would let people be prosecuted for seeking a job working with Iowa livestock, in order to inflict financial damages.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa environmental officials plan to find out how many public water systems in the state are having problems with an element called manganese. It naturally occurs in soil, water and even foods we eat like nuts, but too much of it is linked to nervous system disorders. Corey McCoid, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says closer investigation is needed.

McCoid says, “We’ll look at testing all the different water supplies across the state to determine what (levels) their manganese is in their source water.” McCoid says the D-N-R is working out contracting with labs and does not have a set timeline for testing water systems. Federal guidelines recommend adults don’t drink the water if manganese levels are higher than one-milligram per liter, and levels are about a half-milligram per liter higher in the the Guthrie County town of Bagley.

Since manganese levels in Bagley were only slightly above the recommended levels, state toxicologist Stuart Schmitz says it’s not raising any alarms. “We would be more concerned about the exposure if you’re inhaling manganese, as in exposure to welding fumes in an occupational exposure,” Schmitz says. “That’s where the serious health impacts are more seen.” That includes health impacts like involuntary shaking and other effects to the nervous system.

While the Environmental Protection Agency set the health advisory of one milligram per liter for manganese, Schmitz says he would be concerned about neurological health impacts if Bagley’s manganese levels were at two milligrams.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Senate subcommittee has advanced a bill that would require tens of thousands of Medicaid recipients to work to keep their benefits. Medicaid is a health insurance program for poor or disabled people paid for with federal and state money. Among those covered in Iowa are 172,000 adults living in poverty who were added to the program as part of a health care insurance expansion enabled by the Affordable Care Act.

Republican Sen. Jason Schultz says there’s a “groundswell of support” for a work requirement in his northwest Iowa district. State officials say about 60,000 people could be affected by the bill, which requires recipients to work or volunteer at least 20 hours per week. Opponents say it could kick people off Medicaid who must stay home, such as to care for a parent with Alzheimer’s.

The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation says seven other states have similar laws, including Arkansas where 18,000 Medicaid recipients were kicked off their health insurance after last year’s enactment of the law.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate committee has approved a bill that requires all Iowa businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to confirm employees are legally authorized to work in the United States or face losing their business license. The bill is now eligible for Senate debate.

The bill voted out of a committee Tuesday prohibits businesses from knowingly employing workers with no legal residency status. It requires Iowa Workforce Development to investigate violations and enforce the measure.

Democratic Sen. Rob Hogg echoed the concerns of several business groups who say E-Verify routinely wrongly flags U.S. citizens as not being in the country legally and makes other errors. Republican Sen. Julian Garrett says employers who pay low wages to workers in the country illegally creates an unfair advantage over companies that follow the rules. He says the bill would help ensure only legal workers are employed in Iowa.

Garrett says more than 20 states have similar measures.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A committee has approved a bill that would amend the Iowa Constitution to declare there is no right to an abortion in Iowa, making it eligible for debate in the full Senate. All but three of the 32 Senate Republicans have signed onto the bill, which the committee approved Tuesday. No Democrats have signaled support of the measure.

Republican Sen. Jake Chapman introduced it in January, just days after an Iowa judge overturned last year’s fetal heartbeat law, which banned abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Chapman says his bill addresses what he considers judicial tyranny and overreach.

Democratic Sen. Claire Celsi says she’s disgusted by Republican attempts to “spread misinformation and scare monger about women’s constitutional rights to make their own health care decisions.” She says the bill is a response to GOP frustrations over their lack of progress in the courts.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have confirmed that human remains found buried on the property of a Cedar Rapids home are those of a missing eastern Iowa man. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release Tuesday that the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the body as that of 31-year-old Christopher Bagley of Walker. Officials say he was stabbed to death.

Bagley’s remains were found Friday after deputies and other law enforcement agencies searched the property. No other details of what led police to the property were released. Police have not said they have any suspects, and no arrests have been announced.

The Atlantic City Council will meet in a regularly scheduled session 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. Among the items on their agenda are Public Hearings on the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020) 10-year Capital Improvement Plan, and FY 2020 Budget, which sets the tax rate at $16.86 per thousand dollars valuation. City Administrator John Lund says key elements of the FY 2020 CIP include:

• The City’s big capital projects that will start in the FY 2024 Budget and last through FY 2030.
• In 2017 dollars, $8.31-million worth of Street Improvements and $1.62-million for two fire trucks are scheduled, for a total of $9.94-million. By 2024 the costs will be $12.43-million, and by 2030 it will reach $15.57-million. Lund says construction inflation has traditionally outpaced everything but healthcare costs.
• Lund says also, no maintenance will be deferred, but nothing will be accelerated, either. All preventative maintenance will occur as scheduled by the engineers. He says “We will not be ripping-up working streets just ‘save future money.”
• The Street Work will be done over six-years, borrowing money in two bonds.

Prior to all of that, Lund says he will recommission the 2017 study in 2023 to get updated cost estimates and street conditions, so there is sufficient time to adjust the financing. And, with the exception of the second phase of the Library, all Capital Improvements are fully funded. As for the FY 2020 City of Atlantic Budget, Lund says “No substantive changes have been made” since the draft budget was submitted to the Council on Feb. 6th. He notes:

• Nearly all departments other than Finance and Administration have a capital equipment and vehicles reserve fund now, which should help department heads further prioritize their expenditures, especially since ongoing deposits into those reserve funds are NOT a given.
• Employee benefit costs will be moved into a separate account, with funds deposited annually.
• A Police Training and Recertification Fund was also established for occasional, necessary expenditures.

And, Lund says unsustainable growth in the City’s labor costs has ended, with all positions at or above the median of 33 cities in Iowa with a population between 5,000 and 10,000 (as outlined in a 2018 survey), will be set at 2.4-percent. Positions below the median are set to be fully equalized by FY 2021. The public has the chance to comment or ask questions about the budget during the meeting, Wednesday, before the Council acts on approving it. The Budget is due into the State by March 15th. In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on a Resolution setting the salaries for appointed officers and employees for the Fiscal Year that begins July 1st, 2019 and ends June 30, 2020. There will also be a Public Hearing on a proposal to enter into a General Obligation Solid Waste Management Loan Agreement between the City and the Cass County Landfill. The Landfill has instituted a per-capita fee of $12 per resident, to be assessed annually.

And, the Council will act on an order to appoint Megan Roberts to the Community Promotion Commission.

The Harlan Police Department has issued a weekly report on arrests. Authorities said Officers arrested 39-year old Jason Robin Conway Emery, of Harlan, Monday, following a call for suspicious activity. Emery was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with theft 2nd, burglary 3rd, and driving while barred. On Saturday, 48-year old Terri Lynn McCord, of Harlan, was arrested following at traffic stop. McCord was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possessing contraband, operating while intoxicated, prohibited acts penalties, possession of drug paraphernalia, and improper rear lamp.

On Feb. 27th, 54-year old Randall Brett Hess, of Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County warrant. Hess was transported to the Shelby County Jail. And, on Feb. 26th, 21-year old Chelsea LeeAnn Adams, of Atlantic, was arrested on an active Audubon County warrant. Adams was turned over to a deputy for transport the Audubon County Jail.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors in Davenport are disputing allegations that they allowed a key witness to give false testimony at three trials of a man charged with killing a girl in 1990. Scott County Attorney Michael Walton acknowledges in a filing that Antonio Holmes was required to testify at the trial of Stanley Liggins under his plea agreement on theft and burglary charges. But he says the deal only required that Holmes testify truthfully and not in any particular way against Liggins. Walton says Holmes testified to his opinion when he told jurors that he didn’t receive any benefit for his cooperation.

Liggins is set to stand trial next week for a fourth time in the death of 9-year-old Jennifer Lewis. His defense has asked for the case to be dismissed, alleging that Holmes has been allowed to falsely tell jurors he didn’t get a benefit for testifying. Holmes says he saw Liggins and Lewis together shortly before she was kidnapped. A judge is holding a hearing Tuesday to consider the matter.

(Radio Iowa) — A bill that would have raised insurance coverage requirements on Uber and Lyft in Iowa has been permanently shelved at the statehouse. Republican Representative David Sieck, of Glenwood, says a state law passed in 2016 just established statewide standards for ride-sharing services. Sieck says “If we do this, it’s going to completely throw everything in a tail spin and we’ll have to start all over. They were pretty intense negotiations and every seemed pretty happy, so I don’t know what the impetus on trying to do this is.”

Representative David Maxwell, a Republican from Gibson, agreed to table the proposal. “Right now, I’m going to mark it for indefinite postponent,” Maxwell says.  The bill would have shifted insurance requirements from drivers to the ride sharing companies. Maxwell says he and two other legislators on a House subcommittee didn’t have enough time to review a proposal they received minutes before they were to vote on it. Plus, Maxwell says he’s not that familiar with how ride-sharing companies work. Sieck has used both Uber and Uber Eats. “That’s pretty amazing because you can see the vehicle, where it’s at, when it’s at the restaurant, projected time when it’s going to be at your place,” Sieck says. “I was sitting at a hotel and really didn’t want to go out and I thought that was pretty nifty, so I’m pretty impressed with their services.”

The current state law requires Uber and Lyft drivers to have personal insurance on their vehicle and the ride-sharing companies have insurance covering the duration of the passenger’s ride.