(Radio Iowa) – Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says her “Invest in Iowa” tax plan has been delayed by the pandemic, but not forgotten. Reynolds spoke during the Iowa Taxpayers Association’s online meeting Thursday, just before announcing the state’s plan to distribute the first batches of Covid-19 vaccine. “We’re going to get through it and things are looking better every day,” Reynolds said, “so I guess if nothing else I want all of your members to hear we’re in a good spot and we’re moving in the right direction and I look forward to 2021.”

In early 2020, Reynolds called for cutting state income taxes by 10 percent and raising the state sales tax to finance water quality projects and to replace property taxes spent on mental health care.  “While the pandemic cut our discussion short on those and other tax reforms, I want you to know they’ve just been delayed, not forgotten,” Reynolds says. “And the very fact that I can even say, that I can even mention the words ‘tax cuts’ in 2020, it is strictly because Iowa has kept its fiscal house in order.”

Due to one-point-two BILLION dollars in FEDERAL pandemic aid, the governor is overseeing a STATE budget surplus of at least 300 MILLION, with more than 700 MILLION in reserves. Reynolds says that shows the state budget is in a strong position — and there are opportunities “to deliver tax savings” to Iowans in 2021.  “We’re not facing massive budget shortfalls like many states are facing and all you have to do is look to the north or to the east, just look around the country,” she said, “and we’ve not experienced really any notable changes in tax revenue.”

Four legislators from key committees spoke to the tax group after the governor. Republican Representative Lee Hein of Monticello — chairman of the Ways and Means tax-writing Committee in the House — shared a note of caution about making a “huge tax cut” before assessing the full economic impact of the pandemic. “I keep chirping this unknown of where we’re at with all the things that went on in 2020,” Hein said, “but I truly believe that we need to be very prudent in how we move forward in the next year or so until we get a true handle on where the economy will take us.”

Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, predicts there won’t be room for tax cuts as legislators respond to the impact the pandemic has had on small businesses and individuals. “Financially it’s going to be very hard for us to make a lot of adjustments in taxes because we still have to keep the lights on,” Jochum said. “We still have to keep the school doors open.”

The 2021 legislative session begins January 11th.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Department of Education director Ann Lebo says school disruptions during the pandemic have had an impact on elementary students who’re learning to read. “Every year Iowa schools screen students in K-3 to ensure they are on track to be proficient readers by the end of third grade,” Lebo said. “This fall we saw a drop in literacy screening scores for each of grades K-3, but most significantly for first grade. Decreases range from 5 percentage points for kindergarten to 21% for first grade.”

Ann Lebo (File photo)

Lebo suggests with half the school year left, there’s still time to intervene with students in the early grades who’re having difficulty reading. “Meeting students where they’re at and helping them grow is challenging under normal conditions, but the continued passion and commitment of our educators and school leaders has shown that we can adapt and will continue to do so.”

A recent study found students who cannot read at grade level when they finish third grade are four times more likely to drop out and not finish high school. Test scores from LAST year showed only 35 percent of Iowa 4th graders were considered proficient readers, meaning they were able to read material at or above their grade level.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:25 a.m. CST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials say tens of thousands of health care workers, nursing home residents and staff will be the first people in Iowa to get COVID-19 vaccines, likely in the next few weeks. Vaccine_Brief_Vaccine_Dec3_2020 (2) Officials said Thursday that Iowa expects to receive 172,000 doses of vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna over the next month, assuming they receive emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Iowa will use a portion of its initial allocation for health care workers, storing the vaccines at six health care sites across the state. The state will reserve the rest for a federal program that will use pharmacies to vaccinate residents and employees at skilled nursing facilities across the state.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Losing can have an up side. Just ask Rep. Abby Finkenauer, Sen. Doug Jones and Rep. Donna Shalala. The list goes on. So does the age-old practice of an incoming president offering losing politicians a place in a new White House. As Biden fills out his administration, his team is looking to recently defeated members of Congress. Finkenauer, of Iowa, is being considered for labor secretary. Jones, an Alabama senator who earlier prosecuted Klansmen for murder, is in the mix for attorney general. And Shalala, of Florida, is perhaps the most administration-ready, having already served eight years as secretary of health and human services under Bill Clinton.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatally stabbing another woman in April 2018 in Sioux City. Melissa Camargo-Flores was sentenced Thursday in the death of 24-year-old Kenia Alvarez-Flores. Prosecutors say 22-year-old Camargo-Flores, of Dakota City, waited outside Alvarez-Flores’ house and stabbed the victim as she left for work. Camargo-Flores was originally charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty in October to the lesser charge. The reason for the stabbing wasn’t made clear Thursday but police said Camargo-Flores told them she had been involved with Alvarez-Flores’ boyfriend. The two women were not related.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A former Cedar Rapids nurse has pleaded not guilty to federal charges after being accused of stealing the powerful painkiller fentanyl from a surgery clinic where she worked. Prosecutors say 52-year-old Sabrina Thalblum, of Cedar Rapids, is charged with two federal counts in the case. She has been released without bond while she awaits her Feb. 1 trial. Prosecutors say that for a year starting in 2018, she used fine gauge needles to withdraw the opioid from unopened vials of the drug, then used a needle to replace the missing painkiller with a clear substance. A settlement agreement filed in June with the Iowa Board of Nursing says Thalblum admitted to taking the fentanyl from the surgery center and to having a substance abuse problem.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatally stabbing another woman in April 2018 in Sioux City. Melissa Camargo-Flores was sentenced Thursday in the death of 24-year-old Kenia Alvarez-Flores. Prosecutors say 22-year-old Camargo-Flores, of Dakota City, waited outside Alvarez-Flores’ house and stabbed the victim as she left for work.

Camargo-Flores was originally charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty in October to the lesser charge. The reason for the stabbing wasn’t made clear Thursday but police said Camargo-Flores told them she had been involved with Alvarez-Flores’ boyfriend. The two women were not related.

On the same day Des Moines leaders announced coronavirus would cost the city 25-million dollars in lost revenue this fiscal year, the Iowa Pork Producers Association added to the misery by cancelling next month’s Iowa Pork Congress. Association spokeswoman Dal Grooms

“This is going to be our 49th Pork Congress, or it was going to be,” Grooms says. “We’re still having some events. We’re going to have an awards event and we’ll be holding our annual meeting, just as we do every year.” The event was slated for January 27th and 28th. The annual meeting will still be held in-person on January 26th and it’ll include the Master Pork Producers Awards program as well as the announcement of the 2021 Iowa Pork Youth Leadership Team.

“A lot of people really enjoy that, they like to see who the master pork producers are, and that is going to be available virtually,” Grooms says. “We also have some educational seminars that we hold every year, and those, too, will be available so that people can tune in from home and listen and get some information that they can apply to their farms.” The popular Taste of Elegance restaurant event, which usually kicks off the Iowa Pork Congress, was also postponed.

“We do hope to hold that later in the year,” Grooms says. “It’s a great opportunity for Iowa restaurants to show us what they’ve got in terms of pork and what they share with their customers as well.” The Iowa Pork Congress is billed as North America’s most successful winter swine trade show and conference. The next show is scheduled for January 26-27, 2022.

IowaPorkCongress.org

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Losing can have an up side. Just ask Rep. Abby Finkenauer, Sen. Doug Jones and Rep. Donna Shalala. The list goes on. So does the age-old practice of an incoming president offering losing politicians a place in a new White House. As Biden fills out his administration, his team is looking to recently defeated members of Congress.

FILE – In this Jan. 3, 2020 file photo, Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Iowa, introduces Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden during a campaign event in Independence, Iowa. President-elect Joe Biden is eyeing several Democrats who lost congressional reelection races last month for key positions in his administration. They include outgoing Reps. Abby Finkenauer of Iowa and Donna Shalala of Florida and Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Finkenauer, of Iowa, is being considered for labor secretary. Jones, an Alabama senator who earlier prosecuted Klansmen for murder, is in the mix for attorney general. And Shalala, of Florida, is perhaps the most administration-ready, having already served eight years as secretary of health and human services under Bill Clinton.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A former Cedar Rapids nurse has pleaded not guilty to federal charges after being accused of stealing the powerful painkiller fentanyl from a surgery clinic where she worked. Prosecutors say 52-year-old Sabrina Thalblum, of Cedar Rapids, is charged with two federal counts in the case. She has been released without bond while she awaits her Feb. 1 trial. Prosecutors say that for a year starting in 2018, she used fine gauge needles to withdraw the opioid from unopened vials of the drug, then used a needle to replace the missing painkiller with a clear substance.

A settlement agreement filed in June with the Iowa Board of Nursing says Thalblum admitted to taking the fentanyl from the surgery center and to having a substance abuse problem.

(Updated) A collision between two semi-tractor trailers took place early Thursday morning in Adair County, resulted in minor injuries. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ryan DeVault told KJAN News the accident happened at around 4:17-a.m. On Interstate 80 at mile marker 80.

(As said: The first semi was a 2020 Freightliner owned by K&B Transportation, from South Sioux City, Nebraska, which was illegally parked along the shoulder of I-80, facing westbound, near the rest area entrance. The second semi was a 2013 Freightliner registered to Salia Holdings, Inc., and driven by 33-year old Raphael Morris, from Detroit, MI. Morris was driving in the right lane of I-80 westbound and approaching the illegally parked semi, when the truck blew front/steer tire, causing him to lose control. Morris’ trailer sideswiped the trailer of the first semi. Following the impact, both semi’s caught fire.  Morris’ semi came to rest in the median, while the first semi remained on the shoulder. Both drivers were able to escape their vehicles. Minor suffered minor cuts and abrasions, and was treated at the scene.)

DeVault said both trucks sustained major fire damage and were considered a total loss. I-80 was shut down for about 2-to 3-hours and traffic detoured off I-80 around the wreck. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Adair and Casey Fire Departments, Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Managenent Agency, Adair County Ambulance and the Adair County Sheriff’s Department along with the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Thursday, said the first of 172,000 total doses of a vaccine to protect Iowans against the Coronavirus, are set to arrive in a little more than a week. (See the full schedule here: Vaccine_Brief_Vaccine_Dec3_2020 (2) ). The first 26,000 doses produced by Pfizer (Pending Federal Regulatory approval) should arrive by December 13th

Health care professionals, including Long-Term Care Center staff and their patients will be a priority when it comes to getting the vaccine, according to Kelly Garcia, Interim Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Garcia says the Moderna vaccine has slightly different storage and usage criteria than the Pfizer vaccine.

Garcia says a portion of Iowa’s initial distribution will be to health care facilities across the State. She said the CDC is allocating the COVID-19 vaccine in Iowa based on population size and target populations, such as the elderly and immuno-compromised persons. Garcia says the state’s nailed down 39 locations so far for ultra-cold storage. She says by the middle of next year, there should be plenty of vaccine for everyone who wants it.

Governor Kim Reynolds said thanks to Iowans’ efforts in preventing the spread of COVID, 30 Long-Term Care facilities will soon drop-off the list of outbreaks, because their number of cases have been below the criteria for outbreak status, more than 28-days.

A collision between two semi-tractor trailers that took place at around 4:30-this (Thursday) morning in Adair County, resulted in Interstate 80 being blocked for the part of the morning commute. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the driver of one semi was traveling west on I-80, when his rig lost a tire and crashed into a second, parked semi.

The Iowa State patrol said the crash caused both trucks to catch fire. Both drivers suffered minor injuries. Firefighters closed a portion of I-80 in both directions because water caused the hoses used to extinguish the flames to ice over.