(Radio Iowa) – An Iowan who was a leading defender of the state’s first-in-the-nation Caucuses has died. Steve Roberts, a Des Moines attorney, served as chairman of the Iowa Republican Party for four years in the late ’70s and early ’80s. He later served 20 years on the Republican National Committee, repelling attempts to dislodge Iowa’s Caucuses from their starting spot in presidential campaigns.

As news of his death, at the age of 80, spread on Twitter, Roberts was remembered as a kind and generous man, with a knack for telling some epic campaign stories.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley says it’s too soon to say what sort of a tax plan might emerge from the Republican-led legislature in 2021. “We have 14 new members,” Grassley says. “I’m not even sure if they know where the committee meetings meet, let alone where they would stand on that, so we’ll have those conversations with the governor.”

Last spring, due to the pandemic, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds tabled her “Invest in Iowa” plan to cut income taxes by 10 percent and raise the state sales tax by one percent to spend more on water quality and mental health services. On Monday, Grassley and the 58 other Republicans who’ll serve in the new, larger G-O-P majority in the Iowa House met as a group for the first time. Grassley says voters sent a clear message in this year’s election.

“House Republicans represent 97 of 99 counties. Democrats just represent pockets of counties in certain parts of the state, but I don’t think they speak for all of Iowans,” Grassley says. “Remember, we’ve been in the majority now for over 10 years which in Iowa or just in general I think is a pretty long run…and we’re going to continue down the path that we’ve been on: responsible budgets, keeping taxes low.” Grassley’s peers have reelected him as the G-O-P’s top leader in the House.

Grassley says he doesn’t see any reason lawmakers wouldn’t return to the state capitol to begin the 2021 legislative session on January 11th, but he says it’s likely some of the pandemic precautions taken in June at the conclusion of the 2020 session may be used again. “Our expectation is to return in the beginning of January and get to work,” Grassley said. “Iowans expect that.” Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley will remain as the second-ranking Republican in the House, serving as majority leader.

Grassley is the grandson of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, who’s current term concludes at the end of 2022. Pat Grassley was asked yesterday (Monday) if he might run for the U.S. Senate in 2022 — and the younger Grassley joked it was the only answer he had practiced before he met with reporters at the statehouse. “I am not going to answer questions about that between now and 2022,” he says.

“I am focused on the legislative work that we have before us. I hope I don’t get that question again from you guys, but if you do give it to me, I am focused on being the speaker of the Iowa House. I’m not even concerning myself with that. We’re literally coming off of an unprecedented election, up to 59 (GOP) seats. That’s where my focus is going to be.”

Grassley says Iowa’s 2020 elections went smoothly, with record turnout and he says that validates the laws Republicans in the Iowa legislature passed to ensure the identify of voters was verified. Grassley says it’s too soon to say the presidential race is over nationally until there’s a resolution of the Trump campaign’s legal challenges.

(Radio Iowa) – The results from one small precinct in Iowa’s second congressional district have been checked and rechecked after a clerical error in the Jasper County Auditor’s office gave one candidate too many votes. A group of volunteers hand counted a batch of ballots cast on Election Day at a precinct in Mingo and came up with a tally that matched the results of Saturday’s MACHINE recount.

On the SEVENTH round of counting the 516 ballots yesterday (Monday), the group added one extra vote for Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks after determining a voter had colored outside the lines on their ballot — so the vote had not been counted by the machine. Secretary of State Paul Pate says he ordered yesterday’s audit to remove any doubt about the results.

“In this particular situation, you have human error that was caught,” Pate says, “because the system works.” The Secretary of State’s website now shows Rita Hart, the Democratic candidate in Iowa’s second congressional district, has a narrow, 152 vote lead after Monday’s recount along with the absentee ballots from all 24 counties in the district that arrived by the deadline. Hart issued a statement on Twitter, saying the most important thing is to get the count right.

“I want to say thank you so much to our poll workers and to our election officials who have been working on the front lines for months,” Hart said, “making sure that this process runs smoothly and that all ballots are precisely counted.” Early last Wednesday, Miller-Meeks was leading in the preliminary tally posted on the Secretary of State’s website. Her campaign has called on the Jasper County Auditor to provide more information about the clerical error in his office.

Iowa’s second congressional district race is the closest in the country right now. After county boards of supervisors in the district confirm results today (Tuesday), it’s likely one or both campaigns will ask for recounts in other precincts or counties in the district.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kate Payne)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

UNDATED (AP) — Three Iowa prisons are reporting coronavirus outbreaks with hundreds of inmates and more than 100 prison workers testing positive in recent days. An Iowa Department of Corrections report says the prison at Clarinda has 377 inmates and 16 staff members testing positive, and at the prison in Rockwell City there are 254 positive inmates and four staff members. The department released data Friday showing an outbreak at the Anamosa prison, where 485 are now testing positive out of 982 inmates housed at the prison. Another 50 staff members are testing positive. Other prisons have smaller numbers of positive cases. In total 1,145 inmates and 103 staff members are positive in the state’s prisons.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State prison officials say a 70-year-old man imprisoned for his role in a 1981 Davenport murder has died from COVID-19 and other health issues. David Streets, who died Sunday, was serving a life sentence in the death of Mark Webb and the kidnapping of another man. The kidnapped man, Russell Greer, was taken to Palisades State Park near Cedar Rapids, where he was tied to a tree, beaten and left for dead. Streets was one of five people convicted in the case. Corrections officials said he died at the University of Iowa Hospitals, mostly likely from COVID-19 and several pre-existing health conditions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Insurance Division says its paid $1.6 billion in insurance payouts for damages caused by a rare wind storm that blew through the state in August. The agency said Monday that insurance companies paid nearly 160,000 claims as of Nov. 2. The companies are holding more than $1 billion more in reserves for future claims for damages from the derecho, which carried winds up to 140 mph. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said in a news release that his office has received just over 90 complaints out of more than 200,000 insurance claims filed about derecho-related damages.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines school district has requested a waiver to move completely to online learning as state figures show coronavirus infections and hospitalizations remain high. The Des Moines school board approved the waiver late Sunday. It’s up to the state Department of Education to grant a waiver. Superintendent Tom Ahart notes Polk County’s average virus positivity rate has topped a state-mandated 15% threshold for districts seeking to shift to online instruction. The state on Monday reported 4,212 new confirmed COVID-19 cases. Three more people have died, bringing the state’s virus death toll to 1,845. A record 1,034 virus patients are being treated in hospitals.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will meet in person & via dial-in session*, 9-a.m. Tuesday, in the courtroom of the Adair County Courthouse. On their agenda is a canvass of the November 3rd General Election, along with:

• An Adair Waste Management Agency Management Agreement
• Discussion with regard to a Mormon Trail Campground expansion
• And a report from Sheriff Vandewater, who will discuss inmate medical rates with regard to the Adair County Health System, the resignation of the Jail Administrator, and hiring of a new Jail Administrator/Jailer.

*The dial-in number is 605-313-6157    Access Code 526272#

DES MOINES, Iowa — Two more Iowa prisons are reporting outbreaks of coronavirus infections.
The Iowa Department of Corrections says testing has revealed outbreaks at prisons in Clarinda, where 377 inmates and 16 staff members are positive, and Rockwell City, where 254 inmates and four staff members are positive. The Clarinda prison has about 900 inmates and Rockwell City has 426.

The department released data Friday showing an outbreak at the Anamosa prison and updated numbers show 485 infected inmates of the 982 inmates at the prison. An additional 50 staff members tested positive.

Additional smaller prison outbreaks also have been reported. In total, 1,145 inmates and 103 staff members are positive in Iowa’s prisons.

Atlantic, IA – Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Cass County Health System is suspending its Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation services until further notice. This includes services for both Phase II and Phase III patients. Stress tests and other cardiology services will remain operational.

(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines, a Democrat, says now that the campaign is over, the current congress should act before year’s end to provide another round of assistance to help individuals and businesses hit hard by the pandemic.  “It’s just a really difficult time for way too many people,” she says, “and we’ve got to get this done.” Axne says it’s been more than seven months since congress passed the so-called CARES Act and most of the money has been spent.

Axne says congress should provide more federal money for hospitals, health care workers and small businesses — as well as more assistance to low-income Americans with overdue utility bills who are at risk of losing heat and electricity during the winter. The temporary spending plan for the entire federal government is set to expire next month as well.

“We’ve got to make sure that we keep government open and pass a budget,” Axne says. “That’s just a basic that needs to get done, but we need to make sure there’s things in there.” For example, Axne says congress must ensure parents can carry over any unused money they’d put aside in flexible savings accounts for child care expenses. The money in traditional pre-tax savings plans for medical and other expenses must be used by year’s end — or individuals forfeit that money.

Axne says due to the pandemic, many parents weren’t able to find child care — and they stand to lose the money they’d saved to cover those expenses. “There’s just a lot we need to do in a budget, given the fact where we’re at with Covid,” Axne says. Axne, who represents Iowa’s third congressional district, was re-elected to a second term in the U.S. House last week.

(Radio Iowa) – The Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain has purchased another chain with stores in several states. Casey’s announced the agreement today (Monday) to acquire Buchanan Energy — the owner of Bucky’s Convenience Stores — in an all-cash transaction for 580 million dollars.

Bucky’s Convenience Stores were founded as a family-owned and operated business in 1980. It has stores mainly in Illinois and Nebraska — with others Missouri, Texas, and one in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Casey’s acquisition will include 94 retail stores and 79 dealer locations, and multiple parcels of real estate for future new store construction. The purchase will increase Casey’s store count to more than 23-hundred. The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of this year.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Alex Londo, Monday afternoon, issued on update on a report we first brought you early this (Monday) morning, with regard to a missing child. Londo said at approximately 4:25 am, Monday, a call was received at the Shelby County 911 Center for a child that was missing.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Harlan Police Department, Shelby County EMA, Panama Fire Department, Portsmouth Fire Department, Earling Fire Department, Westphalia Fire Department, Harlan Fire Department, and Iowa State Patrol responded to assist in locating the child.

The child was found a short distance from the family’s home in good health and returned to his parents.