(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has appointed a former Republican legislator to lead the Iowa Utilities Board. Current Iowa Utilities Board chair Jeri Huser will remain on the board, but the governor has appointed Erik Helland to take over as chair in May. Helland, who is an attorney, served two terms in the Iowa House representing the Des Moines suburb of Johnston. Helland will lead the Iowa Utilities Board as it considers applications for construction permits for three carbon pipelines.

A year ago, the governor appointed Helland to serve on the Iowa Employment Relations Board, but Democrats in the Senate blocked his nomination. Republicans won 34 seats in the state senate last November and that’s equal to the number of yes voted Helland would need for confirmation to this new role.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill eligible for debate in the Iowa House would require permission from a parent before Iowa teens between the ages of 14 and 17 could have an account on Instagram or other types of social media. Republican Representative John Wills of Spirit Lake says that’s a change from the original bill, which would have barred any minor in Iowa from having a social media account.

“We are at least trying to get that parent to have some skin the game and understand: ‘Maybe my kid is acting this way because they’re actually being bullied or maybe something’s happening on social media and I need to monitor that,'” Wills says. Studies have shown social media use can be a major distraction for teenagers by disrupting their sleep and promoting unrealistic views about their own body image. Wills says for those and other reasons, it’s time to try something.

“It’s not going to be perfect,” Wills says, “but with the number of suicides and with the (amount) of cyberbulling and all of these other things…there needs to be some additional protections from the government.” A federal law prohibits social media platforms and other online sites from collecting data about children 13 and under without parental permission — essentially requiring a parent to sign off on a sign up for Instagram, TikTok and other social media.

The bill cleared the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday (Monday) with the support of all but two Republicans. Democrats on the panel opposed it. Some are pressing for more changes in the bill to ensure it does not prevent students from using social media platforms for homework and other school activities.

(Radio Iowa) – Federal officials say nearly three-thousand workers hired to euthanize chickens and turkeys struck by bird flu in 2015 are eligible for back pay. According to the U-S Department of Labor, the workers were underpaid and they are owed, as a group, one-point-seven million dollars in wage. The U-S-D-A hired a Massachusetts company during the bird flu outbreak of 2015 to manage killing and disposing of infected commercial flocks and then cleaning the facilities.

Federal officials say in some cases subcontractors hired by the Massachusetts company failed to pay overtime or the hourly wage that was paid did not match the federal guidelines. A news release from the Department of Labor indicates it’s searching for eligible employees who worked eight years ago at sites in Osceola, Sioux City and Cherokee.

In 2015, Radio Iowa reported there were confirmed bird flu outbreaks in Osceola, Sioux and Cherokee COUNTIES, but not in those cities.