(Radio Iowa) – A federal jury has ordered former Congressman Steve King’s campaign to pay 750 dollars for using a copyrighted image in online fundraising. The Florida mother who took the photo of her young son in 2007 sued King and his campaign a year and a half ago, seeking at least 75-thousand dollars. She got a copyright for the image in 2012 as it became known as the “Success Kid” meme on social media. The jury in Sioux City decided King’s campaign must pay Laney Griner 750 dollars for using the boy’s image, but King owed the Griners nothing. The Sioux City Journal reports Griner left the courtroom in tears. King had said the lawsuit was politically motivated and he told the newspaper he had been vindicated by the jury.

King had used the “Success Kid” meme to raise money for his unsuccessful campaign for a 10th term in the U.S. House. King lost to Randy Feenstra in a Republican Primary. Feenstra was then elected to congress in November of 2020 and reelected to a second term in the U.S. House earlier this month.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston arrested a woman early this (Friday) morning. Authorities report 47-year-old Carrie Ann Johns, of Creston, was arrested at her residence, on a charge of Driving While Barred. She was cited and then released at the scene, on a summons to appear in court.

(Radio Iowa) – The number of crashes and deaths involving distracted drivers is swiftly rising in Iowa and the leader of the state’s largest cycling organization is calling for stricter laws on the use of cell phones by motorists. Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, says they’ve gotten bipartisan, committee-level support of get-tough laws in the past two legislative sessions, but haven’t been able to get a measure to a floor vote in either chamber.  “Currently, it’s illegal to text while you’re driving,” Wyatt says. “What we would like to see is a requirement that while you’re operating a motor vehicle, your phone has to be in hands-free or voice-activated mode if you’re going to use it.”

In one case, Wyatt says a woman cyclist was killed by a distracted driver in Charles City on a Sunday afternoon last spring. “From the court documents, we learned that he was on his cell phone looking at a Facebook notification that popped up about buying a boat,” Wyatt says. “At that point, he hit 28-year-old Ellen Bankston, who was traveling in the same direction on a bicycle. He actually had to turn around to figure out what he had hit. He didn’t even know he hit a person.” That death, and many others, prompted the launch of a campaign called Drive Safe Iowa. It’s an online petition drive to collect names of supporters demanding an update to Iowa’s distracted driving laws.

As for the distracted driver in the Charles City case, Wyatt says he -did- have to go to court. “Just this spring is when it went to trial and it was dismissed before it went to a jury because they believed that the laws on the books aren’t adequate enough to prevent tragedies like this happening,” Wyatt says. “So we think we need to do more and improve the cell phone and distracted driving laws in the state.” An Iowa D-O-T report says in 2001, there was one reported death from distracted driving in Iowa and about 500 crashes. Last year, there were ten deaths statewide caused by distracted driving and nearly 11-hundred crashes.

“It’s concerning to everybody, because it’s not just bicycles on the road, but it’s pedestrians, it’s other motorists and it’s people that move ag equipment,” Wyatt says. “Everybody in Iowa is at risk from distracted driving. We need to do more to have responsibility and hopefully prevent tragedies like this.” So far, 47 states have banned texting while driving and 16 states have hands-free laws. To sign the petition, visit www.drivesafeiowa.org.