The Iowa House has voted to add an amendment to the state constitution that supporters say will protect the DIGITAL records and data Iowans create and store on their smart phones and other electronic devices. It would force authorities to go to court to gain access to that digital data according to Representative Ken Rizer. “This protection is necessary to update search and seizure protections to 21st century realities,” Rizer says. “Our constitution coupled with federal and state law all provide elements of protection, but gaping gaps still remain.”

Rizer, a Republican from Cedar Rapids, says as after 27 years of service in the Air Force, he is all too familiar with “cyber warfare” and it’s important to ensure the U.S. government cannot access our private email or data without a warrant. “When the founders of our country and state included search and seizure protections in their 18th and 19th century constitutions, they intended to protect citizens from government reading personal mail or going through personal files without a warrant,” Rizer says. “In the 21st century, Iowans shouldn’t be forced to choose between using new technologies or protecting their privacy.”

The next Iowa General Assembly would have to approve this proposal again in 2017 or 2018 before Iowans would be able to vote to change the state constitution. Senator Steve Sodders, a Democrat from State Center, says it appears to him the state constitution already requires warrants when authorities seek access to electronic records.”My experience is we’ve got to get search warrants for everything,” Sodders says. Sodders is also a Marshall County Deputy Sheriff.

“Let’s say we do a drug raid and we take the phone for evidence,” Sodders says. “I’ve got to have special language either within the current warrant or I have to stop and get another warrant to specifically saying we can go in there and capture that information and download the information, so you’ve got to have a warrant.”

Sodders suggests Rizer is chasing a privacy problem that may not be there. Privacy issues are being hotly debated nationally as Apple is refusing to abide by a warrant order the company to unlock the iPhone used by one of the terrorists who killed 14 people at a holiday party in California.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says she supports fellow U-S Senator Chuck Grassley in his decision to not hold a hearing on any nominee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court until after November’s election. “I agree with Senator Chuck Grassley on this. And do think that the American people will have a voice this fall when they go out to the ballot box,” Ernst says.

Grassley, who is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has been taking heat from Democrats who say the public spoke by electing the president in 2012 and he should be able to nominate someone. Ernst says she goes back to the most recent national election to determine what voters want. “In 2014 the voters had a voice and we now a Republican majority. And so we do have a Republican chair to the Judiciary Committee, we have a majority in the Senate and we believe the people spoke loud and clear in 2014 that they were not happy with what was going on,” Ernst says.

Ernst’s election in 2014 helped Republicans win control of the Senate. And her victory over former Congressman Bruce Braley was helped in part by a video of Braley telling a group of lawyers in Texas at a fundraiser that if he wasn’t elected then Grassley — “a farmer who never went to law school” — would become chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ernst was asked if the decision to not hold a hearing on a Supreme Court nominee could backfire on Republicans. She says they are fully aware of the consequences of elections.

“In November if people are unhappy with the way that we have been governing in the United States Senate that they would speak out,” Ernst says. “But from what we have heard, people are excited about the opportunity to voice their opinion through the ballot box, whether they are Democrats, whether they are Republicans. Ernst was asked if the Supreme Court issue has hurt the ability for Democrats and Republicans to work together on other issues.

“I don’t know, I think that there are a lot of people who are intent on getting our work done here in the United States Senate,” Ernst says. She says they have a lot of work to get done, including the spending bills. “I really haven’t seen any detraction from that type of work so far. So, I do hope that we can continue on with the business of the Senate just as we did last year,” Ernst says. Ernst made her comments during her weekly conference call with the media.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a Red Oak man was arrested today (Thursday) on a Pottawattamie County warrant. 25-year old Ian Anthony Clark was taken into custody at around 12:10-p.m., on a warrant for Sexual Abuse in the 3rd degree. Clark was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $32,000 bond.

And, at around 5:20-p.m Wednesday, Deputies in Montgomery County arrested 31-year old David Allen Shuffler, of Red Oak, on two warrants stemming out of Montgomery County, for Failure to Appear on original, Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charges. Shuffler was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,300 bond.

Firefighters from Atlantic and Marne have been called to a tractor fire just across the county line in Shelby County. The tractor was on fire in the vicinity of Highway 173 and 200th Street. The call went out at around 12:28-p.m.

No other details are available.

Authorities in two states are on the lookout for two subjects involved in a high-speed chase late Wednesday night. According to reports, the chase began in Nodaway County, Missouri at around 9:30-p.m. The chase crossed into Page County (IA), where authorities were set-up to lay down stop-sticks, but the vehicle being chased was abandoned beforehand. Authorities say the subjects took off on foot, and remain at large. They reportedly do not pose a threat to the public, though.

The Cass County (IA) K9 unit, Page County Sheriff’s Office, officers with the Clarinda Police Department and members of the Iowa State Patrol were among the law enforcement agencies assisting in the overnight search.

No other details are currently available.

More than one hundred firefighters and law enforcement officials from across Iowa will stair climb for a cause in Downtown Des Moines Sunday, April 10th. Among the area fire departments that will send personnel to the event, are those from: Adair; Casey; Redfield and Winterset.

Participants will climb the EMC Insurance Companies (15 floors), Financial Center (22 floors), Hub Tower (16 floors), and Ruan Center (32 floors) for a total of 85 floors combined. It’s all part of the American Lung Association in Iowa’s 2016 Fight for Air Climb.

More than a 30 firehouses and police departments in all will be represented at the event. Firefighters will climb in 80 pounds of full fire turnout gear in honor or memory of a fallen firefighter, loved one or lung disease survivor. In addition, the firehouse and police department with the best finish time will receive the coveted traveling Firehouse Fight for Air Trophy and Police Department Fight for Air Trophy, respectively. Another trophy will be presented to the department that raised the most funds for the Lung Association.

They will join more than one thousand of Des Moines area residents and Iowans from across the state. The Fight for Air Climb is a unique fundraising event for the American Lung Association in Iowa. Climbers help improve the lives of patients across the country and locally in Iowa. Almost ninety cents of every dollar raised goes directly to education, research and advocacy.

Registration is open online at www.FightForAirClimb.org or by calling (515) 309-9507. Registration is currently $25 and will increase to $45 on April 3rd. If registering on event day, the total cost is $155 which includes both registration and fundraising totals.