(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Senators are considering bills to regulate the use and purchase of tobacco products. One bill changes Iowa law to follow the new federal standard that raised the age for buying tobacco products to 21. The other would add electronic cigarettes to Iowa’s Smoke-free Air Act. It means “vaping” in public places like restaurants, office buildings and schools would be banned. Chaney Yeast is a social worker from Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. “It’s a good first step in addressing the national vaping epidemic amongst teens and youth,” Yeast says. The owners of vape shops say Iowa’s Clean Air Act was designed to protect people from second-hand smoke.

Seth Peters operates “The Vaped Ape” in Carroll. “Anytime you compare cigarette smoke with vapor smoke, there’s a disconnect,” Peters says. “There is no science indicating that vapor causes anywhere near the damage of cigarette smoke.” Jim Obradovich is a lobbyist for the Iowa Nurses Association and Iowa School Nurses. He told senators the Centers for Disease Control has concluded bystanders can breathe in the aerosols from someone else’s e-cigarette. “We think that’s very dangerous and we applaud you moving this forward,” Obradovich says. Doug Struyk, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society, says the group supports the ban on vaping in public — but wants to see the bill go further and ban smoking pot in public, too.

“While we all sitting in the room today may not believe that marijuana will be legalized in the State of Iowa, while we’re doing this we think we should identify that,” Stryk says, “and include it as something that is a prohibited activity.” The ban on vaping in public has cleared a three-member senate subcommittee. Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames suggests vaping has created an enforcement nightmare. “If you’re the cop on the beat who comes into a restaurant and you see people vaping and you can’t tell them to quit, but then somebody else starts lighting up cigarettes, how are you going to enforce the ‘Smoke-free Air Act?” Quirmbach asked. “The patrons are going to say: ‘These vapers can vape. Why can’t I smoke?'”

Senator Mark Segebart of Vail says he’s been concerned about illnesses and deaths related to vaping. “There’s chemicals that are released from what I’ve read, during the vaping process that not necessarily happens when you smoke a cigarette,” Segebart says. The proposal is now eligible for debate in a senate committee. Another group of senators are working on legislation to make Iowa law match the federal change that moved the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21. Dave Scott, a lobbyist for Phillip Morris, says the cigarette-maker supports the move — and warns the state cannot enforce the new “Tobacco 21” standard.

“If a 19-year-old were to go in and purchase tobacco products,” he says, “they would be legal under Iowa law currently.” The State of Iowa also stands to forfeit some federal grant money if it fails to raise the tobacco purchasing age to 21. A key senator says it’ll be a couple of weeks before the issue is debated in a senate committee.

AMES, Iowa (AP)- Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has mostly sidestepped President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial as he campaigns in Iowa this week. But Biden and his advisers know the trial 1,000 miles away on Capitol Hill could color the closing days of the first nominating contest as much as anything Biden says to Iowans. Biden’s campaign is urging the media not to repeat Trump’s discredited claims about his son Hunter’s work in Ukraine and his own foreign policy role in that country when he was vice president. But the Biden campaign also insists that the trial won’t distract from Biden’s closing message to Iowa voters.

BISMARCK, ND (AP) – Iowa regulators have gone beyond their counterparts in North Dakota by requiring owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline to provide expert analysis to back up the company’s claim that doubling the line’s capacity does not increase the potential of a spill. Energy Transfer wants to double the capacity of the pipeline to as much as 1.1 million barrels daily to meet growing demand for oil shipments from North Dakota, and is seeking permission for additional pump stations in the Dakotas, Iowa and Illinois to do it.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Officials are asking for help in finding the person who shot a bald eagle found in Ankeny that later died. Ankeny police notified state officials Jan. 3 after finding a bald eagle that was sitting on the ground at a busy intersection. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says a wildlife rehabber captured the eagle and noted blood coming from its mouth. The eagle died within a few hours later. An X-ray showed the eagle died because of a lead shot BB in its lungs. A reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest of the shooter. Anyone with information can call 1-800-532-2020.

OMAHA, NE (AP)-  The amount of water being released into the Missouri River from Gavins Point Dam will be reduced slightly to protect drinking water supplies even though the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still working to eliminate water from last year. The Corps said Tuesday it is trimming the amount of water flowing out of Gavins Point to 27,000 cubic feet (764.55 cubic meters) per second. Corps spokeswoman Eileen Williamson said the new lower releases will allow the level of Lewis and Clark Lake to stabilize and ensure communities will be able to continue drawing drinking water from the lake,

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports that on Tuesday (Today), January 21st, 46-year old Omar A. Martinez, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced to 300 months (25-years) in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute at least 500 Grams or More of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine. Martinz will serve ten years of supervised release following his release from prison.

The sentence was the result of a lengthy investigation by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force into methamphetamine trafficking in Western Iowa and the Omaha Metro Area. The investigation revealed that methamphetamine was being brought from Mexico into the Omaha, Nebraska, area and then transported to various location in Nebraska and Western Iowa for distribution.

In addition to Martinez, 11 others were sentenced as part of the investigation. Bernave Navarrete and Chris Rouse were sentenced to 20-years each; Joseph Brown, Jackie Thielen, and Jessica Snavely were sentenced to 10-years; Brandy Kumpula and Colby Dunn, eight-years; Chase Richard, 15-years; Laura Rausch Anderson, Manda May Rowell, and, William LaBenz, were each sentenced to five-years in prison.

The case was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, Omaha Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Council Bluffs Police Department, Harlan, Iowa Police Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have released the names of two people killed when the car they were in collided with a semitrailer in Sioux City. The crash occurred around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Police say the eastbound car didn’t halt for a red light at an intersection and collided with the northbound semi. The two people have been identified as the driver, 19-year-old Jordan Lines, and 18-year-old Rebecca Cedeno. They lived in Sioux City. Police have not released the name of the truck driver, who police say wasn’t injured.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds is asking legislators to provide two-MILLION dollars for creation of a new “School Safety Bureau” in the Iowa Department of Public Safety. “This is the next step that we can take in really being prepared and making sure that we’re training, reporting and investigating in a proper manner,” she says, “to do everything that we can to keep our kids safe.”

Officials are investigating apps and other tools that let students anonymously report concerns and threatening behavior.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Defense lawyers for the man charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts are asking for his upcoming trial to be delayed. Lawyers for Cristhian Bahena Rivera say they need a delay in the Feb. 4 trial date so that they have time to appeal a judge’s ruling that allowed key evidence to be used against their client. The Iowa Supreme Court will consider whether to take the appeal before trial. Rivera’s lawyers also say they would now like to depose several individuals recently added to the prosecution’s witness list, including Tibbetts’ boyfriend at the time of her July 2018 disappearance.