(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is speaking out in favor of the Senate putting U-S Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on trial for his role in what Republicans say is a crisis at the southern border. The U-S House has voted to impeach Mayorkas and next week, will send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial. Grassley says Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is angling to get rid of the articles without a trial.

“The Senate has constitutional responsibility to hold an impeachment trial,” Grassley says. “Skipping the trial would be totally unprecedented. Now, just imagine the outrage if Senate Republicans had refused to hold a trial when House Democrats impeached Trump.” Grassley released a video statement saying Schumer sent his Senate colleagues a letter last week, listing 17 priority items for action, a list that did not include the Farm Bill, nor an impeachment trial.

“Skipping the trial this time around would be a blatantly hypocritical move,” Grassley says. “Schumer’s trying to sweep the Biden administration border mess right under the rug. The Senate must hold a trial.” Grassley has signed a letter with 42 other Republican senators, calling on Schumer to hold the trial. The letter calls the southern border “a national security disaster,” and says, “The border crisis under Secretary Mayorkas has become a nightmare for the American people.”

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa House Representative Tom Moore, from Griswold, reports the House this week passed a bill changing driving privileges for drivers under the age of 18. Moore says Senate File 2109 is the result of the Minor Driver’s License Interim Committee that met last fall.

Representative Moore said …

Teens must have written permission from a parent or guardian filed with the DOT.

Rep. Thomas Jay Moore (R-Griswold) (official photo)

(Radio Iowa) – With the warmer weather, Iowans are finally starting to launch into their spring cleaning projects, sprucing up both their homes and their work spaces. Jessica Boland, a worksite wellness consultant, says cleansing and decluttering can help to improve your mood and your productivity level while reducing stress, though she reminds, don’t stress yourself out by trying to tackle too much at once.

“Make a plan for maybe doing one room in your home at a time,” Boland says. “Think about cleaning out drawers, closets, cupboards, and maybe organizing things into different piles. So maybe you have a pile for donation, keeping and recycling.” Once you get your space looking like you want it, Boland says you should consider what it will take to maintain that level of organization and to keep the clutter from reappearing.

“Maybe it’s doing a load of dishes every day in your kitchen, and then that will keep our counters free of clutter,” Boland says. “Maybe it’s doing laundry once a day, if possible, and maybe even it’s just sorting through your mail for five minutes every day to keep your counters free.” Once something is stuffed in a closet, some consider if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind, but Boland suggests you dig into those closets and be realistic about what you’ve saved.

“So if you have clothes in your closet from high school, maybe just ask yourself, ‘Do I really need these?'” Boland says. “Maybe you just think about, ‘These clothes were nice when I wore them in high school but I don’t need them,’ and maybe sometimes even taking a picture so you have a memory of that item.”

Boland is a consultant for Gundersen Health System, which has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.