(Radio Iowa) – Agencies that issue professional licenses in Iowa and rule on disputes between employers and workers began merging well before the governor’s state government reorganization plan became law July 1st. Larry Johnson is director of the new Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. He says unemployment law judges merged into the former Department of Inspections and Appeals last July.  “With them came a case backlog of 5400 cases,” Johnson says. “While it was estimated that backlog would take 18 months (to eliminate), we mapped out their process, removed unnecessary steps and eliminated that backlog in just three months.”

The new agency is also responsible for issuing state licenses for a number of professions. Johnson says the goal is to speed up the licensing process. “For example, licenses were processed by the Banking Division within 10 days,” Johnson says. “The Health and Human Services professional licensing boards were processing within five days and the Board of Medicine didn’t have metrics at the time and they were being reviewed within 171 days.”

The state issues licenses for a wide variety of professionals, including accountants, doctors, real estate agents, land surveyors and electricians. “Before alignment, Iowans would have to go to three different departments for building and construction,” Johnson says. “Now, Iowans can go to a one stop shop at DIAL and the Building and Construction Division.”

DIAL stands for the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. Six data bases are currently managing all the professional licenses granted by the state. On October 1st, Johnson says they’ll select a provider that will merge those into one system.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are being warned that spending too much time outdoors today (Friday) could be dangerous, as an extreme heat warning is posted for Iowa’s southern half and western third. Forecasters say heat indices this afternoon may reach 110 to 115 degrees. Meteorologist Cory Martin, at the National Weather Service, says parts of Iowa escaped the heat Thursday with cloud cover and rain. “While it didn’t produce heavy rainfall that really cooled us down, what it did do is it left behind some cloud debris that helped keep the temperatures down a little bit,” Martin says. “But right now, for today, we’re looking at sunshine. It’s probably going to be a bit more likely, so we’re a bit more confident in the temperatures getting up a little higher today compared to yesterday.”

It’s a hot, steamy 81 miles from Tama-Toledo to Coralville on this next-to-last day of RAGBRAI, as thousands of bicycle riders near their final destination. Nick Pfeiffer is Coralville’s RAGBRAI publicity chairman and says the city has been working toward this day for months. “A lot of preparation. A lot of planning,” Pfeiffer says. “We’ve been talking about all of our plans since January, and knowing that this is the 50th anniversary of RAGBRAI, we knew it was going to be large crowds and so we’re ready for it. We’re preparing for 50,000.”

Given the extreme heat, Pfeiffer says there will be multiple E-M-T teams available for riders. He notes, past experience with the week-long bike ride has helped. “This is the sixth time Coralville has hosted, plus, we’ve assisted with Iowa City and North Liberty hosting, as well,” he says, “and that absolutely helped a lot, because it’s a lot of the same people that are helping, so we’ve got a lot of experience.”

Coralville is the last overnight stop on this year’s ride, which concludes tomorrow in Davenport on the banks of the Mississippi River.

(Ames, Iowa) – Thousands of visitors flocked to Iowa this past week for RAGBRAI. This annual event shines a spotlight on bicycling as recreation, but there are also many Iowans who rely on bicycling to get to where they need to go every day.

The Iowa DOT says, regardless of the reason for bicycles being on the road, many people misunderstand the laws and rules as it relates to all of us sharing the road together. The Iowa Bicycle Coalition has put together a website (https://www.iowabicyclecoalition.org/iowa-bicycle-laws/) to help bicyclists understand Iowa law as it relates to two-wheeled transportation.

Here’s a little earworm from Queen – https://youtu.be/KwvWtZl2ICY

So far this year in Iowa, 202 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of eight since last Friday. In Iowa in 2022, there were 338 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdfDOT

(Davenport, Iowa) – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Long Beach, California man was sentenced July 21st (2023) to 12 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine resulting in the death of a victim. According to public court documents, 61-year-old Ray Bustamante conspired with Dr. John Robert Muriello and Eric Hojka, both of Iowa City, and others, to obtain and distribute methamphetamine. An investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service revealed that since early 2020, Bustamante mailed packages of methamphetamine to people he met online. In March 2021, a parcel, mailed by Bustamante, was intercepted by Postal Inspectors and found to contain approximately 137 grams of “ice” methamphetamine.

In a separate investigation in May 2021, first responders were dispatched to Hojka’s Iowa City apartment for a report of an unconscious victim, who was later pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed the victim ingested methamphetamine which caused his death. It was later determined that the methamphetamine ingested by the victim originated from Bustamante and was sent to Dr. John Robert Muriello and Eric Hojka in Iowa City for distribution.

After his prison term, Bustamante was ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Iowa City Police Department.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation passed last Thursday night through the House Financial Services Committee, serves to protect investment saving accounts from politically-motivated investing that reduce returns for Iowans. Iowa 3rd District Republican Representative Zach Nunn says “Inflation and rising costs have made it harder and harder to save for retirement, which is why I pushed for this legislation to maximize Iowans’ retirements savings. Investment decisions should be made to maximize returns, not reward companies for their policies or political views. This legislation ensures profits are driving decisions.” The bill now heads to the House Floor for further discussion and action.

Under current law, investment managers may make investment decisions based on a company’s policies or political views, rather than maximizing returns for the original investor. In fact, just two consulting companies are making these decisions on 97% of the shareholder votes nationwide, and corporations and asset managers accept this advice without even reviewing the recommendations through a method called robo-voting. Often, these two consulting companies have financial or political conflicts of interest that are never disclosed to the original investor. Accounts managed this way see an average of 14% decrease in returns.

The Protecting Retirees’ Savings Act would eliminate these conflicts of interest for financial managers by:

Requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue final rules prohibiting the use of robo-voting with respect to votes related to proxy or consent solicitation
Prohibiting institutional investors from outsourcing voting decisions with respect to votes related to proxy
Removing requirements to vote, so no one would be required to cast votes related to proxy
The Protecting Retirees’ Savings Act was passed as part of the Protecting Americans’ Retirement Savings from Politics Act.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report two people were arrested on separate charges, Thursday. At around 10:15-a.m., 37-year-old Bridget Gabrielle Carroll, of Afton, was arrested in the 300 Block of N. Elm Street, in Creston. She was charged with Possession of Controlled Substance Marijuana 1st Offense. Carroll was taken to Union County Jail, and later posted at $1,000 bond.

And, at around 12:10-p.m., Thursday, 44-year-old Crystal Marie Mack, of Creston, was arrested at Howard and Maple Streets. She was charged with Driving While Revoked. Mack was taken to Union County Jail and later released on a $1,000 bond.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The Rose Theater in Audubon reports an anonymous donor is sponsoring free admission this weekend, for anyone wanting to see the movie “Sound of Freedom.” All weekend show times are included.

The Sound of Freedom is a 2023 American action film starring Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp. It’s about former government agent Bill Ballard, who embarks on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia.

The plot centers around Ballard’s Operation Underground Railroad, a non-profit, n anti-sex trafficking organization.

The film was released on July 4th.