Because the U-S Senate will remain in-session during the week of July 4^th, Iowa Senator Charles Grassley is unable to attend previously planned town hall meetings in the state. The Senate will continue negotiations over how to achieve $2.4-trillion in savings in the federal budget, in order to offset an increase in the amount of debt the government can legal borrow. The deadline for an agreement on raising the debt ceiling is August 2^nd.

And, while Grassley will be attending to business in Washington, D-C, two members of his staff will represent him at the 12 town meetings in Iowa Grassley had planned to hold.

In his Grassley’s place, Regional Director Donna Barry and Legislative Aide Sherry Kuntz will conduct town meetings in Adams, Audubon, Carroll, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Shelby and Taylor counties.

Grassley’s scheduled appearances at the Atlantic and Denison Rotary meetings on July 5 and July 7 have been postponed. Grassley said he will reschedule constituent meetings in all of these counties. Meetings with Grassley staffers will take place:

On Tuesday, July 5th

From 8 – 9 a.m. at the New Hope Village, Activity Center Gymnasium, in Carroll.

From 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. at the Audubon County Economic Development (ACED), Community Room, in Audubon.

From 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. at the Corning Community Building, in Corning.

And, from 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. at the Taylor County Farm Bureau‘s meeting Room, in Bedford.

On Wednesday, July 6th

From 8 – 9 a.m. at the Shenandoah Medical Center, in Shenandoah.

From 10 – 11 a.m. at The Gathering Place, Corner of Cass and Ohio Streets, in Sidney.

From Noon – 1 p.m. at the Glenwood Senior Center, in Glenwood.

From 2 – 3 p.m. at the Montgomery County Family YMCA, in Red Oak.

And, from 4 – 5 p.m. at the Oakland Community Building, in Oakland.

And, on Thursday, July 7th

From 7 – 8 a.m. at the United Western Coop, in Missouri Valley.

9:45 – 10:45 a.m. at the Onawa Community Center, 320 in Onawa.

And, from 2 – 3 p.m. at the Harlan Public Library, in Harlan.

A beefed up law enforcement effort is underway around the state for the Independence Day weekend. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Mark Domino says they’ll be looking for speeders, drunk drivers and those who are texting while driving. He’s also reminding motorists to buckle-up, but he’s noticed most Iowans are obeying the seat belt law.

“I believe we’re up to 93-percent (compliance). I travel the interstates and the four-lanes a lot and to try and find somebody not wearing their seat belt is really tough,” Domino said. The Iowa Department of Public Safety reports 214 agencies participated in the Fourth of July traffic enforcement project last year and officers stopped 4,592 drivers for speeding. Domino, who’s based in Mason City, says his patrol post has enlisted the help of an aircraft to catch speeders this year.

“He’s going to be on the four lanes probably, but he could be on the two lanes, we never know when we get assigned to the aircraft,” Domino said. “We’re going to be using the LIDAR, which is a laser type radar…so we’re going to use the tools which the state has given us.”

During last year’s holiday enforcement project, officers had contact with 353 impaired drivers, over 1,000 seat belt violators and apprehended 107 wanted persons. Five fatalities were recorded in Iowa during the 2010 Fourth of July weekend.

(Bob Fisher/Radio Iowa)

Property tax reform is at the top of the list of topics discussed but later tabled by the 2011 Iowa Legislature. The governor and leaders of both political parties began 2011 agreeing that property tax reform was at the top of the legislature’s agenda. Six months later, nothing was accomplished because of split control at the statehouse. Iowans elected a Republican governor last fall and Republicans hold a 20-seat advantage over Democrats in the Iowa House. But the Iowa Senate is still controlled by Democrats, who hold a two-seat advantage there. The two parties in the legislature had different approaches on the issue and the governor had another. In the end, a compromise was elusive. Governor Branstad hasn’t ruled out the idea of calling legislators back to Des Moines later this year for a “special session” to deal with the property tax issue.

Lawmakers debated establishing limits or even banning so-called “red light” cameras, but shelved that topic as well. Senator Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, says he’s fielded hundreds of complaints about the cameras — and the very pricey tickets. Senator Jeff Danielson, a Democrat from Cedar Falls, suggests the cameras are working to reduce speeds and curb red-light-runners.

The top policy accomplishment of the General Assembly was approval of a massive plan that reconfigures legislative and congressional district lines. The redistricting plan is based on the new data from the 2010 Census. The 2011 legislature made dove hunting legal in Iowa, too. Opponents legislators rushed the bill through in less than 24 hours, giving critics little time to mount a campaign to defeat the bill.

(O.Kay Henderson/ Radio Iowa)

Two accidents occurred in the same area of Shelby County, Thursday, with only minor injuries reported. The Sheriff’s Office says the first accident happened at around 2:45-p.m., on northbound Highway 59 near the intersection with County Road F-32.

A vehicle driven by Caryn Gekas, of Lincoln, NE, was stopped on the road waiting for a semi-tractor trailer hauling wind turbine parts to pass, when her vehicle was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by Jennifer Rogers, of Lincoln, NE. Official say Rogers was unable to stop prior to the collision.

The accident caused extensive damage to both vehicles, and resulted in injuries to both drivers and a young female passenger in one of the vehicles. All three persons were transported to Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan for treatment of their injuries.

The second accident happened about 35-minutes later. As traffic was stopped on Highway 59 waiting for the first accident scene to be cleaned-up, a vehicle driven by Juan Tercero, of Denison, was hit from behind by a car being driven by Joshua Roberts, of Denison. Officials say Roberts failed to notice traffic in front of him had come to a halt.

He was cited for Failure to Stop in an Assured Clear Distance.

The Harlan Community School District will receive a 2011 Iowa Character Counts Award from “Character Counts in Iowa,” next month. The award annually honors individuals, schools and organizations that consistently demonstrate and promote the six pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

Paulette Rasmussen, who nominated the school, said, “Staff, students and community members of Harlan are all very involved and supportive of the character counts initiative.” Character Counts in Iowa is a non-profit organization that promotes civility and good character in our homes, schools, workplaces and communities.

Harlan High School representatives will be honored along with 12 other Iowa award recipients at the 2011 Character Counts Awards banquet on August 5^th. All 13 award recipients were chosen by a volunteer selection committee made up of more than 50 Iowans.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Airlines and other businesses that use Omaha’s Eppley Airfield are making plans in case flooding forces the airport’s closure. Lincoln Airport executive director John Wood says he’s had discussion with three passenger airlines, all freight airlines and all the rental car companies that serve Eppley. He also says ConAgra, Mutual of Omaha and Kiewit have moved their corporate planes from Omaha to Lincoln. The Lincoln Journal Star reports Wood has also had discussion with the Transportation Safety Administration about possible flight diversions to Lincoln.

The Omaha airport is protected from the swollen Missouri River by levees, and pumps are keeping the main road to the airport dry. The river isn’t expected to overtop the levees but there is concern that the prolonged flooding could weaken the airport’s levees.