(Radio Iowa) – Minnesota would be a legal “refuge” for children from Iowa and elsewhere to get “gender-affirming health care” that’s illegal in their home state, under a bill the Democrat-controlled Minnesota House passed early this (Friday) morning after long and heated debate. Representative Larry Kraft, a Saint Louis Park Democrat, asked parents to think about how they’d feel if the government forced them to stop critical care for their child’s health. “How could a government do this,” Kraft says, “and yet, it’s exactly what’s happening with bans on gender-affirming care in too many places, including just next door in Iowa and South Dakota.” Representative Walter Hudson, a Republican from Albertville, responded that South Dakota is passing a law…

“‘…to make these abhorrent practices illegal,” Hudson says. “That is why our neighbors to the south in Iowa have done the same, because they love their children, because they don’t want to see harm come to them.” The proposed law would also protect Minnesota providers from legal action by other states where such care is banned. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law this week that makes it illegal to start prescribing puberty blockers or to perform gender transition surgery on anyone under 18.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned lower court rulings that blocked Missouri utility companies from building new electric transmission lines in the state. L-S Power Midcontinent and Southwest Transmission challenged a law passed in 2020 that gave those who already owned electric lines in the state the right of first refusal on new projects. The lower courts ruled the two companies had no case because there was not a current project they were bidding on.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the companies are qualified to supply transmission lines and they would be harmed by not being able to bid on new projects. The Supreme Court also ruled in favor of their argument that the Right of First Refusal issue was improperly thrown into an omnibus bill that passed late in the legislative session. The court says the issue did not have the votes to pass on its own and attaching it to a bill that is sure to pass is a hallmark of what’s known as logrolling.

(Griswold, Iowa) – Officials with the Noble Initiative Foundation have announced sufficient funds have been raised for a new Childcare Development Center in Griswold, and now they’re ready to break ground. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held beginning at 10:30-a.m. Saturday (March 25, 2023). Participants and anyone interested in attending the event will first meet in the Griswold Elementary School Gym (20 Madison St) for a brief presentation and refreshments. The scene then shifts to around the corner, to the site of the future Griswold Childcare Development Center.

A one-half million dollar grant from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation is helping the initiative close in on their initial fundraising goal of $2.3 million. The Foundation’s mission it “To provide high-quality and accessible childcare, support a strong school system, improve the local workforce, and expand affordable housing opportunities through community-based projects.”

The Noble Initiative Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization committed to strengthening our community. The Griswold Child Development Center is slated to open in August (2023).

CRESTON, Iowa – March 24, 2023 – The Iowa Dept. of Transportation says if you plan on driving along Iowa Highway 25 near the interchange with Interstate 80 in coming weeks, you may notice some construction work taking place north of I-80.

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Beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday, April 3, weather permitting, construction crews will begin removing and replacing the pavement on Iowa 25 north of I-80. This work will require directing traffic around the work zone with a marked detour route using I-80 and Guthrie County Road F-65/While Pole Road (see map).

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through the 511 system

(Glenwood, Iowa) – A woman from Glenwood was arrested Thursday on two, Mills County warrants. The Glenwood Police Department reports 38-year-old Angelina Carey was arrested on warrants for Child Endangerment and Assault. Her total, cash-only bond was set at $2,300.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has sent the Senate a bill that would set a statewide policy for disciplining disruptive and violent students in public K-through-12 schools. It would require an in-school suspension and a counseling session after the first two incidents, but a third episode of violent or disruptive behavior would require the school to consider transferring the student to another class or learning environment. The bill also sets up a process for educators to report incidents of classroom violence and destruction of school property to the State Ombudsman for investigation. Representative Skyler Wheeler, a Republican from Hull, is chairman of the House Education Committee.

“This was not an issue that was on my radar at all when we came into session. This issue sought us out and we hear from individuals who are teaching in our public schools who are extremely concerned or they are being hit and they are being attacked,” Wheeler says. “We cannot just stand idly by and allow that to happen.”  Wheeler says lawmakers are hearing from teachers who don’t believe disruptive behavior in the classroom is being addressed.  “I’m not overly excited that we have to take a topic like this up,” Wheeler says, “but if we do not, I fear we are going to continue to see problems and we are going to potentially lose very good employees in our schools.”

Representative Sharon Steckman, a Democrat from Mason City who’s a retired teacher, says she’d like the policies to be required in Iowa’s private schools as well, but she supports the bill. “This bill has come a long way and I appreciate the collaboration that has been done to make it an improved bill, a bill that will really help teachers,” Steckman says. “And it is an issue that I’ve heard about from a lot of teachers and I’m really pleased that we could work together to get something that I feel will work.” Representative Sue Cahill, a Democrat from Marshalltown who’s a retired teacher, also voted for the bill. “This bill is a good starting point,” Cahill says. “I fully support having safety measures in place for teachers and that they have a recourse to maintain the safety of their own persons not only for their physical health but for their mental health as well.”

However, Cahill says she’s hoping the Senate changes it, to ensure schools have other options for kids in kindergarten and early elementary grades rather than an immediate in-school suspension after an initial fight or disruption in class. The bill passed the House on an 89-to-six vote. If it becomes law, administrators will be required to notify parents if their children have been violent or disruptive in school. The Iowa Department of Education’s report on student violence in Iowa classrooms indicates there were nearly two-thousand assaults during the last school year, causing more than 17-hundred injuries. The agency indicates schools reported more than 11-hundred incidents of property damage caused by students during the last school year.