(Radio Iowa) – The governor’s latest public health emergency proclamation makes clear the end is near on most pandemic-related regulatory relief. Last year, Governor Kim Reynolds temporarily suspended many of the deadlines for renewing state licenses and many of those suspensions already have ended. Her latest public health proclamation says Iowans should not expect the few that remain to last beyond July 25th. It means no more delays in license renewals for restaurants and bars, pesticide applicators and temporary teachers.

Tattoo artists and tattoo shops also have a tight deadline for renewing their licenses. They have until Tuesday to renew their 2020 license without a penalty In addition, next Wednesday, tattoo businesses or artists with permits that expired in 2020 will no longer be able to work until they have renewed for the 2021 permit year.

The governor has signaled that pandemic-related limitations on accessing public records and conducting public meetings in Iowa will end July 25th as well.

(Radio Iowa) – One-point-four billion dollars. That’s how much MORE in taxes was paid to the state in the last 12-months compared to the previous fiscal year. The state fiscal year ended June 30th. According to the Legislative Services Agency, there was an 18-point-six percent increase in state tax revenue during that 12-month period compared to the previous fiscal year. As you’ll recall, the final four months of THAT year were March, April, May and June of 2020 when the bottom dropped out of the economy due to the pandemic.

The state ended the fiscal year on June 30th with a surplus of about half a billion dollars. Last month, as she signed a series of tax cuts into law, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds announced she’ll be proposing more cuts to personal income taxes next year.

In this just-concluded fiscal year, Iowans paid nearly 17 percent more in personal income taxes to the state. Corporate taxes grew nearly 52 percent. Sales and use tax payments grew by 10-point-six percent.

WASHINGTON — Iowa Third District Democrat RepresentativeCindy Axne and a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thursday, voted to approve $21,901,000 in direct funding for Iowa infrastructure improvements included in the House’s surface transportation authorization legislation.

The projects receiving direct funding through Rep. Axne’s advocacy include a bridge replacement in Red Oak, a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge, and bus facility improvements for transit agencies which cover all sixteen counties of Iowa’s Third District. All six projects are included the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act, legislation that authorizes spending highway and transit projects that advanced out of the House earlier today.

Rep. Axne’s office says she successfully pushed to include six projects for Iowa’s Third Congressional District in the INVEST in America Act:

• $7,000,000 for upgrades to the Southeast Connector connecting SE 30th Street to US Route 65 near Des Moines and Pleasant Hill
• $5,000,000 for bus and bus facility upgrades at the Southwest Transit Agency, Western Iowa Transit, Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Southwest Iowa Trolley, and the Des Moines Regional Transit Authority
• $4,880,000 for Phase 1 of construction on a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge in Johnston
• $2,321,000 for construction of a new Regional Transit Facility for the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency in Waukee
• $2,000,000 for improvements to the Mills Civic Parkway at S. 91st Street and S. Grand Parkway in West Des Moines
• $700,000 for the replacement of the Red Oak Creek Bridge in Red Oak

The Stop Swaps, Protect Local Jobs Act bill aimed at ensuring federal roadway funding isn’t used to undermine competitive wages for local workers, was also included in the final bill. The measure would protect local workers from having their wages undercut by “fund swapping,” a practice where city and county governments move federal dollars out of a roadway project in exchange for state funds.

While the Senate and House will continue to deliberate on securing investments in infrastructure beyond the investments made in this bill, the current authorization for surface transportation funding expires later this year – making this bill the likely foundation for any final agreements on infrastructure.

The INVEST in America Act provides $715 billion to repair our nation’s roads, bridges, transit facilities, rail, and water infrastructure. The legislation, a five-year reauthorization of surface transportation programs and investment in water infrastructure, would provide over $3.5 billion directly to Iowa for transportation projects.

The package of legislation passed today also includes $32 billion to repair deficient bridges, including a new $1 billion grant program called Rebuild Rural Bridges. Iowa currently has the highest number of structurally deficient bridges in the country with nearly 4,500 bridges rated “poor” by the Iowa Department of Transportation. The bill also provides $37 billion in the Surface Transportation Program, a federal program for state and local transportation projects, including new allocations based on population to ensure smaller communities receive the funding they need.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has announced survivors of assault are now eligible to enroll in the Safe at Home address confidentiality program overseen by his office. Previously, participants included survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, trafficking, and stalking. The expansion of the program is part of a new law signed by Governor Reynolds on June 17.

Secretary Pates says “We want all Iowans to be safe and feel protected in their own homes, especially those who have already endured a violent crime. By having their address hidden, survivors don’t have to worry about constantly looking over their shoulder. It makes it a lot harder for their abuser to find them.”

Iowa’s Safe at Home program began in January of 2016 and currently includes more than 675 participants across more than 60 counties. Someone enrolled in Safe at Home receives a legal-substitute address that can be utilized on public and private records, in place of their actual address. Additionally, their mail is forwarded by Safe at Home. Confidential voter registration and absentee balloting is provided. The program provides an extra layer of security for survivors at no cost to them.

Statistics show violent crimes in Iowa occur 266.6 times per every 100,000 residents of the state. Iowa has the 13th lowest rate in the country. Nationally, the average is 366.7 incidents per 100,000 residents. To learn more about Iowa’s Safe at Home program or for an application, visit SafeatHome.Iowa.gov or email SafeatHome@iowa.gov.

The Glenwood Police Department reports 36-year-old Robyn Salmons, of Glenwood, was arrested Thursday. Salmons was taken into custody on a Mills County warrant for probation violation. Her bond was set at $25,000.

GREENFIELD, Iowa – Division of Criminal Investigation agents and deputies with the Adair County Sheriff’s Office are conducting a death investigation in the southeast corner of Adair County. Earlier this (Thursday) afternoon, the body of an adult was discovered alongside a rural road. Law enforcement is treating this death as suspicious.

There is no known threat to the public associated with this discovery. No additional information is being released at this time.

(Radio Iowa) – A new law that goes into effect today (Thursday) lets the parents of teenagers certify they’ve taught their child to drive, so the teen can take the tests to get a driver’s license. Homeschooling parents like Republican Representative Joel Fry of Osceola have had this authority for the past decade and this extends it to all Iowa parents.
“I, for one, have had the privilege of teaching now four children driver’s ed in my own family,” Fry says, “and I can tell you the amount of time that I spent with that child in driver’s education far outweighs the amount of time I went through driver’s education in the school system.”

Under previous law, teenagers in public and private schools had to pass a driver’s ed class in their school or a commercial driving school — or complete the D-O-T’s online course before taking the written and driving tests for a driver’s license. Any Iowa parent with a valid driver’s license can now certify they’ve covered that material AND completed behind-the-wheel training with their child. Many Democrats raised concerns.

Senator Claire Celsi, a Democrat from Des Moines, says a similar law has been in place in Oregon and a four-year study found 91 percent of young Oregon drivers in accidents were teenagers who had not completed a standard driver’s ed class. “There are some parents who are completely qualified to teach their children to drive and there frankly are some that are not,” Celsi said.

Republicans Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill in May, but did not issue a public statement about the new law. Iowa now joins Nebraska and seven other states in having a parent-led driver’s ed law.

(Radio Iowa) – A survey of business leaders across Iowa and eight other states finds the Midwestern economy making solid gains as the pandemic wanes, but Iowa’s economy slipped slightly during June. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the region has been seeing sizeable growth for 13 of the past 14 months. “The manufacturing economy is really, really bouncing back, very strong,” Goss says. “The overall region remains below pre-pandemic levels but we’re moving in the right direction. Only one out of ten supply managers reports a lessening of bottlenecks and delays in deliveries. That’s where there are some real issues.”

On a zero to 100 scale where 50 is growth neutral, the regional economy posted a 73.5 for June, up from 72.3 in May. Iowa’s economy didn’t see as strong a showing, however, falling to 69.5 from 70.2 in May. Still, Goss emphasizes, the numbers are good, especially in regards to employment. “Hiring was very healthy for the month of June despite shortages of workers,” Goss says. “Regional employment still is about 4.1% below pre-pandemic levels. U.S. employment is about 5% below pre-pandemic levels.”

Not only since the onset of COVID-19, but for years prior, employers across Iowa and the region have bemoaned the lack of skilled workers to fill thousands of open positions. The survey results for June continued to confirm the pattern. “Fifty-three percent of our supply managers indicated they will continue to hire and increase hiring for the rest of 2021,” Goss says. “None, zero percent, expect layoffs for the rest of 2021 so that’s a good signal for hiring.”

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly wages for manufacturing production workers in Iowa rose 7.7% over the past 12 months, while among the nine Midwest states, the growth in Iowa ranked third.

DES MOINES – Fresh off a 16-month pit stop for the Covid-19 pandemic, the State Historical Society of Iowa’s mobile museum is getting back on the road with a brand-new exhibition. Housed in a custom-built Winnebago, “Iowa History 101: Iowa’s People & Places” is a 300-square-foot museum on wheels, packed with 56 artifacts and videos that explore 13,000 years of Iowa history, from its earliest residents to those who call it home today.

The State Historical Society of Iowa’s “History on the Move” mobile museum.  (File Photo)

The mobile museum will carry “Iowa’s People & Places” to all 99 Iowa counties beginning this month through 2023, similar to its first three-year tour but this time with a different exhibition. The first mobile museum exhibition made 175 stops across all 99 counties from 2017 through 2019 and attracted nearly 65,000 visitors, including 11,400 students.

The new exhibition unpacks some of the stories of Iowa’s past with an eclectic array of artifacts selected from the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines, and its introduction video is narrated by WOI-TV host Jackie Schmillen. Some of the highlights on display include:

• Token from the Hudson Bay Company from Dubuque County in 1800.
• An Election ticket from 1860.
• Knitting needles Iowa first lady Jane Kirkwood of Iowa City used to knit clothing for soldiers during the Civil War and World War I.
• Birchbark lunchbox a Cerro Gordo County boy used in the 1870s.
• Meskwaki cradleboard from the late 1800s.
• University of Iowa pennant from Edward Carter of Monroe County, the first African American to get a medical degree from the University of Iowa, in 1907.
• Paper fan promoting women’s suffrage, from about 1916.
• Menu from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to Des Moines in 1959.
• Women’s track uniform from Iowa State University from 1972, the year Title IX passed.
• Boots worn by Des Moines Water Works Director L.D. McMullen during the flood of 1993.
• Flight suit worn by astronaut Peggy Whitson of Beaconsfield.

The idea for the mobile museum emerged in 2014 from a series of community conversations organized by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees the State Historical Society of Iowa. Iowans who care deeply about history made it clear they wanted new ways to access the State Historical Museum’s resources.

Iowans may request a visit from the mobile museum for schools, libraries, local museums, community festivals, county fairs and other places where people gather. Visits are complimentary and the tours are self-guided.

To date, “Iowa’s People & Places” is already scheduled to visit :

July 9-11: Pomeroy
Pomeroy Sesquicentennial

Sept. 25: Shenandoah
Shenfest

More details are available at iowaculture.gov. Iowans can also follow the mobile museum’s statewide journey on Facebook at facebook.com/IowaHistory. The traveling exhibition presenting sponsor is EMC Insurance Companies with additional partnership support from Casey’s General Stores, Winnebago Industries, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and Mike Wolfe.