(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Democratic Party leaders say they’re considering substantial changes to make their Caucuses more straightforward and accessible. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn has just released a letter to national party leaders, asking that Iowa’s 2024 Caucuses remain first in the presidential nominating process. The Democratic National Committee has made it clear that’s in doubt.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do ahead of us in the next few weeks, but I’m going to fight like hell for Iowa,” Wilburn said, “and I’m going to look forward to making our case before the Rules and Bylaws Committee.” That panel will meet this summer to recommend which states get to go first in the next presidential election. “Iowa is a small rural and accessible state. The infrastructure to rebuild the Democratic brand for rural America is right here in Iowa,” Wilburn says. “The DNC, the national Democratic Party, just needs to commit to it and not waste this opportunity.”

Wilburn is arguing Iowa represents geographic diversity that’s important for the party’s prospects across the country. “If Democrats can’t figure out how to talk to rural voters, then we’re in big trouble as a party,” Wilburn said. “It’s no secret the party’s been losing seats across the country because of a weakened appeal to rural, working class Americans and to maintain the White House and make gains in congress, we can’t afford to ignore this group of Americans and Iowans.” National party leaders are also saying that states positioned to go first in the 2024 presidential election should have diverse populations. Wilburn says as the Iowa Democratic Party’s first black chairman, he will make the case that Iowa has been a progressive leader.

“Iowa has led and the nation has followed when we said that a black man, Barack Obama, could be and should be president of the United States…in saying that love is love and who you choose to marry and start a family with is up to you and the rest of the country followed,” Wilburn says, “and going back to decades before Brown v Board of Education, Iowa said that schools will be integrated.” Wilburn says he’ll also point to the many candidates of color who won municipal elections in Iowa last year.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa will receive one million dollars as part of a multi-state settlement with TurboTax. The Iowa Attorney General’s office says TurboTax has agreed to pay the states involved 141 million dollars following claims the company got people to pay for tax preparation services that should have been free.

More than 33-thousand Iowans who used the service from 2016 through 2018 are eligible for a direct payment of approximately 30 dollars for each year that they paid for filing services. if you are one of the people involved — you will automatically receive a notice and a check by mail.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The number of new COVID-19 cases in Iowa continues to rise. The Iowa Health Department says more than 2,700 positive tests were reported over the past week. That’s a 36% increase from last week.

Ninety-one people are hospitalized with the virus, up seven from the last report. Eight people are in the ICU with COVID-19. Four more COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the last week.

The total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic has reached more than 9,500.