(Radio Iowa) – A few Johnson County officials are pressuring County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith to drop charges against seven people for a protest in Iowa City. Each was initially charged with disorderly conduct for obstructing the street and for interfering with police in a protest against the appearance of a California activist who speaks against transgender surgery for minors. Supervisor Jon Green says while the interfering may set a bad precedent, it’s a matter of conscience.

“It’s not that they necessarily shouldn’t be pressing charges. It’s that if you are going to charge people, you should charge everybody or nobody. You know, there were upwards of a hundred protesters at the Cole event,” Green says. The Board of Supervisors has budgetary authority over the County Attorney’s Office. Janet Lyness was the Johnson County Attorney before retiring. She didn’t take issue with elected officials expressing their opinions to the county attorney, but she drew the line at them taking action against the county attorney for doing her job.

“The political views of the county attorney or the recorder — they can certainly be supportive of actions taken by people — it doesn’t mean they can ignore their duties and their job. They still have to uphold the law, even if they disagree with it,” Lyness says. Green has also called on the Johnson County Democrats to censure Zimmermann Smith for pursuing charges. They’ll vote on his resolution Thursday. One of the protestors has turned down a plea bargain and will challenge the arrest in court.

(Radio Iowa) – The Department of Education’s 2023 fall enrollment numbers show a drop in the number of public school students, while private enrollment increased. The Education Department’s figures show public school enrollment was down one-half a percent to 483-thousand-699. Non-public school enrollment was up seven-point-four percent to 36-thousand-195 students as a new state law provided Education Savings Account for those attending private schools.

The data shows nearly 66 percent of those using the accounts were already attending private schools. The accounts let Iowa Iowa families apply for around 76-hundred dollars for each student for private school expenses including tuition and fees.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident this (Monday) morning in Guthrie County resulted in a woman from Stuart being transported by Stuart EMS to the Adair County Hospital in Greenfield. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says 80-year-old Theresa Glass was traveling west on White Pole Road at around 8:15-a.m., when the 2006 Chrysler Town & Country van she was driving went out of control on the frost covered road.

The van entered the westbound ditch and rolled over. Glass was wearing her seat belt. She suffered possible/unknown injuries (complained of pain). Her vehicles sustained $3,500 damage and was declared a total loss. Authorities say Glass was driving too fast for the road conditions. No citations were issued.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports also, there were no injuries following an accident Thursday morning. A 2022 Chevy pickup driven by 25-year-old Lucas Davidson, of Ellsworth (IA) was traveling south on Highway 4 from 190th Street, when the vehicle went out of control on the ice covered road. The pickup entered the south ditch and struck an Iowa DOT sign. The accident happened at around 6:40-a.m.

The pickup sustained $4,000 damage. Damage to the DOT sign/post was estimated at $200.

(Radio Iowa) – State policies in Iowa should do more to promote reading, according to a new report comparing reading laws around the country. The National Council for Teacher Quality found Iowa’s standards in that area are weaker than most other states. Council executive director Heather Peske (PES-kee) says it’s appropriate that Iowa lawmakers are now proposing changes. She says one thing Iowa should do is list phonics and other core components of the science of reading as part of education standards. Peske also says the state should publish a list of the best reading curriculum.

“It kind of serves almost as though it’s like a consumer protection device,” Peske says. “Many districts don’t have the capacity to review curriculum materials themselves. Some of them might not even have much of an expertise in this.” Peske says another place where Iowa could improve is in the licensing standards for elementary teachers. She says teaching candidates should have to pass a stronger exam to test their knowledge of how to put research on reading into practice.

“The stakes are very high for children,” she says, “and we need to make sure that teachers have the knowledge and skills before they get into classrooms to be able to effectively teach them to read.” Governor Kim Reynolds has said she would like to make a test called Foundations of Reading a requirement for Iowa teacher preparation programs. Peske says it’s one of the tests strongly aligned with the science of reading. A bill in the Iowa Senate would list the components of the science of reading in education standards for kindergarten through third grade.

(Radio Iowa) – Trial got underway this (Monday) morning for a Cerro Gordo County woman who’s charged with child endangerment resulting in death and a separate charge of child endangerment. A criminal complaint states that 30-year-old Allyssa Joyce, of Plymouth, knowingly created substantial risk to a pair of three-month-old children by deprivation of proper nutrition. That resulted in the death of one of the children, while authorities say the other child was near death. The complaint states this occurred in Mason City on or about February 28th of 2021. Child endangerment resulting in death is a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison, while child endangerment is a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years.