(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says the baby formula shortage in the U.S. is due to a lack of foresight and action by the Democrat administration. “Back in February Abbott’s Sturgis Michigan facility closed down following a voluntary recall of baby formula. The Biden administration’s FDA should have developed a plan to prevent shortages then — but they sat on their hands for months,” Hinson says.

The baby formula is regulated by the FDA and Hinson says that’s important to keep it safe, but they need to be able to react to these types of situations. “We still haven’t seen a plan from the FDA in my mind there is no excuse for this incompetence,” Hinson says. “Last week I called for the FDA to provide a clear timeline for getting formula back on the shelves as well as a plan to prevent future shortages. This cannot happen again,” she says.

Hinson says a plan proposed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that passed the House threw money at the problem, but didn’t provide a long-term solution. Hinson and fellow Republicans Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra voted against the Pelosi bill. Democrats Congresswoman Cindy Axne voted for the measure.

Cong. Hinson recently spoke about the baby formula issue on the House floor. (CSPAN screenshot)

Hinson says families looking for special formulas may find some relief soon. “Abbott is releasing certain types of metabolic formulas that were previously on hold. If that applies, parents should be calling Abbott the 800 number is 1-800-881-0876. And they can call that number for assistance and start the process in getting some of that formula as quickly as possible,” according to Hinson.

The president announced that he is invoking the Defense Production Act to try and help speed up the restocking of the formula.”We’ve been in direct conversations with Abbott, and before the President’s announcement yesterday (Wednesday) we had already received word from them that they are working to not only get that plant operational but that we should be in a place where shelves are backstopped within four to eight weeks,” Hinson says. She says the president’s action does not go to the root of the problem in creating a plan for the FDA to deal with the situation.

Hinson made her comments during her weekly conference call with reporters.

(Radio Iowa) – Mason City’s mayor has just returned from a trip to New York City where he presented the “Key to the City” to the cast and crew of the current Broadway production of “The Music Man,” which was created by Mason City-native Meredith Willson. Mayor Bill Schickel says he had a fabulous time along with his family and others from Mason City in representing the community.  Mayor Schickel says, “My counterpart, Mayor George Shinn, played by Jefferson Mays, a Tony-award winning actor in his own right, I was able to present the key to him in a ceremony right before the show and extend an invitation to him and the rest of the cast to attend our Band Festival next year.”

“It was a “very warm welcome,” Shickel says and it made him proud to be a Mason Citian. Wednesday was the 120th anniversary of Willson’s birth. Schickel gave a rave review of the musical. “It was beyond fantastic,” Schickel says. “Honestly, I’ve never been to a Broadway show before, but it was very…I mean…all the actors…it was exciting! It just made me proud to be from River City.”

The musical premiered on Broadway in December of 1957, running for 1,375 performances before closing in April of 1961. A 2000 Broadway revival ran for just under 700 performances. The current Broadway revival began previews on December 20th and opened on February 10th and has received six Tony Award nominations, including “Best Revival of a Musical.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court says drug evidence discovered during a pat down by a police officer without a warrant can be used in court.

A Dubuque officer said he felt baggies of what he believed to be drugs in the pocket of Earnest Hunt Junior while patting him down to check for weapons after a traffic stop. The bags contained crack –but the district court suppressed the evidence – saying there was no clear indication of what was in the baggies.

The Supreme Court says the drugs found could be used as evidence based on what’s called the “plain feel” doctrine. It says officers can determine if an item may be drugs based on their experience and the feel of the item in someone’s pocket. The case now goes back to the district court.

Iowa Judicial Branch Bldg.

Justice Brent Appel wrote a dissent to the opinion. He says this case involves a double-barreled risk of unconstitutional invasion of privacy arising from a warrantless pretextual stop for a minor traffic violation followed by a warrantless search for weapons based not on probable cause but diluted reasonable suspicion under the sprawling doctrine.

Here’s the full ruling: Plain Feel ruling PDF

(Radio Iowa) – It appears Iowa legislators will return to the Capitol next week to make final decisions on the state budget. The Senate’s budget committee met in public and in private for seven hours Wednesday to pass ten budget bills. Republican Senator Tom Costello of Imogene is leading negotiations with House Republicans on the bill that will provide funding for the state’s human services and public health agencies.

“We have an agreement, but not all the kinks are ironed out of it yet, so we are not solid on it yet,” Costello said, “so I can’t really say: ‘Yeah, we’ve got an agreement.'” Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City says she and her fellow Democrats are in the dark when it comes to details in the health and human services budget.

“It’s one of the larger bills and larger budgets, so I think it’s critical that we have some opportunity to really examine it before we vote on it,” Ragan says. Senator Todd Taylor, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, is raising the same concerns about the budget for the state’s court system. “This is about the worst process possible,” Taylor said. “Normally, we meet multiple hours, multiple weeks, multiple months throughout the session.”

Republican Senator Tim Kraayenbrink of Fort Dodge is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He says the marathon one-day meeting to review state budget plans was necessary. “This isn’t normal,” Kraayenbrink says. “The last several years haven’t been normal.” Republicans hold the majority of seats in the House and the Senate, so they determine what bills pass. Governor Reynolds and G-O-P leaders say details of the entire eight-point-two BILLION dollar state budget should be hammered out soon.

The governor continues to lobby for House passage of her state scholarship plan for private school students. Reynolds has begun endorsing Republican Primary candidates running against Republican House members who’ve said they oppose it.

(Emerson, Iowa) – A pursuit that began west of Red Oak Thursday night, ended near the Emerson Cemetery north of Emerson, and lead to the arrest of a man from Fremont County. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, 23-year-old Brandon Logan, of Sidney, was arrested around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. He faces numerous charges, including speed 25 miles per hour over the limit, and driving with a suspended, denied, or revoked license. Logan was also cited for speeding at 108 mph in a 55 mph zone, failure to carry financial liability, and failure to obey a traffic control device. His bond was set at $2,000.

The pursuit started when a deputy noticed a motorcycle traveling west on 200th Street near Evergreen Avenue at a high rate of speed. The chase that ensued went through Emerson, and back onto U.S. Highway 34, before ending in the 59,000 block of Highway 59.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Mills County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery County Communications.