(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says the jury’s decision finding former Minneapolis police officer Dereck Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd shows the justice system worked. “A jury of his peers found him guilty on all three charges,” Reynolds says. “…It’s time that we all come together as a country, heal and continue to move forward.” Last June, Reynolds signed a police reform law that, among other things, forbids Iowa police from using choke holds in most situations.

In January, Reynolds called for a statewide ban on racial profiling in policing, but the Republican-led legislature has not advanced the idea. “We’ll continue to work on it,” Reynolds says. “We’re still in session. We’re still working through the process and we’ll see where it goes.”

The House and Senate are pursuing other ideas, like broader liability protection for police and increased penalties for rioting, but a final plan has not emerged.

(Radio Iowa) – The man accused of shooting and killing a state trooper is out of the hospital and in jail. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says 41-year-old Michael Lang of Grundy Center, was released today (Wednesday) by the University of Iowa Hospitals. Lang was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail where he is being held on a three-million-dollar cash bond.

Michael Lang

Lang is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Jim Smith in Grundy Center on April 9th. He is also charged with an attempt to commit murder for allegedly trying to kill state troopers in an armored personnel carrier, and assault on a peace officer, for assaulting a Grundy Center officer the same night.

(Radio Iowa) – Legislators have settled on providing 100 million dollars worth of state grants to companies that expand broadband service in Iowa. Democrats, led by Representative Chris Hall of Sioux City, suggested using federal pandemic relief money rather than state tax dollars for those grants. “We know that the use of those funds toward broadband expansion is accepted,” Hall says, “and that it is one of the best ways we can keep our General Fund dollars also flexible.”

But Representative John Landon of Ankeny says the Republican majorities in the House and Senate have decided state money will be used.  “With that federal money comes a lot of federal regulations and those regulations have not been issued yet, ” Landon says. “…It’s just not smart budgeting at this time.”

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds asked lawmakers to appropriate 150 million dollars in each of the next three years to expand access to high speed internet across the state. The House has taken an initial vote on 100 million, in the next state budgeting year only. The legislature approved a separate bill with the rules for the grant program. It would ensure most of the money goes toward establishing internet service with download and upload speeds of at least 100 megabits per second.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council met Wednesday evening with Councilmen Behrens and Casady absent, and Councilperson Grace Garrett joining in over the phone. During their session, Mayor Dave Jones signed an Arbor Day Proclamation (see the full text below), in honor of the City being designated as a Tree City USA. Local Tree City Volunteer Dolly Bergmann said this is the 25th year for the notable designation. Every year, with the exception of 2020, she has presented the City with the award.

Atlantic is one of more than 3,500 communities from across the country to have been awarded a “Tree City USA” designation. There are four requirements to receiving the title, each of which the City has passed for more than two decades. In other business, the Atlantic City Council held public hearings on several matters, and approved all of the related Resolutions or Ordinances, including:

• Adopting the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget.
• A Resolution agreeing to apply for financial assistance from USDA Rural Development, to finance the purchase of equipment and improvements necessary for the Atlantic Animal Shelter.
• The 2nd reading of an Ordinance ordering snow removal from sidewalks. The reading passed by a vote of 4-to 1, with Councilman Pat McCurdy voting no. McCurdy has several rental properties, and doesn’t feel a 24-time frame for the removal of snow is reasonable. He would prefer 48-hours. As it stands now, the City allows 72-hours from the time the snow ceases to fall, before sidewalks must be cleared.
• A vote on the 2nd reading of an Ordinance requiring vehicles to be moved from the streets within 24-hours of a snowfall, passed by a vote of 4-to-1, with McCurdy again in opposition for the reason given above.
• And, the Council passed by a vote of 5-0 a Resolution setting the Council’s meeting on May 5th at 5:30-p.m., as the date for a Public Hearing on the sale of real estate in the City of Atlantic. The City has agreed to sell the lot at 211 W. 6th Street for One-dollar, to Jeff Pross, who intends to build a home on the site. As part of the agreement the City offers prospective property buyers an incentive plan. Part of that plan includes:

1. If a home worth at least $100,000, the lot can be acquired for $1;
2. If a house is built on the lot, the homeowner will receive a $5,000 grant to purchase a variety of locally acquired items for the house (such as an HVAC system, kitchen appliances, etc.)
3. A veteran can receive $10,000 down payment assistance.
4. There is also a three-year tax abatement,  if the house is located north of 14th Street, is 100%. The stipulation is that the property buyer must live in Atlantic, and not sub-lease or rent the house.

The Harlan Police Department Wednesday (today) reported three arrests.

• On April 20th, 30-year old April Ellen Stinn, of El Dorado, KS, was arrested on an active Shelby County warrant.
• On April 16th, 47-year-old Bryan Leon Brummer, of Soldier, IA was arrested on an active Crawford County warrant.
• And, 22-year old Justin Michael Couch, of Bennington, NE, was arrested April 15th in Harlan, following a traffic stop. Couch was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with driving while revoked and no proof of insurance.

In other news, on April 19th, 38-year old Malcolm Shane McDonald, of Harlan, was cited for driving while suspended and failure to display license plates following a traffic stop.

(Radio Iowa) – Mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics are again underway at Iowa’s three public universities after being disrupted last week when health officials paused the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Erin Baldwin, associate vice president for Student Health and Wellness at Iowa State University, says they’re now getting more doses of the Pfizer vaccine and the university will administer around three-thousand doses this week.

“We really are encouraging all of our students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated as soon as they possibly can,” Baldwin says, “as that helps us mitigate the severity and the spread of COVID-19.” Even with the J-and-J doses being taken off the shelves temporarily, Baldwin says I-S-U was still able to administer more than a thousand Pfizer doses last week.

“Our goal overall is to administer several thousand doses a week,” she says, “and that will, of course, depend on availability, but we’ve been able to get started over the last several weeks.” Officials with the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa say they’ve also switched to using the Pfizer vaccine, for now.

(Radio Iowa) – The fourth and last finalist in the search for the next president of the University of Iowa is a familiar name on campus. Daniel Clay is the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Iowa and will meet with faculty, staff, students, and other members of the campus community on Thursday.

Daniel Clay

Clay will hold a public forum at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday that will be live-streamed, and then hold more meetings on Friday. Clay is the only man among the four finalists. The presidential search committee will start discussing the finalists on April 29th and is expected to announce its choice on the 30th.