(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowans had trouble sleeping before COVID-19 hit, but there’s been a surge in people losing sleep due to stress in the past year, what’s being dubbed “coronasomnia.” Amy Kluver, an outpatient therapist at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, says the pandemic and all it encompasses has soaked into our collective psyche. “It’s definitely impacting a lot of people’s sleep,” Kluver says. “It’s impacting our thoughts during the day that can also carry into our struggle with sleep later because we’re tense, our activities aren’t the same, there’s a lot of uncertainty.”

Kluver runs what’s called the Clinical Sleep Training Program at the hospital. It aims to help people improve their sleep through relaxation processes and exploring lifestyle habits that may be working against them. “Part of it is actually getting people to understand some of the myths they may have been holding onto about sleep,” Kluver says, “like, that we have to have eight hours of sleep every night or it’s terribly unhealthy.” The program consists of five group sessions over seven weeks and Kluver says people sometimes need to unlearn bad habits.  “That frustration of, ‘I slept horrible last night so I’ve got to get some good sleep tonight, because I just can’t sleep horrible again,’ and what I just said would be what we call a negative sleep thought,” she says, “and having to watch out for those negative sleep thoughts and how much power they can hold.”

Studies find about one in ten Iowans have chronic insomnia disorder, or problems with sleep at least three nights a week for three months or more. Some tips for better sleep include: Create and keep a going-to-bed routine, avoid screens in the bedroom, get some exercise during the day, get some sunlight, and don’t eat dinner late. The pandemic isn’t over, but more than a million doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered to Iowans and there are frequent signs of life returning to semi-normal, or at least the promise of it, in the months ahead.   “Hopefully, that will come to fruition,” she says, “and a little more sunshine in our days with milder weather and hopefully then more activities, that will also play into people -hopefully- sleeping better.”

In addition to the in-person program at the Des Moines hospital, Kluver offers a virtual option as well. Coincidentally, tomorrow (Friday) is World Sleep Day, which is billed as: “a call to all sleep professionals to advocate and educate the world about the importance of sleep for achieving an optimal quality of life and improve global health.”

Police in Red Oak, Wednesday, arrested 43-year old Brian Keith Shaver, of Red Oak. Shaver was taken into custody at around 6:08-p.m. in the 300 block of W. Coolbaugh Street, for Violation of a No Contact Order. He was transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, and held on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Thirty Republicans in the Iowa Senate have voted to deny future state and local tax breaks to big tech companies found to have illegally stifled speech on social media platforms. However, Senate President Jake Chapman of Adel, a Republican who is the plan’s lead sponsor, seems to admit the bill has an uncertain future. “If they choose to follow a path of tyrannical propagandists…we will still be here,” Chapman said. “We will continue to fight them, we will continue to introduce legislation until they respect the dignity of thought and opinion.”

Democrats in the Senate voted against the bill, predicting lawsuits would be filed to block it and warning the mere mention of the plan harms the state’s image. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville said “This bill is about making a political point,” Wahls said. “It is anti-jobs, it is anti-business, it is anti-growth and it is anti-investment.”

Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, says the damage has already been done. “So way to go,” Dotzler said, “you just gave Iowa another black eye.” Senator Zach Whiting of Spirit Lake, a Republican who backs the bill, says it’s time for congress to bust up the Big Tech companies because they’re monopolies. “We need to stand up to the bullies in Silicon Tech. They feel they are untouchable,” Whiting says. “That’s the autocratic, plutocratic nature.”

The bill now goes to the Iowa House, where lawmakers are drafting a slightly different response. A House committee has approved pulling state and local tax breaks for social media companies that block or delete comments from Iowans who are elected officials or political candidates. If the content is restored, the tax breaks would be as well.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa House have passed a bill that would let Iowans buy guns and carry concealed weapons without getting a state permit to do so. House Republican Leader Matt Windschitl says the bill is for Iowa’s Second Amendment community. “Those are my people. Those are House Republicans’ people…It’s those same people who saw fit to give us a 59-seat majority. It’s those same people whose basic human rights we are trying to respect and uphold with the advancement of this legislation,” Windshitl said shortly after 10 p.m. “I’ve been fighting for this bill ever since I got down here and, by God, we’re going to get it passed tonight.”

One Democrat voted for the bill, the other House Democrats opposed it, suggesting it would create a clear loophole to allow PRIVATE gun sales in Iowa without a background check. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison says the bill establishes a felony for those who know or should have known a prospective gun buyer was not allowed to own a gun. “Which means, to me, that you’d better darned well know who you’re selling to,” Holt said, “and I think that is a powerful deterrent.”

Holt also says there would be federal background checks if someone who doesn’t have a state permit tries to buy a gun at a LICENSED dealer. Representative Steven Hansen, a Democrat from Sioux City, expressed his doubts.  “If this was tightening up things and there were going to more background checks, the NRA would be all over this place and saying: ‘Don’t vote for it,'” Hansen said. “This bill doesn’t tighten anything up.”

Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, says getting rid of the state permit to carry a concealed weapon also does away with the required training session that goes along with the permitting process. “It also ensures that everybody carrying a firearm in Iowa has at least a rudimentary knowledge of our laws surrounding self-defense and basic gun safety,” Wolfe says, “and that is a good thing.”

The bill would make permits optional, however bill backers say some Iowans would still get a concealed weapon permit to show when traveling in states where permits are required. After four-and-a-half hours of debate, the bill passed shortly after 11 o’clock. Senators have been working on similar legislation.

A ban on open burning in Page County is set to end at Noon today (Thursday). That’s according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The ban is being lifted at the request of Page County Emergency Management Coordinator Kris Grebert, and on behalf of the county’s fire chiefs.

Grebert requested a prohibition on burning nearly two weeks ago because of a rash of brush fires in the county due to high winds and extremely dry soil conditions.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A groundbreaking effort to document and dismantle institutional racism in Iowa’s most liberal city has been paused after weeks of conflict among leaders derailed its work. The City Council in Iowa City voted late Tuesday to suspend the Truth and Reconciliation Commission until April 15, after new members can be appointed to replace three who resigned from the nine-member commission. The council also plans a special meeting with the commission then to iron out how to move forward. The vote came after hours of public comment that recounted the personality conflicts, generational divides and tactical disagreements that had erupted over the commission. Mayor Bruce Teague says it saddened him to suspend the commission but that it had become an unsafe space for some people.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says all Iowa residents will be eligible for coronavirus vaccinations on April 5 as long as supply projections are met. Reynolds said Wednesday that the federal government is promising a surge in supply in late March that will enable enough vaccinations to meet much larger demand. Until then, vaccinations are available only to adults in certain occupations, people older than 65 or those who have qualifying health conditions. Reynolds says the state doesn’t plan to offer new ways to help people sign up for vaccinations. But she argued the main issue was adequate supply and not issues around scheduling.

WESTGATE, Iowa (AP) — A northeastern Iowa man is scheduled to be sentenced in April for the death of the 4-month-old nephew of his ex-girlfriend. Twenty-four-year-old Dean Alan Hettinger, of Westgate, was convicted last week of first-degree murder and child endangerment. The Des Moines Register reports that he faces life in prison. The baby, Holten Smith, was being cared for by his aunt and Hettinger in April 2018 when he was abused. A search warrant said the couple took the infant to a hospital after he was found twitching, stopped crying and was unresponsive. He died about a month later.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Sheriffs in two central Iowa counties say their offices are investigating after cattle were found slain and dumped along gravel roads in their jurisdictions. The Ames Tribune reports that two cows and a calf were found dead in Boone and Greene counties on March 10. Investigators said the calf, found in Boone County, had its front legs bound with twine. Boone County Sheriff Gregg Elsberry said a red shorthorn cow was found a short distance away in a creek with its throat slashed. The carcass of the other cow, also a red shorthorn, was found in a Greene County ditch. Authorities say that scuff marks on the animals’ hides indicated they were dumped on the roads from a vehicle.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has unanimously voted to eliminate a financial benchmark the legislature established in 2018. The move would speed up a series of state income tax cuts. Republicans in the HOUSE have expressed concerns about cutting taxes in the middle of a pandemic. Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs is making it clear he and other Republicans in the SENATE will argue the opposite. “Iowa does have the financial capacity to deal with these priorities,” Dawson said, “and Senate Republicans will ensure that these priorities will be part of the final discussion to close out this session.”

Provisions in the new federal pandemic relief package suggest states that cuts taxes must forfeit federal aid. Dawson predicts there will be a legal fight over that.  “We will not hold up our tax policy based upon the whims of the federal government,” Dawson said. “And if our federal government overlords wish to continue down this path of a massive constitutional overreach on the normal business of state tax policy, then it’s very likely that states will see the federal government in court.”

Republicans attorneys general from 21 states, Wednesday, threatened to take the Biden Administration to court on this point. The bill approved by the Iowa Senate, Wednesday, would immediately begin phasing out the state inheritance tax, too. There’s no inheritance tax for spouses or lineal descendants like children, stepchildren and grandchildren, but a series of escalating tax rates are charged to others who inherit money or property.

Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the bill will help elderly lesbian, gay and transgender Iowans who do not have children and never married their partners. “I believe that love is bigger than government and any other institution and that we should not, as a government, be deciding who deserves tax-free inheritance and who doesn’t,” Petersen says.

Dawson says the inheritance tax is morbid and Iowans shouldn’t have to weigh the state tax implications when writing their wills.

WESTGATE, Iowa (AP) — A northeastern Iowa man is scheduled to be sentenced in April for the death of the 4-month-old nephew of his ex-girlfriend. Twenty-four-year-old Dean Alan Hettinger, of Westgate, was convicted last week of first-degree murder and child endangerment. The Des Moines Register reports that he faces life in prison. The baby, Holten Smith, was being cared for by his aunt and Hettinger in April 2018 when he was abused. A search warrant said the couple took the infant to a hospital after he was found twitching, stopped crying and was unresponsive. He died about a month later.

CRESTON, Iowa – March 17, 2021 – A road construction project west of Elliott on the Iowa 48 bridge over the East Nishnabotna River requires restricting traffic to one lane with temporary traffic control lights and a 10-foot lane-width restriction beginning at 7 a.m. Monday, Mar. 22 until Thursday, June 3, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.