(Radio Iowa) – Women will be the majority of Iowa’s congressional delegation in this new year. Mary Ellen Miller is the former executive director of “50-50 in 2020” — a group formed in 2010 to encourage women to run for office. “The reason we set up the program to recruit and train women was because Iowa was in a unique situation as being only one of only two states that had never sent a woman to congress or elected a woman governor and in 10 years that has all been turned around,” Miller says. “I’m just, of course, very proud of our work, but also amazed at how quickly it has all changed.”

Members of the U.S. House and Senate will be sworn into office on Sunday, the 3rd. Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines then will be the dean of the Iowa delegation in the U.S. House, where she’ll be joined by two other women and a man. Joni Ernst will be sworn in for a second term in the U.S. Senate, too, so women will hold four of the six seats in Iowa’s D.C. delegation. 50-50 in 2020 aimed to have Iowa women serving in at least half of elected roles and disbanded last January. Miller says there are now several organizations doing the same work of encouraging and coaching women to run for office. “Very proud of our work, very excited,” Miller says, “but also kind of blown away by the speed at which the whole landscape reversed itself.”

Miller says the landscape has shifted partly due to generational change. “If you at the age of women running, they’re much younger. They grew up in a time of post-women’s liberation, post birth control,” Miller says. “They’re of an age that really are not intimidated by the customs, so to speak, of our public servant environment. It was always the ‘good old boys’ club’ and they just don’t have any patience with that.” Another contributing factor is the increasing numbers of women running for office. “Once women see other women running then they go, ‘Oh, I can do that,’ but at the beginning they just didn’t have those role models,” Miller says. “They didn’t have those images that looked like them.”

Miller predicts the next shift in Iowa and elsewhere will be toward electing more people of color and new American citizens who become active in the political process.

A Red Oak woman arrested Thursday night for Interference with Official Acts (a simple misdemeanor), was subsequently charged with felony offenses for possession of contraband and possession of a weapon in a correctional facility (The Montgomery County Jail). 41-year-old Brianna Nedean Gasper was taken into custody at around 9:42-p.m. The felony charges followed a search of her possessions and person at the Montgomery County Jail. Her bond was set at $10,000.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa reported 3,891 coronavirus related deaths on the final day of 2020, ending the year with the 15th highest death count per capita in the United States. But with a lag time of reporting deaths of up to two weeks, it’s likely not all have been accounted for by Thursday. The state reported an additional 69 deaths on Thursday ending December with a staggering one-month total of 1,382 deaths reported during the month, about 35% of the entire year’s total deaths and twice the number reported in November. The high number is likely reflective of the escalation of virus transmission in early to mid-November when daily new case counts surged to between 4,000 and 5,000 a day.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. farmers are expected to end the year with higher profits than last year and the best net farm income in seven years thanks to the government paying nearly 40% of their income. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest farm income forecast. Farmer challenges in 2020 included the impact of trade disputes, drought and wind damage, and low prices for corn, cotton, wheat, chicken, cattle and hogs. Farm cash receipts are forecast to be the lowest in more than a decade. But farmers are expected to receive $46.5 billion from the U.S. government. That’s the largest direct-to-farm payment ever. It lifts net farm income to $119.6 billion. And that’s the highest profitability since 2013.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials say the number of initial unemployment claims increased slightly last week. Iowa Workforce Development said Thursday that 7,644 Iowans filed initial unemployment claims in the week ending Saturday. That’s an increase of 373 from the previous week. A total of 38,296 continuing weekly unemployment claims were recorded last week, an increase of 804 from the prior week. Unemployment claims are generally higher between November through February because of seasonal layoffs in construction, agriculture, landscaping and manufacturing. The agency said 70.6% of claimants who filed last week indicated their claims were not COVID-19 related, an increase from 68.9% the previous week.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state House ethics committee has dismissed an ethics complaint against a Scott County lawmaker. The panel found on Tuesday that a complaint against Republican state Rep. Ross Paustian of Walcott did not meet content requirements and did not warrant further investigation. The panel voted unanimously with little discussion. The Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund had argued that Paustian, a crop and livestock farmer, used his position as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee to block legislation to strengthen regulation of livestock confinement operations. They alleged Paustian also promoted support for legislation that protects factory farms. Paustian called the ethics complaint a “political stunt” by a “rogue group.”

(Updated 1/1/21) –

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Thursday, met with Curt Holste and Corey Kirchhoff, representing the Secondary Roads Employees Bargaining Unit group, to discuss an apparent breach of\ the current employee agreement. Board Chair/Supervisor Steve Baier told KJAN News, the issue began when one of the Secondary Roads Department’s Shop Foreman developed medical issues that are in the process of being taken care of. In the meantime, he is unable to perform his duties.

Since the Foreman became ill in mid-October, Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken proposed having the person who fills the position become the Interim Foreman, and be paid accordingly.

So, if a laborer works at a yardman’s position for at least eight-hours, the pay would be bumped to yardman’s wages, but, because of the classification as written, in the past, there was no extra pay to perform the duties of foreman.

The Board agreed to his proposal, and a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) was drawn-up confirming their approval. The MOU is set to expire at the end of the current Fiscal Year (June 30, 2021). The bargaining group, Baier said, questioned why the change was being included now, when it hasn’t been before. The discussion, Thursday, he said, included whether or not the matter would at least be considered for part of the permanent contract, in the future, going forward.

The Board and the Bargaining Unit Representatives set a date in the first full week of this month (January, 2021) to meet and begin work on a fiscal year 2022 bargaining agreement.

Baier says it is an unusual situation, for sure, but one that will be worked out.