United Group Insurance

Iowa early News Headlines: Thursday, 11/16/17

News

November 16th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A group of lawmakers tasked with evaluating Iowa’s response to the opioid epidemic will miss a deadline for completing a report offering findings and recommendations. The Opioid Epidemic Evaluation Study Committee was supposed to deliver an opioids report to Gov. Kim Reynolds and lawmakers by Nov. 15, but the report wasn’t available Wednesday. An official with the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency blamed the delay on staffing limitations.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An animal rights group is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to require more humane treatment for turkeys, chickens and other poultry as the birds are sent to slaughter. California-based Mercy For Animals filed the petition Wednesday, about a week before Thanksgiving. The petition asks that poultry be covered under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958. A spokeswoman for the National Chicken Council says including poultry in the law is unnecessary.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The National Indian Gaming Commission has again approved the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s plan to build a casino near Omaha, but after a decade of court hearings, the project’s future remains uncertain. The commission’s ruling this week came nearly 10 years after it first approved the proposed casino in Carter Lake, Iowa.

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — Attorneys for former “Bachelor” contestant Chris Soules say he performed CPR on an Iowa farmer who died after Soules rear-ended his tractor in April. The attorneys filed a motion Monday seeking the dismissal of the charge against Soules _ leaving the scene of a fatal accident. They say Soules performed CPR on 66-year-old Kenneth Moser until it became clear it was futile. Investigators say Soules fled the scene after killing Moser. He was later arrested at his home about 10 miles away.