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Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, Dec. 13, 2019

News

December 13th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:25 a.m. CST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — State officials are confirming that 15 cases in just one small Iowa county were mistakenly recorded as felony convictions on the list they use to identify ineligible voters. The Associated Press reviewed all 359 Carroll County entries as part of an investigation into the error-riddled list, which has been blamed for causing confusion and wrongly disenfranchising eligible voters. Fifteen of the cases _ or more than 4 percent _ were misdemeanor convictions that did not result in the loss of voting rights. A spokesman for the Iowa Secretary of State’s office says the errors were corrected Thursday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State budget experts say revenue projections for the current fiscal year and next year are running ahead of their October predictions. The three-member Revenue Estimating Conference says Thursday that state income is up about 2 percent from the previous year. The group projects a 2.9 percent increase for next year, or about $234 million higher than the current year. That would bring tax collections to nearly $8.25 billion. The estimate for next year is important because Gov. Kim Reynolds must base her 2021 budget on the figures released Thursday. The higher estimate could give the governor some additional money as she prepares her budget for next year.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Opponents of a power line in southwestern Wisconsin are taking their fight to federal court. The plaintiffs say state regulators have conflicts of interest that should have kept them from approving the power line project. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the Environmental Law & Policy Center on behalf of the Driftless Area Land Conservancy and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. The groups say the Public Service Commission chairwoman and a commissioner have outside interests that should disqualified them from voting on the 100-miles high voltage line, known as Cardinal-Hickory Creek. The $492 million project was approved in September.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats will hold four debates in each of the early primary states as voting gets underway next year. The Democratic National Committee announced Thursday that some of the debates are scheduled to be held just days before voters head to the polls. The first primary debate of the new year will be on Jan. 14 in Des Moines, Iowa. The second is scheduled for Feb. 7 in Manchester, New Hampshire. Democrats will debate in Las Vegas on Feb. 19, three days before the caucuses there. And in South Carolina, they’ll hold a debate on Feb. 25, four days before that state’s Democratic primary.