KCCI reports a recent Iowa Poll reports a majority of Iowans who would be in favor of legalizing marijuana. The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll was conducted between March 7 and March 10 and 775 Iowans participated. It reports 54% were in favor of legalizing marijuana, 39% were opposed and 6% were unsure. The results were similar to the March 2020 Iowa Poll.

The poll also asked participants about expanding the medical marijuana program in the state. Of the participants, 78% said the program should include more diseases and conditions, 14% opposed the expansion, and 7% were unsure. There was a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

(Updated 10:30-a.m., 3/29) – Police in Newton have released the name of a man who’s body was found Sunday morning, in a creek. The remains of 47-year-old Gregory Jayson Zwick, of Newton were discovered on the bank of a creek at around 10-a.m. in the 1400 block of South Fourth Avenue. An investigation is continues. Authorities say while there were no apparent indications of foul play, the cause of death was unknown, pending the results of an autopsy.

(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley says a House committee is likely to debate a bill this week that’s designed to boost the use of ethanol in Iowa. Grassley says both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations have not always been the best friends of the ethanol industry. “We need to stand up and send a message to the country that we’re going to do what we have to do in the state of Iowa to also promote the product,” Grassley says.

Grassley describes the core of the bill as providing incentives to retailers to install new gas pumps that can dispense ethanol-blended fuels. “We’re not making those complete investments, but being a partner in that, to make sure that we can continue to promote it,” Grassley says.

Earlier this year, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds suggested a proposed renewable fuels standard for Iowa to require all retailers to offer at least a 10 percent ethanol blend — and require any new pumps installed be designed to dispense fuel that includes ethanol. Iowa’s convenience stores and gas stations have lobbied against that mandate.

(Radio Iowa/KCCI) – Iowa State University officials say a boat with five members of I-S-U’s Crew Club capsized Sunday morning on Little Wall Lake. Three students were rescued, transferred to the hospital in Ames and released. A dive team recovered one body from the water later on Sunday. The search for a fifth team member was suspended at 8 p.m. Sunday and will resume this (Monday) morning. Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Timmons credits nearby residents for being heroes in the initial response.

According to the Iowa State Crew Club’s website, the team regularly practices at Little Wall Lake, which is two miles south of Jewell. The Hamilton County sheriff says several state and county agencies responded after a 9-1-1 call came in from the scene at about 9:30 Sunday. “At the time that the call came in, there were pretty good northwest winds,” Timmons says, “we’re guessing anywhere from 20-25 mile and hour winds and the lake was pretty rough.”

Little Wall Lake covers 249 acres and is about a 20 minute drive from the I-S-U campus. In a written statement, Iowa State president Wendy Wintersteen said the campus community is heartbroken to learn of this tragic accident and the university is focused on providing support to club members, their families and friends.

A RED FLAG WARNING is in effect from Noon today (Monday) until late this evening all but extreme northeast Iowa, and far western Nebraska, for Extreme Fire Weather Conditions. In addition, a WIND ADVISORY remains in effect from Noon today until late this evening. A combination of warming temperatures, strong southerly wind, low relative humidity, and relatively dry prairie grasses and other fuels will create extreme fire weather conditions. Any fires that start this afternoon may spread rapidly and become uncontrollable.

Red Flag Warning for counties shaded in pink

* Relative Humidity…Minimum relative humidity between 20 and 30 percent during the afternoon.

* WIND…Strong south to southwest winds with sustained speeds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts over 50 mph possible.

* FUEL…Prairie grasses and any lingering crop debris will dry out quickly in these conditions and may be able to burn easily and lead to extremely fast fire growth.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:00 a.m. CDT

ANITA (KJAN) – Interstate 80 westbound in Cass County was completely blocked this morning at mile marker 71, due to a semi tractor-trailer rollover accident with minor injuries. The crash happened at around 2:35-a.m. Traffic was being diverted to Adair. Additional details were not immediately available.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — One Iowa State University student died and another was missing after members of the school’s crew club had an accident on a lake north of Ames. The university says the students were practicing Sunday morning at Little Wall Lake in Hamilton County when their boat capsized. Three were rescued and a dive team recovered the body of one student later in the day. The search for the fifth student was called off Sunday night and will resume Monday morning. The three students who were rescued were treated at an Ames hospital and released. The names of the students were not released Sunday. The students were part of the Iowa State Crew Club, a recognized student organization. Little Wall Lake is about 15 miles north of Ames.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Only days after a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, prompted renewed discussions about the nation’s gun laws, Gov. Kim Reynolds is considering a bill that would make handgun carry permits and background checks on unlicensed sales optional in Iowa. The bill was approved in the Senate with only Republican support after clearing the House with the backing of only one Democrat. Reynolds, a Republican, has made statements in the past in support of the state’s current background checks and permits to carry handguns. However she has rarely vetoed measures supported by her GOP colleagues. When asked last week if she had changed her mind on such gun rules, she suggested an openness to the bill.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa residents in the 515 and 319 area codes will soon have to get used to dialing all 10 digits of a phone number when making calls. The Federal Communications Commission is requiring Iowa callers to start dialing both the area code and phone number when making a call starting Oct. 24. The reason for the change is that officials are preparing to add a new three-digit number, 988, for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. The Iowa area codes that include Des Moines and Cedar Rapids must make the change because some of their local phone numbers use 988 as the prefix for some seven-digit phone numbers.

(UPDATE: Interstate re-opened around 3:35-a.m.) Interstate 80 westbound in Cass County was completely blocked for about an hour east of Anita this (Monday) morning due to a semi tractor-trailer rollover accident with minor injuries.

Photo submitted to KJAN News

The driver was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Anita Rescue, to be checked out. The crash happened at around 2:35-a.m. near mile marker 71. Traffic was diverted to Adair until the rig could be removed from the lanes of traffic.

Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, and Mike Kennon with Cass County EMA were on the scene. Additional information will be released later from the Iowa State Patrol.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Only days after a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, prompted renewed discussions about the nation’s gun laws, Gov. Kim Reynolds is considering a bill that would make handgun carry permits and background checks on unlicensed sales optional in Iowa. The bill was approved in the Senate with only Republican support after clearing the House with the backing of only one Democrat.

Reynolds, a Republican, has made statements in the past in support of the state’s current background checks and permits to carry handguns. However she has rarely vetoed measures supported by her GOP colleagues. When asked last week if she had changed her mind on such gun rules, she suggested an openness to the bill.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa residents in the 515 and 319 area codes will soon have to get used to dialing all 10 digits of a phone number when making calls. The Federal Communications Commission is requiring Iowa callers to start dialing both the area code and phone number when making a call starting Oct. 24. The reason for the change is that officials are preparing to add a new three-digit number, 988, for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.

The Iowa area codes that include Des Moines and Cedar Rapids must make the change because some of their local phone numbers use 988 as the prefix for some seven-digit phone numbers.