DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some Iowa lawmakers say Gov. Kim Reynolds lifted mask requirements and limits on the number of people who could gather in bars and restaurants without first conferring with public health officials. Lawmakers who had participated in a meeting with the Iowa Department of Public Health say that public health officials acknowledged Reynolds had not conferred with them before deciding to lift the mask mandate.

Reynolds spokesman Pat Garrett says the lifting of mitigation measures correlates with a reduction in virus activity, including hospitalizations in the state.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal court approval of an agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a Quincy, Illinois, company to clean up a contaminated industrial site in Des Moines will pave the way for a major commercial development that could include a 6,300-seat soccer stadium. The EPA confirms Monday the approval of the settlement agreement that requires the site on the edge of downtown Des Moines to be transferred to the city for future development.

Illinois-based Titan International will pay $11.5 million to the United States to satisfy the EPA’s past costs for cleanup work, future demolition of contaminated buildings and a groundwater treatment system update.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A sixth person working at the Iowa Capitol tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday. Iowa House Chief Clerk Meghan Nelson says in an email notification to lawmakers and staff that the individual was last in the building last Tuesday and tested positive on Monday. The individual reported wearing a face covering at all times.

The identity of positive cases is not routinely released by legislative branch officials, and Republican leaders have not required lawmakers to reveal a positive virus test so it’s not known if there have been undeclared cases. Republican leaders have no imposed a mask mandate.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities have identified a man fatally shot by a Bettendorf police officer over the weekend. Police said in a news release Monday that 49-year-old Brian Gregory Scott, of Bettendorf, died in the early Sunday shooting. Police have not yet named the officer who shot him. Police say the shooting happened after officers were called for reports of a domestic dispute and later found a man and woman in a vehicle believed to have been involved in the dispute.

Police say the woman exited the vehicle and told officers the man, later identified as Scott, had threatened to kill her with a handgun. Police said Scott refused to comply with officers’ commands before an officer shot him.

(Radio Iowa) – Two Republican senators are working on a bill that would end the requirement that Iowa license plates be attached to the front as well as the rear of passenger vehicles. The owners of sports cars and vehicles with large front grills complain that license plates ruin the appearance of the vehicle. Brad Epperly is a lobbyist for the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association.

“All of brackets that you see on people’s front bumpers are after market, usually done by the dealer, hopefully done by the dealer,” Epperly says. “That’s the other part of this which is there is a growing amount of technology in the bumpers themselves. We do have do-it-yourselfers out there. Mounting a bracket does potentially jeopardize the technology that’s in the bumper.” Iowa law enforcement agencies oppose the move. Iowa State Patrol Captain Mark Stein says having a front plate to identify a vehicle is critical in hit and runs, Amber Alerts and other investigations.

“The International Association of Chiefs of Police also recognize that over 70% of serious crimes involve a vehicle component, making identification of that vehicle crucial in apprehending suspects,” Stein says, “and that front and rear license plates double the opportunity for law enforcement or witnesses to capture license plate information.” Others said a front license plate is a key identifier for people using a ride-sharing service, like Uber. Senator Waylon Brown of Osage is one of the two Republicans working on the legislation to ditch the front plate requirement.

“We do have a collector car situation where we don’t want to do damage to those vehicles and I understand that there are after-market options,” Brown says. “I also look at the fact that a lot of our vehicles are manufactured without a place to put them.” Last year, Ohio became the 20th state to pass a law getting rid of a front-plate requirement for cars, S-U-Vs and other passenger vehicles. Plates are still required in all states on the front of commercial vehicles, like semi tractors.

(Radio Iowa) – A woman who was considered the last of Iowa’s great radio homemakers has died. Services are pending for Evelyn Birkby, who died Sunday at the age of 101. Birkby launched a weekly column entitled “Up a Country Lane” in the Shenandoah Evening Sentinel in 1949. After moving to the Valley News Today, the column continued for 70 years until its final publication in November, 2019.

Birkby was a regular voice on KMA beginning in 1950, and was among the legendary homemakers that graced the airwaves, providing recipes and household hints to generations of listeners. In her later years, Birkby visited the KMA airwaves at least once a month. Birkby also authored 10 books, and was in great demand as a speaker on many subjects, including life on the farm from a woman’s perspective in the 40s and the 50s. In her later years, Birkby visited the KMA airwaves at least once a month.

In addition to giving recipes, she covered a wide range of topics in each interview. During a 2014 appearance, she talked about how she loved the change of seasons. Evelyn Birkby’s final “Up a Country Lane” column appeared in the Valley News Today in November of 2019. Birkby’s weekly column got its start in 1949 in the Shenandoah Evening Sentinel with some encouragement from her husband. Birkby grew up in Sidney as the daughter of a Methodist minister. She attended Simpson College and was briefly a school teacher before having children.

Over the years, she authored columns in unique settings, including frequently bringing her work on family camping trips that spanned the country. Birkby adapted to the advent of technology in continuing to write her column. She called the first time she used a computer, instead of a typewriter. Birkby appeared on KMA regularly through the years, sharing stories and – of course – recipes. She continued to have a monthly segment until late last year.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The escalator at HOM Furniture — believed to be the last one accessible by the public in downtown Sioux City — has been taken down. The Sioux City Journal reports that the decision was made last year to remove the 35-year-old escalator and replace it with a staircase.

The 1986 escalator at HOM Furniture in downtown Sioux City, Iowa, is being replaced by a set of stairs shown under construction on Jan. 30, 2021. The escalator had been in constant use since the downtown space at 415 4th St. was occupied by a Younkers department store. (Jesse Brothers/Sioux City Journal via AP)

The change may be a sign of the times; the escalator was thought to be the last one in operation in a retail store in Sioux City and the last one downtown that was accessible to the general public. HOM manager Kyle Chance says the decision was mainly a financial one, noting it would have cost more than $1 million to replace the ailing escalator and keep it running.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines say the body of a man has been found inside a portable toilet outside the city’s Forest Avenue Library. Police say a city snowplow driver spotted the man’s legs sticking out of the portable toilet just after 3 a.m. Monday. Police have not identified the man.

Officials don’t believe foul play was involved. The man’s death came as overnight temperatures in Des Moines dropped to minus 2 degrees and the wind chill was double digits below zero.

The Adair & Guthrie County Emergency Management Agency and National Weather Service in Des Moines will host a Virtual Storm Spotter Training Session on March 17, 2021 at 7:00 PM via GoToWebinar. This training session is open to the all county responders and the public. The virtual training session is free. Adair/Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf says the session will acquaint attendees with basic information on the formation of severe weather storms and how they function. What to report, as well as how and where to communicate this information will be covered. After the training, you may register as a severe storm spotter with the National Weather Service. Real-time ground truth from storm spotters is essential to rounding out the other information provided from radar, satellite, and from automated weather sensors.

According to Chad Hahn, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, “the 2021 spotter training will once again be 100% virtual. Turnout & reception was positive during the 2020 spotter training season & we would expect the same for this year.” Each session will again run 60-75 minutes in length.

Kempf says “By being aware of the possibility of severe weather or tornados in your area, you can react to rapidly changing weather conditions and improve you, your family and your community’s safety in such an event. As a trained spotter serving your area and providing the National Weather Service with severe storm reports, meteorologists can correlate your real‑time information of storm activity with the data they are receiving by radar to better warn your downstream neighbors of the impending severe weather dangers.”

Why does National Weather Service need severe weather reports from trained weather spotters? The Doppler Radar provides great detail to National Weather Service warning meteorologists, but it is unable to tell exactly what is happening on the ground. Trained weather spotters fill in this gap of information.

Registration is required to attend and can be completed at: http://bit.ly/2Lm59nK

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds auctioned off an afternoon of her time to the highest bidder to raise money for her top campaign donors’ charity. It’s a striking example of the Republican governor’s close relationship with Iowa’s powerful pork industry. The 2019 auction surfaced recently when her office released emails detailing her alliance with Iowa Select Farms, which is among the nation’s largest pork producers.

Iowa Select is owned by Deb and Jeff Hansen of West Des Moines, who have given nearly $300,000 to help fund Reynolds’ campaigns. Company staff also run the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation. Pork executive and Reynolds donor Gary Lynch won the auction with a $4,250 bid.