(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has approved changes in how schools may use state funding for the Teacher Leadership and Compensation program. Republican Representative Holly Brink of Oskaloosa says not every Iowa teacher wants to be in a leadership role. “Just like students learn differently, teachers may feel that they educate and lead differently,” Brink said, “so we should continue to support them.” Former Governor Terry Branstad led the charge to send schools state grants specifically to boost pay for teachers who coach or mentor other teachers.

If the bill becomes law, Brink says school districts could use any money left-over in other ways. “Education is a priority. We’ve spent a lot of time this year talking about that already,” Brink says. “We need to continue to evaluate the process and the systems to ensure that we are doing the best we can.” Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City and many other House Democrats objected.

“We have one of the best mentoring programs for new teachers in the country,” Mascher says. “…To take funding away from that makes no sense at all.” Some Democrats raised objections about other parts of the bill. The legislation would get rid of the requirement that students must wait 90 school days when transferring to another school before they may play varsity sports.

Representative Dave Jacoby, a Democrat from Coralville, suggests there’ll be a summer draft for prospective high school athletes if the waiting period is reduced to 90 calendar days. “This bill is a launching for high school trading cards,” Jacoby says. “…Interestingly enough, the bill also has a provision to be retroactive. Is this a carve out for specific players — sorry, for specific students?” The bill would double the Iowa tuition and textbook tax credit for parents of K-through-12 students attending accredited public and private schools. Five Democrats, including the House Democratic Leader, joined Republicans in voting yes on the bill.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The rural jail that has long been the largest detention facility for immigrants facing deportation in Iowa plans to stop housing long-term detainees without additional federal funding or other changes. The Hardin County Jail has informed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that it plans to end its current contract, citing a declining detainee population and new standards that have dramatically increased costs for medical care and suicide prevention. Negotiations between the federal agency and the jail are ongoing, and administrator Nick Whitmore says no changes are expected to happen imminently.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa public health data shows the state’s positivity rate, hospitalizations and COVID-19 patients in intensive care are all trending upward. Some health experts feared spring weather and the belief that the coronavirus pandemic is waning would lead people to let down their guard, driving up virus activity. Iowa reported 641 new confirmed positive cases and six additional deaths on Thursday, increasing the death toll to 5,689. Hospitalizations rose to 207 after they had declined to under 200 in late February. The state has delivered 1.37 million doses and more than 877,000 people have received at least one dose. Still, just 16.8% of the state’s total population has been fully vaccinated.

CAMBRIDGE, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Patrol says a man in a stolen Maserati led officers on a chase through four counties while reaching speeds up to 150 mph. Patrol Lt. Nathan Ludwig says the pursuit began about 6 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 35 near the Ankeny exit when a trooper clocked the car going 97 mph. Ludwig says the driver, 43-year-old John Burgoyne of Des Moines, rented the vehicle and didn’t return it. Several law enforcement officers chased the vehicle for more than two hours through Polk, Marshall, Jasper, and Story counties. The car was eventually found parked on a vacant farm property near Cambridge and Burgoyne was arrested.

CAMBRIDGE, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Patrol says a man in a stolen Maserati led officers on a chase through four counties while reaching speeds up to 150 mph. Patrol Lt. Nathan Ludwig says the pursuit began about 6 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 35 near the Ankeny exit when a trooper clocked the car going 97 mph. Ludwig says the driver, 43-year-old John Burgoyne of Des Moines, rented the vehicle and didn’t return it.

Several law enforcement officers chased the vehicle for more than two hours through Polk, Marshall, Jasper, and Story counties. The car was eventually found parked on a vacant farm property near Cambridge and Burgoyne was arrested.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says the outcome of Iowa’s contested second congressional district race could be a harbinger of efforts to federalize U.S. elections. During a news conference at Iowa G-O-P headquarters, Reynolds again blasted Democrat Rita Hart for asking a U.S. House committee to review ballots cast in her race against Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

“Rita Hart’s request that the House ignore Iowa law, it truly is a forecast of what’s to come,” Reynolds said. “If Democrats get their way and HR1 becomes law, if that happens, then state election law everywhere will be wiped away.” House Democrats passed House Resolution — H-R One — earlier this month and, among other things, it seeks to bar states from limiting the ability to vote by mail. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann says Hart’s decision to ask a U.S. House committee to review the second district race isn’t illegal, but he says it’s immoral.

“This is personal to me,” Kaufmann said. “I’m in the second district. I voted for Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Nancy Pelosi and Cindy Axne should not trump my vote.” At least a half dozen Democrats in the U.S. House have publicly expressed concerns about overturning Miller-Meeks election after former President Trump pressed to have congress overturn his loss to President Biden. Hart’s attorney, Marc Elias, says they have identified 22 legally cast ballots that were not counted.

“These are not hypothetical voters. These are not theoretical voters,” Elias says. “These are actual people who live in Iowa’s second congressional district who had their right to vote denied due to problems with the election administration or election judge error.” The U.S. House has considered more than 100 petitions like Hart’s over the past eight decades and wound up overturning the results in just four cases.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa House have passed a bill that would set up a new pathway for establishing a publicly-funded charter school. Representative Skyler Wheeler is a Republican from Orange City. “We are simply advocating for a proven education option to be made a little bit easier,” Wheeler says, “so parents and students can continue to search to ensure they get the best education setting for them.” If the bill becomes law, a so-called “founding group” could apply to the State Board of Education to start a charter school. Taxpayer funding for Iowa students in public districts who enroll in a charter school would shift over to the charter.

Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, says charter schools cannot charge tuition, so Iowa taxpayers could end up paying to education out-of-state students who enroll. “There may still be questions about how many dollars this will end up taking from the state General Fund,” Hall says. Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, says under the state’s current charter school system, elected school board members have oversight of the local charter. “The taxpayers cannot vote the founding group out of office if the private charter fails the students in the charter,” Mascher said. “You know who loses? The students.” Wheeler, the bill’s floor manager, says Iowa’s existing charter school law doesn’t promote competition.

“In the current system, the tradiitional public school district signs off on whether a charter school starts up,” Wheeler says. “…If you gave the ability to HyVee to say, ‘Yes or No,’ to Fareway or Aldi or anybody else to come into town, I’d be a little shocked if they signed off on it.” The bill now goes to the Senate. Early this year, Republicans in the Iowa Senate passed a larger education package that included many of the concepts outlined in the House bill.

(Radio Iowa) – A San Francisco company is purchasing Pizza Hut restaurants in 24 Iowa locations. The Flynn Restaurant Group says the Iowa restaurants are part of the 937 Pizza Hut and 194 Wendy’s locations throughout the United States it is buying from the Kansas City-based N-P-C International. Atlantic’s Pizza Hut, which closed a few months ago, was not included in the sale.

The Iowa restaurants are in Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Waverly, Waukee, Dubuque, Charles City, Coralville, Iowa City, North Liberty, Cedar Rapids, Marion, Marshalltown, Altoona, Ankeny, Des Moines, Grimes, West Des Moines, Bettendorf, Davenport, Ames, Toledo, Norwalk, Fort Dodge, and Decorah. The company says it is the largest franchise operator in America.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The rural jail that has long been the largest detention facility for immigrants facing deportation in Iowa plans to stop housing long-term detainees without additional federal funding or other changes. The Hardin County Jail has informed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that it plans to end its current contract, citing a declining detainee population and new standards that have dramatically increased costs for medical care and suicide prevention.

Negotiations between the federal agency and the jail are ongoing, and administrator Nick Whitmore says no changes are expected to happen imminently.

Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, Thursday released an updated report on plans for COVID-19 safety after Spring Break.  The letter to parents, students and district patrons is as follows:

(Atlantic) – Residents of Atlantic and Cass County lined the streets of Atlantic to welcome home 17-year old Steele McLaren, who arrived in a multi-vehicle caravan that included his parents, brothers and a fire truck.

Steele – who is an avid duck hunter – was obviously happy to be home, as he blew his duck call and waved to the people. The teen was injured Oct. 25^th, 2020, after he fell out of a moving pickup truck and struck his head on the pavement, while moving a duck blind from one location to another with friends. Since the accident, more than 35-thousand people locally and across the world have followed his progress on the Facebook page Praying for Steele #32strong.

Steele and his brothers arrive in Atlantic (Photo via Praying for Steele #32strong)

His story of recovery has been a catharsis for others with loved ones suffering from a TBI. Steele’s father, Dustin McLaren spoke with KJAN’s Jim Field in February about the outpouring of support.

Dustin said the support, both emotionally and financially, has been like nothing he’s ever seen before.

Barring any setbacks, Steele will continue to recover at home, with his family, friends and others by his side along the way, and the support of thousand of people will likely never meet.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A second former officer at a northwest Iowa agriculture cooperative has been sentenced to federal prison for a grain-blending fraud scheme. The Sioux City Journal reports that Kenneth Ehrp was sentenced Wednesday to three months in prison after pleading guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government. Prosecutors say Ehrp and another officer, Calvin Diehl, ordered Farmers Cooperative Society workers to layer soybeans over lower-value oats in bins and trucks while claiming the entire load was soybeans.

Prosecutors say the scheme to overvalue the co-op’s grain inventory was conducted to influence a lender’s action on a loan. Diehl was also sentenced to three months in February on the same charge.