(Radio Iowa) – The three Iowa Republicans serving in the U-S House are criticizing the E-P-A’s move to repeal Trump-era water quality rules and write new ones. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion says the rules that became final during the last year of Trump’s presidency protect farmers from government overreach. “The Navigable Water Protection rules provided some certainty to our farmers and producers here in Iowa and across the US,” Hinson says. “I firmly believe that bureaucrats who’ve never set foot in Iowa should not be able to regulate our ditches and ponds on our farms.”

President Biden’s E-P-A administrator has said the agency intends to write new rules that protect water quality, but don’t overly burden small farmers. Hinson and Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa are co-sponsoring a House Resolution that would prevent the E-P-A from adopting Obama-era water quality rules. “The Waters of the US rule that was so harmful to Iowa’s farmers,” Hinson says.

Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull is also a co-sponsor of that resolution Feenstra says a return to the Obama Administration’s water quality rules would result in unnecessary and costly government regulations for Iowa farmers. Critics of the Trump Administration’s water quality rule say it removed a quarter of U-S waterways and wetlands from federal oversight and endangered public drinking water supplies.

The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests. On Wednesday, 38-year-old Jeremiah King, of Glenwood,was arrested on a Mills County warrant for Harassment in the 1st Degree. He was also charged with Possession of Controlled Substances and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His total cash or surety bond was set at $3,300.

And, on Tuesday, 41-year-old Michael Rupe, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His cash or surety bond was set at $1,000.

DES MOINES – Today (Thursday), Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) announced that she secured $21,901,000 in direct funding for Iowa infrastructure improvements within the House’s surface transportation authorization legislation that advanced to the House floor earlier today. The funding secured by Axne will support projects that range from a bridge replacement in Red Oak, a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge, and bus facility improvements for transit agencies which cover all sixteen counties of Iowa’s Third District.

“Repairing our bridges and roads, improving commuter routes, and upgrading our mass transit systems are all critical to ensuring Iowa has the infrastructure it needs to grow and thrive for decades to come,” said Rep. Axne. “This year, I had the chance to bring Iowa’s tax dollars directly back to our communities to fund the projects we need – and I’m proud to have successfully secured over 21 million dollars in improvements that will impact all 16 counties of Iowa’s Third District.”

Her office says Rep. Axne successfully pushed to include six projects for Iowa’s Third Congressional District in the legislation that authorizes spending on highway and transit projects, including:

•         $7,000,000 for upgrades to the Southeast Connector connecting SE 30th Street to US Route 65 near Des Moines and Pleasant Hill

•         $5,000,000 for bus and bus facility upgrades at the Southwest Transit Agency, Western Iowa Transit, Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Southwest Iowa Trolley, and the Des Moines Regional Transit Authority

•         $4,880,000 for Phase 1 of construction on a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge in Johnston

•         $2,321,000 for construction of a new Regional Transit Facility for the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency in Waukee

•         $2,000,000 for improvements to the Mills Civic Parkway at S. 91st Street and S. Grand Parkway in West Des Moines

•         $700,000 for the replacement of the Red Oak Creek Bridge in Red Oak

Earlier this year, Rep. Axne requested funding for transportation projects from throughout the Third District and formally submitted requests for these six and other projects to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I). The requested projects are posted publicly on her website. The funding secured by Axne is included in the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act, which will cover the surface transportation portion of the infrastructure negotiations occurring between both chambers of Congress and the White House.

The INVEST in America Act was advanced by the T&I committee earlier today, and is expected to receive a vote before the full U.S. House later this month. The U.S. Senate advanced their version of surface transportation legislation last month, and the two bills will form the foundation for the infrastructure agreement reached by both parties in Washington. “While there is a long way to go before this funding is officially signed into law, I believe this week represents a big step forward by seeing these projects written directly into the legislation that will form the basis of Congress’ infrastructure agreement this year,” said Axne. “There are still plenty of details to work out – and other portions of an infrastructure deal like broadband and child care to settle – but this funding shows that our agenda for infrastructure will directly and undeniably help Iowa and improve the lives of Iowans across our state.”

All of Rep. Axne’s requested projects were listed on the Iowa Department of Transportation’s state, tribal, or territorial transportation improvement program (STIP) list – a designation highly recommended by the T&I Committee to ensure the projects were supported at the local level – and were submitted to the committee with letters of support by local and state sponsors.

More information on those requests and the criteria for submissions of these projects can be found here.

(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA), Tuesday, marked national homeownership month by recognizing Iowa’s strong housing market, record numbers of homebuyers using IFA’s mortgage programs and the launch of a new first-time Iowa homebuyer toolkit that will educate homebuyers on the homebuying process amid a highly-competitive market. IFA Executive Director Debi Durham says “The competitive housing market means that homebuyers need to be informed of the process and ready to act quickly. To fulfill this need, IFA has launched a new webpage and first-time homebuyer toolkit that will provide routine tips delivered via email about purchasing a home in Iowa and the resources available to buyers.”

The new first-time Iowa homebuyer resource will provide homebuyers who sign-up to receive information with routine tips such as a new Iowa homebuyer guide, home purchase checklist, information about credit scores in relation to purchasing a home and much more. The new resource is available at iowafinance.com/welcomehome. According to Iowa Association of REALTORS® CEO Gavin Blair, “Iowa’s housing market is seeing near record levels in both terms of high numbers of sales and prices as well as low average number of days on the market and available inventory. “This combination of trends makes for an extremely fast-paced market. The new tool offered by IFA to prepare homebuyers is very well-timed and will be useful for a wide-range of buyers.”

IFA offers mortgage and down payment and closing costs assistance programs through a network of more than 400 lenders throughout the state. These partnerships allow eligible Iowans both the convenience of working with their local lender and access to down payment and closing costs assistance of up to $5,000, available exclusively through IFA Participating Lenders. Nearly 3,000 Iowans realized their dream of homeownership through IFA’s homeownership programs last fiscal year, the most in any single year in the program’s 43-year history. Nearly 90% of these homebuyers also used an IFA down payment and closing costs assistance program to help with their home purchase.

Iowa households earning $139,580 or below and purchasing a home at $381,000 or below may be eligible for homeownership assistance through an IFA program.

The Iowa Department of Public Health in their latest COVID-19 update, reports 75 additional, positive cases of COVID-19 from over the previous 24-hours. The Coronavirus dashboard shows there are a pandemic total of 402,822 positive cases, and six additional deaths, for a pandemic total of 6,084. Deaths at Iowa’s Long-Term Care facilities are 2,369.

There remain four LTC outbreaks in Iowa, with 30 positive cases among patients and staff, and one person recovered. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is steady at 1.9%, while the 7-day positivity rate is down slightly, at 1.9%.

Iowa’s hospitalization data show: 74 people are hospitalized with COVID-19; 19 patients are in an ICU; 13 COVID patients were admitted to a hospital, and seven patients are on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western & southwest Iowa), there are two people hospitalized with COVID-19. No one was in an ICU, no one was admitted over the previous 24-hours, and no one was on a ventilator.

In the immediate KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County (since the beginning of the pandemic) and the total number of deaths (Since the beginning of the pandemic) in each county to date:
Cass, 1,477 cases; 54 deaths
Adair, 993; 32
Adams, 354; 4
Audubon, 546; 10
Guthrie, 1,313; 32
Harrison County, 1,935; 73
Madison County, 1,788; 19
Mills County, 1,797; 24
Montgomery, 1,115; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,337;173
Shelby County, 1,375; 37
Union County, 1,380; 35

(Radio Iowa) Two boys described by Cedar Rapids Police as under the age of 12 suffered life-threatening injuries late Wednesday afternoon as their electric scooter collided with a car.Cedar Rapids Police say the boys were riding the scooter in an alley, pulled onto a busy street at about four o’clock and were hit.

The children were taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for treatment. K-C-R-G T-V reports the boys were riding a rental scooter from a Cedar Rapids ride-sharing program run by a Chicago company.