Police in Creston report two arrests took place, Wednesday. At around 10:07-a.m., 29-year old Leopoldo Adan Avalos McGeorge, of Creston, was arrested at his residence, for Domestic Assault. McGeorge was later released on bond from the Union County Jail. And, at around 7:20-p.m., 37-year old Amanda Olivia Jones, of Creston, was arrested at the Dollar General Store on W. Taylor Street, on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree. Jones was cited and released from the scene, on a Promise to Appear in court.

Creston Police said also, a woman residing in the 400 block of Wyoming Avenue, reported her residence had been vandalized. The damage/loss was estimated at $1,050.

(Radio Iowa) The state judicial system is preparing to restart jury trials Monday. Trials were first paused at the height of the pandemic in March — then restarted in September — and paused the second time in November as COVID-19 cases were on the increase. Iowa Supreme Court Justice Matthew McDermott was co-chair of the committee that set the guidelines for restarting the first time. “To our knowledge during that period there were not any incidences of COVID spread that came from jury trials,” McDermott says. “We’re optimistic that we can move forward again next week and the months ahead.”

Lawyer Guy Cook is the other co-chair of the committee and says they worked hard to find ways to get things rolling again. “Particularly with respect to picking a jury — that’s when you have the greatest number of people collected,” Cook says. And so, in some courts, the jury selection has been done away from the courthouse in a bigger room where there is greater separation.” He says they looked at having both masks and face shields and determined during trials that masks were the best way to go. Cook says they had two requirements for getting juries picked. “That they be fair and that they be safe. And they’re really connected — because we to ensure that we have the greatest number of people from which to select the jury,” according to Cook. “And the jury panel is not skewed in some negative way. And ensuring that the selection process is as safe as possible is a component of making the process fair.”

The Judicial System has created a public service announcement to explain to jurors what will happen when they are called and chosen to serve. Justice McDermott says there are always exceptions for jurors with issues. He says it is the same during COVID or any other time if someone has a basis for why the cannot serve, the court will consider that and decide if it is valid. Cook says you can be confident in the process. “Folks can rest assured that considerable work has been put in to ensure the process is safe,” he says.

Trials without the need of juries have continued, as have many other court services. Justice McDermott says the pause did back up jury trials — but he is confident they can get back on track again. “Obviously just having a trial date set on the calendar and knowing that it is going to move forward will push parties to think really hard about whether they are actually going to take the case to the trial or whether they are going to resolve it through other means,” according to McDermott. “And what we found in the fall is just having these trials moving forward got some of these cases resolved, moving, and we are hopeful that’ll happen again.”

Cook agrees with that and says it is important to the overall system. “The trials need to go on. It’s not hyperbole to talk about how jury trials really are the cornerstone of our judicial system, of our democracy. They are so important that they are guaranteed by the Constitution,” Cook says. Justice McDermott says are confident heading into the restart. “We’re optimistic, but obviously, we are going to monitor things closely as we have throughout this whole process,” McDermott says. “And if in the future it looks like we have to change course again we will think through those and decide whether that has to happen.”

The district courts in each of Iowa’s 99 counties will institute the measures they need to get their jury trials back underway.

(Radio Iowa) – Fifty-five members of the expanded Republican majority in the Iowa House have endorsed a proposed amendment to the state constitution on abortion. If eventually approved by voters, Iowa’s Constitution would be amended to say it does not recognize, grant or secure a right to abortion. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, says it’s needed to respond to court rulings that struck down abortion restrictions.

“I am pro-life and I make no apology for it,” Holt said. “I believe there are two heartbeats involved, two souls involved in abortion, and we always forget one of them.” Democrats like Representative Christina Bohannan of Iowa City say the amendment could lead to an abortion ban in Iowa if the U.S. Supreme Court’s new conservative majority sends the issue back to the states.

“Eliminating the constitutional right to abortion won’t stop abortions,” Bohannan says. “But it will dramatically affect the lives and health of people who happen to have had the bad luck to be born female.” Representative Holt describes the proposal as “abortion neutral.”

“And if House Joint Resolution 5 passes two General Assemblies and is approved by the people, abortion will continue to be legal in Iowa based on federal law,” he said. Representative Molly Donahue, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, calls that misleading. “Putting the word abortion in the Constitution does not make it abortion neutral,” Donahue says. “If the goal isn’t to ban abortion, then what is the goal of this bill?”

All the Democrats in the House and three Republicans voted against the proposed amendment. Republican leaders in the Iowa SENATE plan to endorse the amendment this year, as they did in 2020. (The “no” votes from Republicans were Jane Bloomingdale of Northwood, Lee Hein of Monticello and David Maxwell of Gibson. Representative David Sieck of Glenwood was absent/not voting.)

(Radio Iowa) – A bill eligible for debate in a House committee would add political ideology as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act. That law currently bars discrimination based on things like age, race and religion. Republican Representative Skyler Wheeler of Orange City says lawmakers should make it clear that it’s wrong to discrimination against someone for their political views.

“We’ve seen cancel culture really crop up around the country. It’s really disturbing,” Wheeler said. “They want to shout you down if you have the wrong views or the wrong viewpoints. We’ve seen people get censored. We’ve seen a lot of different things and it’s almost entirely political.” Keenan Crow is a lobbyist for One Iowa, a group that advocates for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Iowans. He says the Iowa Civil Rights Act isn’t the right vehicle for protecting political speech.

“I think there’s a lot more opportunity for unintended consequences to happen because we’re literally prohibiting the government and the entire private sector from doing certain kinds of actions.” The Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in housing, education, employment and credit based on factors like race and gender as well as whether a person is married.