Three people, two adults and a child, were injured Sunday afternoon, during a collision between a car and a pickup, in Warren County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2008 Ford Fusion was westbound on Scotch Road at around 4:15-p.m., when the vehicle slowed and/or stopped. Part of the vehicle was in the traveled portion of the roadway. A 2016 RAM pickup was also westbound in the same area. The driver of the pickup, 32-year-old David Lee Abell, III, of Chariton, told authorities he was reaching for a tablet to give a child in the vehicle, and did not see the car before the collision.

The impact caused the car to skid off into the south ditch and overturn before coming to rest on its wheels. The driver of the Fusion, 69-year old Janet Rae Charron, of Des Moines, who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Abell, and an 18-month old child in his vehicle, were both transported by ambulance to Methodist Hospital, in Des Moines. David Abell was not wearing a seat belt, but the child was properly restrained.

(Radio Iowa) – An apparent murder-suicide in Webster County over the weekend. The Webster County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a home in Vincent for a welfare check around 1:45 Saturday afternoon. Upon arrival, deputies found 69-year-old Allen D. Will and 67-year-old Karen E. Will both dead in the residence. Investigators on the scene determined that Karen Will died of a gunshot wound and Allen Will died of a self inflicted gunshot wound. Both have been transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2021 legislative session is convening in the middle of a pandemic. While the Republicans in charge of the legislature are strongly encouraging people in the Capitol to wear face coverings, they will not be required. Legislators and others who work in the building are expected to report to a superior if they have Covid, but not required to do so. House Speaker Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, says the state constitution does not give him “special power” to prevent duly elected legislators to come onto the House floor.  “People are going to have to use their best judgement and their personal responsibility,” Grassley says.

Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says those who don’t wear a mask or socially distance run the risk of having to quarantine or forcing the entire session to be shut down. “The big picture is we have an agenda,” Whitver says. “We made promises, we need to keep those and we need to be able to stay in session as long as possible.” Democrats are requiring face masks in their private meetings. Today (Monday), some Democrats will take their oaths of office in another location in the Capitol rather than on the House floor. House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard of Charles City says the coronavirus is still very active in the general population. “I’m concerned and want to avoid turning the legislature into a super spreader event,” Prichard says.

Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says the lack of a mask mandate inside the statehouse is disappointing. “It’s not safe for legislators. It’s not safe for staff,” Wahls says. “It’s not safe for the press and it’s not safe the public.” And Wahls says he’s concerned a group that opposes the governor’s proclamation requiring face masks in some public places will be holding a rally at the Capitol today (Monday). Some legislators and staff have expressed concerns about statehouse safety after last Wednesday’s attack at the U.S. Capitol.

Senator Whitver says there’s been heightened security at the Capitol in Des Moines since last spring’s protests over racial injustice. “We’ve had protests for the last four years at the Capitol. We’ve some very active debates, some lively debates, some lively protests,” Whitver says. “We’ve had riots outside the Capitol. We have beefed up security over the last few years.”

The 100 members of the Iowa House are scheduled to take their oaths of office, beginning at 10 a.m. Twenty-five newly-elected members of the Iowa Senate will be sworn in as well, with one senate seat vacant. Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa resigned her Ottumwa-area state senate seat shortly before she was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House. A special election to fill that state senate seat is scheduled for late this month.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2020 Iowa legislative session is scheduled to begin today (Monday), with Republicans who control the debate agenda predicting significant action on education and taxation. Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny says there’s no consensus yet, though. “The tax conversation and tax changes don’t happen in a bill filed day one in the legislature, usually,” Whitver says. “What I know is as long as I’m majority leader and as long as we’re in the majority, we want to improve the tax climate in the state of Iowa.” House Speaker Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, says legislators will get the next detailed report on state tax revenue in March. “We’re seeing higher than expected revenue growth,” Grassley says. “If we have those opportunities to return dollars back to the hard-working Iowans, we want to do that.”

House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard of Charles City says tax cuts should be targeted to make things like housing and child care more affordable. “If we’re going to talk tax cuts, let’s talk tax cuts for working Iowans,” Prichard says, “not just for those at the top.” Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says the legislature’s primary focus should be on the pandemic. “This is the event that has turned all of our lives upside down,” Wahls says, “…so looking at things that’ll help our front-line health care workers, other essential workers, small businesses, community agencies like food banks. We know that food insecurity has tripled since the start of the pandemic.”

Last Thursday, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds hit pause again on her “Invest in Iowa” proposal to both lower income taxes and raise sales taxes, due to the pandemic. Republican legislators say their education plans will revolve around ensuring parental choice. Speaker Grassley says it was an issue in the November election, as some parents grew frustrated that their children were not back in the classroom full time. “I think Iowans spoke loud and clear that that’s their expectation,” Grassley says, “and in fact I think it affected a lot of races.”

Both Grassley and Senator Whitver say everything is on the table when it comes to education policy, including giving parents state money to cover the costs of private school tuition. “When you talk about parental choice, there’s a lot of different things that go into that…Can you transfer out of Des Moines Public Schools or not? Are your kids in five days a week or are they all virtual? It’s public-private,” Whitver says. “…Education is going to probably be the biggest conversation of this entire session.”

Democrats say spending state tax dollars at private schools diverts scarce resources at a time when Iowa’s public schools need more assistance.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:38 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature will convene today (Monday), with Republicans holding large majorities and promising an agenda that could include tax cuts and changes to voting, gun and school attendance laws. Republicans expanded their majority in the House in November and maintained their edge in the Senate. They see the election as an affirmation that voters support the conservative actions they have taken since winning full control of the Legislature in 2016. The GOP to-do list is expected to include efforts to reduce taxes, making changes to voting rules, expand gun rights and require in-school attendance despite concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The 150 lawmakers will gather in the Statehouse with no mask requirements and rules that do not require disclosure of a positive COVID-19 test.

UNDATED (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man from Iowa who allegedly took part in the riot in and around the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek says officers assisted the FBI in arresting 41-year-old Doug Jensen on Friday night at his home on the south side of Des Moines. He was booked into jail early Saturday on five federal charges. It isn’t clear if he has an attorney yet. Video posted online during the Wednesday rioting showed a man who appears to be Jensen, who is white, pursuing a Black officer up a flight of stairs as a mob trails behind.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters. The Associated Press reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people connected to the rioting. They include Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists and adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory. The evidence gives lie to claims that the violence at the Capitol was perpetrated by left-wing antifa thugs rather than supporters of the president. An FBI official says investigators have seen “no indication” antifa activists were disguised as Trump supporters during the Capitol riot.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with a shooting last April. Littleton Clark, 41, was sentenced Friday in the April 12 shooting that took place outside a Des Moines apartment complex. Police said Clark fired into a group of people and wounded another man twice in the torso. The victim survived but needed surgery after the shooting. Court records show that 41-year-old Littleton Clark pleaded guilty last month to assault and two weapons charges as part of a deal with prosecutors. In return, an attempted murder charge and two other charges were dropped.