(Radio Iowa) – Twelve Republicans in the Iowa Senate say they will not vote for any state spending bill until they get a chance to vote on a bill limiting carbon pipeline developers ability to seize land from unwilling property owners. It means the Senate’s G-O-P leaders do not have enough Republican votes to pass their state spending plans. Republican Senator Kevin Alons of Salix says curbing the use of eminent domain authority is the group’s top priority in the 2025 legislative session.

“This is important,” Alons said. “It’s our number one priority and the budget is the must do and it’s what we’re going to use to get a vote on the topic of eminent domain.” Alons and other G-O-P senators engaged in the issue have given speeches on the Senate floor over the past week. Senator David Sires of Cedar Falls says it’s time to pass meaningful protections for landowners.

“We are witnessing the dangerous misuse of public power for private gain,” Sires said. “…It’s time to stand with our constituents, not corporations. I call on this body to reject the abuse of eminent domain and pass meaningful protections for Iowa landowners. Let us be the voice for those who feel ignored, let us check on government overreach and let us restore the principal that, in Iowa, private property still means something.”

Senate G-O-P Leader Jack Whitver says a number of Republican Senators are working on policy surrounding eminent domain and pipeline issues and he’s optimistic the group will find a legislative solution. The House has repeatedly passes pipeline restrictions over the past three years, but the senate has never voted on any of them.

The 12 senators who’ve joined to block budget action in hopes of getting a pipeline bill vote, include: Kevin Alons, Rocky DeWitt, Lynn Evans, Dennis Guth, Mark Lofgren, Mike Pike, Dave Rowley, Sandy Salmon, Dave Sires, Jeff Taylor, Cherilynn Westrich.

(Atlantic, Iowa)  – The May session of “Healthy U” will be presented Thursday, May 15th at Cass Health, by Kacey Peterson, MS, LMHC. The session begins at Noon, in Conference Room 2.  Peterson will present “Cultivating Healthy Aging.” The program will include information about easy things older adults can do to change their perspectives, update their routines, improve their mental health, and promote healthy aging.

Peterson, who is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, joined the Cass Health Senior Life Solutions (SLS) team in 2020. She graduated from Drake University in 2005 with a BS in Psychology and in 2010 with her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is licensed by the Iowa Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Kacey Peterson, LMHC

Prior to becoming Program Therapist for SLS, where she provides group and individual therapy services, Kacey worked in private practice with children and families in both community and school settings. In 2015 Kacey was honored with the Professional Leadership to a State Chapter Award by the American Mental Health Counselors Association for her service as Board President and Legislative Committee Chair with the Iowa Mental Health Counselors Association.

In 2019 she was recognized by Drake University’s School of Education with an award for outstanding leadership in her field, and in 2021 she was named Therapist of the Year for her commitment to the patients she serves at SLS.

Space is limited! A free boxed lunch is provided for all attendees, so reservations are required. Call 712-243-7479 to reserve your seat. For more information about Healthy U, visit casshealth.org/healthyu.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa; WOWT-TV) [Updated] – Judge in Pottawattamie County has sentenced a Council Bluffs man to a total of 45-years prison – the maximum allowed by law –  in connection with the murder of a Council Bluffs woman.  45-year-old Justin Sickler was originally charged with 1^st Degree Murder, Abuse of a Corpse, and Theft in the 3^rd Degree, in the death of 28-year-old Brianne McIntosh. Instead, he pled guilty to Willful Injury resulting in serious harm, abuse of a corpse, and 1st Degree Robbery..

WOWT-TV in Omaha reports District Court Judge Eric Nelson agreed with family members and friends of McIntosh, several of whom called Sickler “a monster” and who warned the court that he will re-offend if not put behind bars for a long time. Nelson told Sickler he presents a danger to society and has a long list of serious and violent offenses dating back to when Sickler was a teenager.

McIntosh’ body was found last February in Fremont County. She had suffered severe facial injuries that resulted in her death. McIntosh was first reported by a member of her family, as a missing person, in December, 2023.

Sickler was arrested last October following an investigation by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

(Radio Iowa) – April had plenty of showers at times, but state climatologist Justin Glisan says overall precipitation for the month was near normal. “We’re coming in about three-point-four (3.4) inches of precipitation, and that’s about three-tenths of an inch below average. So, near normal across much of the state, drier conditions eastern, and then across portions of southern Iowa,” Glisan says. Residents of portions of northern Iowa will tell you the April showers were anything but normal.

“From north central into northeastern Iowa, stations up that way were anywhere from two to four inches above average. Some stations around Cedar Rapids and Waterloo had a month’s worth of precipitation within a seven-day period towards the end of the month,” he says.” Glisan says those areas were balanced out in the statewide average by the drier areas. Glisan says April was just a little warmer than normal when statewide readings are calculated.

(Map from the Department of Ag Climatological Bureau.)

“About a degree above average for the statewide average temperature. Now you look where we had more rainfall, more cloud cover, that northeastern corner, they were near average. And then slightly warmer conditions across southern Iowa, and that meshes well with drier conditions, more sunshine,”Glisan says.

Glisan says we had two big storm events in April, including one with a lot of hail, but there were no serious issues with either storm.

(Radio Iowa) – A disagreement over whether to spend 14 MILLION dollars boosting pay for paraeducators in public schools is the big stumbling block in budget talks among Republican lawmakers. Governor Kim Reynolds says House Speaker Pat Grassley successfully lobbied to include that amount in last year’s budget and, if it was a priority, it should have been part of the K-12 funding plan House and Senate Republicans already adopted in April.

“Nothing was mentioned about the $14 million,” Reynolds said. “…It shouldn’t be anticipated that it’s part of the agreement. He should have put it in his.” Grassley says the 2024 legislature made a commitment to raise paraeducators pay and House Republicans strongly feel that commitment should be maintained. “We’re not going to go back and just cut that and leave our schools in a situation to find the difference,” Grassley said. “Those are more like Governor Culver practices that we saw and we don’t want to see that happening on something like that.”

For years, Republicans have criticized Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, for approving an increase in state funding for schools in the spring of 2009, then ordering a 10 percent across-the-board spending cut that fall during the Great Recession. This week, Governor Reynolds and Senate Republicans announced they’ve agreed on an overall state spending plan that’s five-point-two percent higher than last years. House Republicans favor spending 36 MILLION dollars more. Grassley says House Republicans find themselves in a familiar position — negotiating against the unified Republican Governor Reynolds and Senate Republicans.

“I would also argue with 67 members representing every county across the state…our goal is when we leave here is we fund the commitments that we’ve made to Iowans,” Grassley said, “as well as make strategic investments.” Reynolds says she is leery of the higher level of spending House Republicans propose given an updated estimate on state tax revenue. “A $218 million dollar decline in revenue, at the same time we’ve seen an increase in Medicaid,” Reynolds said, “and then when you add in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which I hope is permanent by the Trump Administration…so we’re $402 million off the table right now.”

Governor Kim Reynolds spoke with Radio Iowa on May 1, 2025. (RI photo)

Reynolds made her comments during an interview with Radio Iowa. Grassley, the grandson of U-S Senator Chuck Grassley, held a statehouse news conference a few hours later. “I can tell you as a Grassley, we don’t often hear that we’re not pretty tight with our money,” Grassley said. “…For example, we do not feel that the budget that we proposed, especially when we’re looking at a nearly a $2 billion ending balance, we’re looking at nearly $4 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund, we’re by no means just opening up the wallet and spending every dollar that we can get our hands on.”

Reynolds says House-passed bills providing sales tax breaks for toilet paper and laundry detergent that Grassley has championed would further complicate the budget picture. “It makes it hard to continue to look at cutting taxes, sustain the tax cuts we’ve already put in place,” Reynolds said, “and most importantly it makes it really hard to start to talk about property tax reform when we keep giving away and taking revenue off the table.” Reynolds says the House Republicans’ budget plan is too much of an escalation in state spending and would impede her goal to continue reducing the state income tax.

“I think it’s really important that we be fiscally responsible. You know I’ve cut taxes five times in six years. When it comes to the individual income tax rate we were the sixth highest in the nation and, going to a flat 3.8% rate, we’re the sixth lowest,” Reynolds says. “Every one of my colleagues are bringing taxes down, so I’d like to continue to be able to bring taxes down.”

Reynolds has said she wants to eliminate the state income tax by January of 2027 — the end of her current term. Reynolds announced last month that she would not run for another term as governor.

(Radio Iowa) – A new report from the U-S Department of Commerce shows the nation’s economy just had its weakest quarter in three years, which Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson blames on the policies of the previous administration. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says the recent downturns in consumer confidence, the stock market, and the gross domestic product are not the result of the sweeping tariffs President Trump imposed, then paused, on dozens of countries.

“I do think it’s clear that President Trump is ushering in the new era, the Golden Age for our economy,” Hinson says. “He knows the formula for a strong economy and he has a proven track record of growing the economy, and the economy will bounce back from ‘Biden-flation.’ We’re gonna lock in the tax cuts for the American people.” Some economists argue Trump’s efforts to change up global trade will bring a spike in inflation and could spiral the economy into a recession.

Hinson counters: “Some of what we’re seeing in the markets and the economy is a reaction to bad economic policy for four years,” adding, “Those policies don’t turn around overnight.” Wednesday’s report from the Commerce Department finds the nation’s G-D-P dropped three-tenths of a point in the first quarter, a significant shift from the two-point-four percent gain in last year’s fourth quarter.

“The number that I am really looking at here is gross domestic investment. That soared by over 20% and when you look at what’s happening with that, people are investing in America again,” Hinson says. “When you bring back that investment to the United States, that means more American jobs and we’re going to continue to see that unleash our economy.”

Hinson says Trump is working to secure more international trade deals, noting, she’s just returned from a bipartisan Congressional trade mission to Korea. “They want to do more business in the United States. They already buy $2 billion of American beef. They want to see those numbers go up. They want to sell us cars. They want to make those cars in the United States,” Hinson says. “There are a lot of great opportunities going forward for not only investments and good trade deals, good global trade policy, but also holding China accountable, which continues to be a priority for me.”

Trump posted the following on social media Wednesday, after the Commerce report was released: “Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang.’ This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!”

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Page County Attorney, James L. Varley, reports the following activities in the Iowa District Court for Page County for the week of April 14, 2025.

39-year-old Aaron Chaney, of Council Bluffs, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence (OWI) -1^st Offense. He  was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with all but 2 days suspended and placed on probation for 9 months. As a condition of probation, the Chaney was ordered to complete a 12-hour drinking drivers’ course, as well as complete a drug/alcohol evaluation and follow through with any recommendations. He must also pay a fine in the amount of $1,250, plus court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.

67-year-old Jeffrey Lee Moses, of Clarinda, appeared with counsel and also pled guilty to OWII/1st offense. He was also was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with all but 2 days suspended and placed on probation for 9 months. As a condition of probation, Moses was ordered to complete a 12-hour drinking drivers’ course, as well as complete a drug/alcohol evaluation and follow through with any recommendations. He was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $1,250, plus court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.

Jeffrey Lee Moses also pled guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine–1^st Offense. On that charge, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with all but 2 days suspended and placed on probation for 9 months. Moses was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $430, plus court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.

And, 48-year-old Amber Russell, of Council Bluffs, appeared by counsel in Page County District Court, and admitted to violating the terms and conditions of her probation. She was found to be in violation of her probation, which was subsequently extended to October 1, 2025, in order for her to complete treatment recommended in her substance abuse evaluation.

All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Cultural Coalition’s first “Create in Iowa” report shows more than 42-thousand Iowans work in arts and culture, across more than 58-hundred arts and creative businesses. Coalition Vice President Matt McIver says the number of people working in arts and culture is equivalent to some of Iowa’s largest employers. “The number that struck me the most in the report is that roughly one in two Iowans engage in making some kind of art,” McIver says. He says it is revealing for someone who works in the field.

“That was a degree of participation that really warmed my heart, but also opened my eyes to how deeply entrenched arts and culture are across our state,” he says. The report finds that arts and culture work generates nearly five billion dollars in annual economic impact on the state. Iowa Cultural Coalition President Lindsay Bauer (BOW-er) says she hopes the report can show how investment in creativity can support growing Iowa’s population.“We just identified this need of needing to communicate how impactful the arts are in Iowa, as the Iowa Legislature and Iowa business leaders around the state were beginning to plan their next steps for the growth of Iowa,” she says.

The report found that rural counties with performing arts organizations see faster population growth and recover faster from economic recessions. It calls for the expansion of funding for rural and small-scale projects. It recommends better aligning the creative sector with strategies led by foundations, chambers, cities, and tourism organizations to drive rural, community, and economic development efforts. Bauer and McIver made their comments on Iowa Public Radio’s “Talk of Iowa” program.

(Radio Iowa) – This is the second year Governor Kim Reynolds has proposed cutting the tax businesses pay to cover unemployment benefits when people get laid off from their jobs — and Reynolds says it’s a top priority for lawmakers to pass before the 2025 legislative session concludes this spring. “It’s a billion dollar tax savings, tax cut to our employers over five years,” Reynolds said. “That matters. It makes a difference.” Reynolds says Iowa’s Unemployment Trust Fund has too much money in it. “Quite frankly, we’re over-collecting,” Reynolds said. “We’re sitting on nearly $2 billion.” Iowa’s unemployment tax is 12th highest in the country. The governor’s plan would lower the top unemployment tax rate and reduce the taxable wage base by half. Last year, some business groups expressed concerns that if there’s an economic downturn, the fund would not have enough money to pay unemployment benefits.

“And so I said I’m going to work with all of the groups that it would apply to,” Reynolds said, “and I got all of them on board,” Reynolds says this year’s bill includes a message to employers, suggesting what they should do with the tax break. “I’m asking them to put that back into their people,” Reynolds said, “you know, to really consider looking at wages and supporting the employees that make their companies great.”

Reynolds reviewed some of her top legislative priorities this (Thursday) morning during an interview with Radio Iowa and this was the first bill she mentioned. The Iowa Federation of Labor says the reason this business tax could be cut is because in 2022 Republican lawmakers reduced the number of weeks Iowans can receive unemployment benefits by over a third – from 26 to 16 weeks. Democrats say the state should be focused on helping Iowans who are losing jobs rather than on providing more tax breaks to businesses.