(Radio Iowa) – MidAmerican Energy has filed a request with the Iowa Utilities Commission seeking approval to add a capital investment charge to the bill of Iowa residential gas customers. MidAmerican spokesman Geoff Greenwood says the charge would be four-tenths of a percent. “The capital investment charge helps cover costs that Mid-American has already paid out that are associated with certain natural gas system costs such as safety and compliance and some other requirements that are imposed upon us by local governments,” he says. Greenwood says there are several items the money would cover. “Pipe relocation, that’s one example due to a local project such as a street improvement. There also are some compliance changes that are requiring investment by the company that we’ve already made, so that is another charge that is eligible for this cost recovery,” he says.

Greenwood says if the charge is approved, it would be a small addition to customer bills. “It’s about 17 cents a month for our residential customers here in Iowa, and we have requested the Iowa Utilities Commission to approve that fee, and it is up to the commission to make that decision, and it could, if approved, start showing up on our customer bills in June,” Greenwood says.

Greenwood says MidAmerican has around 620-thousand natural gas customers in Iowa.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a man was arrested Thursday afternoon on a Theft charge. 27-year-old Gage Michael Dixon, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 4:40-p.m. at 4th and Elm Streets, for Theft in the 3rd Degree/3rd or subsequent offense. Gage was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

(Williamsburg, Iowa) – A man who was attempting to retrieve items that had blown out of his vehicle, Thursday evening, was struck and killed by an SUV. The accident happened on westbound Interstate 80 near Williamsburg, in eastern Iowa.

The Iowa State Patrol reports the unidentified man was trying to cross the lanes of traffic at around 6-p.m., when he was hit by a 2012 Buick LaCrosse, driven by a 47-year-old woman from Millersburg, IA.

The accident remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Williamsburg Police & Fire personnel, Iowa County EMS & Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa Dept. of Transportation.

(Radio Iowa) – Nearly a thousand people have gotten layoff notices this week from companies in Amana, Decorah and Dubuque. Democrats in the Iowa House say it’s time to extend unemployment compensation for Iowans who lose their jobs. Three years ago, Republican lawmakers reduced the maximum number of weeks Iowans may file for unemployment from 26 weeks to 16 weeks.

Representative Jeff Cooling, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, is president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 405.  “We now have this economy that’s in turmoil and it’s time to restore those weeks that were cut,” Cooling said. Representative Dan Gosa, a Democrat from Davenport, says hundreds of John Deere workers who’ve been laid off need more than the current 16 weeks of jobless benefits. “We’ve really got to work hard to get that 26 weeks back,” Gosa said. “Our workers and working families directly rely on that.”

Republicans hold over two-thirds of the seats in the Iowa legislature and House Speaker Pat Grassley says Republicans have no plans to adjust unemployment benefits. “Keep in mind when we made the last change to unemployment and the number of weeks there’s been significant efforts made at Workforce Development to make sure we’re getting people back to work,” Grassley says. “…We’re hopeful that we can get these Iowans that are being impacted, regardless of the reason, back with gainful employment.”

Governor Reynolds says there’s about two BILLION dollars in the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund — a record high — and she’s called on the legislature to reduce the tax Iowa businesses pay into the fund, which the source tapped to pay unemployment benefits.

The Iowa Workforce Development’s website shows that on June 1st, 651 workers at Whirlpool in Amana will be laid off. At the end of June, A-S-M Global — the management company for Dubuque’s Five Flags Center — plans to lay off 160 employees. Sodexo — a food management company in Decorah — has announced it will close June 30th and 130 people will lose their jobs.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Department of Justice is suggesting one element of the governor’s energy bill could restrict competition and increase costs for consumers. The proposal would give the state’s major power providers the “right of first refusal” on upgrades to the power grid. Companies like MidAmerican and Alliant would get priority to build new transmission lines that are part of their systems before other companies could bid for the work.

House Speaker Pat Grassley says House Republicans are actively discussing the pros and cons. “When you look at that, there’s two sides of it. There’s one that would say we want to have companies here in Iowa that we know are here, that we can pick up a phone when we have a disaster or outages,” Grassley says. “There’s also the argument that can be made as far as the free market and competition within a highly regulated space.”

Governor Reynolds wrote a letter to the Justice Department, saying she fully supports President Trump’s energy goals, but Reynolds also said the most effective way to ensure Iowa transmission line projects are built efficiently and reliably is by giving Iowa utilities priority on contracts.

Senate President Amy Sinclair says while that “right of first refusal” on building transmission lines is in the governor’s energy bill, it is not the main way the bill seeks to keep utility costs affordable and ensure the power grid is reliable. “Improving our energy policy is essential,” Sinclair said. “…You’ll see us continue to work on that energy policy as the year comes to a close.”

Lawmakers often aim to conclude each legislative session by the end of April, however neither state law nor the Iowa Constitution identify an actual date when the legislature should end.

(Radio Iowa) – Members of the Oskaloosa High School baseball team will be playing under the lights at Chicago’s Wrigley Field next month as part of an extra special road trip. Assistant coach and volunteer Nathan Johnson says the team and their families will be in the stands to watch an afternoon Chicago Cubs game versus the San Francisco Giants, and afterwards, the team from southeast Iowa will take the field for a nighttime inter-squad scrimmage.

“I think we have about 26 or 27 kids total that’ll be going on the trip, and we have tickets for the parents for the Cubs/Giants game before we play,” Johnson says. “It should be just a great day to do team building, but also just to have an experience for these kids.” With two sons on the team, Johnson says being able to play in one of the oldest and most distinctive stadiums in Major League Baseball promises to be an exceptional treat for the teens.

“This kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of these kids, and just to be able to step onto this iconic field, Wrigley Field,” Johnson says. “It’ll just be a really cool day for everyone, and hopefully a lot of good feelings and good memories going away from that day.” High school teams from Oskaloosa and Ottumwa got the opportunity to play at Busch Stadium in Saint Louis last year, which Johnson says was a rare honor, but he notes, Chicago will be next-level different.

Oskaloosa played Ottumwa in 2024 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (Oskaloosa High School photo)

“No offense to Busch Stadium, but Wrigley Field is a historic venue,” Johnson says. “It’s not opened up very much to high school players to be able to play, and so just to have that opportunity to walk out, with the ivy, the history that’s there, it’s just a unique experience.” Wrigley opened in 1914, making it the second-oldest active M-L-B ballpark behind only Fenway Park in Boston.

The trip is scheduled for May 7th and is thanks to Oskaloosa-based Musco Lighting. Musco has a long-standing relationship with the Cubs and Wrigley Field. The company installed new field lighting at the stadium three years ago and has since worked on additional projects, including lighting for the exterior and tower areas.

(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley says a bill that would provide some liability to protection to the makers of Roundup and other farm chemical companies does not have enough Republican support to pass the Iowa House. “We’ve had a lot of conversations…I think a lot of our members see both sides of this issue when it comes to making sure that we have a product that’s actually made here in Iowa, that’s an American made product,” Grassley says. “…I think there’s also some concerns with this, the public perception.”

The bill is a priority for Bayer, the maker of Roundup, which is facing a number of lawsuits from Americans who allege their cancer is connected to their use of Roundup. The bill says farm chemical companies that follow E-P-A labeling standards cannot be sued for failing to issue health warnings about the products. Grassley, a farmer from New Hartford, says the bill is narrowly focused.

“I’m not sure that the bill is being totally digested from the perspective of just from the labeling,” Grassley says. “Some of the narrative that’s been out there maybe distracts from that.” The bill passed the Iowa Senate last year and it passed the Senate again last week, but by a narrower margin. Senate President Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, has been a vocal supporter of the bill.

“I don’t try to tell the House how to do their job. I suppose the House can be entitled to their wrong opinion,” Sinclair said. “I believe wholeheartedly the bill we passed doesn’t prevent anybody from seeking justice if they’re damaged by a company.” But Sinclair says a company that sells a product with labels that follow federal guidelines shouldn’t face lawsuits alleging the labels are flawed.

(Radio Iowa) – A school district in northeast Iowa is the first in the area to use A-I for detecting possible guns in its buildings. La Porte City Union Community School District Superintendent John Howard says it’s a simpler alternative to arming teachers. “We have never had any conversations about arming teachers in our district. I know some districts have, and that’s been met with some push-back in terms of insurance and other legalities. We’ve never had that conversation here,” Howard says.

Superintendent Howard says the decision is a response in part to the Perry school shooting last year. )”We don’t want anything like that to happen here. No district wants anything like that to happen in their district,” Howard says. “So this is just another preventative measure to prevent a tragedy such as that.”

The district with some 900 students has installed camera software that detects guns across four buildings in two different towns that will notify staff and administration, and then call law enforcement.

(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says the array of tariffs President Trump announced yesterday (Wednesday) will pressure other countries to strike new trade deals with the U-S. “I think Americans can clearly see that we’ve been getting a raw deal,” Hinson said. “Many of these countries have been taking advantage of us and I think it’s high time that we stand our ground and I support the president in doing that.” Hinson, a Republican from Marion, predicts there will be new American opportunities and new jobs created through Trump’s tariff policies.

“When I look at what President Biden did wreak havoc on the ag economy, he put trade on the back burner and Iowa ag suffered from that,” Hinson said. “And I think President Trump’s goal in what happened yesterday is free and fair trade and he is using these tariffs as a negotiating tool to bring other countries to the table.” However, Hinson says she, like many people, is watching what the stock market is doing today (Thursday) and shares the concerns about the immediate impact of the tariffs. “I was actually at the White House last week for a ‘Women’s Day’ celebration with the president and he said: ‘Check back with me in a year, to see how these policies have worked,'” Hinson says. “I think it’s important that we give him not only the tools, but the time to get these other countries to…the conversation, to the table.”

IA (R) Congresswoman Ashley Hinson

Hinson says it’s important to enforce Trump’s tariff policies. “That’s an area where I’ve been very focused,” Hinson says. “I just recently reintroduced my trade crimes bill again just a few weeks ago — a bipartisan bill, a bicameral bill — that is designed to go after these bad actors who are continually trying to evade our tariffs and duties,” Hinson said. “They’re going so far as to ship things to other countries (and) relabel them to get around our tariffs. That has got to stop and accountability is here.”

Hinson made her comments this (Thursday) morning during her weekly conference call with Iowa reporters.

(Radio Iowa) – The emergency self-evacuation and shelter-in-place orders instituted Monday after a fire started at the Coop in Otley have been lifted. Information from the Marion County Emergency Management Agency says the fire at Two Rivers Cooperative is now out and the orders were lifted at 10:30 this (Thursday) morning. The fire in the fertilizer storage facility caused concerns about the air quality, but E-P-A monitoring shows the air quality is now safe.

Investigators are trying to figure out the cause of the fire. Marion County Public Safety and the D-N-R are continuing to monitor the cleanup efforts.