(Radio Iowa) – A House committee has unanimously approved a bill to set up a state program for psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms” that would be similar to Iowa’s medical marijuana program. Representative John Wills of Spirit Lake — the third ranking Republican in the Iowa House — says at this time last year, he never would have sponsored the bill — but Wills was convinced psilocybin works after attending a conference on P-T-S-D in Denver.

“This has been proven through peer reviewed research 82-85% of the time to in as little as one treatment cure that PTSD so that veteran never has to deal with it again,” Wills said. Wills served in the Iowa National Guard for 25 years and he says some of the soldiers who were with him during three combat tours have P-T-S-D. If the bill becomes law, the state would issue licenses to grow, harvest, weigh and dispense psilocybin and also issue cards to qualified medical providers who’d administer the drug to patients in a controlled setting.

Michael Young, state commander for the V-F-W, was a Marine in combat in Somalia. Young says he suffered from P-T-S-D when he returned home and doctors prescribed pills. “The V.A. loves to shove drugs into our mouths to deal with PTSD, (traumatic brain injury), (military sexual drama) and other issues,” he said. “I had to fight to get off of it. I had to fight the V.A.” Young says the bill would provide a more natural treatment option for veterans suffering from service-related conditions. Russell Saffell is the adjutant and executive director of the Iowa V-F-W.

Psilocybe semilanceata (Magic Mushrooms) – Wikipedia photo

“As a combat veteran myself that represents 13,000 other combat veterans in our state, we want to make sure that we are protecting our veterans and ensuring that they have every opportunity to receive every treatment that could potentially impact their lives in a better way,” he said. Representative Larry McBurney of Urbandale served in the Iowa National Guard for 11 years and did three overseas tours. He was diagnosed with P-T-S-D after serving in combat.

“There are drugs that just aren’t necessarily working for some veterans and if we can find alternative avenues to treat PTSD I’m all in favor of it,” he said. “I think this is a great first step.” Representative Jeff Shipley, a Republican from Birmingham — an advocate of alternative medicine, says his main reservation with the bill is it only legalizes psilocybin for treatment of P-T-S-D. “The current practice of psychiatry leaves a lot to be desired, so there is space for the legislature to act and fill in the gaps here,” Shipley says.

The bill as currently written would limit the state-sanctioned psilocybin therapy for P-T-S-D only, but the bill’s sponsor says a state board could decide to allow psilocybin as treatment for other conditions once research proves its effective. The House Ways and Means Committee approved the bill yesterday. It’s now eligible for debate in the Iowa House.

(Washington, Iowa) – An 18-year-old female died in a single-vehicle rollover accident Thursday afternoon, in southeast Iowa. According to the Iowa State Patrol, Alaina McNurlen, of Keota, was driving a 2004 Saturn Ion that crossed the center-line of northbound Highway 1 in Washington County. When she swerved and over-corrected, the vehicle went out of control and crossed the center-line again into the southbound lane, before it entered a ditch and rolled-over.

McNurlen – who was not wearing a seat belt – was ejected as the car rolled. She died at the scene. The crash – which happened at around 4:10-p.m. – remains under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Fire Department reports Gregg Young of Atlantic has donated $15,000 to the Atlantic Fire Department. Employees and firefighters celebrated the donation on Wednesday, with a “big check” photo to mark the occasion.

Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel said he appreciates Gregg Young of Atlantic supporting the community with the donation, and said the funds will likely be used for equipment for the department as well as helping with fire prevention efforts.

Photo by Jennifer Nichols, courtesy of the Atlantic News Telegraph.

Gregg Young of Atlantic General Manager Matt Miller said, “As part of the Gregg Young Cares Initiative, Gregg Young of Atlantic makes donations to a local charity or organization in the Atlantic community throughout the year. Being an involved community partner and supporting our local communities is extremely important to Gregg and the entire Gregg Young organization. We are extremely appreciative and grateful for the phenomenal services that the Atlantic Fire and Rescue Department provides our community and we are honored to be able to present this donation to assist with ongoing equipment needs.”

(Jefferson, Iowa)  – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a stormwater drainage ditch containing dark colored water near the North Raccoon River in Jefferson in Greene County. On March 26 at 7:50 p.m, the DNR Field Office in Atlantic was notified of dark colored water observed in a stormwater ditch in Daubendiek Park on the southwest side of Jefferson. The stormwater ditch drains to the North Raccoon River.

DNR field staff responded to the incident, and upon arrival observed multiple pockets of discolored water in the ditch. Water samples were collected and delivered to the State Hygienic Laboratory for further analysis. Officials are investigating the source of the discolored water, but do not believe any reached the North Raccoon River. No dead fish were observed in the area.

A stormwater drainage ditch with discolored water in Daubendiek Park in Jefferson.

Cleanup efforts have begun. City staff constructed a berm in the stormwater ditch, which currently has low flow, to prevent contamination from reaching the North Raccoon River. Residents are advised to avoid contact with water in the drainage ditch at this time.

The DNR appreciates the public awareness of the situation and the quick response from Public Works staff and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. If anyone has any information on the incident, please contact Kristi Burg at (712) 340-3076.

To report a release after hours, please call the DNR’s emergency spill line at (515) 725-8694. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of an incident. The DNR website has more information about spill reporting requirements.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Education today (Thursday) announced statewide voting is now open for Iowans to help select the state’s next education license plate design. Replacing the current decades-old design, these new license plate designs feature original artwork from 16 student semifinalists from across the state.

“Earlier this school year, the Department asked students to help us reimagine Iowa’s education license plate, and now it’s time for you to pick your favorite submissions,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow. “This first-of-its-kind design challenge is helping us celebrate education across Iowa while recognizing the incredible artistic talent of our students.”

A committee representing art teachers from across the state reviewed and selected the 16 semifinalists from over 100 qualified designs submitted by Iowa K-12 art classes. Each entry was reviewed for creativity, originality, artistic skill and its representation of celebrating Iowa education. Iowans can access the online voting form to select their top three overall favorite designs in each of the following grade bands: 3-5, 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12. Then select your top three overall favorite designs.

From the results of the public voting, three or four finalists will be selected for final consideration. The winning design will be announced at the end of the school year, replacing the current design that has been in place since 1997. The redesigned license plates will tentatively go into production this summer and all semifinalist and finalist art designs will be permanently displayed at the Department’s Grimes State Office Building.

The Iowa Education License Plate Contest was introduced last fall to redesign the state’s current education license plate. Iowa K-12 students were invited to create original designs for the education license plates that will be featured on the vehicles of drivers supporting Iowa education across the state. Iowa K-12 art teachers could select up to 10 student designs to submit for the contest this spring.

Specialized education license plates are a great way for Iowa drivers to show their support of education across the state. All education license plates are purchased through the Iowa Department of Transportation. The fees collected from the purchase of specialized education license plates support school districts with the highest per pupil transportation costs, including schools serving rural communities.

The contest voting period is open through April 15. The voting form can be accessed on the Iowa Department of Education’s website.

More information on the contest can be found on the Iowa Education License Plate Contest webpage. Iowa Education License Plate Contest

(Radio Iowa) – The unemployment rate for February stayed the same as January at three-point-three percent. Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says there were some ups and downs in the job market. “Employers shed about 11-hundred jobs in February, which ends the streak of job gains that started in November. So that’s not good. And of course, manufacturing overall has lost the most jobs in the last year, with 76-hundred lost jobs,” she says.

Townsend says on the positive side there was an increase of 500 jobs in manufacturing, primarily in food production and animal processing. “We saw gains in private industries led by healthcare, which increased 800 jobs in February, which is always a good sign that healthcare and social assistance have grown in the last five months,” she says. “Healthcare is our most critical need for workforce right now. So that’s a good sign and a good trend.”

Federal officials always do revision of labor numbers at the start of the year and that revision included an increase in the number of Iowans in the workforce for January. Townsend says that number also stayed the same in February. She says Iowa labor situation is doing okay right now. “We’ve weathered a tough patch with, like I said, the loss of manufacturing jobs around 76-hundred in the last 12 months. That’s quite that’s quite a bit from our largest industry, but it could have been a lot worse than and now hopefully we’re coming out of that, or we’ll get to the other side of that in the next few months,” she says.

The three-point-three percent unemployment rate in February is up from two-point-seven percent one year ago. The U-S unemployment rate increased to four-point-one percent in February.

(Radio Iowa) – Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed a lawsuit against a northeast Iowa lawman she calls a “sanctuary sheriff.” Bird is accusing Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx of discouraging law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

In February, on Facebook, Marx said immigration detainer requests aren’t always reviewed by a judge and he’d take every effort to “block, interfere and interrupt” unconstitutional actions. Bird gave Marx a retraction to post online by 5 p.m. yesterday. The attorney general says the sheriff’s refusal to do so gave her no choice but to take the case to court.

Neither the county nor the sheriff have commented on the lawsuit. However, earlier today (Thursday) Sheriff Marx announced his February post on Facebook had been removed, but Bird’s proposed retraction statement was not acceptable to the county.

The sheriff says he has been and will remain in compliance with state and federal immigration laws — while staying true to the constitutional protections afforded to the citizens of Winneshiek County. Winneshiek County stands to lose all state funding if it winds up on the losing side of the case.