DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say Iowa’s high school graduation rate climbed to a record high of 91.6% in the 2018-19 school year. The Iowa Education Department says the class of 2019 figure was up two-tenths of a percentage point from the 91.4% in the class of 2018. Since 2011, Iowa’s four-year graduation rate has increased 3.3 percentage points overall, with gains in nearly every student demographic group. For example, graduation rates for Hispanic students have climbed by 9.3 percentage points and the rates for African American students have gone up 8.4 percentage points.

Iowa’s rates typically are among the nation’s highest high school graduation rates.

(Radio Iowa) — A bill passed in the Iowa Senate would require a portion of the state’s Medicaid recipients to work or volunteer at least 20 hours a week to keep government benefits. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, says it fits with President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” motto. “Part of that is to get people off of the system and back into work and self-sufficiency,” Schultz said. “It’s where humans thrive when they’re taking care of themselves.” The bill’s work requirements would apply to people who live just above the poverty line and qualify for Medicaid under a program expansion approved in 2014. The parents of young children, people over the age of 65 and disabled Iowans would not be required to work to qualify for Medicaid or for food stamps.

The bill passed with the support of 31 Republicans. The 18 Democrats in the Senate voted against it. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says it’s time to target businesses that pay so little their workers qualify for government assistance. “We ought to get employers who are freeloading on Iowa taxpayers involved in this conversation,” Bolkcom says.
Senator Liz Mathis, a Democrat from Hiawatha, says the bill will create new obstacles for struggling families. “But it’s obvious there aren’t enough people in this room that understand that,” Mathis said. Senator Amanda Ragan, a Democrat from Mason City, says some Iowans who work would lose their benefits through no fault of their own. “These enrollees that we’re talking about in Medicaid work in industries in which both the employment and the hours are volatile,” Ragan says.

Schultz, the Republican who guided the bill through the senate, says government food assistance and health care coverage are not meant to last a lifetime. “Able-bodied adults are who we’re talking about,” Schultz says.”…When we do things that incentivize people to go ahead, get a job, get off the program their lives are better, the lives of their children are better, the state is stronger, the nation is stronger.” Schultz says the proposal is popular in his western Iowa district. “Folks understand that if they’re working to pay the bill that somebody should be asked to work to receive it, if they are able,” Schultz said, “and I don’t think that’s wrong.” Schultz says government assistance should be a springboard back to self-sufficiency.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Felons would be required to repay restitution to victims before they could get their voting right restored under a bill passed by the Iowa Senate. Earlier Tuesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds for the first time indicated support for the measure. Iowa is the only state that automatically takes felon voting rights away. Felons must apply to the governor who requires that they have at least a payment plan for court ordered financial obligations. Senate Republicans insisted on complete restitution repayment before they would consider a constitutional amendment automatically restoring voting rights upon the completion of a felony sentence.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Public Health issued a travel notice telling Iowans returning from any country with COVID-19 cases to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return. The countries meeting that description include China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea.. Dr. Caitlin Pedati, an epidemiologist serving as Iowa’s public health medical director, says Tuesday those who become ill should call their doctor’s office and inform them of their recent travel. There are no confirmed cases of the virus in Iowa but experts expect infections are likely. Gov. Kim Reynolds says the state is now doing its own COVID-19 testing at a state laboratory in Iowa City.

LEON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 35-year-old Davis City man has been arrested in the vandalism of a southern Iowa cemetery some six months ago. The Des Moines Register reports that Travis Duane Toney has been charged with third-degree criminal mischief for the veterans memorial and headstones vandalized in August in Leon Cemetery. Police say Toney was linked to the Leon Cemetery vandalism after his DNA was found at the cemetery a week after the incident and that Leon later confessed. Five headstones, benches and a gazebo recognizing veterans were damaged. Leon is about 70 miles south of Des Moines.

GRINNELL, Iowa (AP) — Two central Iowa schools were locked down Tuesday after someone reported spotting a suspicious person near one of them. Superintendent Janet Stutz of the Grinnell district says the district office was notified around 8:40 a.m. that the person was seen outside the high school, not far from a K-2 elementary school. Both schools locked the doors, and students and teachers were told to remain in their classrooms. Stutz says it took until around 9:30 a.m. before the person was found somewhere other than inside the school. It’s unclear where. A written statement from Grinnell Police Chief Dennis Reilly confirmed Stutz’s description of events.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Felons would be required to repay restitution to victims before they could get their voting right restored under a bill passed by the Iowa Senate. Earlier Tuesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds for the first time indicated support for the measure. Iowa is the only state that automatically takes felon voting rights away.

Felons must apply to the governor who requires that they have at least a payment plan for court ordered financial obligations. Senate Republicans insisted on complete restitution repayment before they would consider a constitutional amendment automatically restoring voting rights upon the completion of a felony sentence.

LEON, Iowa (The Des Moines Register) — Authorities say a 35-year-old Davis City man has been arrested in the vandalism of a southern Iowa cemetery some six months ago. The Des Moines Register reports that Travis Duane Toney has been charged with third-degree criminal mischief for the veterans memorial and headstones vandalized in August in Leon Cemetery.

Police say Toney was linked to the Leon Cemetery vandalism after his DNA was found at the cemetery a week after the incident and that Leon later confessed. Five headstones, benches and a gazebo recognizing veterans were damaged. Leon is about 70 miles south of Des Moines.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, Tuesday, said on a social media post, that his office had received an e-mail Tuesday, from the Iowa Department of Transportation. The DOT informed him that State Highway 92, west of Henry A. Wallace Road, will be closed from Monday, March 16th, through as late as October 1st, 2020.

The DOT said the closure was necessary, while they work to replace the bridge west of Henry A. Wallace Road (Henry A. Wallace Road/Sheldon Avenue on the east and Riverside Avenue to the west).

The official detour, which will be marked, will be (for westbound traffic) is as follows: Henry A. Wallace Road south to 310th Street, then west through Orient and north on State Highway 25 to Greenfield. For eastbound traffic, the official route will be the exact opposite.

Voters in Audubon County passed a $7.5 million Audubon School bond referendum that was proposed to pay for improvements and repairs to the Middle and High School buildings, especially with regard to the HVAC system at the High School.

Unofficial results from the Audubon County Auditor’s Office show the bond issue passed by a vote of 271 yes to 119 no (65.59% to 30.41%). The results will be made official once canvassed by the Board of Supervisors.