State senators are considering legislation that would crack down on Iowa businesses that sell products used to smoke meth.  Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, says “Metallic and glass devices that are commonly used in one of the biggest problems that Iowa has right now, which is smoking methamphetamines, so we’re trying to define these devices.”

Dawson is also a special agent for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. It is illegal to sell “drug paraphernalia” in Iowa, but Dawson says some Iowa businesses claim these devices are for smoking tobacco or burning incense. The bill would require businesses to have a license to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products, plus ANOTHER license with a yearly thousand-dollar fee to sell these glass and metal pipes. In addition, a new state excise tax would be imposed on every item sold — and those fees would go toward supporting the state’s drug courts.

“On a personal level, I think it’s unconscionable for a business owner to sell these devices full well knowing the destruction that these things eventually create in a people’s lives and then ask taxpayers to pay for it on the back end through the court system, through a variety of other issues,” Dawson says. “U.S. Constitutional case law says I can’t ban the device so what I’m going to try to do is at least make that business owner deploy a conscious business decision that if I’m going to sell these, this is what the cost’s going to be and at least give some relief to the taxpayer on the back end.”

Dawson says some of these pipes are being sold for as much as three-THOUSAND dollars. “These things have proliferated now throughout the state of Iowa,” Dawson says. “We have gas stations selling these devices.” The bill would require retailers to keep these devices out of reach of minors, so they’d have to go behind the counter alongside cigarettes. Dawson says meth is the most common illegal drug in the state now and meth power or rocks is often heated to generate fumes that are inhaled.

“You can’t apply a direct flame to them, otherwise you burn the product,” Dawson says. Glass and metal pipes are commonly used for a key reason, according to Dawson. “How people would smoke methamphetamines used to be back in the day you’d put it on aluminum foil and you’d heat the bottom and they’d use like a pen to smoke it which would create a residue on there, so that would be drug paraphernalia,” Dawson says. “But what people are doing now is they are buying these glass pipes because if they encounter law enforcement they can throw it on the ground and smash it right away and destroy the evidence, which is why it’s becoming more of a preferred use here for people using those illicit drugs.”

Another section the bill is a response to the growing number of products being sold with labels touting hemp or marijuana as key ingredients. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says it’s buyer beware today. “It hasn’t been tested, necessarily, and what they’re buying may not be what the container says. I think that’s important,” Bolkcom says.

The bill has cleared the Senate Commerce Committee. It’s scheduled for review this week in the Senate Ways and Means Committee

(Radio Iowa) — A new report says Iowa’s economy loses nearly one-billion dollars annually from parents having problems getting childcare. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation report says childcare breakdowns cause Iowa employers to lose 781 million annually from absences and employees quitting. It also says the state misses out on another 153 million in annual tax revenue.

Jillian Herink, executive director of the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children, says Iowa has one of the highest percentages of working parents, but at the same time is losing childcare providers at “an alarming rate”. The Iowa Women’s Foundation reports lack of access is growing in part because Iowa has lost 40 percent of its childcare businesses since 2012 and the state’s childcare workers are among the lowest paid occupations.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Worries about a new virus that’s infected tens of thousands of people globally are making a mark on the economy of a nine-state region in the Midwest and Plains. A new survey report says the Mid-American Business Conditions Index sank in February to 52.8 from 57.2 in January. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the softer reading and the economic harm from the virus should concern policymakers. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A former secretary for Iowa soil and water conservation districts has been charged with stealing from the organizations. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Iowa’s Northern District says Leslie Carey was charged Monday with one count of wire fraud. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports her attorney filed a notice that she would plead guilty. Carey was an administrative aide for the soil and water conservation districts in Black Hawk and Bremer counties from 2007 to 2017. She resigned after an overdrawn account led to a state audit.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa man who bought a Powerball ticket that turned out to be worth $1 million claimed his prize Monday. Shane Saxen told Iowa Lottery officials he usually doesn’t buy a ticket until the jackpot’s really high. But this time he decided, “Why not? I’ll get one.” The ticket he bought at a Brew convenience store matched five of the numbers drawn Saturday but missed the Powerball number. The 31-year-old lives in Correctionville and works as a campus security officer at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. He says he plans to invest most of his winnings for retirement.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — An Oklahoma man has been charged in Iowa with harboring a runaway teenager from Mississippi. Court documents say the 15-year-old and 21-year-old Jared Wright were found Sunday in his car at a high school parking lot in Johnston, Iowa. Authorities say she was unharmed. The court documents don’t list an attorney for Wright. He lives in Lawton, Oklahoma. The documents say police from Tishomingo County, Mississippi, contacted the Iowa department Sunday to say the girl was thought be in Iowa at a store in Grimes. She wasn’t, but she and Wright were found not far away later at the parking lot.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office continues to update their list of candidates who are running for election (or re-election, as the case may be), to State and Federal Offices, and have filed nomination papers with the proper amount of signatures.

Here is the latest list (R=Republican, D=Democrat; I= Incumbent):

U-S Representative – District 4: (R) Randy Feenstra, of Hull; (R) Bret A. Richards, of Irwin.

State Senate – District 6: (R) Heath Hansen, of Audubon.

State Senate – District 8: (D) Steve Gorman, of Council Bluffs.

State Senate – District 12: (R) (I) Mark Costello, of Imogene.

State Representative – District 16: (D) Jen Pellant, of Council Bluffs.

State Rep. – District 17: (R) (I) Matt Windschitl, of Missouri Valley.

State Rep. – District 18: (R) (I) Steven Holt, of Denison.

State Rep. – District 20: (R) (I) Ray “Bubba” Sorensen, of Greenfield.

State Rep. – District 21: (R) (I) Tom Moore, of Griswold.

State Rep. – District 22: (R) (I) Jon Jacobsen, of Council Bluffs.

State Rep. – District 23: (R) (I) David A. Sieck, of Glenwood.

State Rep. – District 24: (D) Chris Adcock, of Essex.

The last day to file nomination papers for State/Federal Office, is March 13th.

The first day to file nomination papers in advance of the June 2nd Primary, has come and gone. By the end of the day, Monday, four people had submitted their completed nomination forms to the Cass County Auditor’s Office, and will have their names appear on the ballot in June

The latest filing was from LeAnne Pellett, who seeks election to the Cass County Hospital Board (a non-partisan position). Earlier, Auditor Dale Sunderman and Sheriff Darby McLaren (Both Republicans), filed for re-election. And, Russell Joyce – former Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO) Director – filed his papers to run as a Democrat on the Cass County Board of Supervisors, in District 5.

Current D-5 Supervisor Frank Waters, who is serving his 12th year on the Board, announced last month that he would not be running for re-election. The last day to file nomination papers in advance of the June 2nd Primary, is Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

Nomination papers and candidate information are available at the office of the county auditor and from the secretary of state: www.sos.iowa.gov

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said Monday (Mar. 2), that last Friday (Feb. 28), United States District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced 46-year old Jason Eric Leinen, of Council Bluffs, to 97 months (slightly more than 8-years) in prison, for possession of child pornography. Leinen was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow his prison term, pay $500 in restitution to each victim seeking restitution, and to comply with sex offender registry requirements upon release.

The investigation began in April 2018, when a Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department Deputy was working undercover investigating users sharing child pornography on a peer-to-peer file sharing network. The program identified an IP address sharing known images and videos of child pornography. A search warrant was executed on Leinen’s residence and a desktop drive and PC were seized. The forensic exam produced numerous links to the peer-to-peer file sharing networks, child erotica, and child pornography.

The matter was investigated by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department and the Council Bluffs Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The amount of water being released into the Missouri River from Gavins Point Dam will be decreased somewhat this week, so the river levels won’t interfere with ongoing levee repairs downstream. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Monday that the amount of water flowing out of Gavins Point on the Nebraska-South Dakota border will be reduced to 35,000 cubic feet per second. That’s down from the current 38,000 cubic feet per second. Even at the new level, the releases from Gavins Point dam will remain more than double what is typical for this time of year.