(Radio Iowa) — The opening day of the 2020 Iowa legislature features what the Iowa G-O-P’s chairman calls “a new generation of leadership” in the Iowa House. Thirty-six-year-old Pat Grassley of New Hartford was installed as House Speaker today (Monday). U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley and his wife, Barbara — his grandparents — were in Des Moines to mark the moment.  “I’m very proud of Pat not only for being selected speaker, but I’ve seen him grow over the years that he first approach me 14 years ago saying he’d like to run for the state house of representatives,” Senator Grassley says. “I don’t recall a single political conversation I had with him before that point.”

Thirty-six-year-old Matt Windschitl, of Missouri Valley, is now the majority leader in the Iowa House. “We’ve been in the majority since 2011,” Windschitl says. “What we’re going to do this session is continue to give Iowans every reason to give us that majority back in the November elections. It’s as simple as that.” Windschitl and other G-O-P leaders spoke early this (Monday) morning at a party fundraiser in Des Moines. Forty-six-year-old Charles Schneider of West Des Moines has been president of the Iowa Senate for nearly two years. He says lowering taxes and cutting red tape are core G-O-P promises. “We know that our approach is what Iowans want because they sent us there to accomplish that and they kept us there in 2018,” Schneider said at the GOP breakfast, “and I believe they’ll keep us there in 2020 as well.”

Democrats had a private fundraiser Sunday evening. Members of the House and Senate are unable to collect campaign contributions during the legislative session.

(Radio Iowa) — Free tax filing of your 2019 return is now available from the Internal Revenue Service. I-R-S spokesperson Diane Fox says you can find the information on their website. “You can go to I-R-S-dot-gov-slash-free-file (IRS.gov/freefile) and get started on your taxes. Free File does all the hard work for you. Frankly, it makes taxes less taxing in a lot of ways,” Fox says. She says the program is based on your income. “Anyone who made 69-thousand dollars or less last year can use Free File,” she says. “We even have a special offer for active duty military personnel. And we offer one product in Spanish.”

Fox says they have a variety of name brand Free File options. “It’s do it yourself software — but it leads people through — so that people don’t leave money on the table — that they get all the benefits that are available to them for their refund,” according to Fox. “And makes sure that it checks everything for them before they electronically file.” Fox says there is added benefit to going through the I-R-S site to get the Free File software. “You end up with the guardrails that we have in place for this program to make sure that you are getting the Free File program that has some protections for you,” she says. “In fact, we even have some of those protections listed on our website — so you can readily see what to expect when you are using the program.”

Fox says around 22-thousand people in Iowa used Free File last year. She says that is well below the number of people who are eligible to use the program.

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) – A judge has ordered the owners of a closed-down roadside zoo in eastern Iowa to explain what happened to some animals that were supposed to be removed. In late November the judge ordered removal of exotic animals from Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester. An attorney representing Iowa residents who sued for the zoo’s closure filed an affidavit requesting a contempt charge. It alleged that several animals specifically mentioned in the removal order could not be found. The zoo owners’ attorney didn’t immediately return a message Monday from The Associated Press. The judge set the hearing for Feb. 7.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – County leaders have scheduled a March 3 election on bonds to build a replacement jail in western Iowa’s Monona County. The jail in Onawa was built in 1976 to hold 12 inmates but now regularly holds 20. Station KTIV reports that the $6.2 million replacement would be built on the northeast side of the courthouse square in Onawa. It would house up to 32 inmates, with the possibility of expanding to hold as many as 66. It also would have interview rooms and more office space for the sheriff’s office and police department.