(Des Moines, IA) – A member of the Iowa House of Representatives, Monday, announced she is retiring, and will not seek re-election. Democrat Jennifer Konfrst, who has represented the 32nd District since 2019, said in a post on social media that she  will retire from the Iowa House at the end of this year.

In a Facebook post, Konfrst thanked supporters following her recent decision to end her campaign for Congress. She said she is stepping aside to make room for new leadership in House District 32. Konfrst also said she is not done with politics and plans to serve her constituents through January 2027 while helping other Democrats leading up to Election Day.

Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D) profile photo from her official Facebook page

Read her full statement, here:

(Radio Iowa) – A legislator who started drinking a different flavor of a popular beverage was surprised she couldn’t return the empties for a nickel deposit, so she’s sponsoring a bill to expand Iowa’s Bottle Bill. Representative Devon Wood of New Market consumes a lot of CELSIUS, which contains caffeine.

“I fell in love with a flavor to start with that happened to have been carbonated and was throwing it in my box of redeemables to redeem as usual and then switched to a flavor that was not carbonated and hadn’t even thought about the difference,” Wood said.

There is a difference. Aluminum cans that contain alcoholic or carbonated beverages are part of the “Bottle Bill” and subject to a five cent deposit, which can be redeemed. Wood’s bill would make cans with non-carbonated beverages subject to the Bottle Bill as well. Critics say the nickel deposit is a tax on Iowans.

Supporters of the Bottle Bill say it encourages recycling, so bottles and cans don’t wind up in the trash. Wood’s bill is eligible for consideration in a House committee this week.

(Radio Iowa) – A hearing at the Iowa Capitol today (Tuesday) on a bill that would have banned abortions in Iowa has been cancelled. Twenty-four Republicans in the Iowa House co-sponsored the bill that would have made it a crime for Iowa doctors to perform abortions. Republican Representative Jon Dunwell, a pastor from Newton, was the bill’s lead sponsor.

“It was not the right time to take this on,” Dunwell says. “There are a couple of things that have to be worked through and so rather than going through this whole process, knowing we were going to hit some roadblocks, I’d rather focus some other life initiatives this year.” Dunwell, who is not seeking reelection, says he’s disappointed, but he says the reality is there were not 51 “yes” votes from Republicans to pass the bill in the House.

“You’re always trying to figure out where you’re going to allocate your resources where you can actually get something done and so just kind of been a calculation, looking at everything that’s going on, kind of figured: ‘O.K., let’s put all of our eggs in one basket with the black market abortion pill,” Dunwell said. “I know we can get that across the line.” That bill would make it illegal for out-of-state doctors to send abortion medication to Iowa women through the mail.

If the bill becomes law, woman seeking medication-induced abortions would have to have an in-person visit with a doctor and doctors who dispense abortion pills outside of a health care setting could be sued. There’s a deadline this Friday for policy bills to clear a committee in the House or Senate, or be sidelined for the year.

(Radio Iowa) – House Republicans are calling for more support of Iowa K-through-12 students than Governor Reynolds and Senate Republicans have proposed. Representative Dan Gelbach, of Urbandale, says the House G-O-P plan would amount to an extra 180 dollars in state spending per student for the next school year.

“We believe that 2.25% is a responsible, sustainable number and a promise we can make to our school districts,” Gelbach said. The increase also applies to state-funded Education Savings Accounts for private school students, so each student would get nearly 82-hundred dollars ($8,168) in state support under the House Republican’s plan. The bill passed the House Education Committee Monday with the support of Republicans.

Representative Heather Matson, of Ankeny, and the other Democrats on the panel opposed it. “It is more money,” Matson said. “That does not actually make it adequate.” Public school advocates say Iowa school districts need far more, suggesting anywhere from a three to five percent boost in state support of public schools facing inflation pressures as well as state law requiring 50-thousand dollar salaries for new teachers and a salary of at least 60-thousand for educators who’ve been teaching 12 years or more.

Governor Reynolds has suggested a two percent increase in state per pupil spending while Senate Republicans proposed a quarter-of-a-percent less than that.

(Greenfield, IA) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports two arrests occurred last week. On Feb. 10th, at around 8-a.m., the Iowa State Patrol stopped a vehicle traveling at or slightly in excess of 80-mph on eastbound Interstate 80 in Adair County. The same vehicle, a VW SUV with Indiana license plates, had been reported traveling at a high rate of speed on I-80 through Cass County.

Once the vehicle was stopped, and upon further investigation, the Trooper cited the driver – 53-year-old Timmy Wayne Mohr, of Wabash, IN – for speeding. As he was handing Mohr the citation, the Trooper noticed a vape pen in the SUV’s center console. Mohr acknowledged the pen contained a THC cartridge, but claimed he hadn’t smoked it in a couple of days.

A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of a back-pack full of THC products, including marijuana buds packed in dispensary packages, and jar with marijuana joints. Mohr was placed under arrest and transported to the Adair County Jail. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and later released on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

And, at around 7:35-p.m. on Feb. 13th,  Adair County Deputies arrested 50-year-old David Allen Jones, of Lamoni, at the Union County Jail. Jones was taken into custody on an Adair County Bench Warrant for Violation of Probation. He was initially held without bond, but then released the following day after making an appearance in Adair County District Court and posting a $2,000 cash-only bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says the state-owned fiber optic network should be sold as soon as possible. Governor Terry Branstad touted the Iowa Communications Network in 1989 as the cyber highway for K-12 students to take classes they weren’t able to get in their local district. Molly Severn, deputy chief of staff for Iowa’s current governor, estimates the state could get 100 MILLION dollars from selling the fiber network now.

“However, that value is only likely to only decrease as time goes on and the infrastructure continues to age,” Severn said. “Meanwhile the taxpayers’ liability to maintain that asset will only increase.” In the 1990s, several Republican lawmakers called for selling the network, arguing the state was running a telephone company that unfairly competed with the private sector.

In this century, during Governor Branstad’s fourth term in office, the legislature passed a bill calling for the Iowa Communications Network to be sold, but Branstad’s staff determined there were no viable offers. Governor Reynolds’ bill calling for the network’s speedy sale has cleared a House subcommittee. Reynolds’ staff told lawmakers the fiber network could be valuable to a private sector company, particularly in rural areas where broadband access is scarce. Others in the past have suggested there’s also value to acquiring the right of way where the state-owned network’s fiber cables are buried.

(Atlantic, IA) – The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce is warning local businesses about fake $100 and $10 bills that are being circulated. Chamber Executive Director Kelsey Beschorner said the Chamber was “Notified by First Whitney Bank, that several local businesses have recently encountered counterfeit currency in both $100 and $10 denominations.”

Beschorner asks business owners/managers to “Please remind staff to carefully check all cash received, particularly larger bills.” If you or your employees encounter an individual attempting to use suspected counterfeit currency, please do not engage and contact the Atlantic Police Department immediately.

Example of a counterfeit $100 bill (photo provided by the Chamber) – Note it says “Movie prop use only.”

(Radio Iowa)- Residents in the Fort Dodge area will soon have easy access to Colorado’s Mile High City, as direct flights to Denver will resume in a few months. Sarah Rustvold, director of the Fort Dodge Regional Airport, says the Denver flights that came to an end in 2022 will be starting up again this spring, five days a week.

“The community has expressed their interest and desire to have the Denver flight back,” Rustvold says. “So we have been in talks with SkyWest, letting them know that we have a huge community support, and we finally got the notification that they were able to get a route added back for us.” Federal officials still need to sign off on the resuming of flights between Fort Dodge and Denver, but Rustvold says the airline is already putting out a schedule.

“The flight in the morning would be coming from Denver and landing in Fort Dodge around 10:30, and then we would have Chicago in the middle of the day,” she says, “so we still offer that Fort Dodge to Chicago, leaving here at 11:13 and then going back to Fort Dodge from Chicago, and our Denver (flight) would be leaving Fort Dodge at 6:35 p.m.”

It’s expected the Fort Dodge-Denver flights will resume on May 21st.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would let Iowa cigar bars sell liquor could be debated in a senate committee this week. Chuck Ripley owns The Cigar Social USA shop just off I-80 in Davenport. “We’re a high end premium cigar lounge and we should be able to serve you a beverage is you want one,” Ripley said, “an adult beverage, that is.” Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act allows indoor smoking on casino floors, but that is the only public exception to the law that was passed in 2008. Ripley says the bill would let businesses that sell premium cigars get a state liquor license.

“We’re trying to make this make a lot more sense for not only small business, but the Department of Revenue as well,” Ripley said. The fee for a state liquor license for Ripley’s business would be over 16-hundred dollars a year, plus the state sales tax would be assessed on every glass of whiskey, bourbon or tequilla sold. Ripley is among those who spoke at a subcommittee hearing in a room in the Iowa Capitol where smoking was allowed four decades ago.

A.J. Brown of Des Moines is urging legislators to grant cigar bars an exemption from the law that bans smoking in enclosed public areas, like bars. He’s has been to cigar bars in Rapid City, South Dakota, Omaha and Denver. “You can pair drinks and food,” Brown said. “This is a very similar thing where you can pair a drink with a cigar and enjoy both at the same time.” Chris Hay of Des Moines predicts Iowa cigar bars would draw more patrons if alcohol were served. He’s been to indoor cigar bars in Florida and Texas.

“My wife loves to go with me to these and she’ll have a cocktail or a drink while I have a cigar and a drink,” Hay said. A coalition of groups that support Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act oppose the move. Catherine Pollard is a spokesperson for CAFE — Clean Air for Everyone, a non-profit focused on reducing tobacco use. “At a time when Iowa’s cancer rates are rising, it’s really disappointing to see further exemptions being written in rather than closing some of the loopholes that already exist,” Pollard said.

Some states like Connecticut and Wisconsin that banned indoor smoking in the past 20 years allowed indoor cigar bars already in existence to continue serving alcohol. Wisconsin lawmakers are considering a bill that would license NEW businesses that could sell alcoholic drinks on the menu with premium cigars.