(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Lawsuits claiming that greenhouse gas emissions from an agricultural operation impacted the climate would be prohibited under a bill passed Thursday by the Iowa House.  Supporters of the bill, which passed with a vote of 66-24, said the bill protects against “frivolous” climate lawsuits, while opponents of the bill worried the language was too broad and would limit Iowans’ abilities to seek damages.  House File 2527 would limit farmers’ and ranchers’ liability in cases alleging an “actual or potential” effect on the climate caused “wholly or partly” by greenhouse gas emissions.

Rep. Derek Wulf, R-Hudson, introduced the bill and said on the floor that the “ag friendly bill” allows farmers to “continue to do what they do best, and that’s farm and ranch.” Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, introduced an amendment to the bill to exempt lawsuits related to nuisances or weather-related damages that could be tied to climate change. Scholten said the amendment clarified some of the “broad language” of the bill. He argued that without the amendment, a neighbor “suffering real tangible harm” like a farmer with damaged drainage, decreased property value or a polluted well, could be unable to seek damages in an Iowa court.

Scholten also took issue with the section of the bill that protects from lawsuits that are “wholly or partly” attributed to greenhouse gas emissions. This language, he argued, could be applied more broadly and allow a defendant to “escape liability entirely” for something like a “straightforward” weather damage claim, especially, as he argued it’s not uncommon for severe weather events to be partly attributed to climate change. Wulf said the bill’s intent was not to affect nuisance claims, nor to protect bad actors.

The House voted in favor of the bill and also adopted an amendment from Wulf that added “petroleum source” to the list of greenhouse gas emissions described in the bill. The House also passed, unanimously, House File 2596 to update language for Iowa’s grain indemnity program, which was revamped in 2025, and helps farmers get paid for sold grain when their buyers go bankrupt. The inclusion of credit-sale contracts – when a seller has sold and delivered the grain but will receive payment at a later date – was a source of conflict among lawmakers as they updated the grain indemnity program. Credit-sale contracts were included in the final version of the bill signed by the governor.

Both bills were sent to the Senate.

(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) –  Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law Thursday the bill establishing a 2% State Supplemental Aid rate, providing per-pupil funding for Iowa’s K-12 schools in the upcoming school year. Republican lawmakers said Senate File 2201 results in roughly a $160 increase from the previous fiscal year in state spending per student, up to a total cost of $8,148 per pupil.

Reynolds said in a statement the 2% SSA measure results in “more than $4 billion for Iowa’s public schools” from state funds, and that when considering state, local, and federal funding streams, Iowa schools are estimated to receive more than $9.1 billion in total education funding during the 2026-2027 school year. Reynolds also pointed to other education measures she signed into law in recent years, such as increasing minimum salaries for teachers, making changes to improve Iowa’s reading and literacy education and expanding STEM and work-based learning options in K-12 schools.

But in a news conference Thursday, House Minority Leader Brian Meyer said Democrats opposed the school funding package because the approved SSA rate does not allow schools to “even keep up with inflation.”

The Iowa Senate sent the measure to the governor’s desk Monday in a 27-20 vote. The measure was a compromise reached between Senate and House Republicans, as well as the governor’s office. Senate Republicans initially proposed a 1.75% SSA rate while the House called for a 2.25% rate. Republicans’ initial proposals — as well as the compromise reached — fall far below the 5% minimum SSA rate called for by public education organizers like the Iowa State Education Association, the rate which was introduced but failed as an amendment from House Democrats.

The law also includes provisions to put an estimated $42.2 million state funding for schools on the budget guarantee, and extends property tax relief payments by a year. Additionally, it provides an additional $7 million for para-educator and support personnel pay — half of the $14 million called for by House Republicans. House Speaker Pat Grassley said the House GOP will pursue the additional $7 million in funding during later budget discussions.

(Radio  Iowa) – Iowa driver’s license exams will only be given in English if a bill that’s cleared the Iowa House becomes law. Representative Josh Meggers, a Republican from Grundy Center, says the bill is about consistency and clarity. “Under existing law, English is the official language of the State of Iowa. Our statute already requires that official documents, proceedings and actions conducted on behalf of the state be in English,” Meggers said. “However, driver’s license examinations have been carved out as an exemption.”

People can currently take the test for an Iowa driver’s license in 20 languages in addition to English. The bill passed on a 58 to 30 vote. Democrats like Representative Angel Ramirez of Cedar Rapids say the English-only policy would lead to citizens and legal residents who aren’t fluent in English driving without a license and without insurance.  “It is already illegal for undocumented individuals to obtain a driver’s license in Iowa,” Ramirez said. “The people this bill most impacts are legal residents and citizens — our neighbors — many of whom are Spanish speakers, working hard to build a life here.”

Representative Adam Zabner, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the bill will have a chilling effect on Iowans who should be able to take the test in their birth language. “Iowa is a rural state. In most of Iowa it is almost impossible to work if you cannot drive,” Zabner said. “This bill would make the daily life of citizens (and) of Iowans with legal status impossible.” Meggers, who is a state trooper, says the policy will make Iowa roads safer.

“The purpose of a driver’s license exam is to ensure competency and understanding of traffic laws,” Meggers said. “Public safety improves as drivers clearly understand the rules of the road as written and posted.” South Dakota and five other states currently have English-only rules for driver’s license tests.

Other state’s policies (for comparison): Nebraska exams offered in English and Spanish; Missouri exams offered in English and 11 other languages; Illinois in English and four other languages; Wisconsin in English and seven other languages; Minnesota in English and five other languages.

The Iowa D-O-T offers driver’s license study materials and exams in the following 21 languages: Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hmong, Italian, Korean, Laotian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says using Iowa State Patrol airplanes on official travel helps her get more done, more quickly. “I travel the state extensively and I have a family and we work weekends, “Reynolds said. “…We try to get out and attend as many things as we can.” Earlier this week the Des Moines Register reported Reynolds has been using a state-owned plane purchased in late 2024 with federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Yesterday (Thursday), Reynolds told statehouse reporters while she has flown in that plane and others in the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s fleet and it’s the agency that decides which one is available and who’ll fly it. “It allows me to actually get out and reach constituents quicker, so it’s the right thing to do. I don’t ever use it for personal use. It’s always for official use,” Reynolds said. “Several governors have their own plane. We don’t.”

In the 1980s Governor Terry Branstad sold three state-owned airplanes as a budget-cutting move. Democrats say it is outrageous that Reynolds has used a state-owned plane for political purposes. The Register reported Reynolds flew to Sioux City January 29th to visit with students and staff at two local schools, then she endorsed Congresswoman Ashley Hinson’s U-S Senate bid during an event in Sioux City that evening.

Representative Adam Zabner, a Democrat from Iowa City, says it was wrong to use over four-and-a-half MILLION dollars in pandemic relief money on a plane. “At a time when Iowans are struggling to make ends meet…the governor used money intended to help everyday Iowans to purchase this plane,” Zabner said.

Reynolds says the plane purchased with pandemic funds is primarily being used for law enforcement purposes and her flights accounted for fewer than three percent of the hours state-owned planes were flown last year.

(Red Oak, IA) – A woman from eastern Iowa was arrested Thursday night in Montgomery County for Possession of Methamphetamine/2nd offense, an aggravated misdemeanor. Sheriff’s officials say 32-year-old Ashley Ann Marie Ashburn, of Davenport, was arrested at around 8:30-p.m., following a traffic stop at Highway 34 and  P Avenue, in Montgomery County.

Ashburn was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a  $2,000 bond.

(Greenfield, IA) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, this (Thursday) evening, released a statement about a fatal home explosion near Greenfield. The Sheriff said that at around 1:15-p.m., “the Adair County Communication Center was notified of an apparent house explosion that had occurred at 2597 Marion Avenue in Adair County. The Fontanelle and Greenfield Fire Departments, the Adair County Ambulance and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the scene.

Upon arrival, first responders located the body of a deceased male. The deceased was identified as 51-year-old John David Christensen, the sole occupant of the residence. The assistance of the Iowa State Fire Marshal Division was requested. The exact cause of the house explosion is undetermined at this time and is currently under investigation. Christensen was transported to the Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny for autopsy.

The Adair & Guthrie County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) assisted with the incident.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynold says she’ll keep pushing for an increase in Iowa’s tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products — and a new 15 percent sales tax on vaping products. Her proposed tax hikes were included in a bill that failed in a Senate committee last week. Reynolds held a news conference earlier this month to release the latest University of Iowa research on cancer rates in Iowa and proposed the tax hike as one way to reduce smoking and address the fact Iowa has more late stage lung cancer cases than other states.

A House committee has considered a bill that includes some of the governor’s Make America Healthy Again or MAHA  agenda, but House Republicans removed the tobacco tax hike from the legislation. Reynolds says she understands her fellow Republicans are reluctant to raise taxes on cigarettes, vapes and consumable hemp products.

Reynolds is proposing that the state tax on a pack of cigarettes go up to the national average, which is just over two-dollars a pack. Reynolds also recommends the state start charging a 15 percent tax on vaping products and consumable hemp products.

(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents had the first reading today of a proposal that would raise in-state tuition by three percent at the three state universities. Board member Christine Hensley of Des Moines says she was concerned to learn about the increase in the media.

“And to have to read about something that’s really significant to the Board of Regents, where we determine what the tuition is going to be, and I find out about that in the media. That’s not the way a board should work,” Hensley says. She says she’s had discussions with the Board staff on trying to figure out how get all the regents are involved, but she says there are still some concerns.

” I’m going to vote no on that. I think there are some options. There are lots of pieces in the puzzle right now,” she says. “You’ve got the legislature that’s looking at tuition guarantees, tuition freezes. You’ve got the other increases that we just saw. You know, so it’s not just a tuition increase.”

Hensley was referring to increases that will be coming in the room and board fees. Hensley says she wants to be sure they are looking at all the costs involved. “If you look, there was a Gallup poll that just came out in the paper surveying students and what were the issues in higher education, affordability was at the top of the list. And I think we need to be sensitive to that,” she says.

Board president Robert Cramer says they set the three percent level in case there was a drop in state funding. Board staff also say that 25 percent of tuition is given out as student aid, so the actual student increase in cost is smaller. Hensley says she’s like to have more discussion on the issue before they take a final vote on the tuition increase in April. Other board members say they would be interested in more discussions as well and the total cost to students with the tuition increase.

(Red Oak, IA – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a man from Cass County (IA) was injured during a single-vehicle accident this (Thursday) morning (Feb. 26th). Authorities say Charles Michael Noty, of Atlantic, was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Villisca Rescue, after the SUV he was driving left the traveled portion of a highway and entered the ditch, before striking a drainage culvert and coming to rest. Officials think the accident was the result Noty having some sort of a medical emergency.

Separately, Police in Red Oak say a man was arrested in Montgomery County Thursday morning on a warrant for violation of the State’s Sex Offender Registry. 37-year-old Brett Michael Stacey, of Red Oak, taken to the Montgomery County Jail and later released on a $2,000 bond.