(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed an election bill that will no longer give someone registering to vote on Election Day the option of having a friend, neighbor or relative sign a document to confirm the prospective voter is who they say they are. Representative Adam Zabner, a Democrat from Iowa City, says during the 2024 election, 37 Johnson County residents used this option in order to register and vote on Election Day.

“Most of those Iowans were older Iowans, elderly folks who had lost their driver’s license or their ability to drive and didn’t have the proper ID and it was family members and caretakers who were attesting for them,” Zabner said. And he says no longer allowing this option will make is harder for some Iowans to vote. Representative Austin Harris, a Republican from Moulton, says West Virginia is the only other state that allows someone to attest to a potential voter’s identity.

“If someone doesn’t bring an acceptable ID to the polling location on Election Day, they can still vote by provision ballot and then have that cured afterwards. We still allow for that,” Harris said. “In fact, that’s what happens most of the time when people don’t have their I.D.” Someone who casts a provisional ballot on Election Day has to go to their county auditor’s office within a few days with a valid I-D and proof of their address or the ballot will not be counted.

Other elements of the House bill clarify when there may be recounts in school bonding elections and it puts county auditors in charge of handling the nominating petitions that qualify candidates for city and school board elections. Last year, city clerks and school board secretaries failed to file that paperwork on time and three dozen candidates did not get their names printed on ballots.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has passed bills to strengthen immigration and citizenship checks for voting, for getting an Iowa driver’s license and for working in Iowa schools or in the public sector. Bills that passed unanimously would require all Iowa schools and the state licensing board for educators to verify school staff are legally authorized to work in the U.S. — and the same clearance would be required for all newly-hired employees in state and local governments as well as for anyone who applies for a professional license issued by the state.

A bill that passed the senate with wide bipartisan support would have the Iowa D-O-T check federal databases to verify someone’s a citizen or legal resident before issuing a driver’s license. Senator Tim Kraayenbrink, a Republican from Fort Dodge, says there’s an appeal process if a license application is denied after that screening, but he expects few appeals.

“The United States Customs and Immigration Service, they rank the SAVE program as 99.16% accurate,” Kraayenbrink said. Another piece of legislation that cleared the Senate Tuesday, calls on Iowa’s secretary of state to verify registered voters in Iowa are U-S citizens. Republican Senator Ken Rozenboom of Pella says the secretary of state determined 277 non-citizens were registered to vote in the 2024 General Election.

“35 of those non-citizens successfully voted in the 2024 election and five non-citizens who attempted to vote were unsuccessful,” Rozenboom said, “so that’s, I guess, to illustrate the need for continually cleaning up our voter registration lists.” Thirteen Democrats in the Iowa Senate voted against this bill. Senator Cindy Winckler of Davenport says the federal government’s SAVE database is flawed and can give incorrect information about a person’s citizenship status.

“We want eligible individuals to vote,” Winckler said, “but we do not want to misclassify or disenfranchise an individual and keep them from voting.” The Senate has unanimously passed another bill that would require passage of an English proficiency test before someone could get a commercial driver’s license in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – Democrats in the Iowa House are accusing House Republicans of engaging in political theater by assigning blame to the court system and to State Auditor Rob Sand — a Democrat — for the mis-allocation of about 25-million dollars in court fines and fees. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports.

Computer software misdirected court fines and fees that should have gone to crime victims, county sheriffs’ departments and other agencies. House Republicans issued a report on Tuesday, blasting the court system for concealing the problem for three years and criticizing Sand for failing to fully investigate after his office was notified of the problem. House Democrats say Republicans on the House Government Oversight Committee are assigning blame to political opponents — Sand is running for governor — and they say House Republicans are failing to do a comprehensive, non-partisan investigation focused on solving a major problem in state government.

House Republicans on the Oversight Committee yesterday (Tuesday) called for a private company to take over distribution of court fines and fees And they suggested a private auditing firm should review how all the fines and fees paid to Iowa courts since the middle of 2020 were handled.

UPDATED 2/26/26:

CLARINDA, IOWA, February 25, 2026: The Page County Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday, that 36-year-old Nicholas Ivan Maher was found guilty, contrary to his plea, of one count of Domestic Abuse Assault by Strangulation, an aggravated misdemeanor, in Page County District Court after a two-day jury trial that began on February 24, 2026. The jury returned its verdict after 3 hours of deliberation.

Maher is currently free on bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled to take place on April 17, 2026. Maher faces a sentence that could include up to two years of incarceration and a $8,540.00 fine.

This case was investigated by the Shenandoah Police Department and prosecuted by the Page County Attorney’s Office.

Nicholas Ivan Maher

(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports a Polk County man was arrested Tuesday following an undercover online operation targeting individuals attempting to exploit minors. Creston Police Chief Cameron Hale says during the investigation, an officer posed as a 14-year-old female while communicating through an online platform. The suspect – 44-year-old Ryan Anderson, of Des Moines – and the undercover officer later transitioned communication to a texting platform. During the conversation, the undercover officer clearly stated she was 14 years old. Despite knowing the stated age, Anderson allegedly continued communication of a sexual nature, sent obscene material, and made arrangements to meet the purported minor for sexual purposes. He then drove to a predetermined meeting location, where he was taken into custody without incident.

Ryan Anderson was arrested and charged with:

• Enticing a Minor Under 16 for Sexual Purposes
• Grooming
• Dissemination and Exhibition of Obscene Material to a Minor

He was transported to the Union County Jail, where bond was set at $11,000 cash or surety. Anderson has since posted bond and was released, pending further court proceedings. The Creston Police Department says they remain “Committed to protecting children and proactively investigating crimes involving the exploitation of minors.”

A reminder: “All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House Ethics Committee has unanimously dismissed a complaint against two state representatives who are also state troopers. Cameron Stotz of Waukee filed the complaint, alleging it was a conflict of interest for the lawmakers to vote for a bill that would set the pay grades for troopers and other employees in the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Republican Representative Bill Gustoff of Des Moines is chairman of the Ethics Committee. “It would lead to no teachers could vote on education funding bills in this chamber,” Gustoff said, “and we think that’s absurd.” Gustoff says
unless a bill applies specifically to a job or a legislator’s specific investment, House rules allow members to vote on issues that may affect their employment.

Gustoff says he wishes the committee could fine Stotz for making a frivolous complaint. “I looked at it, dug into it and the legislature and its Ethics Committees don’t exist to pursue personal vendettas,” Gustoff said. “That’s kind of what looks like what happened here. Somebody got a tiket and wasn’t happy about it.” Republican Representative Joshua Meggers — one of the troopers named in the complaint — ticketed Stotz for speeding two summers ago. Meggers says Stotz has been trying to get him into trouble since then and has gone so far as to erroneously accuse him of driving his patrol vehicle back and forth to the Capitol during session — and getting a mileage reimbursement for that travel.

The other trooper named in the dismissed complaint was Republican Representative Zach Dieken of Granville.

(Mount Ayr, IA) – The Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Tue., Feb. 25th, of a Madison County man wanted on a Ringgold warrant for Willful Injury resulting in bodily injury, and Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. 40-year-old Aaron James Mangum, of Earlham, was arrested at around 8:25-p.m., following a traffic stop in Ringgold County. Mangum was transported to the Ringgold Sheriff’s Office and held without bond until seen by a Judge.

Aaron Mangum (Ringgold County S/O photo)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that would let Iowans who are legally allowed to carry firearms have guns in their locked vehicles in state, county and city parking lots. Republican Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig says the bill protects the Second Amendment rights of law abiding Iowans. “As they go about their day there should not be a place, funded by them, in which they have to stop. off premises, remove a constitutionally protected carry weapon to go to a place….in order to do their business with whatever level of government.”

Senator Art Staed, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, voted against the bill. He says unlike private property, state and local governments have a responsibility to ensure safety in public parking lots. “Allowing firearms in these spaces makes it more difficult for agents to protect employees and visitors and can complicate security planning for high-traffic facilities and for public events,” Staed said. The original bill would have let Iowans have guns in parked vehicles in the parking lots of Iowa community colleges, the three state supported universities and in the parking lots of Iowa’s K-through-12 schools — but those provisions were removed.

Senator Mike Zimmer, a Democrat from DeWitt, is a retired teacher, administrator and coach. Zimmer says he’s seen some angry people in the lines waiting to drop off or pick up students. “You can see the people’s faces getting (beet red). They get mad,” Zimmer said. “…I would prefer not to have people armed at that pick up or drop off time, so thank you for removing that.” Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, says tailgating parking lots should remain gun-free zones. “Sometimes post-game there are, let’s say, incidents of overtime competition even after the final result of the game is over,” Quirmbach said. “…Those are unfortunate sometimes and the last place we want guns to be available.”

The bill, which passed on a 35-to-12 vote, would also let Iowans have a loaded gun in a vehicle that’s transporting a child in foster care. The Iowa Senate gave nearly unanimous approval to a different bill that would let state lawmakers, judges, and the attorney general get a professional permit to carry a weapon. That bill passed on a 45-to-two vote.

(Greenfield, IA) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, during their meeting this (Wednesday) morning, agreed to set March 11^th at 9:10-a.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on repealing a pipeline ordinance. Auditor Mandy Berg…

Supervisor Jodie Hoadley reiterated what she said during last week’s meeting, with regard to the ordinance….

The Board acknowledged receipt of the FY2025 Adair County Audit, which Mandy Berg said had the usual dings to fiscal accountability that most every county experiences.

The Supervisors approved Township Clerk wages, and a Grove Township Mowing contract with Mike Mangels, who has handled the job for the past few years. The Board discussed landowners’ requests to vacate a portion of 115^th Street, in Adair County. And, they passed a Resolution to set Compensation for Right-Of-Way and Temporary Easement Purchases.

They passed also, a Resolution for a FY26 Farm-to-Market road rock contract with Schildberg Construction – the only bidder – for $281,322, which was above the engineer’s bid of $256,000, and reflects their seven-percent increase in costs, such as trucking gravel to the work site. And they received a regular weekly report from Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman. The next meeting of the Adair County Board of Supervisors takes place at 9-a.m. on Tuesday, March 3rd.

(Radio Iowa) – Coralville leaders have voted to end the city’s contract for automated license plate readers, after months of residents asking for the cameras to be removed. City council members had previously signed a two-year, 36-thousand dollar contract with Flock Safety, which operates the city’s two cameras. Coralville resident Dan Wohlers spoke during a public comment period. “By choosing to move away from the Flock system tonight, you are showing that you’ve truly heard us,” Wohlers says. “Throughout this process, we’ve discussed the complexities of this technology, the concerns over data privacy, the importance of strict policy guardrails and the need for local control over our residents’ information.”

The law enforcement tool is controversial as it uses artificial intelligence to capture images of license plates and models of passing vehicles. Several other Iowa communities are considering renewing their contracts with plate reader vendors or signing new ones. Coralville city council member Huy Huynh says there has been broad community opposition to the city’s contract with Flock Safety. “I can honestly say that in my mailbox, in my text messages, in my conversations with community members, that there has been some support,” Huynh says, “but the number of supporters for Flock: minute, compared to the number that is against it.”

City Administrator Kelly Hayworth says Flock will remove the cameras within days but did not provide specifics. Nearby, city officials in Iowa City ended a temporary right-of-use agreement with the University of Iowa earlier this month that allowed ALPRs operated by the university to be placed on city property. All those cameras have been removed. A recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa suggests the use of automatic license plate readers is expanding in Iowa. It found Cedar Rapids has the most cameras in the state at 76, while West Des Moines has 64 cameras, and Clinton County has 58.