(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court is siding with the Davenport Public Defender’s office in dealing with an overloaded court system. The Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the district court exceeded its limited role in determining whether the Davenport Public Defender should be allowed to withdraw from six cases.

The district court wanted a hearing detailing the office’s workload instead of accepting Public Defender’s determination they don’t have enough lawyers to handle the six cases where the defendants can’t afford their own lawyers.

The Supreme Court acknowledged the shortage of public defenders is an epidemic in the state, but said its ruling is limited to the Davenport situation and the role the district court plays in deciding if there is a temporary overload of cases.

(Radio Iowa) – Brian Meyer — the leader of DEMOCRATS in the Iowa House — says says a silent majority of Iowans want the carbon pipeline built and he says the Senate’s REPUBLICAN leader has proposed a resolution that will end the stalemate.

“I think it’s probably the most likely to pass, with maybe some tweaking around the edges,” Meyer said. “It’s my personal opinion that actually would be a way forward.” Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh is offering a bill that would expand the proposed pipeline corridor, so Summit Carbon Solutions could go around unwilling landowners and find people who’d let the pipeline run through their land. Meyer is one of 21 Democrats in the House who voted against a bill this month that would completely ban the use of eminent domain to seize land along the pipeline route.

“It’s just not a real bill,” Meyer said. “…At some point we need to sit down and have a conversation and negotiate a way forward on this pipeline.” Some Republicans like Adam Steen, who’s running for governor, have suggested the push to protect the property rights of landowners who oppose the pipeline is among the top campaign issues of 2026. Meyer says the Senate G-O-P leader’s bill is the best way to resolve the issue.

“I think there’s a lot of people in rural Iowa that want the pipeline and you have to look at everybody,” Meyer said, “not just 250 people that show up at the Capitol with red shirts on.” That’s a reference to landowners and their supporters who’ve gathered at the Iowa Capitol most Tuesdays during the past few legislative sessions, urging legislators to either block the pipeline or at least give them the right to say it can’t be on their property.”That’s certainly something to take into account and it’s very important that we address those issues with eminent domain and we protect property rights,” Meyer said, “and I think the Senate bill does its best to do that.”

But Meyer says it’s time to get the pipeline started. “There’s a lot of people in rural Iowa who are kind of the silent majority that want this to get done,” Meyer said, “because we need to address the economic realities in rural Iowa with corn and ethanol.”

Meyer made his comments today (Friday) during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa-born actress, writer, teacher and director with more than five decades of stage experience is starring in the title role of a touring Broadway production that will make a one-week stop in Iowa next week. Sioux City native Ann Morrison, who’s 70, is very up-front about her age and says it’s a thrill to play the lead in “Kimberly Akimbo,” which won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

“The show is about a 15-year-old turning 16 during the course of the play, who has a rare genetic disease that causes her to age four or five years every year. So even though she’s turning 16, she’s actually in the body of a 70-year-old. And that would be me,” Morrison says, laughing. “I am, by spirit, a 16-year-old in a 70-year-old body, so I usually just jokingly say, I just have to show up.”

In an era when so much emphasis on stage and screen is placed on young blondes, Morrison says she’s neither, and it’s a spectacular change of pace to be playing this part — at this level — as a septuagenarian. “It’s interesting because some people say they think I am a 16-year-old with older makeup on. Of course, when I’m on stage, you can’t tell, you don’t see the lines in my face,” she says. “So some people think I am young and they’re shocked when I say, no, I’m really 70.”

Over her accomplished career, Morrison has performed multiple roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway and London’s West End. She says her love of the theatre started early when she was growing up in Sioux City. “My dad was a professor at Morningside College and my mother also was an adjunct teacher there and they created a musical theater,” she says. “This is back in 1950s and 60s because I’m 70 years old and I lived on campus.”

Following in her parents’ footsteps, Morrison now runs her own theatre company, SaraSolo Productions, that’s focused on young actors. “I’ve started this company to help people develop their own solo theater, that means standing on stage by yourself and creating story, but in a theatrical way,” Morrison says. “And so we go into performing arts high schools, and I work with 16-year-olds. So my Kimberly for me is a conglomeration of all the 16-year-olds that I adore so much.”

Morrison says the show is “full of heart at a time when we really need some heart.” The musical “Kimberly Akimbo” is playing at the Des Moines Civic Center, with eight shows next Tuesday through Sunday.

civiccenter.org
https://www.sarasolo.org/

(Atlantic, IA) – Officials with the Atlantic-based Southwest Iowa Transit Agency (SWITA), today (Friday), announced the organization was awarded a State Transit Assistance Special Project grant to help launch a pilot program to improve access to healthcare. SWITA is partnering with Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital and CHI Mercy Hospital to launch a new healthcare transportation program call SWI-Ride.

Once launched, the new program will aid transportation to and from scheduled medical appointments with healthcare providers at the two hospitals. The Iowa Department of Transportation has awarded a $50,000 State Transit Assistance Special Project grant to SWITA to help with scaling up the pilot program.

In a news release, Tara Slevin, President of the Jennie Edmundson Foundation, said “Reliable transportation is one of the most common—and most challenging—barriers our patients face when trying to access care. We see firsthand how difficult it can be for individuals to get to scheduled appointments, particularly when financial constraints limit their options. Our partnership with SWITA and CHI Mercy Hospital reflects a shared commitment to addressing that challenge. This State Transit Assistance grant, secured by SWITA, is an incredible step forward in helping bridge transportation gaps and expanding reliable access to care for patients across Pottawattamie and Mills Counties.”

Photo courtesy Chris Parks, SWIPCO Communications Coordinator

SWI-Ride seeks to provide a transportation option for patients that have barriers identified by healthcare partners to ensure they have access to their medical appointments. The launch is tentatively set for mid-February and will operate Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It will initially be limited to rides within Pottawattamie and Mills Counties. SWITA, Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, and CHI Mercy Hospital are providing matching funds over and above the $50,000 state grant to start the program.

SWITA is based in Atlantic and has a vehicle hub in Council Bluffs which serves 8 counties in Southwest Iowa with over 100 vehicles and approximately 70 drivers. It is Iowa’s largest rural public transit service in terms of the total number of rides provided each year, averaging 550,000 rides annually and growing.

To find out more about SWITA and the services offered you can browse SWITA.com or call 800-842-8065 or 712-243-2518. Follow SWITA on Facebook for regular updates as well.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court rules a victim impact statement in Cerro Gordo County case was properly used to sentence a woman took money from her employer. Malorie Hallock pleaded guilty to stealing 120-thousand dollars during a nine-month period when she worked at Studio 65 Tattoo in Clear Lake. She agreed to a plea deal for a deferred judgment and promised to gradually pay back the money. The owner of Studio 65 Tattoo made a lengthy victim-impact statement at Hallock’s sentencing saying the embezzlement almost ruined her life, and caused her to be hospitalized for depression.

The owner said it was hard to accept that she would get off so easily after stealing so much. The judge said the impact statement was thoughtful and sentenced Hallock to an indefinite prison term not to exceed ten years.

Hallock said the court abused its discretion in the sentencing, but the Supreme Court ruled the judge is not bound by a sentencing recommendation and properly considered the impact statement.

(Red Oak, IA) – Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna reports the Montgomery County Courthouse elevator will be temporarily closed for a full modernization project starting Monday, February 2nd (2026). Work is expected to continue through the end of March. During work on the courthouse elevator, it will be out of service. If you need assistance please call 712-623-6625 to reach the appropriate department for support or to discuss available access options or email auditor@montgomerycountyia.gov.

For the Clerk of Court please call 712-623-4986.

The Montgomery County Courthouse Custodian says “Your patience and understanding are appreciated as we work to improve our facilities.”

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Democrats and Republicans will be holding Caucuses on Monday night, starting at 7 p.m. The meetings allow local candidates to meet with the party’s local voters and elect the precinct residents who’ll attend each party’s county conventions. Party platform ideas are also discussed. These mid-term Iowa Caucuses don’t get as much attention as the Caucuses that have kicked off presidential campaigns in the past. Iowa Republicans appear positioned to start the 2028 presidential election with the Iowa Republican Party’s Caucuses. Iowa Democrats were kicked out of the lead-off spot in 2024 — and have applied to national party leaders to regain an early voting contest in the next presidential election.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart says no other state has the infrastructure and the history of giving long-shot candidates like Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama a chance. “In our application we highlight the unique flexibility of our party-run Caucus process and like we have in past cycles we commit to exploring ways to grow participation and access,” Hart said. “I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: All options are on the table for Iowa Democrats in 2028.”

Hart says the national party must reconnect with rural voters and Iowa is the place where that can start. “If the Democratic Party wants to start winning big, sustainable majorities again, our candidates need to show that they can compete in states like Iowa,” Hart said.

A group of Democratic National Committee members are scheduled to meet this Saturday, January 31st to begin considering which cluster of states should be selected to hold the first voting events of the 2028 presidential campaign.

(Radio Iowa) – With the tax filing season now underway, a University of Iowa accounting professor suggests America adopt what’s being done in many European countries, where the government prepares your taxes for you — for free. Professor Ryan Wilson says our current electronic filing process is automated, so it wouldn’t be a great stretch for the I-R-S to go the next step and prepare our taxes, too. “The government already has most information that they need to pre-populate tax returns for most citizens,” Wilson says. “If individuals had more complex investments, they could always opt out of the pre-populated return and do their own taxes, but I think for the majority of Americans, it would just reduce anxiety, save a lot of time, and save a lot of money.”

Wilson says a program called ReadyReturn is already being used in nations including the U-K, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain, where the government prepares its citizens’ taxes. He says the program is simple and it’s successful. “They send you a completed return and if you’re in agreement with the return, then you can sign it and send it back,” Wilson says. “It’s different in each country, but there’s always a mechanism to challenge or try to correct something that you don’t agree with, but if you’re in agreement with what’s reported, in some countries, you can even just text back. You get a text from the government and if you text back ‘YES,’ then you’re done.”

Many Americans have a healthy skepticism of the federal government, but Wilson thinks people would come around to loving the concept of having the taxing task of tax preparation handled by Uncle Sam, especially if it’s free. “Oh, yeah, I do, I really do,” Wilson says. “I think that as long as you had the option to opt out, and that was perfectly legal, and you had a clear mechanism for challenging anything, I think people would look back in 10 years and wonder what in the world we’re doing, spending half of an afternoon or a whole day trying to trying to file your own return.”

There’s a large segment of the population that will question everything that comes from Washington D-C, and while those people may never trust the I-R-S to do their taxes for them, Wilson believes this is a winning idea. “You’d be able to verify all the information, since you have your own W-2s, you have all your tax documents from your employer, 10-99s and so on, so you should be able to cross-check what is on the pre-filed return,” Wilson says, “but yeah, I understand there could be some skepticism, I suppose.”

The deadline to file our federal tax returns is April 15th, while state taxes are due April 30th.