(Radio Iowa) – The Sioux City Community School District is rolling out new electric buses this week after receiving
almost six million dollars for 15 new buses from a E-P-A program. District Operations and Maintenance director Tim Paul admits there was some push-back from some community members who aren’t fans of electric buses.

“There was a lot of back and forth with it, but I think it’s been the right decision. Time will tell,” he says. “All this is new technology, but it’s really a growing technology, and I see it moving forward, especially in the, the city or the rural routes, maybe not so much, but the urban routes for sure.” Doug Stewart oversees the Sioux City bus department and says the first thing you notice about an electric bus is the quiet ride.

“You don’t have the diesel motor, gasoline motor, or propane motor noise. Propane are by far the loudest of the motors that we have. So all you have is the electric hum of the electric motor in the back, which is in the back by the tires, actually,” he says. Stewart showed off the buses to local media Monday. The electric buses replace older diesel ones and will make up one quarter of the district’s fleet.

“It’s much cleaner for the environment. It’s a much better experience for the driver, I’d say, more comfortable. I think it’s going to be a much better experience for the students as well,” Stewart says.

The Clean School Bus Program provided two-point-six ($2.6) billion dollars to help schools purchase zero-emission buses. Five billion was allocated by the Biden Administration, but the E-P-A says it’s reviewing the program under an executive order from the Trump administration to ensure tax dollars aren’t wasted. The Environmental Law and Policy Center says at least 46 electric school buses have been funded by federal and state money for 16 school districts across Iowa.

(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH, Des Moines, IA) – Iowa lawmakers advanced two bills from House subcommittees Monday that would restrict the commercial operation of self-driving vehicles and assign liability to the owners of autonomous vehicles. The bills were opposed by automotive industry representatives who argued the legislation would prohibit situations like an automated car transporting passengers in places like an airport. Labor unions and trial lawyers supported the bills, arguing the language would protect Iowans from the new technology.

House Study Bill 598 would hold the owner of a self-driving vehicle liable in the event of a crash or traffic law violation. It would also prohibit a “driverless-capable vehicle” from transporting hazardous material without a conventional human driver.  Michael Triplett, speaking on behalf of the Alliance For Automotive Innovation, said the bill would hold the owner of the car liable for “everything” when they put the car into autonomous mode. Triplett also called the language around hazardous material “extremely vague.”

The bill summary explains hazardous material is a “substance or material which has been determined by the U.S. secretary of transportation to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce.” General Motors also registered against the bill.  Lawmakers said the language of the bill still needed work, but the subcommittee ultimately decided to advance the bill. The other bill considered on Monday, House File 2375, would require a licensed, “conventional human driver” to be present in vehicles equipped with self-driving capabilities if the car is operating in a commercial capacity.

Driverless cars from companies like Waymo are now common rideshare operators in large cities like San Francisco, Austin and Los Angeles.  Uber Technologies, Inc. the popular rideshare and delivery company, registered as undecided on both bills, and did not have a representative speak at either subcommittee.”

All three lawmakers on the subcommittee, including Rep. Craig Williams (R) from Manning, and Rep. Brent Siegrist (R) from Council Bluffs, agreed to move HF 2375 forward, Monday, with Siegrist saying said some exceptions, like airports, might be warranted in the bill, but said generally the bill was an “appropriate response” to the “burgeoning industry.”

The bills are scheduled for consideration Tuesday (today) in the House Transportation Committee. They must advance from the committee by Friday to remain eligible beyond Legislature’s self-imposed funnel deadline.

(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.”