Iowa News

SCHOOL CYBERBULLYING-IOWA        Iowa lawmaker backs anti-cyberbullying bill        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines Democrat wants to require that school harassment policies address the issue of student bullying on social networking sites.        Rep. Bruce Hunter introduced a bill Monday that would update state guidelines for district bullying and harassment policies to include so-called cyberbullying. It also would require that all alleged incidents be reported to school administrators.        Hunter says Iowa law doesn’t now recognize bullying that occurs outside school on social media sites like Facebook.        The bill would affect students at all public and accredited nonpublic prekindergarten through 12th grade schools.        Hunter’s bill is support by 21 Democrats but no Republicans. Although Hunter says he expect his proposal to get bipartisan support, he was unsure whether it will be approved in the House, where Republicans hold a majority.

STATEHOUSE RALLY-ABORTION        Iowa Gov. Branstad unsure of abortion bills        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Anti-abortion advocates and lawmakers say changing state laws remains a challenge given the politically divided Legislature.        Advocates held a rally in the state Capitol on Monday afternoon with Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and other abortion opponents.        Branstad said life from the point of conception was a freedom granted by the founding fathers, while Reynolds said the anti-abortion movement supported women.        Branstad said earlier in the day that he wasn’t sure lawmakers would approve legislative changes that would tighten Iowa’s abortion laws, given that Republicans hold a majority in the House and Democrats control the Senate.

BRANSTAD-PROPERTY TAXES        Branstad’s property tax plan introduced in House        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad’s proposal to cut commercial property taxes and limit increases to residential and agricultural property taxes has been introduced in the Legislature.        Under the proposal, introduced Monday in the state House, the state would gradually reduce the taxable portion of a commercial property’s value, so owners would eventually pay taxes on just 80 percent of the assessed value. The state would provide funding to local governments to make up lost tax revenue.        The proposal would limit the amount that residential, agricultural and commercial values could rise in a year to 2 percent, down from the current 4 percent cap for residential and agricultural properties.        Lawmakers have expressed support for property tax relief, though Senate Democrats have offered an alternate plan to reduce commercial property taxes.

BRANSTAD-IOWACARE        Branstad plans Washington trip to back IowaCare        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad says he will travel to Washington to meet with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to discuss extending a state health insurance program set to expire later this year.        Branstad told reporters Monday he would meet with Sebelius on Friday and discuss extending a federal waiver to continue the IowaCare program, which provides limited health care coverage for about 70,000 Iowans.        The governor opposes expansion of Medicaid but wants to continue IowaCare, which offers more limited services and reaches fewer people than Medicaid.

MAN CRUSHED        Nebraskan crushed by vehicle in southwest Iowa        BARTLETT, Iowa (AP) – A Nebraska man has been crushed under a vehicle that he was working on near a maintenance shop.        Fremont County deputies and rescue workers were sent to the shop in Bartlett around 2:15 p.m. Saturday. They found that 57-year-old Earl Schmitt, of Omaha, Neb., and another man had been working on the vehicle when it slipped off jack stands and pinned Schmitt.        The rescue workers freed Schmitt from beneath the vehicle but were unable to save his life. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

BRALEY-BOSWELL        Former US Rep. Boswell backs Braley’s Senate bid        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Former Iowa congressman Leonard Boswell is endorsing Democrat Bruce Braley for U.S. Senate.        Boswell used his Facebook page to endorse Braley on Monday, saying the four-term congressman has fought “passionately for Iowa’s small towns, big cities, and working families.”        Braley announced earlier this month that he’d seek the Senate seat held for decades by Democrat Tom Harkin, who won’t seek re-election. Braley also has been endorsed by Iowa Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack.        Boswell served eight terms in Congress before being beat last November by Republican Rep. Tom Latham in the 3rd Congressional District race.

SAVE WRESTLING-IOWA        Gov. says 9,000 signed online Olympic petition        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad says 9,000 people have signed an online petition aimed at keeping wrestling in the Olympics.        Branstad launched the petition drive last week at the state high school wrestling tournament after the International Olympic Committee decided to remove the sport from the Olympic Games in 2020.        The governor gave the newest count of online petitioners from the Let’s Keep Wrestling campaign website at a news conference Monday.        The move to end wrestling at the Olympics surprised many because the sport had been part of the Olympics for more than a century.

BLOCKBUSTER-IOWA        Blockbuster closing last 5 Iowa stores        (Information in the following story is from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/ )        CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – The five final Blockbuster stores in Iowa will close this spring as part of a move to close hundreds of the video rental shops across the nation.        The Gazette in Cedar Rapids reports (http://bit.ly/XgGBKx ) that stores in Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Iowa City and Muscatine will close in April, ending a 20-year presence in Iowa.        The decision follows an announcement in January by Dish Network Corp. that it would close about 300 Blockbuster stores across the country and lay off about 3,000 employees.        Colorado-based Dish Network bought the then-bankrupt video rental chain for $320 million in 2011. It also closed about 500 underperforming Blockbuster locations last year.        Blockbuster has been struggling as it faces competition from DVD rental kiosks, mail order rentals and video streaming.

Admin Log In