Iowa News

SCHOOL FUNDING-IOWA        Lawmakers to debate Branstad’s education reforms        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa House has started debating a Republican plan to water down Gov. Terry Branstad’s education reform plan.        Discussion started Tuesday evening.        The governor’s education plan aims to improve Iowa schools by boosting minimum teacher pay and offering bonuses to senior teachers who take on tasks such as mentoring. But Republicans in the House Education Committee scaled back the plan last week, including allowing school districts to opt-out of the reforms.        Branstad wanted to mandate that minimum teacher salaries go from $28,000 a year to $35,000. Under the House Republican proposal, the salary increases would be to $32,000 for participating districts.        Branstad’s spokesman says the governor supports the direction the bill is moving in the House and is confident that districts would want to opt in.

ARMED CAREER CRIMINAL        Iowa man sentenced to prison after gun threat        DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – A Davenport man accused of threatening to shoot people has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.        U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt says T. Wayne Allen, Sr., was sentenced Friday to 180 months in prison, as well as four years of parole. He has been ordered to pay $100 into a crime victim fund.        Allen was sentenced to a mandatory term as an armed career criminal after authorities found a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his pocket in August 2011. Prosecutors say he had threatened to shoot people during an argument inside Northpark Mall in Davenport.        Prosecutors say Allen had at least four convictions for armed robbery in Nevada, Iowa and Illinois. He denied the convictions but the government proved his identity through court records, photographs and fingerprints.

IOWA FIRING-LAWSUIT        Judge tosses rest of ex-U. Iowa lawyer’s lawsuit        IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a former University of Iowa administrator that claimed a St. Louis law firm defamed him in a report criticizing his handling of a 2007 sexual assault.        U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt on Tuesday dismissed former general counsel Marc Mills’ claims against the Stolar Partnership.        The Board of Regents hired Stolar in 2008 to investigate the university’s response to a woman’s claim that she was sexually assaulted in a dorm room by football players. The report criticized Mills’ performance, and University President Sally Mason fired him in response.        Mills sued university officials and Stolar, claiming the report was inaccurate and he was wrongly terminated. Pratt ruled the statements do not amount to defamation by Stolar.        Pratt dismissed Mills’ claims against university officials last fall.

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING-LEGISLATION        Iowa Senate considers tougher texting driving bill        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Senate lawmakers are considering a bill that toughens Iowa’s restrictions against texting while driving.        A subcommittee debated the legislation Tuesday. Under the bill, distracted driving – including texting on a mobile phone – would become an offense that police could use to make a traffic stop.        The legislation did not advance Tuesday. Lawmakers expressed concern the language was too general, while a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa said the broad definitions could lead to racial profiling.        Iowa law forbids texting while driving as a secondary offense, so police cannot pull drivers over simply for texting and driving. The proposed bill would expand the banned behavior beyond just texting, to include any activity that could distract drivers.

ASSAULT CHARGE        Waterloo man accused of assaulting father        (Information in the following story is from: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, http://www.wcfcourier.com)        WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – A Waterloo man has been accused of assaulting his father.        The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Cody Alan Cook was arrested early Monday after police found 59-year-old Martin Linn Cook with head injuries. The younger Cook faces charges of aggravated domestic assault and willful injury causing serious injury.        The newspaper reports police initially believed the assault was related to a botched robbery. They arrested the 26-year-old Cook after police spoke with witnesses.        Court records show the elder Cook was taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City for a brain bleed.        Cody Cook is being held without bond at the Black Hawk County Jail. Court records do not list an attorney.

STRIP CLUBS-REGULATION        Bill that would regulate Iowa strip clubs advances        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Members of a House subcommittee have cleared a measure that would give Iowa cities authority to regulate what happens inside strip clubs.        A three-member judiciary subcommittee advanced a bill Tuesday that would give local governments power to put restrictions on what happens inside nude dancing establishments.        The state Supreme Court ruled in a split decision last year that nude dancing is protected from regulation under state law, but the court did not say whether such restrictions are unconstitutional.        Dave Adelman of the Metropolitan Coalition says local authorities should have the ability to decide what takes place in an establishment. Rita Bettis of the ACLU says the bill violates the constitutional right to free speech and expression.        The bill now moves to the full House Judiciary Committee.

 

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