Iowa News

WINTER WEATHER-IOWA ROADS        Iowa DOT: Snow showers will deteriorate visibility        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Transportation officials say visibility on some Iowa roads will deteriorate as snow showers move through the state.        The state Department of Transportation says blowing snow from strong northwest winds could cause visibility to drop Tuesday to around one-half mile.        The National Weather Service says scattered snow showers will spread across most of Iowa, though there will be little accumulation. DOT say roads in western and northwest parts of the state are covered in snow and ice.        Officials warn drivers to keep adequate spacing between vehicles and to discontinue cruise control.

HIGH WATER-CEDAR RAPIDS        Ice jam floods some streets in NW Cedar Rapids        CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Built-up water from an ice jam along the Cedar River is flooding some residential streets in Cedar Rapids.        Street Operations Superintendent Mike Duffy says the jam near a railroad bridge upstream caused a water surge Tuesday for some streets in northwest Cedar Rapids. Officials are pumping out water and have set up sandbags along nearby homes. Some streets have been closed.        Officials also have lowered several internal flood gates from a nearby river dam to help with water levels.        Duffy says ice jams are common, but a combination of recent rain and melting snow has made this a difficult case with several large chunks of ice.        The National Weather Service says several flood warnings are in effect along rivers nestled in eastern Iowa.

OFFICER RESCUES DRIVER        Iowa officer pulls unconscious driver from flames        URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa police officer has rescued an unconscious driver by pulling him from his burning car.        Urbandale police spokesman Randy Peterson said Tuesday that Officer Zac McDowell wasn’t injured Sunday night when he saved 18-year-old Ian Waseskuk (wa-SEHS’-kuh). The officer’s dashboard camera shows McDowell opening the car’s passenger door, reaching in and grabbing Waseskuk to pull him away from the flames.        Police say Waseskuk was driving in circles, doing “doughnuts,” in a church parking lot across from his home in suburban Des Moines when his car hit an air conditioning unit.        Peterson says Waseskuk will be charged with misdemeanor reckless driving when he leaves Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Hospital spokesman Gregg Lagan (LAY’-guhn) says Waseskuk is in fair but stable condition.

GOOGLE-WI-FI INVESTIGATION        Iowa to receive $115K from Google settlement        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa will receive $115,428 from Google Inc. as part of a settlement with the Internet giant over the collection of emails, passwords and other sensitive information sent over wireless networks.        The state’s share of the payment was announced Tuesday by Attorney General Tom Miller. Miller says the settlement recognizes the privacy rights of individuals whose information was collected without their permission.        Google has agreed to pay $7 million to settle the investigation involving attorneys general in 38 states.        The case dates to 2010 when Google revealed that company cars taking street-level photos for its online mapping service also had been gathering personal data transmitted over wireless networks not protected by passwords.        Miller says Iowa’s share will go to the state’s consumer education and litigation fund.

TOUGHER TAX HIKES        House panel backs effort making tax hikes tougher        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A constitutional amendment that would make it harder for lawmakers to raise taxes is advancing in the Republican-controlled state House.        The House appropriations committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would change the state constitution by requiring all tax hikes to get a three-fifths majority vote in the Legislature. Currently, a simple majority is needed.        The measure passed the committee 14-10 in a party line vote. It now goes to the full House for approval.        To change the state constitution, the measure would need to be approved by the current Assembly and then by the one elected in 2014. After that it would go to Iowa voters.

AGGRESSIVE PATIENTS-IOWA        Iowa Senate passes bill on aggressive patients        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – People and aging inmates with sexually aggressive or combative behaviors may have a place to go under a measure passed by the Iowa Senate.        Lawmakers unanimously passed a measure Tuesday that would create a committee to study the need for a specialized long-term care facility for sexually aggressive or combative people.        Bill sponsor Sen. Liz Mathis, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says nursing homes and residential care facilities are reluctant to accept geriatric people with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or sexually aggressive and combative behaviors.        The committee would be led by the departments of human services and inspections and appeals. It would be comprised of stakeholders in public health and safety, mental health, corrections and the AARP.        The bill now moves to the House for review.

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