011320 404 Democrat Cory Booker today has dropped out of the presidential race after failing to qualify for the December primary debate. The U.S. senator from New Jersey had struggled in polling and fundraising since launching his bid last February. Booker was unable to hit 5% support in a single qualifying poll required to make it on the January debate stage. The 2020 Iowa Legislature convenes this morning, with lawmakers from both political parties pledging action to ease the child care

011320 304 The Iowa House of Representatives has officially elected Republican Pat Grassley as the new speaker of the House. The chamber voted today (Monday), the first day of the 2020 legislative session. Grassley is a 36-year-old farmer from New Hartford and the grandson of U-S Senator Chuck Grassley. Speaker Grassley says his time as chair of a powerful budget-writing committee showed him the importance of building consensus among House Republicans. “Now that was at a smaller scale, obviously

The Iowa Senate and House of Representatives gaveled in this morning. Republican Pat Grassley of New Hartford is the new speaker of the house. Tomorrow, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds will deliver her third condition of the state address. She’ll set out her agenda for the year and unveil her budget proposal. They’re expected to include workforce and rural Iowa initiatives, and restoring felon voting rights. Listen for live coverage on Siouxland Public Media starting at 10 a.m. There are just

011020 504 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34 states are now reporting high flu activity. That is an increase from 25 states last week. Iowa and Nebraska are two of the 34 states experiencing high flu activity. In Iowa, the Department of Public Health lists influenza as "widespread" throughout the state. The IDPH says this season there's been over 6,000 Iowans hospitalized for the flu and 11 people have reportedly died due to flu-related symptoms. While in Nebraska,

11020 404 The Iowa chapter of March For Our Lives is looking to build support in the legislature for new gun laws. Their proposals include mandatory reporting for lost and stolen firearms, universal background checks and a seven-day waiting period before completing a gun purchase. Legislative director Nick Pryor says, in other states, longer waiting periods have been shown to reduce gun violence. When emotions run high, either in suicide or like homicidal situations, having that waiting period

011020 304 A significant winter snowstorm is expected to affect this evening’s commute across much of Iowa. National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Curtis says the system will work its way from the southwest to the northeast. Through areas like Atlantic, Des Moines, the southern Ames metro then off towards Marshalltown and Waterloo. This evening those areas could end up seeing about two to five or three to six inches in some cases.” Curtis says in combination with the falling snow, northerly

The CDC reports widespread flu activity and Siouxland District Health is seeing an increase in our area. Kristen Beal is the Infection Preventionist and Patient Safety Officer at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s. “We went from 17% positive test rate to a, 40% test rate over the holidays and maintained that for a couple of weeks and now we’re at a 33% test rate this week.” Beal says the hospital’s emergency room is busy treating people respiratory illnesses, with influenza B being the most common

Woodbury County voters may soon have to weigh in on whether a new jail is needed. The Board of Supervisors and other officials will decide soon on the date of a referendum on the $49 million dollar project. The new jail would be built on the north side of Sioux City, on 38 acres owned by the city between 28 and 38 Street. The new jail would hold 440 beds. Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor tells Siouxland Public Media's Mary Hartnett that he would like to put off the public referendum on

State lawmakers are heading back to the Iowa Capitol next week for the 2020 legislative session, scheduled to start Monday, Jan. 13. This session will mark the fourth consecutive year with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the governor’s office Some of the top issues include mental health funding, voting rights for felons, child care, tax policy, Medicaid oversight and medical cannabis. . South Dakota Governor. Kristi Noem says she won't veto legislation

010920 504 Iowa election officials have stopped using a long-flawed database of felons who are ineligible to vote as they rebuild it from scratch. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate's office removed the database, which contained more than 100,000 entries, from the statewide voter registration system last week. Workers are recreating the list by reviewing each entry and adding back those that are verified felony convictions. They hope to complete the review before the November election Nebraska