This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, April 2.

Friday’s weather is the example of the classic spring tradeoff: You want a change in the weather? That comes with more wind.

According to the National Weather Service it should be noticeably warmer Friday and the warming trend will continue through the weekend. The predicted high in the Cedar Rapids area is 56 degrees, with a wind of 5 to 10 mph in the morning increasing to 15 to 20 mph by the afternoon. You expect temperatures in the seventies on the weekend, with the wind hopefully calming down as well.

Republicans controlling majorities in the Iowa Legislature began their final march to adjournment Thursday leaving a host of other stalled ideas behind as they shift attention to setting a state budget and cutting taxes.

Among Thursday’s bills that will not be going further were Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal to provide state-funded “students first” scholarships to private school families — known popularly as vouchers and a bill from Senate Republicans intended to cut off state funds for cities and counties if they “defunded” police departments; and a bill that would have abolished tenure. Also not making it were several House GOP priorities to expand access to and affordability of child care. Although the vouchers bill did not make it, a bill intended to expand charter schools as an alternative to public schools is still alive.

Iowa State University announced Thursday afternoon that rowing’s national governing body, the United States Rowing Association, will conduct a safety review of the Sunday accident that killed two student members of Iowa State University’s Crew Club.

Yaakov Ben-David, an ISU sophomore, and Derek Nanni, a freshman, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/2-iowa-state-university-students-who-died-when-boat-capsized-identified-20210330 (died after their crew boat capsized). The university also mentioned in its media release that crew members had raised safety concerns in 2020, only some of which had been addressed.

Construction is underway at the Eastern Iowa Airport on its $21 million renovation to relocate two taxiways and expand the space between the taxiways and the terminal.

The upgrade will bring the taxiways up to the latest Federal Aviation Administration standards and remove a FAA-designated “hot spot” on the taxiway, where pilots must be “extra vigilant” of other aircraft, Airport Director Marty Lenss told The Gazette.

He said the space was especially tight before the coronavirus when airlines increasingly used larger aircraft. It’s anticipated the larger jets will return with increased personal and business travel.

It’s Luka Garza award season. The Iowa Hawkeye Center received the award as the national player of the year from the Associated Press. After finishing second last season, he was the runaway choice for the award announced Thursday, receiving 50 of 63 votes from AP Top 25 voters. There are still several awards to go, including the prestigious Naismith award, which has already announced Garza as one of its finalists.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, April 1.

No April fooling. If you and your plants made it through Wednesday’s cold unscathed that is as bad as it’s going to get this week, and some lovely weather is on the way.

That said, the temperature isn’t going to rise all at once, so it’s still going to be chilly one more day. According to the National Weather Service, the Cedar Rapids area should see a high of 44 degrees with sunny skies. The low is expected to be 27 degrees Thursday night. Expect temperatures almost 20 degrees warmer on Friday and even more than 30 degrees warmer by the weekend.

Davenport’s police chief on Wednesday confirmed what many suspected — the remains discovered last week near DeWitt are those of Breasia Terrell, the 10-year-old Davenport girl missing since last July.

An autopsy confirmed the identification, Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski said at a news conference at the police station. Breasia’s mother, Aishia Lankford of Davenport, said in a statement, issued through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, that “words cannot describe the heartache and emptiness that we feel.”

Lankford said Thursday that while the search for Breasia is over, the family is committed to searching for answers about her death.

The lone person of interest in Breasia’s disappearance is being held in the Clinton County Jail.

Henry Earl Dinkins, 48, was arrested July 10 and later charged with three unrelated counts of violating the sex-offender registry.

Breasia spent the night with her brother at Dinkins’ home during the time period she disappeared. Dinkins is the boy’s father.

In just a few days, over 1.2 million Iowans who have not already started or finished getting a COVID-19 vaccination will become eligible.

The state and its local partners are ready, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday.

On March 17, the governor announced the state’s plan to open vaccine eligibility to all Iowans who are old enough starting April 5. On Wednesday, Reynolds said that plan remains on track and that her administration, county public health departments, medical providers, pharmacies and other entities involved in distributing the vaccines are prepared to handle what surely will be a surge in Iowans wanting to make appointments. The state previously designated the vaccine for populations most at risk of contracting the disease or suffering the worst symptoms if they became ill with it.

Nearly five months after the election, Democrat Rita Hart withdrew her contest Wednesday asking Congress to investigate Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ 6 vote win of Southeast Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. Hart was contesting that 22 votes were not counted due to election errors, and if they were validated she would have narrowly won.

Hart said she withdrew her challenge after speaking with other Democrats in the midst of a Republican pressure campaign decrying her congressional challenge as a power grab. The decision came likely as a combination of that pressure along with a lack of support from national Democrats who would prefer keeping it as a Democratic leaning seat they can win back in less than two years over the political price of overturning an election, even if doing so would be justifiable.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, March 31.

Wednesday’s weather will get cloudier, windier, and colder.

According to the National Weather Service, there is expected to be a high of 42 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. It should be breezy with a northwest wind of 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. On Wednesday night it should start to clear, with a low around 23 degrees.

Two Iowa State University students who died when their school crew boat capsized on a lake on Sunday were residents of Washington, D.C., and Illinois, authorities announced Tuesday.

Yaakov Ben-David, 20, a sophomore accounting major from Washington, D.C., and Derek Nanni, 19, a freshman chemistry major from Normal, Ill., drowned in the boating accident Sunday, Hamilton County and Iowa State police said.

Their boat capsized on Little Wall Lake, about 15 miles north of Ames, where Iowa State is located.

A range of graduate programs across Iowa’s public universities again have earned spots on the esteemed U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings for some of the best programs in the country.

At the University of Iowa, its law ranking fell two spots to No. 29; its masters of nursing program ranked No. 23, also down two; education ranked No. 48, one place below last year; engineering ranked No. 84, down 10 spots; its medical research program ranked No. 39, down five spots; and its primary care medicine ranking slipping two spots to No. 22.

Iowa ranks top 10 in a variety of nursing and physical therapy programs, healthcare management, and everyone’s favorite outlier, printmaking.

Iowa State University’s full-time business program climbed three spots to No. 50, although its part-time program tumbled 33 spots from No. 112 to No. 145. Its overall engineering ranking tied for No. 47, down four from last year — with its previously top-ranked engineering-agriculture program slipping to No. 2. Iowa State continues to rank in the top 10 for its veterinary science programs as well.

Iowans with an underlying medical condition can now use the state’s vaccine navigator services to schedule a COVID-19 shot through the state’s 211 hotline.

State officials announced Tuesday that any Iowan who qualifies for the vaccine, but faces barriers to finding an appointment, can reach a vaccine navigator by calling 211 or (800) 244-7431. Those who currently qualify for a vaccine in the state are those 65 and older as well as Iowans aged 64 and younger with an underlying health condition.

Previously, services through 211 had been available only to older Iowans. Vaccine navigators are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

Iowa men’s basketball forward Jack Nunge announced Tuesday he is transferring.

The decision comes after a tough year for Nunge. Last Nov. 28, his father, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/hawkeyes/iowa-mens-basketball/hawkeyes-mourning-loss-of-jack-nunges-father-20201124 (Dr. Mark Nunge) of Newburgh, Ind., died unexpectedly.

After this, Nunge was having a productive season as a fourth-year sophomore when he suffered https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/hawkeyes/iowa-mens-basketball/iowas-jack-nunge-done-for-season-x2014-again-20210226 (a season-ending meniscus tear) in his right knee at Michigan on Feb. 25. He had a torn ACL in the same knee early in the 2019-20 season. He redshirted the 2018-19 season. Nunge said his desire to transfer is to be closer to family as he pursues the rest of his academic and basketball career.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday March 30th.

And now to begin yet another week of weather starting poorly with promises of improved weather by the weekend.

On Tuesday the arrival of a cold front will bring high temperatures in the 40s and low 50s in the Cedar Rapids area. This cooler air will also be matched with partly cloudy skies for much of the day, although there is not expected to be precipitation of note. Temperatures will likely hover in this range for the rest of the week, until higher temperatures arrive with the weekend.

Emergency workers recovered the body of an Iowa State University student on Monday, a day after a school crew club boat capsized during practice on a lake. It was the second death confirmed from the incident.

The students were practicing Sunday morning at Little Wall Lake in Hamilton County when part of the boat capsized, the university said. Three of the rowing members were rescued by people who live around the lake, officials said, and a dive team recovered the body of one student later on Sunday.

The three students who were rescued were treated at an Ames hospital. The names of the students had not been released by Monday morning.

Starting in October, Iowa residents in the 319 and 515 area codes will have to dial all 10 digits of a phone number when making calls to make way for a new three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline to be designated as 988.

The Federal Communications Commission will require dialing both the area code and phone number starting Oct. 24. After that, calls made without the area code may not go through, instead leading callers to a recording reminding them to dial the area code. In all, the change will affect 82 area codes in 32 states.

The thought is that individuals in a state of suicidal crisis might be hindered looking up a longer number, so the three digit number, similar to 911, could save lives.

Iowa’s economy grew faster in 2020’s fourth quarter of 2020 and its pandemic-related losses were less severe than in many other states, according to a preliminary report on gross domestic product from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The real GDP increased in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in the last quarter of 2020, from 1.2 percent in Washington, D.C., to 9.9 percent in South Dakota. The fourth quarter rebound was fueled by the finance and insurance industries — two significant players in Iowa’s economy. Other big areas of growth were in health care and social assistance, according to the bureau.

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This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, March 29th.

Weather in the Cedar Rapids area today will be sunny, with a high near 66. It will be breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. Tonight's low will be around 44 with gusts continuing.

Small business owner Jake Brummer https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/jake-brummer-cedar-rapids-mayoral-race-amara-andrews-20210328 (has exited) the Cedar Rapids mayoral race days after https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/bar-owner-jake-brummer-to-run-for-cedar-rapids-mayor-20210325 (launching his campaign). Brummer, who owns a bar in Czech Village, intended to run for the city’s top elected position as a self-funded “normal guy,” looking out for the interests of ordinary Cedar Rapids residents. He has pulled out of the race to endorse community activist and businesswoman https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/community-leader-amara-andrews-to-run-for-cedar-rapids-mayor-20210322 (Amara Andrews). According to a news release, Brummer will serve as a campaign ambassador to carry Andrews’ message of new opportunity and new leadership to working-class citizens, especially in traditionally underserved areas. Andrews is challenging https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/cedar-rapids-mayor-brad-hart-seeking-reelection-20210126 (Mayor Brad Hart) for the mayoral seat. Also challenging Hart so far is https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/tiffany-odonnell-women-lead-change-ceo-kgan-anchor-cedar-rapids-mayor-20210321 (Tiffany O’Donnell), CEO of the nonprofit Women Lead Change.

In women's Sweet 16 basketball at San Antonio, the Connecticut Huskies beat Iowa Saturday, 92-72. For Connecticut, Christyn Williams scored 27 points and Paige Bueckers had 18. The game featured a matchup of talented freshmen in Bueckers and https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/hawkeyes/iowa-womens-basketball/connecticut-is-too-big-too-long-too-good-20210327 (Iowa's Caitlyn Clark) - who are friends that had taken the women's basketball world by storm this season. Bueckers became the third freshman to earn All-America honors. Clark led the nation in scoring and came into the regional semifinals averaging 29 points in the tournament. Bueckers also had nine rebounds and eight assists for UConn. Clark had 21 points for Iowa on 7-for-21 shooting.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday March 27th and Sunday March 28th.

So the weekend won’t be rain free most likely, but at least it will get a bit warmer. According to the National Weather Service, there will be a good chance of rain showers before 4 p.m. on Saturday in the Cedar Rapids area. Otherwise it will be cloudy with a high of 62 degrees, with a mostly gentle wind of 5 to 10 mph. On Sunday it will be sunny, with a high near 54 degrees.

A Cedar Rapids woman was convicted Friday of kidnapping and repeatedly beating a 15-year-old girl, who endured what a doctor described at “torture” for more than nine months in 2019.

A jury found Mary Jane Jackson Thomas, 47, guilty of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping and two counts each of willful injury causing serious injury, willful injury causing bodily injury and going armed with intent.

Jackson Thomas faces life in prison without parole on the first-degree kidnapping conviction.

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/cedar-rapids-woman-admits-to-abusing-15-year-old-but-blamed-teen-for-her-actions-20210325 (Jackson Thomas, originally from Micronesia, in a videotaped police interview )played for jurors Thursday, admitted that she repeatedly slapped, scratched, bit and struck the teen with a hammer and extension cord, but she didn’t admit to kidnapping — confining — the teen against her will.

The woman, in the police interview, blamed the teen for being “bad” as the cause for the abuse.

The teen, also from Micronesia, is now 17, and she testified that one night she went to Cedar River Bridge and contemplated suicide to escape the beatings, but instead went to the Cedar Rapids Police. A physician’s assistant who examined her injuries testified that she took the rare step of photographing them, because the old and new wounds were so numerous she had no other way to describe them.

Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley on Friday said shifting funding for mental health care services from local property taxes to the state’s general fund is more complicated than just the funding mechanism.

Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, said House GOP lawmakers feel the discussion should include not just the funding but also how that money is spent by providers.The Republican-led Iowa Senate this week approved legislation that would, in phases, shift the funding for the state’s regional mental health care system to the state. Those services are now funded by local property taxes.

Grassley listed Medicaid and tax increment financing as other state-funded programs where he believes state lawmakers do not have sufficient input in how funding is spent.

The Ely Fire Department and other Iowa fire and emergency service crews will hold a procession through Ely Saturday to honor Robert McFarland, a lieutenant with the volunteer fire department who was https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/anamosa-ft-madison-prison-inmates-michael-dutcher-thomas-woodard-20210325 (killed at his job) as a correctional officer Tuesday at Anamosa State Penitentiary during a failed prison escape.

The procession will start at 1 p.m. on State Street/Ely Road and turn right on Rock Island Drive. Fire crews will take a left onto Pacific Street, followed by another left on Banner Valley Drive. The procession will pass the Ely Fire Station and continue to Dows Street, where it will turn left toward downtown. The final turn will be right onto State Street.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, March 26th.

The rain from Thursday will continue into Friday. According to the National Weather Service, it will be cloudy with a high of 55 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area on Friday. There will be an 80 percent chance of rain throughout the day. The forecast does have the rain stopping by Saturday, with the temperature also picking up a bit in time for the weekend as well.

Two Linn County residents — one a husband, father and volunteer firefighter and the other a nurse, avid gardener and aunt — are being remembered after an attack claimed their lives Tuesday at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

Correctional Officer Robert McFarland, 46, of Ely, and registered nurse Lorena Schulte, 50, of Cedar Rapids, were bludgeoned to death with hammers by two inmates in a failed attempt to escape, investigators said.

The suspects, Michael Dutcher, 28, and Thomas Woodard, 39, https://dps.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/criminal-investigation/Press%20Release-Local%20Agenciews/Anamosa%20State%20Penitentiary/Dutcher%20and%20Woodard%20Charges.pdf (each have been charged) with two counts of first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and attempted murder. They made their initial court appearances Thursday afternoon through a virtual hearing from the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, where they were transferred after the https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/anamosa-iowa-prison-employees-death-mourn-news-conference-20210324 (grisly attack using tools checked out from the prison under the ruse of doing repair work.)

The night Tyler S. Lee drove the wrong way on Interstate 380, crashing into a northbound sport utility vehicle, his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint, filed earlier this month in Linn County District Court, said Lee’s blood-alcohol level was 0.164 after the crash that killed 23-year-old David Nguyen in the other vehicle. Other passengers were injured in the accident and required treatment.

The criminal complaint said responding officers found Lee, sitting “behind the wheel of a Ford pickup truck,” displaying “obvious signs of insobriety.” He now faces two vehicular homicide charges — one related to driving while drunk and the other for reckless driving. He also faces two counts of causing serious injury by motor vehicle.

Lee was also out on bond at the time of the accident in connection to a fatal shooting in Illinois.

Iowa Republicans continued a GOP-pressure campaign Thursday, casting a U.S. House review of an incredibly close congressional election in Iowa’s 2nd District as a partisan power grab to pad Democrats’ narrow 219-211 majority in the House.

The news conference held by Republicans Thursday featured Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, and the head of the Iowa Republican Party. Jeff Kaufmann. You get the impression they may be worried about the result of the review, as the press conference was in addition to the process being already denounced by Republicans in Congress, both Iowa Senators, and, of course, the candidate who was narrowly declared the winner, Marionette Miller-Meeks and her campaign. Miller-Meeks was seated as the provisional winner after the results were certified, her current lead stands at just 6 votes.

Her challenger, Rita Hart, argues that 22 ballots were legally cast in the district but not counted, because of errors by election workers. Had the 22 ballots been tallied, Hart argues she would have won by nine votes.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, March 25th.

It looks like another cold, cloudy, and rainy day is in store for us on Thursday.

According to the National Weather Service, there will be a chance for rain all day in the Cedar Rapids area, with the highest likelihood for rain coming in the afternoon and evening hours. The rainfall is not predicted to be heavy. When it is not raining, it is expected to remain cloudy, with a high temperature of 50 degrees.

Two inmates used prison hammers to kill a nurse and a correctional officer Tuesday morning in a failed attempt to escape from the Anamosa State Penitentiary, officials said Wednesday.

Nurse Lorena Schulte, 50, and Officer Robert McFarland, 46, died of blunt force trauma to the head. McKinley Roby, an inmate who tried to help Schulte and McFarland, also was hit in the head, but survived and is being treated at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Another Anamosa staffer, Lorie Mathes, was briefly taken hostage in the Tuesday morning escape attempt, but was not hurt, according to Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Rick Rahn, who spoke at a news conference Wednesday afternoon in front of the prison.

Michael Dutcher, 28, and Thomas Woodard, 39, who were serving time at Anamosa for robbery and other charges, now are charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and kidnapping, Rahn said.

They had been planning the escape attempt for some time, he said. The men checked out the hammers and a metal grinder Tuesday under the ruse of fixing something in the break room area of the prison’s infirmary. They used the hammers to break through windows and attempted to use the grinder to remove the bars.

The roughly 950-inmate state prison is now under full lockdown as officials investigate and assess security.

A man already facing a murder charge in Illinois now faces local charges in a fatal March 7 wrong-way crash on Interstate 380 through Cedar Rapids.

Tyler Lee, 34, of Rockton, Ill., turned himself in about 4 p.m. at the Linn County Jail, shortly after police announced he was being sought. He faces two vehicular homicide charges — one related to driving while drunk and the other for reckless driving. He also faces two counts of causing serious injury by motor vehicle.

Police said Lee was driving a pickup truck the wrong way down the northbound lanes of I-380 near the Seventh Street NE exit when he hit another vehicle. The collision killed a passenger in that vehicle, 23-year-old David Nguyen of Cedar Rapids.

Toyota Financial Services will relocate its Cedar Rapids customer service center that employs 600 people within the next two years, a spokesman told The Gazette.

Toyota will consolidate its customer service centers from six to three locations — Chandler, Ariz., Plano, Texas, and Alpharetta, Ga. The Texas location will cover the central region.

Toyota spokesman Vince Bray said every employee “in good standing” will be offered a role at one of the other customer service centers.

“Most will be offered roles in Texas, but some could go to the other centers,” Bray wrote in an email.

Bray did not disclose separation benefit possibilities for those employees who do not relocate.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, March 24th.

It looks like the rain will continue on Wednesday, at least for awhile.

According to the National Weather Service showers will be likely in the Cedar Rapids area before 10 a.m. Wednesday. When it is not raining it should be mostly cloudy, with a high near 54 degrees. It should remain a bit breezy, with wind speeds of 15 mph occasionally gusting as high as 25 mph.

A nurse and a correctional officer at the Anamosa State Penitentiary were killed Tuesday morning in what is believed to be the first fatal assault by an inmate in decades.

Iowa Department of Corrections said in a statement it was investigating the assault, which took place about 10:15 a.m. in the prison infirmary. The department did not say whether the inmate used any sort of weapon in the attack.

The two victims have not been identified, pending family notifications and the investigation, the department said. Prison staff attempted giving first aid to them until paramedics arrived.

The inmate — who also was not named — was restrained after the attack by security staff.

Cedar Rapids Police are treating a racial slur discovered early Tuesday spray painted on a vacant rental house as a hate crime. The house has been the source of neighborhood complaints over the last year.

Cedar Rapids police received a call about 7:30 a.m. that a racial epithet was painted in yellow across the front of 2307 Bever Ave. SE.

“I’m disgusted and furious that someone would do this,” Chief Wayne Jerman told The Gazette. “We are handling this as a hate crime. We are talking to all the neighbors and exploring every lead at this point. We have investigators working the case.”

The department said it would work with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office as it investigates to see whether federal hate crime statutes apply. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/2307-bever-ave-se-cedar-rapids-rental-house-nuisance-property-drive-by-shootings-20210322 (The Gazette published an article Sunday) about violence, including drive-by shootings and a pipe bomb stemming from this house, which the city last year had declared a nuisance property.

One of the closest elections in the country last year remains a contested one. Democrat Rita Hart’s campaign has renewed its call for all lawful ballots to be counted as Republicans argue that contesting the election is a power grab. Attorneys for Hart and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, submitted initial legal briefs to a U.S. House panel on Monday.

Miller-Meeks’ attorney, Alan Ostergren, broadly denied Hart’s claims and said the burden was on Hart to prove that a state-certified election should be overturned. Hart argues that 22 ballots were legally cast in the district but not counted, due to errors by election workers. Had the 22 ballots been tallied, Hart argues, she would have won by nine votes.

As one might expect, outside political influences are shaping the debate over this electoral result. Moderate Democrats, fearing an election challenge soon, balked at bringing the issue before the full House, while Republicans have criticized the Hart campaign for not challenging the results in Iowa courts first. The Hart campaign says Iowa courts would not have acted quickly enough before the election was certified.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, March 23rd.

It was predicted to rain on Monday, and it didn’t really in our area. But they are predicting it again, so I assume it’s for real deal this time.

According to the National Weather Service there will be rain with thunderstorms possible after 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Cedar Rapids area. There will be a high near 58 degrees with windspeeds between 10 and 20 mph gusting as high as 30 mph. Then there will be a chance for rain Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Legislation that would eliminate a requirement that Iowans obtain a permit to acquire or carry handguns and loosen other state restrictions is headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk following Senate passage Monday on a 30-17 vote with only Republiccan support.

Majority GOP senators said adopting permit-less “constitutional carry” provisions of https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89andba=HF756 (House File 756) — like 18 other states — would enhance Iowans’ individual rights while removing intrusive government regulations. But Democrats said the proposed changes — if signed by the governor — would make Iowans less safe and run counter to public support for the current system of background checks and permitting requirements.

Gov. Reynolds refused to support permit-less carry in 2019. She called the background check for a permit to carry, which she had voted for as a state senator in 2010, “good policy and the right thing to do.” However, Republicans have indicated recently that she is excited to sign the new legislation.

According to an early poll, if he runs again, former President Donald Trump is the clear favorite of Iowa Republicans to win the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. If he doesn’t, it appears there will be a wide-open race for Iowa GOP support.

A Victory Insights poll of 650 Iowa Republicans found that 61 percent said they will support Trump if he runs. No other Republican topped 10 percent among “very likely” caucusgoers in the poll conducted March 5-8. However, Utah U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, “someone else” and former Vice President Mike Pence had more than 10 percent support among all Republicans.

A teenager was seriously injured Sunday when he was accidentally shot at a residence in Marion, police said.

Officers who were called to the 1300 block of Seventh Street around 11:20 a.m. found a teenager who had suffered a serious gunshot wound. He was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment, according to the Marion Police Department.

Police said an adult male was cleaning the firearm when it discharged, striking the teen.

Iowa governments are in line for more than $4.45 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money under a nationwide $1.9 trillion package signed earlier this month by President Joe Biden, according to a preliminary analysis issued Monday by the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

Iowa’s $4.451 billion share of the American Rescue Plan Act represents funds flowing through state government and do not include stimulus funding to individuals and families that totals about an additional $3.77 billion in direct payments to Iowans, the analysis indicated.

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