The Iowa Legislature session swung into gear on Monday.
This is the ninth year in a row with full Republican control of the Iowa Legislature, and those margins in the number of legislators are now so large that they constitute supermajorities.
Republican leaders say they’ll prioritize property tax relief this year.
House Republicans are also looking at changes to higher education, while Senate Republicans want to try again to enact work requirements for some Iowans who get health coverage through Medicaid.
Senate President Amy Sinclair says she’s looking forward to getting back to work on behalf of Iowans.
“I know there will be individual priorities of members of my caucus and members of the House Republican caucus, and we’ll work with the governor’s office to make Iowa the best place to live and work and raise your family,” Sinclair said.
Governor Kim Reynolds, who is also a Republican, said she will propose restricting cell phones in classrooms.
Democratic leaders say they’ll look for where they can work with the majority party and also try to hold Republican lawmakers accountable.
*In the Nebraska Legislature, State Senator Kathleen Kauth has introduced a bill to restrict transgender athletes in Nebraska schools and colleges to teams, locker rooms and bathrooms corresponding to their sex at birth.
Kauth’s bill has 20 cosponsors and the backing of Governor Jim Pillen, which he voiced at a Friday news conference.
“It is incredibly important, because girls and women should have access to spaces where they are safe and secure, free from the pressure and the presence of biological males due to the potential of harassment or assault,” he said.
Kauth was asked if there have been problems with such harassment or assault in Nebraska. She responded that it is an underreported problem, and then shared an anecdote of one teen girl who described the “gross” sight of a boy changing in a girls room.
Sen. Megan Hunt, who has led opposition to Kauth’s prior legislation in previous years, criticized the latest proposal.
“This is a solution in search of a problem. I don't think that we have any evidence of men competing on women's teams in Nebraska. And what this is really grounded in is discrimination and bigotry and hate,” Hunt said.
The Nebraska School Activities Association, which oversees school athletics, says it has received eight applications for participation in sports from transgender athletes since 2018.
In other news, an arrest has been made in a four-decade-old cold case in Sioux City.
Thomas Duane Popp was arrested over the weekend for the death of 18-year-old Terri McCauley in 1983. She was a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska who at the time was last seen getting into a vehicle. Her body was found in a wooded area several days later.
Late last week, a grand jury in Woodbury County indicted Popp on a charge of first-degree murder.
Popp was arrested by officers in the state of Washington on Saturday. He remains in custody at the Cowlitz County, Washington jail.
His bond has been set for $3 million dollars, cash-only.
*Additionally, officials are looking into opening a branch of the Community Health Center of Fort Dodge in the town of Spencer, Iowa.
Community Health Center of Fort Dodge CEO Renae Kruckenberg said the facility in Webster County was seeing a substantial number of people come from Northwest Iowa for services, so the move appears to be warranted.
Kruckenberg told Explore Okoboji News that the facility in Spencer could offer primary care, dental care, and mental health services to underserved populations who otherwise couldn’t afford them.
