*Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Wednesday signed a bill into law banning mobile phone use while driving, unless it’s in a hands-free mode.
She was joined by dozens of people including family members of people killed by distracted drivers, lawmakers and law enforcement, who have been pushing for the bill for years.
Reynolds says neighboring states that passed similar laws have seen significant reductions in car crashes. Reynolds asserted that the law will save lives.
Reynolds signed the law exactly two years after Roland Taylor, of Terril, was driving an antique tractor, and was hit and killed by a driver who was on their phone.
His daughter, Angie Smith, has been advocating for the law cracking down on phone use while driving.
“There’s not a better way that we could have honored dad today. Dad was always about giving, and if this saves one life, he would have been so proud,” Smith said.
The new law is set to take effect July first.
*Also in Iowa, a school district near Waterloo has become the first in the area to use Artificial Intelligence for detecting possible guns in its buildings.
The Union Community School District in La Porte City has installed camera software that detects guns in and around buildings, notifies staff and administration, and then calls law enforcement.
John Howard is the superintendent of the district which has around 900 students. He says the AI piece is a simpler alternative to arming teachers, which has been proposed elsewhere.
“We have never had any conversations about arming teachers in our district. I know some districts have, and that’s been met with some pushback in terms of insurance and other legalities,” Howard said.
The system connects cameras across four buildings spread out between two different towns. Howard adds the system was paid for without using the state Safety and Security Grant.
*After discussing the option in two straight weekly meetings, the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors have decided to put a hiring freeze on four open jobs.
That action was taken Tuesday, as the supervisors work on paring away a $2 million shortfall in setting the 2025-26 fiscal year budget by the end of April.
They voted to put a hold on filling the positions that are in the Secondary Roads, Human Resources, and Treasurer offices or departments.
Those will not be filled until at least summer 2026, depending upon what happens in next year’s budget.
The current projected Woodbury County property tax levy for next year is higher than the one in place this budget year.
*In other news, the federal budget continuing resolution passed by Congress in mid-March avoided a government shutdown. Another upshot is that some Nebraska communities that were expecting federal funds for water projects are out of luck.
The Santee Sioux Nation in northern Nebraska is one of them.
The reservation hasn't had access to safe drinking water for nearly six years, after the tribe was first notified of high levels of manganese in its water supply. The tribe is working to secure funds for a pipeline to connect the reservation with a clean water supply from South Dakota.
Santee Sioux vice chairman Kameron Runnels said the process has left him frustrated.
U.S. Senator Deb Fischer included $8.2 million for the project through a congressionally directed spending request last year. But the appropriations bill that included the earmark was never scheduled for a vote.
Instead, Congress passed continuing resolutions in both December and March, keeping the government open by funding agencies at similar levels to the previous year, which meant most earmarks for special projects weren't included.
*IN other federal funding changes, freezes related to COVID-19 spending announced last week appear to have affected grants totaling at least $53 million going to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
According to a federal database, the vast majority of the funds had already been expended to the state when they were abruptly terminated last week.
The funding covers substance abuse prevention, community mental health services and COVID health disparities.
In a statement last week, Iowa HHS officials said they were already winding down services related to the grants, since they knew they were temporary.
Federal officials cancelled more than $11 billion in funding related to the COVID response because they said the pandemic is over and the grants are now a waste of taxpayer dollars.
