One day after a Linn County judge voided 50,000 absentee ballot requests, a second Iowa judge has ruled in favor of President Donald Trump’s campaign and ordered Woodbury County to invalidate at least 14,000 absentee ballot requests. Each judge ruled that Democrat county auditors in each of those counties acted improperly when they sent absentee ballot request forms that had voters’ personal information filled in.The county auditors acted in violation of a directive from the head of Iowa elections, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, who told me Friday that his office provided advice to the counties that could have prevented all this. A third lawsuit challenging the auditors’ actions is scheduled for a hearing soon in Johnson County District Court. Concern has been raised about voting by mail in the U.S., a process that is very different from Iowa’s absentee voting procedure. Regardless, Pate, says he’s confident ballots mailed on time in Iowa will be counted accurately. You can hear my full conversation with Secretary Pate on that topic, and other election matters, during the 9 o’clock hour of KXEL Live & Local today.
Des Moines raised $38.1 million in the first year of a one-cent sales tax increase, but officials expect that to decline significantly in the next year because of the coronavirus pandemic. City officials said sales tax revenue will decline because the retail and travel industries have been hit hard by restrictions related to the coronavirus. Typically, spending by visitors accounts for roughly one-third of the city’s annual sales tax revenue. Mayor Frank Cownie said the new sales tax that took effect in July 2019 helped the city make progress on projects that had previously been delayed because of a lack of funding.
One of the largest school districts in Iowa is starting the school year with online-only instruction. The Iowa City school board voted Saturday to conduct all classes virtually for the first two weeks. Classes in the 12,000-student district begin one week from tomorrow. The move comes after the state granted the district a waiver earlier in the week allowing for the virtual instruction. The 14-day average positivity rate in Johnson County, where the district is located, was 13.9% on Wednesday but had risen to 21.1% by Saturday. The threshold Gov. Kim Reynolds has established for schools to seek online learning instead of required classroom lessons is 15%. However, the state Department of Education has indicated that schools with all virtual classes are not eligible for athletics competition, which will interrupt the sports season for a minimum of two weeks, starting with the first day of school.
Hundreds of people participated in an Iowa march in support of law enforcement amid widespread demonstrations elsewhere over the police shooting of a man who was under arrest on a charge of sexual abuse in Wisconsin. The “Back the Blue” march began Saturday morning at the Iowa State Capitol and ended at the Des Moines Police Department. Demonstrators held signs that read “we support our police,” and “cops for Trump”, and chanted “Back the blue!” as they marched. At the police department, the crowd chanted “Thank you, blue” as Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert stepped out of the building to address the marchers.
A man was injured while using a lift to trim trees shortly before 5 o’clock Saturday afternoon. Officials were sent to a report of an electrocution in the 800 block of 17th Street SE. Officials found a 22-year-old man on a portable lift that they believe made contact with a power line. The man was able to respond to directions and stayed where he was until Alliant Energy crews arrived to de-energize the line. Firefighters were then able to rescue the man from the lift. The victim then was taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for his injuries. There was no word on his condition. Alliant officials say the line was carrying 7,200 volts.
