Democrats who control the U.S. House say they now intend to allow Iowa Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks to take office as Iowa’s second district congresswoman while they review her opponent’s claim that the race was wrongly decided. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “yes” when asked at a news conference whether Miller-Meeks will be sworn in with other members of the House on Sunday. A Pelosi spokesperson said later that Democrats “intend to provisionally seat” Miller-Meeks pending a review of the challenge filed by her Democratic opponent Rita Hart, who asked the House to investigate and overturn the state-certified results. The House Administration Committee is reviewing the matter. Following the statewide recounts, Miller-Meeks was certified as the winner by six votes out of 394-thousand cast, and she told me yesterday she was looking forward to taking the oath. But the matter will not be fully settled until that House committee concludes its review. You can hear my full interview with Congressman-woman elect Mariannette Miller-Meeks during the 10 a.m. hour of KXEL Live and Local today.
The Iowa State Patrol says it handled nearly 100 accidents during the winter storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow on the state Tuesday. The patrol assisted with 91 collisions and helped 372 motorists during the storm on Tuesday. That’s just the Patrol alone…and does’t include many other accidents handled by local police. In Des Moines, for example, police responded to 93 stalled vehicles and 19 accidents…but no injuries were reported.
Iowa Fourth District Congressman Steve King last week filed a formal ethics complaint against fellow Republican, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. During a conversation you heard on KXEL Live & Local yesterday morning, Congressman King said he will have to continue to push for the committee to examine the issue. King’s term ends at 11:59 a.m. Washington time on Sunday. He’ll be succeeded in Congress by Republican Randy Feenstra. The full interview can be heard as a podcast at kxel-dot-com.
Spread of the coronavirus may be increasing again in Iowa as the positivity rate ticked a bit higher in recent days. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say the 7-day average of the positivity rate in Iowa has risen over the past two weeks from 35.38% on Dec. 15 to 36.21% on Dec. 29. The state reported about 1,600 new cases and 10 deaths in the most recent 24-hour period ending yesterday morning. Hospitalizations fell slightly, though the number of people in intensive care was up.
Investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire that badly damaged the airport in Council Bluffs. Multiple crews battled the fire early yesterday that sent thick black smoke pouring from the maintenance hangar. Fire Chief Justin James said it was unclear how many planes were damaged overall, but that no planes were in the hangar that suffered the worst of the fire. No injuries were reported.
