JOHN DEERE WILL BE ADDING MORE AUTOMATION EXPERTS TO ITS PERSONNEL ROSTER. ON THURSDAY, DEERE & COMPANY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL BUY BEAR FLAG ROBOTICS FOR 250 MILLION DOLLARS. THAT CALIFORNIA COMPANY WAS FOUNDED JUST FOUR YEARS AGO. IN THAT TIME, BEAR FLAG HAS BEEN DEVELOPING AUTONOMOUS DRIVING TECHNOLOGY. IN DEERE’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DEAL, THE COMPANY SAYS RESULTING NEW PRODUCTS WILL BE COMPATIBLE WITH EXISTING MACHINES. DEERE AND COMPANY HAD BEEN WORKING WITH BEAR FLAG ROBOTICS SINCE 2019. AFTER THE PURCHASE IS COMPLETED, BEAR FLAG WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE OUT OF ITS SILICON VALLEY FACILITIES.
MORE MARSHALL COUNTY STAFFERS HOPE TO RETURN TO THE COURTHOUSE IN MARSHALLTOWN. MARSHALL COUNTY HAS SWITCHED REPAIR CONTRACTORS AS COURTHOUSE RENOVATIONS CONTINUE FOLLOWING DAMAGE FROM A 2018 TORNADO. COUNTY SUPERVISOR BILL PATTEN TALKED TO OUR COVERAGE PARTERS AT TV-9. PATTEN SAYS THE PACE OF REPAIRS NEEDS TO ACCELERATE AS THE COUNTY FACES LIMITS ON ITS INSURANCE COVERAGE, BUT HE APPLAUDED THE WORK DONE SO FAR. WHEN THE MARSHALL COUNTY COURTHOUSE IS FULLY-RESTORED, AN ESTIMATED 30 MILLION DOLLARS WILL HAVE BEEN SPENT ON THE PROJECT.
CHUCK GRASSLEY AND JONI ERNST SAY THEY ARE SAVING BREAKFAST. IOWA’S REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATORS HAVE INTRODUCED THE “EXPOSING AGRICULTURAL TRADE SUPPRESSION” ACT, ABBREVIATED “EATS.” THE EATS ACT WOULD PREVENT STATES FROM IMPLEMENTING FOOD PRODUCT RULES AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ELSEWHERE IN THE COUNTRY. THE MOVE CAME AFTER CALIFORNIA IMPLEMENTED LIVESTOCK CARE STANDARDS FOR PORK PRODUCTS SOLD IN THAT STATE.
FIREFIGHTERS WERE CALLED TO SEPARATE SITES ON THE WEST SIDE OF CEDAR RAPIDS THURSDAY. THE FIRST REPORT CAME WHEN SMOKE WAS FOUND IN A HOME ON LEROY STREET NORTHWEST. TWO PEOPLE IN THEIR 70S WERE TAKEN TO MERCY MEDICAL CENTER, BUT DAMAGE WAS LIMITED TO ONE BEDROOM IN THE HOUSE. AN UNRELATED INCIDENT BROUGHT A FIRE CREW TO THE ASPEN INN ON SOUTH RIDGE DRIVE. A ROOM AT THE HOTEL HAD CAUGHT FIRE, BUT FIRST RESPONDERS WERE ABLE TO CONTAIN IT WITHOUT DAMAGE TO OTHER PARTS OF THE FACILITY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AT THAT SCENE.
JONI ERNST IS AMONG REPUBLICAN SENATORS PREPARING A BILL THAT WOULD REDEFINE THE PLAYING FIELD FOR TRANSGENDER ATHLETES. ERNST FRAMES THE ISSUE AS A MATTER OF PROTECTION FOR WOMEN IN SPORTS, AS SHE DISCUSSED DURING AN APPEARANCE ON “FOX AND FRIENDS WEEKEND.” A NUMBER OF STATES HAVE CONSIDERED TRANSGENDER ATHLETE LEGISLATION IN RECENT SESSIONS. AN IOWA BILL DID NOT CLEAR THE LEGISLATURE THIS SPRING. AT THE NCAA LEVEL, TRANSGENDER FEMALE ATHLETES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE TESTOSTERONE SUPPRESSION TREATMENT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR BEFORE BEING ALLOWED TO COMPETE.
ALLIANT ENERGY SAYS IT GENERATED A 146 MILLION DOLLAR PROFIT OVER THE PAST THREE MONTHS. ALLIANT’S QUARTERLY EARNINGS DIVIDE OUT TO 57 CENTS PER SHARE. THAT’S THREE CENTS PER SHARE MORE THAN DURING THE SAME PERIOD IN 2020. THE COMPANY’S SHARE PRICE HAS BEEN CLIMBING, UP APPROXIMATELY 17 PERCENT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2021. THE MADISON, WISCONSIN GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY SERVES WIDE PORTIONS OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL IOWA.
A 21-YEAR-OLD FORMER LINN-MAR SCHOOLS EMPLOYEE IS CHARGED WITH SEXUAL EXPLOITATION FOLLOWING AN INVESTIGATION WHICH BEGAN THIS SPRING. REUBEN POWER WAS ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A 15-YEAR-OLD ATTENDING LINN-MAR HIGH SCHOOL. AUTHORITIES CLAIM TO HAVE BOTH ELECTRONIC AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE FOR THEIR CASE, AS WELL AS WITNESS TESTIMONY. LINN-MAR SCHOOL OFFICIALS SAID IN A STATEMENT TO OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9 THAT POWER’S EMPLOYMENT WITH THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN TERMINATED.
ACCORDING TO NCAA ESTIMATES, LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDENT ATHLETES ARE TRANSGENDER. THAT FIGURE IS IN LINE WITH RATES ACROSS THE WIDER U.S. POPULATION. THE SMALL GROUP OF TRANSGENDER ATHLETES HAS RECEIVED CONSIDERABLE LEGISLATIVE ATTENTION RECENTLY, AND NOW IOWA’S JONI ERNST IS AMONG LAWMAKERS PREPARING A FEDERAL BILL, AS SHE TOLD “FOX AND FRIENDS WEEKEND”. ERNST NOTES THAT SHE HAS SPOKEN TO SOME STUDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT TRANSGENDER PARTICIPATION IN FEMALE SPORTS. MEANWHILE, MORE THAN 500 COLLEGE ATHLETES SENT A LETTER TO THE NCAA THIS SPRING SUPPORTING TRANSGENDER COMPETITORS.
IOWA’S ANNUAL SALES TAX HOLIDAY BEGINS TODAY. A WIDE VARIETY OF CLOTHING AND SCHOOL-RELATED MATERIALS WILL NOT BE TAXED WHEN PURCHASED TODAY AND TOMORROW. THE SALES TAX HOLIDAY DOES NOT APPLY TO LUXURY GOODS. ALL IOWA RETAILERS ARE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IF THEY SELL QUALIFYING ITEMS. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT TAX.IOWA.GOV.
