From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is proposing that Iowa cut taxes by nearly $2 billion by moving to a 4% flat income tax phased in over four years and repealing all state taxes on retirement income beginning next year. Reynolds made the proposals Tuesday in her annual Condition of the State message delivered to lawmakers. The flat tax proposal is expected to reduce state revenue by $1.58 billion in tax year 2026 when it is fully implemented. The retirement tax relief is estimated to cost the state $400 million in revenue in 2023, the first year she proposes it to be effective.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Two state agencies have settled sexual harassment lawsuits with employees that alleged they were mistreated at work. The State Appeal Board on Tuesday approved a $962,500 settlement with Jennifer Jackson, who alleged in a February 2020 lawsuit that Iowa Department of Human Services officials did not take sexual harassment seriously. The board also approved a settlement with Francisco Miramontes for $25,000, who claimed he was harassed by two female employees in the judicial branch who would inappropriately touch him, make sexual advances and sexual gestures to him. The settlement is with his estate since he died in a motorcycle accident in Des Moines in June 2020.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities are searching for a car involved in a deadly hit-and-run crash early Wednesday in Des Moines. The Des Moines Register reports that police described the vehicle as a yellow, two-door 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier. Officers and firefighters found the injured man at 2:41 a.m. Medics took him to UnityPoint Hospital. where he died, police said. They did not release his name or other details. Des Moines police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek said in a news release that the car officers are seeking will have heavy front end damage and a missing front license plate.
RED OAK, Iowa (AP) – A 12-year-old Iowa girl who was struck and killed by a police vehicle that was headed to an apartment fire had been on her way to a grocery store to buy snacks with a gift card she got for Christmas. That’s according to Vana Marie Redd’s older sister. KMTV reports that 15-year-old Gracie Redd described Vana as “amazing.” Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla says the crash happened Monday night as a Red Oak police cruiser headed to the fire with its lights and sirens on. The crash report states Vana “ran into the roadway.” The officer involved in the crash has been placed on paid leave while the state patrol investigates.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s Senate president opened the legislative session with an attack on the media and claims of a sinister agenda to normalize deviant behavior against children. The Legislature is expected to focus on plans for tax cuts and reforms to unemployment law, but Republican Senate President Jake Chapman used his opening speech Monday to challenge lawmakers to take a stand. He argued there is a “sinister agenda occurring right before our eyes.” Democratic leaders criticized the comments, calling them divisive and extreme political rhetoric that has made teachers, nurses and other people hesitant to work in the state.
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency is taking its first major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-burning power plants, ordering utilities to stop dumping waste into unlined storage ponds and speed up plans to close leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash sites. The EPA says plants in four states will have to close the coal ash ponds months or years ahead of schedule. Coal ash is the substance that remains when coal is burned to generate electricity. It can pollute waterways, poison wildlife and cause respiratory illness among those living near massive ponds where the waste is stored. The action marks the first time the EPA has enforced a 2015 rule aimed at reducing groundwater pollution from coal-fired power plants.
