From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – Planned Parenthood North Central States has received an unexpected donation of $20 million from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. It’s the largest donation in the organization’s history. Scott is the former wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. North Central States operates 28 facilities in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, says the donation brings tremendous relief because costs of providing care are going up. Scott revealed Wednesday that she has donated nearly $4 billion to 465 nonprofits, including $275 million to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A hearing scheduled for Thursday in the case of one of the teenagers charged with killing a southeast Iowa teacher has been placed on hold after his attorney sought a review by the Iowa Supreme Court. Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale, both 16, are charged with murder in the death of Spanish teacher Nohema Graber, who was found dead Nov. 3 at a Fairfield park. Miller’s attorney wants a hearing on suppression of evidence she claims was obtained in violation of Miller’s constitutional rights before other hearings and has asked the high court to rule on her request. A judge on Wednesday postponed Miller’s hearing but Goodale’s hearing is still set for Thursday.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Union leaders for workers at a Davenport defense contractor supplier say a labor strike that began last month has ended. A representative of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 6 tells the Quad-City Times that more than 400 union members employed at the Eaton Mission Systems Division of Davenport will return to work after a contract agreement was reached Tuesday. DeLane Adams said in a statement that the new contract included improved wages and other items, but terms of the contract were not disclosed. The strike began Feb. 18 after 98% of union members voted to reject a tentative agreement that included what union officials said were sub-standard wages and cuts to health care and retirement benefits.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Developers of $492 million transmission line are appealing a federal judge’s ruling that blocks the project’s crossing through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge. American Transmission Co., ITC Midwest, and Dairyland Power Cooperative are building the 345-kilovolt transmission line which would run more than 100 miles from Dane County to Dubuque County in Iowa. The Driftless Area Land Conservancy and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation have mounted a number of legal challenges to the project in state and federal court. In a ruling earlier this year, a federal judge sided with the conservation groups that sued the agencies that issued approvals for the line.
WASHINGTON (AP) – An Associated Press review finds that state and local governments have spent nearly $1 billion worth of federal coronavirus aid on projects that have little to do with combating the pandemic. The spending runs the gamut. In Broward County, Florida, $140 million will help to build an upscale hotel. In Dutchess County, New York, $12 million is being used to renovate a minor league ballpark. Alabama plans to spend $400 million building new prisons. When congressional Democrats passed their $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan a year ago, they characterized it as “emergency funding” that would keep front-line workers on the job, open schools and ramp up vaccinations.
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – Less than six months after dropping the mascot “Mohawks,” the Mason City School Board has approved a student-led suggestion to adopt the name “River Hawks.” The Globe Gazette reports that the board unanimously approved the name change Monday night. The name was presented by members of the Mason City High School student senate after a vote of the student body saw more than 61% select River Hawks over two other contenders – the Majors and the Monarchs. The previous mascot was retired in November, following examples across the country of schools and sports teams dropping offensive names and mascots that either pull from or pervert Native American culture.
