From KCRG-TV9:
CEDAR RAPIDS – If the Supreme Court of the United States reverses Roe v. Wade as a draft obtained by Politico suggests, abortion would not become illegal in Iowa immediately. A woman’s ability to have an abortion, which is federally protected in the 1973 decision, is also protected in the Iowa Constitution after an Iowa Supreme Court case from 2018. Sara Riley, who is a lawyer at Tom Riley Law Firm, said the Supreme Court appears to be giving this issue back to the states to decide. She said Iowa’s Supreme Court has already said the right to have an abortion is protected under the due process and equal protection clause in the state’s constitution. She said the right to have an abortion in Iowa could disappear if the Iowa Supreme Court would reverse its decision. Efforts are continuing separately to amend the state constitution, which would eventually require a state-wide election. (Image By Ctjf83 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11476206)
From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa state board has approved an $8 million payment to an Illinois man who was left permanently disabled when he was hit in 2019 by a state Transportation Department snow plow. The Des Moines Register reports that on Monday, the three-member Iowa State Appeal Board approved the settlement to 64-year-old Terry Bunting of Viola, Illinois. Officials say Bunting was clearing the windshield of his semitrailer after pulling over on U.S. Highway 67 in Le Claire when he was hit by the blade of a passing plow. The impact caused acute kidney and spine injuries and multiple broken bones and left Bunting paralyzed. Experts estimated the cost Bunting’s future medical and other care could exceed $7 million, on top of the $1.25 million he’s already accrued.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – The greyhounds are racing again in Dubuque, Iowa, but after a shortened season ends in May, there will be only three tracks left in the country. Later this year, that number will dwindle to only two, both in West Virginia. It’s been a long slide for greyhound racing, which reached its peak in the 1980s when there were more than 50 tracks scattered across 19 states. Since then, increased concerns about how the dogs are treated along with an explosion of gambling options have nearly killed the sport. Steve Sarras, president of the West Virginia Kennel Owners Association, says he’s confident racing will continue in that state thanks to support from legislators.
More than 1,000 workers at CNH Industrial plants in Wisconsin and Iowa have walked out on strike in search of a better deal with the company that makes agriculture and construction equipment. The United Auto Workers union said the strike began at noon Monday. This action follows a spate of strikes in the past year, including a high-profile monthlong walkout at Deere & Co. that resulted in 10% raises and improved benefits for 10,000 UAW workers. The company said in a statement that it is disappointed it couldn’t reach an agreement with the union, and it remains committed to the bargaining process.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The federal government says a Colorado state prison inmate is the first person to have tested positive for bird flu in the latest outbreak in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the inmate had been on a prerelease employment assignment removing chickens from an infected farm. The CDC says he tested positive for the same variant of the virus that has spread in commercial and backyard flocks this spring in 29 states. The agency says the man reported fatigue for a few days but has recovered. The CDC still considers the threat to the general public to be low because spread of the virus to people requires close contact with an infected bird.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police say a 38-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 14-year-old Des Moines girl. Police say the crash happened Thursday afternoon a few blocks east of Hiatt Middle School on the city’s east side. Police say 14-year-old Ema Cardenas was found with critical injuries after she was hit by a sport utility vehicle that fled the scene. Cardenas was taken to a hospital, where she soon died of her injuries. Police say they later found the SUV suspected of hitting the teen at a home less than a mile from the crash site. On Friday, police announced the arrest of 38-year-old Terra Jean Flipping, of Des Moines. Flipping has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
