From the Associated Press:
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a measure that places a two-year moratorium on new casino licenses — a move the mayor of Cedar Rapids calls “disappointing.” The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that an amendment to a larger gambling bill means regulators cannot issue any new licenses in Iowa until June 2024. Reynolds signed the bill Friday. The moratorium puts on hold plans for a potential $250 million, 160,000 square-foot entertainment and cultural arts complex at the site of now-demolished Cooper’s Mill near downtown Cedar Rapids. The Republican-led Iowa Legislature this year approved the two-year moratorium on new casinos, citing “gambling fatigue.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A second motorcyclist has been sentenced to probation after a man died during a street race in Des Moines in October. The Des Moines Register reported Friday that 36-year-old Michael Crabb and 24-year-old Brady Joe Clausi both have now been sentenced after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide. Crabb was sentenced to three years probation May 27. Clausi, who was also charged with driving while barred and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, was sentenced to four years probation in April. Both men were charged after the Oct. 19 death of 37-year-old Kyle Houge. The three men were racing their motorcycles on Iowa Highway 28 when Houge struck a median and crashed.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — At least a half-dozen GOP presidential prospects are planning Iowa visits this summer now that the state’s June primary has come and gone. These forays, advertised as promoting candidates and the state Republican organization ahead of the fall midterm elections, in reality are trips aimed at building relationships and learning the political geography in the state scheduled to launch the campaign for the party’s 2024 nomination. In a time-tested midterm campaign year ritual, Republicans including former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and others are planning summer visits, marking the next phase in this quadrennial rite.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has made it easier for lawmakers to limit or outlaw abortion in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution. The court concluded Friday that a 2018 decision was wrong and should be overturned. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by abortion providers who challenged a 2020 law that required a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can get an abortion. A judge struck down the law in June 2021, citing the 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision that declared abortion a fundamental right under the state constitution. The court reversed that decision and sent the case back to district court.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic governor candidate Deidre DeJear announced she has chosen an eastern Iowa county auditor as her running mate. DeJear says Friday she chose Clinton County Auditor Eric Van Lancker as her lieutenant governor candidate because he is “not only a true defender of democracy but also he understands the growing challenges facing small communities across the state.” Van Lancker is a four-term county auditor who last week lost his bid to be the Democratic nominee for secretary of state by more than 40 percentage point to Linn County Auditor Joel Miller. Van Lancker says his priorities include defending voting rights, improving education, prioritizing housing, increasing broadband and protecting healthcare,
MACEDONIA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in western Iowa say a 9-year-old boy has died after being hit by a motorcycle in the small town of Macedonia. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that the crash happened around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday along Macedonia’s Main Street. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says the boy was riding his bicycle at the intersection of Main and Dye streets when he was hit by a motorcycle. The boy was rushed to a Council Bluffs hospital, where he died. Officials have not released his name. Police say the 51-year-old motorcycle driver was not injured.
