DES MOINES, Iowa (Iowa State Capitol Bureau/KCRG) – Local governments in Iowa will no longer be able to expand civil rights to include provisions not protected by the state. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law Tuesday. The law follows another bill Reynolds signed last year that removed gender identity as a protected class in Iowa. When lawmakers first debated the legislation, protesters showed up in opposition. Those against the law say local governments should be able to protect their residents. Reynolds said the law clears up confusion for businesses and schools. “We just believe that locals should follow the state laws, especially when it comes to civil rights,” Reynolds said. “Otherwise, we have a mismatch of rights out there, and we felt that it was the right thing to do.” Reynolds also said the law ensures girls are protected in women’s sports and in public bathrooms.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Social studies education in the state of Iowa could soon look different if a bill that passed through the State House last week makes it through the Senate. House File 2510 would require students to take two units of U.S. history as opposed to one, one unit of both civic education and Western Civilization, and one half-unit of U.S. government, alongside other curriculum requirements. The bill language lists various documents including the Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation as required texts. It also recommends discussion of the intellectual sources of American founding documents, including documents that “illustrate the Greek, Hebrew and Roman exemplars of liberty and republican government; the Christian synthesis of Greek, Hebrew, and Roman thought that emphasized the equal dignity of all individual humans in the eyes of God” along with Enlightenment theories and English common law.
JOHNSON COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – Authorities are investigating after an inmate died at the Johnson County Jail early Wednesday morning. Jail staff found an unresponsive inmate in a cell around 4:00 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office. Staff attempted lifesaving measures and requested an ambulance, but the person was later pronounced dead. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation. An autopsy is underway. The identity of the inmate has not been released. No other information is known at this time.
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (KCRG) – An Independence man is facing multiple charges after police say he communicated with two 14-year-olds and committed sexual abuse. 22-year-old Chase Hageman is charged with third-degree sexual abuse, two counts of enticing a minor, two counts of grooming, and one count of dissemination of obscene material. Investigators say Hageman turned himself in to the Buchanan County Jail Wednesday morning. Police say that in January, Hageman communicated with two 14-year-olds, committed sexual abuse with one, and sent obscene material to the other. If convicted, Hageman faces up to 21 years in prison.
