THE VERY ACTIVE IOWA LEGISLATIVE SESSION WHICH ENDED LAST WEEK DID NOT TIE UP EVERY LOOSE END. STATE REPRESENTATIVE SANDY SALMON FROM JANESVILLE REPRESENTS IOWA HOUSE DISTRICT 63 AND WAS A RECENT KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL GUEST. SHE NOTED THAT LEGISLATORS DID NOT PASS AN E15 FUEL MANDATE NOR A SCHOOL CHOICE PROPOSAL, AS WELL AS LEAVING ONE LONG-STANDING ISSUE UNRESOLVED. SALMON SAYS THERE IS WIDESPREAD AGREEMENT THAT THE STATE NEEDS TO ADD MORE INCENTIVES TO KEEP CONTAINER REDEMPTION CENTERS IN OPERATION.
WIDE SPREAD JOB VACANCIES HAVE CREATED HEADACHES FOR MANY IOWA EMPLOYERS. HOWEVER, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INSIDE OUT REENTRY COMMUNITY IN IOWA CITY SAYS CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT FOR FORMER INMATES TO FIND WORK. MICHELLE HEINZ TALKED TO OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9. INSIDE OUT NOTES THAT 95 PERCENT OF IOWA’S INCARCERATED POPULATION WILL EVENTUALLY LEAVE THE CORRECTIONS SYSTEM.
WATERLOO POLICE HAVE ARRESTED A SUSPECT AFTER SEVERAL FOOD DELIVERY DRIVERS WERE ROBBED THIS SPRING. AUTHORITIES ALLEGE THAT A VARIETY OF EVIDENCE LED THEM TO 18-YEAR-OLD MELVIN DAHN. THE INCIDENTS HAPPENED IN OR AROUND APARTMENT BUILDINGS ON RAVENWOOD ROAD. POLICE SAY DAHN WAS ARRESTED EARLIER THIS WEEK WHILE DRIVING A VEHICLE THAT HAD BEEN REPORTED STOLEN.
WARMER WEATHER MEANS THE RETURN OF A DIFFERENT VIRUS. THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH HAS SEEN THE FIRST 2021 CASE OF THE WEST NILE VIRUS. THE MOSQUITO-BORNE ILLNESS WAS REPORTED IN SOUTHWEST IOWA’S MONTGOMERY COUNTY. WEST NILE TYPICALLY HAS MILD SYMPTOMS LIKE FEVER AND HEADACHE, BUT SEVERE CASES CAN BE FATAL. HEALTH OFFICIALS ADVISE WEARING INSECT REPELLENT WITH DEET AND AVOIDING ACTIVITIES AT TIMES WHEN MOSQUITOS ARE MOST ACTIVE.
CONGRESSWOMAN ASHLEY HINSON VISITED THE KXEL STUDIOS THURSDAY DURING A TRIP THROUGH THE FIRST DISTRICT. HINSON TALKED ABOUT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATIVE DEBATE HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON: A $1.9 TRILLION INFRASTRUCTURE PROPOSAL. REPUBLICANS ARE OFFERING A COUNTER PROPOSAL RANGING CLOSER TO ONE TRILLION DOLLARS.
THE ZACH JOHNSON FOUNDATION CLASSIC WILL RETURN IN LATE JULY. HOWEVER, GOLF FANS WILL BE ASKED TO STAY HOME THIS YEAR. A PRO-AM EVENT IN CEDAR RAPIDS AND OTHER FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES WILL STILL BENEFIT THE FOUNDATION’S “KIDS ON COURSE” PROGRAM. NEWS/TALK 1540 KXEL IS THE EXCLUSIVE RADIO SPONSOR OF ZACH JOHNSON FOUNDATION CLASSIC.
LOTTERY OFFICIALS SAY A THIRD WEEKLY POWERBALL DRAWING IS ON THE WAY. THE MULTISTATE LOTTERY GROUP PRESENTING THE SWEEPSTAKES SAYS IT WILL ADD ANOTHER SET OF WINNING NUMBERS ON MONDAY NIGHTS. THE FIRST MONDAY POWERBALL DRAWING WILL BE AUGUST 23RD.
EARLIER THIS MONTH, IOWA FIRST DISTRICT CONGRESSWOMAN ASHLEY HINSON INTRODUCED LEGISLATION INTENDED TO SPUR A TRIP BY VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS TO THE U.S. SOUTHERN BORDER. HARRIS HAS BEEN TABBED AS THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S POINT PERSON ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES, BUT REPUBLICANS HAVE CRITICIZED THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR NOT VISITING THE BORDER. HINSON SHARED HER THOUGHTS ON IMMIGRATION DURING A THURSDAY KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL APPEARANCE. HEAR HINSON’S FULL INTERVIEW ON DEMAND AT KXEL.COM.
THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES IS TRYING TO FIND OUT WHY MANY YOUNG SPORT FISH WERE FOUND DEAD IN WEST UNION THIS WEEK. THE DNR SAYS THE FISH KILL HAPPENED WEDNESDAY IN OTTER CREEK, AND THEY NOTED A STORM WATER DRAIN WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN A SOURCE OF RUNOFF. BROWN TROUT FROM TWO TO 16 INCHES WERE THE FISH AFFECTED. DNR OFFICIALS SAY TROUT ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE ADVERSE REACTIONS TO CHEMICALS OR OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES.
A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOOTBALL PROGRAM IS LIKELY TO LINGER IN THE BACKGROUND AS THE HAWKEYES TAKE THE FIELD OVER THE NEXT TWO SEASONS. A COURT DATE FOR THE DISCRIMINATION CASE HAS BEEN SET, BUT THE SIDES WON’T GO TO TRIAL UNTIL EARLY 2023. SEVERAL FORMER IOWA ATHLETES ALLEGE THAT HAWKEYE FOOTBALL COACHES IMPLEMENTED POLICIES WHICH WERE PREJUDICED AGAINST BLACK PLAYERS. SOME ELEMENTS OF THE SUIT WERE PREVIOUSLY DISMISSED BY THE COURT HEARING THE CASE.
