From the Associated Press:
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A judge has issued a temporary restraining order limiting how striking workers at the Deere & Co. plant in Davenport should conduct themselves. The injunction issued Wednesday says only four picketers can be near gates of the Davenport Works plant, it bans the use of chairs and barrel fires by picketers and it prohibits them from harassing people entering and leaving the plant. Deere spokeswoman Jen Hartmann said the company sought the injunction to maintain a safe environment for those entering the plant and for the picketers. The strike began Oct. 14 after after union members overwhelmingly rejected a proposed contract. The union has three days to respond to the court with its compliance plan.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state audit has found that Iowa’s privatized Medicaid system has illegally denied services or care to program recipients, and both private insurance companies managing the system have violated terms of their contracts with the state. Auditor Rob Sand on Wednesday released the report from his investigation that examined cases from 2013 through 2019. He says his investigators found a massive increase in illegal denials of care under privatized Medicaid. Iowa Medicaid Director Elizabeth Matney rejected the report’s conclusions, arguing Sand was making an “apples to oranges comparison” that mischaracterized the current program.
ADEL, Iowa (AP) — Unemployed Iowans would be required to meet weekly with state case managers, conduct twice as many weekly work searches and undergo audits to prove they’re actively looking for work under a new proposal announced by Gov. Kim Reynolds. An Iowa Workforce Development spokesman says unemployment payments could be frozen if jobless workers fail to meet the new criteria. More than 86,500 job openings are posted on a state workforce development website while nearly 68,000 Iowans remain unemployed. Reynolds noted Wednesday that the state would spend $30 million in federal funds to provide grants to help manufacturers retain existing workers and recruit new employees.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa State Patrol trooper has died nearly a week after he was injured in a car crash in northeast Iowa that happened while he was rushing to assist another agency. Trooper Ted Benda was hurt Oct. 14 in a single-vehicle crash while en route to help the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office with a wanted suspect. The Department of Public Safety says he died of those injuries Wednesday. In a release announcing his death, the state patrol and Department of Public Safety described officers and staff as being “heartbroken.” The 37-year-old Benda joined the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in 2005 and transferred to the state patrol in 2016. He is survived by his wife, Holly, and their four children.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former teacher in Pleasant Hill has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for enticing a student to have sex with him. Federal prosecutors said 39-year-old Abraham Christopher Smith was sentenced Tuesday for enticement of a minor. Smith pleaded guilty in June. Prosecutors said in October 2020, Smith enticed a student at Southeast Polk High School into having sexual relations with him. Smith also used his cellphone to record the sexual activity. After completing his prison term, Smith will be required to register as a sexual offender and will be on supervised release for 10 years.
