From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An activist who was acquitted in August of interfering in a protest arrest last year has been acquitted of another charge in which police accused him of blocking a street during a protest. The Des Moines Register reports that a judge on Friday found 24-year-old Jaylen Cavil, an organizer for Des Moines’ Black Liberation Movement, not guilty of obstructing a public way. Police had argued that organizers didn’t get a permit for the protest on Sept. 22, 2020, in which Cavil participated. Police say protesters in the street put them and others in danger. But the judge said there was no evidence that Cavil planned the march or that he blocked traffic.
AMES, Iowa (AP) – An Ankeny resident and Iowa State University student has become the first woman enlisted infantry soldier in the Iowa National Guard. The Guard says Pfc. Taylor Patterson returned from basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia last month and is with Company C, 168th Infantry. It’s been five years since the U.S. Army opened combat arms positions to women. An infantry soldier must complete a 22-week training stint, where they learn skills ranging from squad tactics to close-quarter combat training. Patterson says she succeeded in the training with the help of her drill sergeants and to prove that she could do it.
MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) – City leaders in Muscatine are considering whether to lift an 18-year ban on pit bulls within the city limits. The Muscatine Journal reports the City Council will hold a special public hearing on Thursday to gather opinions on the ban that’s been in place Aug. 1, 2003, and whether it should be abolished. The issue has been on the city’s radar for more than a year. But last month, the council was split on the issue, with at least three council members favoring keeping the ban in place.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire said she has introduced a bill to address a so-called “pink tax” in the military, a reference to the higher prices women service members often pay for their uniforms. Hassan, a Democrat, and Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, of Iowa, recently introduced the bill together. Hassan said the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found that women paid more for their uniforms than men. The bill would require the Department of Defense to develop consistent criteria for determining which uniform items are considered “uniquely military,” so as to reduce differences in out-of-pocket costs across services and by gender.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The wife of the Des Moines school district’s superintendent is raising eyebrows with her $400 donation to a local school board candidate’s campaign. School board experts and government watchdogs say the donation Jami Bassman Ahart made is legal but it raises ethical questions because the school board will be making decisions about Superintendent Tom Ahart’s future employment. Bassman Ahart told the Des Moines Register that she donated to Shelley Skuster’s campaign because she believes they share the same values because both women adopted their children, who attend schools in the district. Officials say the donation doesn’t appear to violate any campaign finance rules, but it is an uncommon situation.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have identified the 21-year-old man who was shot and killed in northeast Des Moines Friday morning. Police said Sunday that Kalvyn Roy Kline was killed in the shooting. A day earlier, police said 27-year-old Darren Antwon Diggs had been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in connection with the shooting. Gunfire was reported shortly before 6 a.m. Friday. Officers who responded to the area found Kline with gunshot wounds. The officers attempted to save Kline’s life but he died at the scene. Police have said Kline and Diggs knew each other, and the shooting appears to have been motivated by a drug-related robbery.
