From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s well-known statewide bicycling event has a new director of operations. RAGBRAI, short for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, on Monday announced the hiring of Matt Phippen to lead the organization that claims to host the “oldest, largest and longest recreational touring bicycle ride in the world.” Phippen has a long association with RAGBRAI, starting in 1990 when his family hosted riders in his front yard. He has been a rider and also served as a vendor, on a town planning committee, and as a sponsor and pre-ride adviser.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s Senate president opened the legislative session with an attack on the media and claims of a sinister agenda to normalize deviant behavior against children. The Legislature is expected to focus on plans for tax cuts and reforms to unemployment law, but Republican Senate President Jake Chapman used his opening speech Monday to challenge lawmakers to take a stand. He argued there is a “sinister agenda occurring right before our eyes.” Democratic leaders criticized the comments, calling them divisive and extreme political rhetoric that has made teachers, nurses and other people hesitant to work in the state.
RED OAK, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say an Iowa police officer struck and killed a child with a patrol vehicle while headed to an apartment fire. Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla said the crash happened around 7 p.m. Monday near an intersection in the town of Red Oak. WHO-TV reports that the child’s name wasn’t immediately released, pending notification of relatives. The patrol is investigating.
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency is taking its first major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-burning power plants. It’s denying requests by three Midwest power plants to extend operations of leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash storage ponds. EPA says plants in Indiana, Ohio and Iowa will have to close coal ash ponds months or years ahead of schedule. Coal ash is the substance that remains when coal is burned to generate electricity. It can pollute waterways, poison wildlife and cause respiratory illness among those living near massive ponds where the waste is stored. The action marks the first time the EPA has enforced a 2015 rule aimed at reducing groundwater pollution from coal-fired power plants.
FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) – A correctional officer has been hospitalized after he was assaulted by an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary. The Iowa Department of Corrections said staff were able to restrain the inmate after the Friday night assault. The inmate wasn’t hurt, but the officer was taken to the hospital. The Hawk Eye reports that the corrections department is monitoring the officer’s recovery. The facility was placed on modified restricted movement after the assault and is investigating what happened. Friday’s was the latest in a string of inmate assaults in Fort Madison and elsewhere in Iowa within the past two years.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – One person died Saturday after a shooting at a Waterloo convenience store. Waterloo Police said officers found the victim with several gunshot wounds around 10 p.m. Saturday at the Prime Mart at 508 Broadway Street. Paramedics arrived and provided emergency treatment but the victim died at the convenience store. The victim’s name was not immediately released. Investigators are searching for any witnesses to the shooting. In November, a different shooting at the same convenience store injured two people. No arrests have been made in that case.
