From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state Department of Public Health says the number of people being treated for the coronavirus in Iowa hospitals surged by 16% in the past week. The department on Wednesday reported 923 people in hospitals with COVID-19 infections. That is the highest number in Iowa since Dec. 4, 2020, and up from the 792 people reported last Wednesday. The state data shows 178 people were in intensive care units, compared to 161 a week ago. Thirteen children age 11 or younger are hospitalized with COVID-19, and all are unvaccinated. Nine children age 12-17 are in hospitals, including seven who are unvaccinated. State officials reported an additional 181 deaths, dating back as far as early October. That raises the state death total to 8,201.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Chief Justice Susan Christensen is seeking a nearly 7% increase in the court system’s budget for next year in hopes of increasing salaries and hiring judges, attorneys and other staff after a hiring freeze. Christensen made the budget proposals for this fiscal year beginning in July during her annual Condition of the Judiciary Address on Wednesday to a joint session of the Iowa Legislature. She sought $202.5 million, a 6.7% increase and $4.3 million more than Gov. Kim Reynolds has recommended. The court’s proposed budget provides $2 million for open positions that were left unfilled last year, $2.9 million for a 5.9% pay raise for judicial officers, and $1.3 million to continue an effort to hire additional judges and other staffers.
RED OAK, Iowa (AP) — A 12-year-old Iowa girl who was struck and killed by a police vehicle that was headed to an apartment fire had been on her way to a grocery store to buy snacks with a gift card she got for Christmas. That’s according to Vana Marie Redd’s older sister. KMTV reports that 15-year-old Gracie Redd described Vana as “amazing.” Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla says the crash happened Monday night as a Red Oak police cruiser headed to the fire with its lights and sirens on. The crash report states Vana “ran into the roadway.” The officer involved in the crash has been placed on paid leave while the state patrol investigates.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is proposing that Iowa cut taxes by nearly $2 billion by moving to a 4% flat income tax phased in over four years and repealing all state taxes on retirement income beginning next year. Reynolds made the proposals Tuesday in her annual Condition of the State message delivered to lawmakers. The flat tax proposal is expected to reduce state revenue by $1.58 billion in tax year 2026 when it is fully implemented. The retirement tax relief is estimated to cost the state $400 million in revenue in 2023, the first year she proposes it to be effective.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating a hit-and-run crash in Des Moines that left a man dead. Des Moines police were called about 2:40 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a pedestrian who had been hit by a car on East Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. They found a man with severe injuries and rushed him to a hospital, where he died. Police sought the public’s help in finding a car involved in the crash, and later Wednesday morning found a vehicle that investigators think hit the man.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two state agencies have settled sexual harassment lawsuits with employees that alleged they were mistreated at work. The State Appeal Board on Tuesday approved a $962,500 settlement with Jennifer Jackson, who alleged in a February 2020 lawsuit that Iowa Department of Human Services officials did not take sexual harassment seriously. The board also approved a settlement with Francisco Miramontes for $25,000, who claimed he was harassed by two female employees in the judicial branch who would inappropriately touch him, make sexual advances and sexual gestures to him. The settlement is with his estate since he died in a motorcycle accident in Des Moines in June 2020.
