From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa man has been arrested and faces four federal charges in the Jan. 6 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol after a relative tipped off the FBI. Court records say an FBI agent arrested Kenneth Rader on Jan. 20 in Sioux City. He is charged with knowingly entering a restricted building, two counts of disorderly and disruptive conduct and demonstrating in a Capitol building. The FBI received a tip on Jan. 8 from someone who referred to Rader as “my radicalized family member” and indicated Rader had shared videos of himself at the Capitol. A public defender obtained to represent Rader did not immediately respond to a message.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal appeals court has allowed the state to enforce a law that prevents local schools from imposing mask mandates in districts where no disabled students need masks to protect them. However, the court also allowed a group of parents of disabled children to pursue a lawsuit that seeks to strike down the law. Two members of a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Omaha on Tuesday sided with the parents and a disability rights group in concluding that their lawsuit can proceed in federal court. The panel found the parents likely will succeed because mask requirements constitute a reasonable modification and schools’ failure to provide this accommodation likely violates the federal Rehabilitation Act.
WASHINGTON (AP) — All over the U.S., state National Guard units are seeing dramatic reenlistment rates, even as their troops juggle near constant duties with COVID-19, natural disasters and other military deployments. For some, it’s a job that could become a 20-year career — and provide tuition assistance and employment skills they’ll always be able to use. And it’s also a fulfilling part-time avocation that lets them give back to their communities. That’s especially true during the pandemic, as they help with testing, vaccinations, hospital work and more, in addition to the emergency disaster help they’re noted for.
BONDURANT, Iowa (AP) — Polk County authorities say they are investigating the death of a woman who was found outside an assisted living home in freezing temperatures. KCCI-TV reports the woman was located outside the Courtyard Estates at Hawthorne Crossing in Bondurant on Friday. The center houses people with dementia. The low temperature that day was minus 9. Polk County Sheriff’s Lt. Ryan Evans says the woman was alive when she was found but died later at a hospital. The official cause of death has not been released.
CASTALIA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in northeastern Iowa say a school bus carrying two students and a driver has collided with a train near Castalia. Television station KCRG reports that the crash happened just after 9 a.m. Tuesday when a Postville school bus and train crashed. The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office says the two students were checked out by paramedics and taken to a local hospital for observation. KCRG says the driver was taken by private vehicle to seek medical treatment. The medical conditions of driver and students were not immediately released.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in December. Iowa Workforce Development reported Tuesday that the rate was down from November’s 3.7% rate and reflected that 5,200 more people found jobs. The percentage of Iowans in the labor force also increased slightly. Iowa’s rate was ranked 20th nationally. Nebraska continued to have the nation’s lowest rate at 1.7%. The national unemployment rate for December was 3.9%.
