From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley says Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal to divert about $55 million from public schools to private school scholarships will not pass in the Iowa House because of a lack of Republican support. The plan called for taxpayer-funded scholarships for up to 10,000 students to attend the private school of their choice. It passed the Senate in March but too many Republicans in the House oppose the idea. Reynolds has said she won’t give up and will work to pass the measure next year. Lawmakers are expected to end the legislative session this week, about five weeks behind the scheduled adjournment.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Auditor Rob Sand says he was the target of an attempted email scam in which someone pretended to be him and unsuccessfully tried to move his paycheck deposit to a different bank account. Sand used his own experience to warn Iowans on Monday about ways fraudulent emails can be designed to give scammers access to tax refunds or paycheck deposits. He credited a state human resources worker with contacting him directly on May 13 to alert him of the email to divert his paycheck direct deposit to a different bank. Sand confirmed the email was fake. He says such scams should be reported to the state auditor and the FBI
CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) — A 52-year-old Cherokee police officer is facing charges after he allegedly hit a 6-year-old girl with a pickup truck and then drove away. The Sioux City Journal reported that Michael McGee was cited with leaving or failing to return to the scene of an injury accident. The Iowa State Patrol says McGee struck the girl, who was in a crosswalk, on Friday afternoon in Cherokee. He was off-duty at the time. The patrol says the girl was hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life threatening. The patrol continues to investigate the incident.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Siemens Gamesa wind-energy plants in Hutchinson, Kansas, and Fort Madison, Iowa, will close down while the company waits for new orders. Officials with the company announced Friday that most employees at the two plants will be laid off. The blade manufacturing plant in Iowa will close in June, followed by the Kansas plant in July. Siemens said 171 people work at the Iowa plant, with 92 in Kansas. The company said it is possible the plants could reopen if market conditions improve. The Iowa plant manufactures wind turbine blades. The Kansas plant manufactures nacelles, which house the turbine’s generating components.
PRAIRIE CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is the first state in the nation to require most gas stations to sell fuel with at least 15% ethanol under a bill signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Reynolds signed the bill Tuesday on a farm near Prairie City, about 20 miles east of Des Moines. The Republican governor signed the bill on a flatbed wagon backed by tractors and corn planters, highlighting what she called a victory for Iowa farmers and biofuels advocates. The ethanol industry consumes about half of Iowa’s corn crop. The state leads the nation in corn and ethanol production. Most gas sold in Iowa and across the country is blended with 10% ethanol.
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Police in suburban Des Moines are investigating the shooting death of a 4-year-old girl. The Ankeny Police Department says in a news release that officers were called Monday morning to a home for a report of the shooting. Officers and fire department paramedics arrived at the home and found the child with a gunshot wound. Medics began treating the girl and rushed her to a hospital, where she died from her injuries. Police have not given any details about how the girl was shot, but said detectives were interviewing family members, neighbors and witnesses.
