Week in Iowa: Recap of news from across the state

AIRPORT BOOST: The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids learned last week it is eligible to receive $28.4 million in federal pandemic relief funds to complete its terminal upgrade, which was paused during the pandemic.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday announced $100 million in the relief funds would go to eight commercial airports in the state.

Democrats were quick to chide the Republican governor for taking credit for the assistance she and Iowa’s Republican congressional delegation opposed. Only U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat from central Iowa, voted for the American Rescue Plan, they said.

SECOND ‘FUNNEL’: Friday was the second “funnel” deadline for Iowa lawmakers to winnow various proposals that have not gained traction in the Legislature.

Among the bills that appear headed for the trash heap, at least at this writing, are some Republican attempts to address what they consider a lack of transparency in public school curriculum.

Proposals that likely won’t make it include requiring schools to post all books and curriculum online and another bill that would have jailed teachers and educators who distribute materials that a parent may deem obscene.

Another bill facing the funnel was House File 2279, dubbed the “Frankenstein bill.” It started as a bill addressing tort reform and unemployment insurance requirements. Some House Republicans sought to attach amendments that would ban vaccine requirements.

A separate bill supported by some House Republicans would ban all businesses, schools and government agencies from requiring any vaccine for employees and prohibit them from requiring face coverings.

FRANKEN REFILES: Mike Franken’s campaign resubmitted nominating signatures last week for his U.S. Senate run after an error was caught in the first batch of signatures the campaign submitted March 9.

EMINENT DOMAIN MORATORIUM: Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who chairs the House State Government Committee, on Wednesday proposed a one-year moratorium on the use of eminent domain for pipeline construction, saying he wanted to protect landowners until the Legislature is back in session next year.

Three carbon capture pipelines are being proposed in Iowa.

Odds and ends

LEE SECURES BOARD SEATS: Lee Enterprises held its annual shareholder's meeting Thursday morning, re-electing three directors despite attempts by Alden Global Capital, a Wall Street hedge fund, to install its own directors through proxy votes in its ongoing attempts to take over the company.

They said …

“We just made history. But it’s the type of history that outlines the possibilities.”

--- Deidre DeJear, a Democratic candidate for Iowa governor, on being first Black woman to file nominating signatures for the seat.

"America stands with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom. Pres. Biden, send the MiGs."

— Sen. Joni Ernst, in a tweet following Ukraine's President Zelenskyy's speech to Congress

The water cooler

COUPLE DIES HOURS APART: Together 46 years, a Waterloo couple died within hours of one another.

When Pat Howard died in the early hours of March 2, her husband, Merv, told friends he didn't know how he could live without her. Later that day, Merv was discovered dead at his home by his daughter Michelle Gamblin.

“I just feel that if my mom was still here, my dad would still be here. He just couldn’t take it, I think,” Gamblin said. “It was just too much.”

SCHOLTEN BACK IN THE GAME: J.D. Scholten, the two-time Democratic candidate for Iowa's 4th Congressional District, said he will run for the Iowa House in the newly drawn District 1 that includes the southern and western portions of Sioux City.

Scholten, who played professional baseball, fell just short of pulling off one of the biggest national upsets of the 2018 midterm elections against longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King.

AIRPORT WOES: SkyWest Airlines announced that it had given its 90-day notice of termination of service to 29 airports in the United States, including Mason City, Fort Dodge, and Sioux City.

Overruling the notice, the U.S. Department of Transportation told SkyWest to continue serving those locations until new providers are found.

SKELETAL REMAINS: The investigation surrounding a woman who disappeared 10 months before being reported missing has been resolved.

The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals and Mitchell County Sheriff Gregory Beaver disclosed that remains that were discovered last July along the Cedar River Greenbelt Trail near Mitchell were those of Angela Bradbury, 29, of rural Cerro Gordo County.

When Bradbury’s remains were found in 2018, it was speculated they might be those of Jodi Huisentruit, an Iowa TV news anchorwoman who disappeared 25 years ago.

Gazette Des Moines Bureau