Capitol Notebook: Iowa gets $9.5M from baby powder settlement

Iowa will receive $9.45 million as part of a $700 million national settlement between 43 states and Johnson & Johnson, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office announced Tuesday.

The settlement resolves allegations that Johnson & Johnson used deceptive marketing in denying its talc-based products, including baby powder, caused cancer and other health problems.

Johnson & Johnson did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, nor does the company admit its products cause cancer. The company had sold talc-based baby powder for more than a century, but stopped last year, according to Reuters.

The settlement requires Johnson & Johnson to stop the manufacture, marketing, promotion, distribution and sale of all talc-based baby and baby powder products, including Johnson’s Baby Powder and Johnson & Johnson’s Shower to Shower, according to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office

Numerous other lawsuits have alleged talc causes serious health issues, including mesothelioma and ovarian cancer, the Attorney General’s Office said.

“It is important that Iowans know the truth about the products they are using, especially when it concerns the health of their babies,” Bird said in a statement. “This settlement holds Johnson & Johnson accountable for deceptive marketing and keeps dangerous, talc-based baby powder products off the shelves.”

The 43-state settlement was led by Texas, Florida and North Carolina.

Reynolds names Iowa district judge

Jeffery McDaniel, of Bettendorf, has been appointed district judge in Iowa’s 7th Judicial District by Gov. Kim Reynolds, her office announced.

District 7 covers Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Muscatine and Scott counties.

McDaniel replaces Judge John D. Telleen, who retired.

5 school districts pegged for child care program

Five Iowa school districts have been chosen for a pilot program leveraging partnerships between schools and their communities to expand access to child care while helping high school students earn a national child development credential, the Iowa Department of Education announced.

The five districts were awarded a total of more than $140,000 in the first rounds of competitive grants through the Credentials to Child Care Careers program, the department said.

Receiving the grants are the Council Bluffs, Sioux Central, Starmont, Woodbine and Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn school districts.The Council Bluffs, MMCRU, Sioux Central, Starmont and Woodbine school districts were chosen for the pilot program.

“These Credentials for Child Care Careers programs will expand access to high-quality child care, while supporting an early childhood workforce of and for local communities,” Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said in a statement. “We commend the awardees for their leadership in realizing our shared priority to strengthen pathways to in-demand child development careers and to support working families.”

The districts will receive curriculum and can use grant awards to cover student exam fees, textbooks, credentialing course materials, child care stipends and other approved expenses, according to the state education department. The grants will be distributed in July for implementation during the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years.