Capitol Notebook: Step up and claim your $1M prize, Iowa Lottery pleads

A $1 million lottery prize won in Ames remains unclaimed after nine months.

The Iowa Lottery is reminding players to double-check their tickets, as the prize will expire after Sept. 6, the last date when it can be claimed.

Nine other prizes, ranging from $10,000 to $150,000, also are unclaimed in Iowa, the state lottery said.

The $1 million-winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at The Filling Station/Gateway Express at 2400 University Blvd. in Ames for the game’s drawing on Sept. 6, 2022, just after Labor Day weekend, the Iowa Lottery said. The store earned a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

“This is a real-world demonstration of why the Iowa Lottery reminds all players to always check their ticket results,” Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn said in a news release. “We want all lottery prizes to be claimed by their winners — especially a potentially life-changing prize of $1 million.”

The winners of the $1 million prize have until the close of business on Sept. 6 to claim the prize at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

Bird, Iowa lead suit against California’s trucking requirement

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is leading a coalition of 19 states in challenging federal regulators’ decision to allow California to require truck manufacturers to sell an increasing number of zero-emission trucks.

According to the Associated Press, under California’s rule, manufacturers will have to sell a higher percentage of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2024. Depending on the class of truck, zero-emission ones will have to make up 40 percent to 75 percent of sales by 2035.

“The EPA and California have no right or legal justification to force truckers to follow their radical climate agenda,” Bird said in a news release. “Rather than support our hardworking truckers, (President) Biden continues to empty their wallets and force them to drive electric trucks for his radical climate change agenda. Iowa isn’t going to take a backseat as the EPA and California try to regulate truckers out of business. We’re pushing back.”

According to the Iowa AG’s office, the other states joining the lawsuit include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia.

Learn about dangerous new drugs

A new state website has been designed to educate Iowans about emerging drugs like Xylazine or Kratom for which there is little or no regulation. The site also will highlight the dangers of evolving drugs like fentanyl, counterfeit pills and, according to the state, “highly potent marijuana products.”

The Emerging Drugs in Iowa website is produced by the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy.

“The Emerging Drugs website identifies new, evolving and lesser-known products and product delivery systems to help Iowa parents, caregivers and others prevent youth substance use,” the office’s director, Dale Woolery, said in a news release. “New substances and drug-combinations appear with increasing speed and frequency, and we sometimes have more health and safety questions than answers. The new website shares available factual information to put these products on the Iowa radar, while we learn more about them.”

Applications being accepted for appeals court vacancy

The State Judicial Nominating Commission, which is responsible for selecting nominees for appointment to the Iowa Court of Appeals, announced it will begin accepting applications for a vacancy on the court arising from the retirement of Judge Anuradha Vaitheswaran.

The commission was informed of the vacancy by Gov. Kim Reynolds on May 22. Members have 60 days to send a slate of nominees to the governor.

The commission plans to interview applicants July 13 and 14 and select five nominees to submit to the governor for appointment, according to a news release. The interview portion of the meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the Iowa Judicial Branch YouTube channel.

The 17-member commission is composed of eight commissioners elected by lawyers licensed to practice law in Iowa and nine commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa Senate.

Names of applicants along, information about each applicant's background, experience and qualifications, as well as information about the commission and Iowa's merit selection process will be released on the Iowa Judicial Branch website, iowacourts.gov.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. July 3.

For more information, including how to apply and submitting comments regarding an applicant, go to iowacourts.gov.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau