Des Moines, Iowa — Four bills introduced in the Iowa legislature this year have been designed to set a new statewide policy for determining how much elected officials in Iowa’s 99 counties are paid, but lawmakers are still working out the details. Read more
Bill Barring Smartphone Use While Driving Faces Key Deadline This Week
Statewide Iowa — April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Alex Dinkla says law enforcement officials are hoping it will be the month Iowa law is changed, to forbid motorists from handling a smart phone while driving. Read more
Grassley Calls For Halt To Biden’s College Loan Forgiveness Proposal
Washington, DC — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is joining the chorus of Republicans who are working to dismantle President Biden’s proposal to eliminate student loan debt. Read more
Feenstra Votes to Protect Parents’ Right to be Involved in Children’s Education
Washington, DC — Congressman Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) voted for, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed, the Parents Bill of Rights Act last week, which affirms and codifies the right of parents to be involved in their children’s education. Read more
UPDATE: Sheldon Homicide Victim Identified
Sheldon, Iowa — Authorities have released the identity of the homicide victim whose body was discovered Thursday afternoon inside a Sheldon residence. Read more
Officials: Thunderstorm Warnings Might Warn Of Very Different Storms
Sheldon, Iowa — This is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa. Each day this week, the National Weather Service is focusing on a different severe weather topic.
Monday’s topic is severe thunderstorms.
The National Weather Service’s Sioux Falls office covers northwest Iowa. The Warning Coordination Meteorologist for that office is Peter Rogers. He tells us more.
And, Rogers says, those are the minimum criteria. Often, it’s much worse than that.
He says the “take-away” here is that sometimes people think that a severe thunderstorm warning is not very serious because it’s not a tornado warning. But that’s often a dangerous way of thinking. He reminds us to listen to the content of the severe thunderstorm warning. Is it warning us of one thunderstorm with winds of 58 miles per hour? Or is it warning us of a derecho with winds up to 140 miles per hour? He reminds us that the same product would be issued for both of these storms — a severe thunderstorm warning. So take the time to listen to what’s expected to occur.
Weather officials also remind us that even thunderstorms that are too weak to be called “severe” still produce deadly lightning. So they tell us, “When thunder roars, go indoors.”