MANCHESTER, IA (IRN) – A man accused of driving his vehicle into a loaded school bus in eastern Iowa wants to withdraw his guilty pleas. The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald reports the attorney for 42-year-old Monte Klink filed a motion Friday. Klink had pled guilty to 2nd offense driving while intoxicated and to two counts of causing serious injury by vehicle. Klink’s SUV collided with a bus near Manchester in 2015. 32 students were treated for minor injuries.
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A rising star in the Iowa Democratic party says she won’t run for governor next year. KCRG-TV reports Liz Mathis has opted out of the race. There had been speculation the state senator would run in the Democratic primary to potentially challenge Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who will move into the governor’s role once Terry Branstad resigns to join the Trump administration.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Former Republican State Senator Kent Sorenson was sentenced to 15 months in prison in relation to a 2012 Iowa Caucus payola scandal involving Ron Paul’s presidential campaign. Prosecutors recommended no jail time, only two years of probation. Judge Robert Pratt disagreed, saying Sorenson’s crimes could not go unpunished. Pratt says, “A slap on the wrist exacerbates the cycle of corruption in politics.”
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow a woman who gets an abortion to sue the doctor who performed the procedure if she experiences emotional distress later–at any time in her life. KCRG-TV reports if approved, the measure would be the first law of its kind in the U.S.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Iowa National Guard is sending 30 Soldiers and Airmen to assist federal, state, and local agencies with the Inauguration of Donald Trump Friday. Airmen from the 185th Air Refueling Wing based in Sioux City, the 132nd Wing in Des Moines, and Soldiers and Airmen from the 71st Civil Support Team from Des Moines will be deployed.
WINTERSET, IA (IRN) – Winterset resident Ruth Lampe just turned 104 years old. WHO-TV reports Lampe’s friends held a birthday party for her at the Winterset Senior Center. She’s still active, and on Mondays and Tuesdays comes and makes coffee, cleans tables, wraps silverware, and visits with people at the center. Lampe says her only regret is that she never would have sold her house if she had known she would live so long.