DES MOINES (IRN) – Lawmakers will be in a special session today in an attempt by Republicans to restrict abortions in the state. A bill submitted in both the Iowa House and Senate Study Bill 1223 and House Study Bill 255 would establish similar provisions to legislation passed in 2018 that would restrict all abortions after fetal heartbeat activity could be detected, or approximately six to eight weeks. Some exceptions would be in place for rape, incest, miscarriages, and if the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother in certain cases. According to a Des Moines Register poll, 61% of Iowans support keeping abortion legal in most cases.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Iowa’s Governor has drawn the ire of the leading Republican candidate. The Des Moines Register reports former President Donald Trump criticized Kim Reynolds for her lack of endorsement in the 2024 run up to the Iowa Caucuses. Trump claims he no longer invites Reynolds to events after she took a neutral stance ahead of the January kick off to the nomination process. He takes credit for Reynolds political rise after naming former Governor Terry Branstad as an ambassador to China in 2016. Many of the other GOP presidential candidates have supported Reynolds for her neutral stance.

DES MOINES (IRN) – An uptick in traffic fatalities has the Iowa State Patrol asking Iowans to buckle their seatbelts while driving. As of Monday, 179 people have died on the state’s roadways, and of those, 51.8% were not wearing a seatbelt. The Iowa State Patrol says they’ve seen an increase in seat belt violations from traffic enforcement periods conducted in 2023 as well.

DES MOINES (IRN) – While recent rain fall has helped, the latest crop update from the USDA show more than have of Iowa’s soil remains short on both topsoil and subsoil moisture. However, more than 60 percent of the corn crop was in good to excellent condition, and soybeans and oats were at 52 percent in that category.