Des Moines – Police arrested a man last Monday on charges that he broke into the Iowa Capitol over the weekend and caused some damage, authorities said.
Surveillance cameras recorded images of the man as he entered the building around 2:55 a.m. last Sunday. The nature and extent of the damage wasn’t released.
Des Moines – A divided Iowa Supreme Court concluded last week that a central Iowa recreational lake that owners tout as the state’s largest private lake isn’t private at all because it is accessible via a public waterway. The ruling could have ramifications for private lake developments connected to rivers that want to keep out nonmember boaters. It’s not immediately clear how many lakes may be affected.
Lincoln – Roughly one month after the federal government announced a new crackdown to keep e-cigarettes away from children, state lawmakers in Iowa and Nebraska are forging ahead with similar proposals of their own.
Lincoln – Nebraskans could take a tax deduction equal to contributions that their employers make to their state college savings accounts under a bill heard Jan. 29 by the Revenue Committee.
Lincoln – Criminal history would not disqualify a person from public postsecondary school admission under a bill heard by the Judiciary Committee Jan. 30.
Lincoln – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission could not increase the amount of property it owns under a bill before the Natural Resources Committee Jan. 30.
Lincoln – New state regulations and rules would be reviewed periodically under a bill considered Jan. 31 by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
Lincoln – A person assisting a child believed to be in imminent danger would be eligible for legal immunity under a bill heard by the Judiciary Committee Jan. 31.
LB 832, sponsored by Brainard Sen. Bruce Bostelman, would provide criminal and civil immunity for a person who, acting in good faith, removes a child reasonably believed to be in imminent danger from a locked motor vehicle.
Lincoln – Members of the Judiciary Committee heard testimony Jan. 31 on a bill that seeks to strengthen enforcement of the state’s ban on racial profiling by law enforcement.
LB 924, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, would require each law enforcement agency in Nebraska to implement an anti-bias and implicit bias training policy to combat apparent or actual racial profiling practices.