Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalIowa lawmakers are considering statewide rules for flagging police officers who have lied
A group of Iowa lawmakers and criminal justice system professionals met Monday to study how prosecutors share information about police officers whose credibility is in question.
A “Brady List” or “Brady-Giglio List” is a list or database kept by a prosecutor. It contains the names of law enforcement officers who committed some form of misconduct that has put their credibility into question. This could include lying, committing a crime, showing racial bias, excessive force, and more.
As a result of past court rulings, prosecutors are supposed to share that information with defense attorneys, who may use it to challenge cases or testimony from those officers.
Criminal justice system stakeholders and lawmakers have raised concerns about inconsistencies across the state that could infringe on the due process rights of Iowans accused of crimes and officers involved in their cases.
https://www.iowapublicradio.org/state-government-news/2021-12-06/iowa-lawmakers-are-considering-statewide-rules-for-flagging-police-officers-who-have-lied
Iowa's public schools lost 6,000 students last school year; the first decline in a decade
The Iowa Department of Education's Annual Condition of Education report presents some data on the state's public schools from the 2020-2021 school year and includes information like demographics of students and academic achievement.
Jay Pennington, a bureau chief with the department, said the report is mandated by the legislature and it allows the department to get a snapshot of the state's public education each year and to measure trends.
Pennington said the report was helpful in seeing the effect on schools a year following the beginning of the pandemic.
"We saw a fairly significant decline in student enrollment overall and then in particular in pre-K and kindergarten programs saw the greatest decline in enrollment," he said.
https://www.iowapublicradio.org/education/2021-12-07/iowas-public-schools-lost-6-000-students-last-school-year-the-first-decline-in-a-decade
Free land and no-strings cash aim to tempt people to small Midwestern towns -- with mixed success
Communities across the Midwest are tempting new residents with cash and free land, with mixed success and some lessons learned.
When small-town charm isn’t enough to attract new residents, some struggling Midwest communities figure money might be.
Cities across the region offer cash and free land for those willing to make the move to smaller communities with room, and a need, for more people .
Curtis, Nebraska, is one of those towns hoping to add to its population of 800. It’s about 40 minutes south of Interstate 80 in central Nebraska, its downtown nestled in the valleys of the sandhills.
https://www.kcur.org/2021-12-06/moving-incentives
Kansas judge throws out abortion regulations, saying they infringed on women's access to care
The 2011 law was blocked because a judge said it could have made it harder to get an abortion in Kansas.
TOPEKA, Kansas – Abortion regulations in a law passed by the Kansas Legislature in 2011 have been thrown out by a Shawnee County judge who said they infringed on women’s access to care.
The judge said the law required abortion providers to have inspections that other medical providers aren’t subject to, had unnecessary staffing requirements and made patient health records more accessible to state departments.
Some requirements added minimum recovery times for patients after procedures even though the current standards of care leave that up to the discretion of staff.
Abortion providers argued the requirements would increase wait times, disrupt care and increase costs.
https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-12-07/kansas-judge-throws-out-abortion-regulations-saying-they-infringed-on-womens-access-to-care
Geologists say Midwest rock formations could store carbon dioxide for 'eons'
Two proposals for carbon pipelines throughout the Midwest would pipe carbon dioxide from dozens of ethanol plants to rock formations in North Dakota and Illinois where the CO2 would be buried deep underground. Rock formations like the Mount Simon Sandstone offer the ability to bury the carbon for “eons of time” more than a mile below the surface.
Crops and soil can absorb and store carbon dioxide — the chief greenhouse gas driving climate change — for potentially thousands of years.
But that can be undone in a season. So scientists talk about imprisoning that carbon dioxide in rocks — and the potential to lock it out of the atmosphere for millions of years.
Unlike soil, which can send carbon back into the atmosphere if disturbed when a farmer tills cropland, vast rock formations offer the ability to bury the carbon for “eons of time” more than a mile below the surface, said Steve Whittaker, the director of energy and minerals at the Illinois State Geological Survey.
https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-12-07/geologists-say-midwest-rock-formations-could-store-carbon-dioxide-for-eons
Title IX Complaint Trial Underway in Jane Doe v. Nebraska State Colleges
The trial of Jane Doe v. the Board of the Nebraska State College system began this week in Nebraska’s federal district court. The anonymous woman alleges Chadron State College did not do enough to protect her after she reported she had been raped by a male student at the college.
September 2016
The trial concerns Chadron State College’s actions after the woman reported she had been sexually assaulted. This was in the basement of a dormitory hall in September 2016 while she was at her job as a student desk worker.
The college’s investigation found the man had sex with Doe without her consent, and had continued even after she’d told him to stop. The perpetrator admitted to college investigators Doe had not given him verbal consent and had said “stop” at least three times.
Chadron State barred contact between Doe and the man. It banned him from entering her on-campus workplace and required him to leave any event, gathering or location where Doe was present.
https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/title-ix-complaint-trial-underway-in-jane-doe-v-nebraska-state-colleges/
Ring donates cameras to St. Louis-area domestic violence survivors
As many as 1,000 survivors of domestic and sexual violence in the St. Louis area will get the gift of extra security this holiday season.
The home security company Ring announced Monday that it is partnering with Safe Connections to provide clients with a wireless door security camera and a basic subscription that allows videos to be stored for up to 60 days.
Cynthia Danley, interim CEO of Safe Connections, called the initiative an “incredible tool” to reduce the anxiety of domestic violence survivors who have been able to leave their abusers.
“They can see who is at their door, and that allows them to see if they want to go answer the door,” she said. “And if it’s the abuser, or someone that they are not comfortable with, they can contact law enforcement. It just gives that extra sense of safety and support.”
The cameras require stable and secure internet, which means people who rely on hotspots are not eligible. But Danley said other partner agencies of the United Way can help clients of Safe Connection get discounted internet services.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2021-12-06/ring-donates-cameras-to-st-louis-area-domestic-violence-survivors
Australia joins US in diplomatic boycott of Beijing Games
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday that Australia will join the U.S. in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games over human rights concerns.
Morrison said it should come as no surprise that Australian officials would boycott the event after the nation’s relationship with China had broken down in recent years.
“I’m doing it because it’s in Australia’s national interest,” Morrison said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
He said Australian athletes would still be able to compete.
https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/australia-joins-us-in-diplomatic-boycott-of-beijing-games
Black HerStory to highlight contributions by Black women in St. Louis history
St. Louis-area artists aim to honor the historic contributions of Black St. Louis women with the project, Black HerStory.
The Griot Museum of Black History will coordinate the work through a $100,000 grant from Monument Lab, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit. Monument Lab’s Re:Generation initiative features artists from 10 cities who will use public art installations to reimagine monuments in cities across the country.
Artists and activists wanted to bring attention to the role Black women have made in the region, said Lois Conley, founder and executive director of the Griot Museum of Black History.
“I really would like to see us do something around Black women in St. Louis particularly because even at the Griot in our interpretive exhibits, we don't have a lot of content on Black women,” Conley said.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/culture-history/2021-12-03/black-herstory-to-highlight-contributions-by-black-women-in-st-louis-history
A tree canopy program launches in north St. Louis County to help improve air quality
The Nature Conservancy in Missouri will plant 100 trees in parts of north St. Louis County to help reduce air pollution, heat islands and floods through a tree canopy program.
Through the Treesilience initiative, the conservancy will work with Forest Releaf of Missouri and the community development organization Beyond Housing to remove dead, dying or hazardous trees on private properties located in some neighborhoods in north St. Louis County. For every tree removed, foresters and volunteers will plant two new trees.
People who live in some communities in north St. Louis County suffer from high rates of asthma-related hospitalizations and other respiratory illnesses because of poor air quality, said Doug Seely, a community forester for Beyond Housing.
“As we increase the tree canopy, each one of those leaves becomes a little air filter,” Seely said. “So the more leaves that we have out there, the more particulate matter we can take out of the air, which keeps it from getting into the lungs of our youth and our elderly, which can help alleviate some of those health issues like asthma.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2021-12-06/a-tree-canopy-program-launches-in-north-st-louis-county-to-help-improve-air-quality
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