State To Release Cyber Security Report
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials have released a report that proposes to
update how the state addresses cyber security threats, but it’s unclear how much the
efforts could cost.
The report distributed Monday lists a range of recommendations for how Iowa
can reduce risks to state government operations. It includes having better
guidelines for state employees receiving emails and storing data that are
vulnerable to hacking.
Gov. Terry Branstad says many potential changes do not require legislative
action, though Iowa code would need to be updated.
The report does not include detailed operational plans or a budget. Branstad
says that information will be available later.
A group of state agencies, led by the Office of the Chief Information Officer,
helped draft the report following an executive order issued in December.
State Legislator To Introduce Bill Against Killing Police Officers
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican Iowa state Rep. Ken Rizer says he plans to
introduce a bill that would create tougher penalties for people who attack law
enforcement officers solely because of their profession.
Rizer plans to introduce the bill during the 2017 legislative session. Rizer says the bill stems from recent shootings of law enforcement officers across the county, including
Dallas and Louisiana. He says that having hate crime statutes include law
enforcement may be possible, but he is open to other options.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least nine
other states have introduced similar legislation in the past two years.
Democratic state Sen. Steve Sodders, who is a deputy sheriff, says he’d rather
see people work together to solve crime than enhance punishments.
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Clinton To Campaign In Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will make
her first visit to Iowa since narrowly winning the state’s lead-off presidential
caucuses.
Clinton’s campaign announced Monday that she will speak at a rally Wednesday
afternoon at Lincoln High School in Des Moines.
Her campaign says Clinton will discuss her plans to improve the economy.
Clinton’s visit will come less than a week after Republican nominee Donald
Trump held an event Friday in Des Moines. Trump also has made recent stops in Cedar
Rapids and Davenport.
Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty To Storing Hazard Materials
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Prosecutors say a Cedar Falls man has pleaded guilty to
a charge of unlawfully storing hazardous waste.
Sixty-two-year-old Richard Delp entered the plea last week in U.S. District
Court in Cedar Rapids. Prosecutors say that from about Jan. 1, 2004, to about Oct.
23, 2012, he stored drums, tanks, totes and vats containing corrosive and toxic
hazardous waste at his now defunct Cedar Valley Electroplating facility in Cedar
Falls, without a permit authorizing the storage.
Prosecutors say Delp abandoned the hazardous waste when he closed the business
in September 2011, which eventually cost the public more than $789,000 to clean up.
Missing Boy Found In Soybean Field
DUNCOMBE, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a missing 3-year-old has been found alongside
a farm field near his Webster County home.
Volunteers joined county emergency response teams for a search after the boy
was reported missing around 3 p.m. Sunday. Two drones and people on horses combed
the property near Duncombe, along with searchers on foot.
To the relief of searchers, around 6 p.m. the boy popped out of a soybean
field that hadn’t yet been covered. It’s unclear whether he suffered any injury.
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