KLEM Newscast for Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Fugitive Arrested at Tulip Festival; Business Groups Press Governor to Veto Pharmacy Manager Bill; Board of Regents Create Plan to Find A New ISU President; Teen Designs New License Plate
Louisiana Man is Arrested at Tulip Festival
Saturday, the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office arrested 52-two year old Kyle Backhaus at the Orange City Tulip Festival.
Backhaus had a nationwide arrest warrant with multiple other arrest warrants, and had been evading law enforcement for four years. Law enforcement officers got a tip that Backhaus would likely be working the carnival rides at the Tulip Festival in Orange City, IA.
Sheriff’s deputies wearing plain clothes coordinated efforts to locate, identify and take Backhaus into custody.
Backhaus was transported to the Sioux County Jail where he was held on the warrants.
Business groups urge governor to veto PBM bill
Several Iowa business groups are urging Governor Kim Reynolds to veto a bill that would set new rules for pharmacy benefit managers — the companies that negotiate drug prices for insurance companies. The groups say the bill adds “massive costs” for patients and their Iowa employers, primarily through a new dispensing fee for each prescription.
Nicole Crain is president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.
Lawmakers in Iowa and elsewhere have been responding to independent pharmacists who say P-B-M reimbursements to them are lower than the actual cost of medications and P-B-Ms try to steer patients to chain pharmacies. Crain says Iowa business groups were hoping the state legislature would narrow the bill’s focus.
If the bill becomes law, P-B-Ms will be required to pay a dispensing fee of over 10 dollars per prescription to in-state pharmacies. That includes all of the state’s independent pharmacies as well as Hy-Vee pharmacies. The business coalition estimates that will yield 66 million dollars a year for Hy-Vee. Crain says other elements of the bill escalate costs, too.
The Iowa Association of Business and Industry, the Iowa Bankers Association, the National Federation of Independent Business and the Iowa Business Council say the bill is believed to be the most expensive health care mandate in Iowa history. During House debate last week, Representative Jeff Cooling of Cedar Rapids unsuccessfully tried to make the dispensing fee optional, arguing that additional costs will drive patients to use large pharmacies.
Supporters of the bill say without that dispensing fee, the closure of independent pharmacies will accelerate. The Iowa Pharmacy Association says 31 Iowa pharmacies closed last year and all 31 said it was due to P-B-M practices. Eleven other states require P-B-Ms to provide a minimum reimbursement to independent pharmacies. The proposed 10-dollar-and-68 dispensing fee in the bill for Iowa pharmacies would NOT be paid to C-V-S, Walgreens, Walmart or Costco pharmacies which operate in multiple states.
Regents start process to replace ISU president.
The State Board of Regents approved a plan today (Monday) to find a replacement for Iowa State University president Wendy Wintersteen, who announced she’ll retire in January. The Board voted to seek out a consulting firm and put together a search committee. Board president Sherry Bates talked about Wintersteen before a vote.
Bate says Wintersteen will be missed.
Bates says the search committee will come up with a timeline for Wintersteen’s replacement once they meet and talk with the consultant.
Iowa Teen’sDesign Chosen for New Speciality License Plate
The choice is in for a new specialty license plate for education. The Iowa Department of Education announced yesterday that a design by 16-year-old sophomore Erin Cho of Ames High School was chosen in the contest to pick the new education plate.
Cho’s design features the state bird, the American goldfinch, shown as a teacher and students perched on school books. The first ever contest saw art teachers submit more than 100 license plate designs from students that were then narrowed down to 16 semifinalists. You can see a picture of the new plate at RadioIowa.com, and it will be available through the D-O-T this summer.
