By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

Early voting for Iowa’s General Election began this week and a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution is on the back of the ballot.

Richard Rogers of the Iowa Firearms Coalition says gun rights advocates began lobbying for this amendment 12 years ago.
“We realized that Iowa was one of only six states that has no state level constitutional protection of the right to keep and bear arms,” Rogers says, “and that didn’t seem right to us.”

If adopted, the state’s constitution would say Iowans have an “individual right” to keep and bear arms. It goes on to say that any restrictions of that right would be subject to a legal standard called strict scrutiny. Rogers says a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer greatly expanded gun rights nationwide, requiring gun restrictions to be judged on the “text, history and tradition” of the federal Second Amendment.

“Frankly, the strict scrutiny thing I believe has largely been muted, but we can’t go back 12 years and rewrite the amendment and this is an all or nothing deal, I think,” Rogers says. “We’ll have this one chance and we won’t see another opportunity to put this in the state constitution in our lifetime.”

Critics say if this state constitutional amendment is adopted, it will be nearly impossible to pass new gun safety measures in Iowa.

“At a time of increasing gun violence, failing to allow for common sense gun laws makes no sense,” Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said, “and greatly endangers all of us.”

The sheriff spoke at a recent news conference organized by Iowans for Responsible Gun Laws, a coalition of 30 different groups. “We are not anti-gun, we are not anti-Second Amendment and we are not here to suggest taking your guns away,” Gardner said. “We are, however, here to inform you of a very poorly worded amendment that definitely will not make Iowans safer.”

The only other states with similar constitutional amendments are Alabama, Missouri and Louisiana.

OSKALOOSA — Mahaska Chamber & Development Group is looking for youngsters to enter Main Street’s Young Ambassador Contest. Main Street is seeking area three-year-old through kindergarten-age boys and girls for this contest. Young Ambassadors will be Oskaloosa representatives at the 2022 Lighted Christmas Parade “Christmas Canvas” on Dec. 3. For the past twenty-five years a contribution has been given to an area preschool, this year Little Creations Preschool will receive a donation. Additional proceeds will also help defray costs of the Lighted Parade.

Entries for candidates will be accepted through Monday Oct. 24; so enter today! To enter, submit to the Main Street Office of the Chamber (222 1^st Ave East) a recent photograph (no larger than 3 x 5) with the name, address, phone number, date of birth of the child, the parents’ name on the back of the picture and $5.00 fee for registration. Please be sure to add information on child’s favorite activity, favorite song, where they go to school and what they want for Christmas.

Business sponsors are asked to display a bank that will be provided for collecting monetary votes for the candidates. Voting will take place Monday, October 31 through Monday, November 28. All banks will be pickup by 8:00 am on November 28th and totaled by 11:00 am. No money will be accepted after 11:00 am. The Young Ambassadors will be determined based on the amount of money they receive in their canisters.

The Young Ambassadors will be announced Monday, November 28 at 6:00 p.m. in Center Court of Penn Central Mall. This pageant event will be fun for all who attend. All participants will receive prizes. Santa plans to attend as well.

Additionally the Main Street Office is still accepting entry applications for the Lighted Christmas Parade, Home Decorating Contest, and Business Window Display. Call 641-672-2591 for more information, or visit oskaloosamainstreet.org.

By Natalie Krebs (Radio Iowa)

A study finds the average rate of family premiums for health insurance offered by private employers in Iowa has risen significantly.

The report from the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota found the average premium rate for Iowa families jumped about nine percent from 2020 to 2021, while the national average is only three percent.

Robert Hest, a research fellow at the center, says Iowa’s relatively small population may be a factor.

Hest says, “It’s also kind of a statistical thing where, because there’s a smaller sample size in Iowa, that those estimates just tend to be less stable over time than you would see in a state with a larger population and a larger sample size.”

Iowa has nearly three-point-two million residents, ranking it the 31st most populous state in the U-S.

“Because there’s a smaller population, it doesn’t take as many employers, large employers to make changes to the types of plans they’re offering, or to the cost of those plans to really swing these statistics,” he says.

The report found about 87-percent, or one-point-two million Iowans, who work in the private sector were offered employer-sponsored insurance last year.