By Radio Iowa Contributor

With many schools back in session this week, public safety officials around the state are reminding citizens of the penalties associated with school bus violations. In the state of Iowa, penalties were increased in 2012 for passing a school bus with its stop sign extended in the aftermath of the death of 7 year old Kadyn Halverson of Kensett, Iowa, as she tried to cross the road to get on a school bus. It will now cost first time offenders a fine of 250 to 675 dollars along with an automatic 30 day suspension of their drivers license. Second time offenders will see a harsher punishment, with fines going up to 315 to 1875 dollars and the automatic suspension going up to 90 days.

The Iowa Department of Transportation has information showing when you should stop for a school bus on its website.

DES MOINES – Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller joined a bipartisan coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Haaland v. Brackeen, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a challenge to longstanding protections guaranteed to Native American children, their families, and tribal communities under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).

ICWA is a framework for managing state-tribal relations, protecting the rights of Native American children, and preventing the unwarranted displacement of Native American children from their families and tribal communities. In the friend-of-the-court brief in support of the federal and tribal parties defending ICWA, the coalition highlights the nation’s long history of inequitable removals of Native American children and reiterates the states’ fundamental interest in standing up for the well-being of children in state child-custody proceedings.

Congress enacted ICWA in response to a serious and pervasive problem: State and private parties were initiating state child-custody proceedings that removed Native American children from the custody of their parents — often without good cause — and placed them in the custody of non-tribal adoptive and foster homes. That practice not only harmed children, their families, and their tribal communities, it also posed an existential threat to the continuity and vitality of Indian tribes.

To address this, Congress established minimum federal standards governing the removal of Native American children who are members of federally recognized tribes, or eligible for such membership, from their families. ICWA’s provisions safeguard the rights of Native American children, parents, and tribes in state child-custody proceedings, and seek to promote the placement of Native American children with members of their extended families or with other tribal homes. The law’s approach is tailored to the unique status of Native Americans as a separate people with their own political institutions. In the more than four decades since Congress enacted ICWA, the statute has become the foundation of state-tribal relations in the realm of child custody and family services.

In the amicus brief, the coalition asserts that:

• ICWA is a critical tool for protecting Native American children and fostering state-tribal collaboration;
• ICWA is a valid exercise of Congress’s powers over tribal affairs in response to unwarranted removals that imperiled relations with Native American tribes and threatened their existence;
• ICWA’s provisions do not violate the “anti-commandeering” doctrine, which prohibits Congress from issuing direct commands to state governments; and
• ICWA’s preferences for the adoptive and foster-care placement of the Native American children to whom it applies do not violate equal protection.

In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Miller joins the attorneys general of California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

A copy of the amicus brief is available here. A copy of the amicus brief previously submitted by the coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case is available here.

By Jared Strong (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Iowa had above-normal statewide rainfall last week for the first time in more than a month, which helped stabilize the conditions of corn and soybean plants, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.

An average of 1.12 inches of rain fell across the state, about 23% more than normal. Some of the heaviest rainfall was in drought-stricken areas of northwest Iowa.

Monday’s USDA report rated 66% of the state’s corn crop as good or excellent, a figure that was unchanged from last week. The report said 62% of soybeans were rated good or excellent, a decline of 1 percentage point.

The relative steadiness of those conditions is a significant turnaround from last week’s report, when the percentages dropped 7 and 8 points for corn and beans, respectively.

Drought conditions have worsened significantly in Iowa in recent weeks, especially in the southern half of the state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Its latest report from last week shows areas of extreme drought in northwest Iowa and widespread severe drought in southern Iowa, but the map doesn’t reflect some of the recent heavy rains. A new report is expected Thursday.