OUR OPINION: Thumbs up for hands-free driving

Mar 23, 2025

Members of the Dordt University bench celebrate a play against Langston University in a Round of 16 game at the NAIA Women’s Basketball Championship Thursday in Sioux City.

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To the Iowa Senate for passing a hands-free driving bill this week. We have long advocated for requiring motorists to use cellphones or other mobile devices only in hands-free or voice-activated modes to reduce distracted driving. We now wait for the Iowa House to also approve the measure and send it to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.

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For a House-passed bill that would prohibit K-12 students in Iowa from having cellphones or other mobile devices in classrooms. Rather than the one-size-fits-all approach championed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, we would prefer individual districts adopt their own policies to eliminate digital distractions in classrooms. The Sioux City district, for example, has had a policy restricting cell phone use since the 2022-23 school year. "Personally, I think school districts should just handle that themselves, like we have," Superintendent Rod Earleywine said last November.

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To the 16 teams who advanced to Sioux City for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship. Kudos also to all the officials and volunteers who help the five-day tournament at the Tyson Events Center run so smoothly.

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To all the parents who have chauffeured students to practices for athletics, band, speech, show choir and quiz bowl. You’re the unsung heroes of the day – particularly when that day begins very early.

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To snow removal teams for clearing streets and roads fairly quickly after the (hopefully) last snowstorm of the season.

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To taking out a loan to buy lunch. DoorDash and Klarna signed a deal this week allowing customers to pay for food deliveries in interest-free installments or deferred options aligned with payday schedules. DoorDash rival Grubhub already offers a similar deferred payment service. It's worrisome that the growing practice of buy now, pay later loans could lead to high interest rates and fees for the convenience of having a sandwich delivered to your door.

Dordt University plays Langston University in round of 16 action of the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship Thursday, March 20, 2025.

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On Tuesday, the Iowa House passed a ban on cell phones being in students' possession during instructional time, while the Iowa Senate passed a bill