712 Digital Group - top

Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, April 17th 2015

News

April 17th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

(Audubon, Iowa/ KJAN) – A man from Central Iowa is dead and two other men were injured during a collision Thursday evening, about two-miles north of Audubon. The Iowa State Patrol says the driver of a 2013 Chevy pickup, 42-year old Kurt Robert Sulzman, of Polk City, who was wearing his seat belt, died in the crash that happened just after 7-p.m. on Highway 71 at the intersection with 170th Street.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Google is asking for an additional $19.8 million in tax refunds from the state to double the size of its Council Bluffs data center staff to 70, a $1 billion investment for the California company. The Iowa Economic Development Authority is to consider the project expansion Friday. Microsoft is building two data centers in West Des Moines and Facebook has invested in two data centers in Altoona.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief veterinary officer says the poultry industry may have to live with a deadly bird flu strain for several years, which could be devastating. Iowa’s first case of the H5N2 strain of avian influenza showed up earlier this week. Dr. John Clifford says that new cases should drop close to zero once the weather warms up but there is likely to be a resurgence this fall.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The city of Des Moines has appealed an Iowa Department of Transportation order to remove its automated speed camera on Interstate 235. A DOT report said Des Moines’ camera location had a low crash rate before the cameras went up, contrary to rules dictating that cameras target “high-crash or high-risk locations.” But the appeal claims the site has the highest level of traffic flow in the state and complies with DOT regulations.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gannett Co. has hired an Iowa native as president and publisher of The Des Moines Register. Thirty-nine-year-old David Chivers replaces Rick Green, who is now president and publisher of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Chivers most recently worked as chief digital officer at Jostens, which sells yearbooks and class rings.