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Iowa News Headlines: Sun., Sept. 27 2015

News

September 27th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The state treasurer has blocked a proposal by Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration to finance Iowa’s $68 million communications system for emergency responders through a lease-purchase agreement with Motorola Solutions.Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald says he refused to approve the deal because it adds roughly $9 million in interest payments to the price during the 13-year term.He noted the state’s payments would be tax-free income for Motorola, which was chosen last year to build the system following a controversial bidding process. Fitzgerald said that in order to avoid the interest payments, Branstad and lawmakers could agree next year to pay for the project upfront with surplus funds. Or, he said the state could save $2 million by borrowing money at a lower-interest rate and paying it back through a revenue bond.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport man already serving prison time for a 2014 felony conviction has been charged in a 2005 sexual assault. Fifty-seven-year-old Luther Moore Jr. is charged with first-degree kidnapping and second-degree sexual abuse. Police say Moore was charged after a DNA sample he was required to submit as an inmate matched DNA collected at the scene of the 2005 attack.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo family of seven has escaped a house fired uninjured. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports five adults and two children were home when the blaze began Friday night. Fire officials say everyone in the house had already escaped when crews arrived. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Demolition crews have drilled holes in the old Riverfront YMCA in Des Moines, which they plan to pack with about 100 pounds of dynamite to bring the building down next month. Implosion of the eight-story building is scheduled for October 4th. The building has been empty since January, when the new Wellmark YMCA opened three blocks to the west.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio says he’s about to start spending a lot more time in Iowa and other early voting states. Rubio’s campaign says he will be in Iowa next week, then in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Rubio recently hired a state director in Iowa.