(Clarinda, Iowa) – Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer reports an investigation conducted by the Department of Human Services (DHS) and Page County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, resulted in the arrest of a rural Clarinda man. Deputes arrested 58-year-old Craig Duane Hull at the Clarinda Regional Health Center. Hull faces an aggravated misdemeanor charge of Child Endangerment.   He was transported to the Page County Jail and held without bond until seen by a Magistrate.

Craig Duane Hull (Page County S/O photo)

(Radio Iowa) – Tax policy dominated yesterday’s (Thursday) debate in the Iowa legislature, but the dire situation in Ukraine was the subject of a fiery prayer in the Senate and the House ended its day with a standing ovation for the people of Ukraine. Senator Tom Shipley of Nodaway mentioned Russia’s invasion right before he led the opening prayer in the Senate.

Thursday afternoon, just after voting on the tax bill, senators from both parties gave brief speeches in support of the people and the government of Ukraine. Thursday NIGHT, after a partisan debate over the tax bill, members of the House shared a moment of unity.

That’s Representative Todd Prichard of Charles City, who delivered a brief speech in the House. Prichard, a member of the Army Reserve, spoke about meeting soldiers from Ukraine during a tour of duty in Europe five years ago.

After voting is over, most House members typically exit the Capitol, but not last night. Many stood as Prichard spoke, suggesting America would be called upon, again, to be the world’s Arsenal of Democracy.

Prichard asked his colleagues to think about Ukraine as they made their way home. Applause is allowed in a limited number of circumstances in the House, but as Prichard concluded with that request, members of the House applauded in unison.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Authorities in Council Bluffs said Friday (Today), Police detectives have cleared the cold case homicide of 32-year-old Lee Rotatori, who was murdered in June 1982. Rotatori, a resident of Nunica, Michigan, had just started a job at Jennie Edmundson Hospital and had been staying at the Best Western Frontier Hotel, for several nights, while looking for a permanent place to live. When she did not show up for work on the morning of June 25, 1982, her boss asked the hotel staff to check on her and her deceased body was discovered inside her rented room. Rotatori died from a single stab wound and there was evidence of a sexual assault. No suspects were identified during the initial investigation.

Lee Rotatori

In 2001, the evidence collected in 1982 was resubmitted to the State of Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Lab for examination. Advances in forensic technology revealed the presence of a male DNA profile. When entered into the State and Federal DNA databases, there was not a match for this DNA. The DCI Lab would periodically check this unknown DNA over the years, without ever getting any matches.

In April 2019, Council Bluffs investigators submitted the unknown male DNA profile to Parabon Nanolabs to begin a genetic genealogy case. In February 2021, researchers from Parabon and ES Genealogy, who examined familial relationships, concluded that 35-year-old Thomas O. Freeman, of West Frankfort, Illinois, was the source of the suspect DNA. A sample of Freeman’s daughter’s DNA was subsequently analyzed by the Iowa DCI Lab, which confirmed that there was a parent/child relationship between the DNA found at the scene of Rotatori’s murder and Freeman’s daughter.

Further investigation revealed that Freeman was also the victim of a murder. On October 30, 1982, his decomposed body was found buried in a shallow grave near Cobden, Illinois. Freeman had been shot multiple times. It was reported that he had been dead for about three months before his body was discovered. Freeman’s killer was never identified. Council Bluffs investigators are currently working with the Illinois State Police to determine if Freeman’s murder was somehow linked to his involvement in Rotatori’s death.

Thomas O. Freeman (unknown date of photo)

The Council Bluffs Police Department would like to give thanks and credit to Parabon Nanolabs and Eric Schubert, of ES Genealogy, for their work on this case. Council Bluffs Police Detective Steve Andrews and CSI Supervisor Katie Pattee have been leading this investigation locally.

(Creston, Iowa) – No one was injured Thursday night in Creston, when an SUV struck a utility pole. Creston Police say a 2022 Mazda CX9 driven by 41-year-old Jennifer J. Kenyon, of Creston, was traveling north on Highway 25 in Creston, when the vehicle drove onto the right shoulder of the road. Kenyon over-corrected and failed to maintain control of her SUV. The vehicle went off the road on the east side and struck a utility pole. The accident happened at around 9:34-p.m.

The pole wasn’t damaged. The SUV sustained $2,000 damage. No citations were issued.

(Creston, Iowa)-  Police in Creston report an arrest occurred at around 1:30-p.m. Thursday, following a traffic stop at Highway 34 and Cherry Street. Authorities say 25-year-old James Edward Sullivan, III, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended. He was transported to the Union County Jail, posted bond, and was released.

And, a man residing in the 700 block of N. Cherry Street in Creston, reported to Police multiple chainsaws were stolen from his pickup truck. The loss was estimated at $798.

(Corning, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Adams County report a man from Corning was arrested Thursday evening, for child endangerment causing bodily injury–a class D felony. Authorities say 35-year-old Benjamin Warren Rice was arrested in the 800 block of Davis Avenue in Corning, at around 8:40-p.m. Rice was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Fertilizer prices have skyrocketed over the last year and Iowa’s Attorney General says he is looking into the reasons behind the 200 and 300 percent increases. Fertilizer companies blame natural gas cost spikes and production shutdowns because of Hurricane Ida. But Attorney General Tom Miller says he wants to know if these justify the jump in prices. “We’re taking a look at why this increase, what happened? What’s the relationship to supply and demand? And ask them for their side of the story,” Miller says.

Miller has written letters to the C-E-O’s of the top fertilizer companies — but he emphasizes that it’s not an investigation. “It’s sort of the initial look to see why this happened. And afterward we can make decisions,” he says.

Miller says he’s talked with attorneys general in eight other states — primarily in the Midwest — about fertilizer prices. But he wouldn’t share which states have shown interest. Miller says he’s also asked economists to study the issue — and he hopes to have some findings in a few months.

(Radio Iowa) – Backers of a proposed beef processing plant near Council Bluffs are holding investor meetings in Iowa and around the region. Cattlemen’s Heritage is planning to construct a 450-million-dollar plant that would slaughter about 15-hundred head of cattle per day. Frank Maher, with Jennings Kallen Advisors, says they’ll be taking in cattle from across a wide area. “The cattle is coming from a 180-mile radius of Council Bluffs,” Maher says, “so that includes southeast South Dakota, north Missouri, and then as far west as Grand Island (Nebraska) and as far east as Fort Dodge.”

Maher says it’s a chance for livestock producers in the region to invest in themselves and get a fair return.  “It’s an opportunity for the producers to get back control,” Maher says. “We’re in a marketplace where packer pricing is increasing and the amount of money that the producers are getting is falling and that’s been happening since the beginning of 2014 and there’s no end in sight because the packers are getting more and the producers are getting less.”

Cattle producers are being asked for a minimum investment of 100-thousand dollars which would get them priority for shackle space at the plant. Maher says they want to make physical progress soon at the site near the Mills/Pottawattamie county line. “The timeline is, we’re looking at putting the first shovels in the ground in May of 2022 and wrapping it up in December 2023,” he says.

The plant will employ about 750 people in a single shift and will offer onsite childcare and health services. Nearby subsidized housing will also be an option. Cattlemen’s Heritage officials claim the plant will have a $1.1 billion annual impact on the state of Iowa with the goal of not being bought up by one of the nation’s four major meatpackers.

(Radio Iowa) – A plan to shrink Iowa’s personal income tax to one rate of three-point-nine percent by 2026 has cleared the Iowa legislature with the votes of 89 Republicans and four Democrats. The bill also eliminates the state tax on retirement income and creates a new tax break for retired farmers. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, says state tax revenues have soared above expectations and it’s time to seize the opportunity.

“Our state is charting a new way forward wherein, for the first time, we are treating all Iowans’ work fairly and equally by enacting a flat tax,” Dawson says. Representative Lee Hein, a Republican from Monticello, guided the bill through House debate. “We can deliver, tonight, the largest tax cut in Iowa history,” Hein said, “while continuing to deliver Iowans’ priorities.” Democrats say the state has excess cash on hand because of the influx of federal pandemic relief money. Others, like Senator Pam Jochum, of Dubuque, say a flat tax primarily benefit the wealthy — and trickle down economics doesn’t work.

“Whether you like it or not, this tax plan — the governor’s tax plan — is going to shift the tax burden to those who can least afford it,” Jochum said. Representative Lindsey James, a Democrat from Dubuque, says Iowans living paycheck-to-paycheck will get little, if any benefit. “It will take the average Iowan a century to receive the same tax benefits that the ultra rich will receive in a single year,” James said.

Democrats accused Republicans of rushing the bill through because Governor Kim Reynolds will be giving the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union Address Tuesday night. “Everybody knows why we’re debating this bill today, because our governor is going on the national stage next week, bragging about the tax bill.” That’s Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines who voted for the bill because it eliminates the tax on pensions and other retirement income.

Governor Reynolds issued a written statement last night, using words like bold and transformative to describe the bill, which she intends to sign in the next few days. House Speaker Pat Grassley says the bill sped through the legislature yesterday (Thursday) because it’s a priority.  “We’re Republicans,” Grassley says. “We want to sustainably provide tax relief to Iowans.” Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, a Republican from Ankeny, says the plan has been in development for six months and makes Iowa’s personal income tax rate fourth lowest in the nation.

“We have a surplus in Iowa and when Republicans have a surplus in Iowa, we’re going to give it back to the taxpayers,” Whitver says, “and so this is delivering on what we have told voters over the last year.” The bill sets up a mechanism that could shrink the state’s corporate income tax to a single rate of five-and-a-half percent, but the bill also reduces some business tax CREDITS that are refundable. Whitver says that’s a remarkable step forward. “There are lobbyists that are paid here to protect all those carve-outs,” Whitver says, “so it’s just a determination from the House, the Senate and governor to do what’s right and reform the system.”

Representative Dave Jacoby, a Democrat from Coralville, says reducing the state’s research activities credit may be the wrong move. “Research and development are so important in the state of Iowa,” Jacoby says. “…I think we’re taking from one silo and putting into another and rolling the dice.”

The centerpiece of the bill, however, is the reduction in personal income taxes. Republicans say every single Iowan will have more money in their pockets as a result. Democrats say a Department of Revenue spreadsheet indicates 30 percent of tax filers will not see any reduction in their income taxes.

(Radio Iowa) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already led to an increase in Iowa gas prices. Triple-A Iowa spokesperson, Meredith Mitts says the price of a barrel of oil went up — leading to the gas increase. She says oil went up five to seven dollars a barrel which is roughly a six percent increase and that translates into a ten to 15 cent increase at the gas pump.
Oil prices are hovering around the 100-dollar mark today (Thursday) — the highest price for crude since 2014. Mitts doesn’t know when gas prices might drop again.

“It’s a little too early to tell how long this is going to last. It’s going to depend heavily on the geopolitical tensions and how this conflict impacts the supply in an already tight market. Mitts crude oil prices will continue to be the key. She says gas prices will change accordingly with the change in the price of oil. Mitts says the supply of gas in Iowa is not the problem.

“That’s not a reason to rush out to the pumps or to go and try to fill up and store up on this — because we shouldn’t see much impact on our supply,” Mitts says. The Triple-A survey heading into today (Thursday) found gas prices averaged three dollars, 35 cents in Iowa. That price was up two cents from last week’s price and 70 cents higher than one year ago.