United Group Insurance

KJAN News

KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa,  Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!

One person fatally shot in Waterloo convenience store

News

January 10th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Waterloo police are searching for a suspect in a weekend homicide. Authorities say one person was fatally shot at Prime Mart, a convenience store on the city’s side. The incident happened around 10 PM Saturday. According to police, the victim was shot multiple times and officers rendered aid until Waterloo Fire Rescue paramedics arrived. The victim, who died at the scene, has not yet been identified. Police are asking for the public’s help in solving the crime.

It’s the second shooting at the convenience store in less than two months. Two men were injured there in a November 19th shooting that also hasn’t been solved.

Iowa fire departments see rise in house fires caused by space heaters

News

January 10th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowans try to combat the bone-chilling cold of winter with space heaters, but they can also bring an increased risk of house fires. Le Mars Fire and Rescue Chief Dave Schipper says space heaters can provide much-needed warmth to an icy room, however, they can also be very dangerous if they’re misused. “We want those plugged directly into an outlet and not onto an extension cord, they draw a lot of juice,” Schipper says. “We want at least three feet of clearance around them of combustibles. A couple of the recent fires we’ve had, those space heaters were too close to bedding, blankets, combustible material.”

The more modern space heaters have been manufactured with better safety features, yet they’re not foolproof, especially if you set a load of laundry down next to one. “A lot of the newer ones have safety tip-over switches, meaning, if they get knocked over, they’ll shut themselves off,” he says, “however, even those, if they’re too close to combustibles, will ignite a fire.” Schipper says portable heaters can be a real hazard if they’re left unattended.

“Space heaters should never be running when you’re not around,” he says. “So, whether you have it at home or work or wherever, the only time it should be operating is when you’re with it. Otherwise, those should be shut off.” The chief strongly recommends smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in all homes.

Changes in unemployment job process start today

News

January 10th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Workforce Development’s new unemployment process begins today (Monday). I-W-D deputy director, Ryan West, says a new focus on unemployment targets the importance of getting people back into the workforce. “Just a better opportunity to get folks into a career path that maybe they’ve already been in or a different one that they didn’t know they were eligible for,” he says. West says they’ve added 18 new career planners to help people when they file their first unemployment claim so they have direct assistance and guidance right away.

“Everybody’s story is different. You may have somebody who hasn’t been out of a job in 20 years. I may be somebody who has been out of a job a couple of times in the last year. You know, we try to teach each one with dignity and helping them and not having some of that fear — because there’s a lot that goes into it when you are out of work,” West says. The change also requires double what they call “reemployment activities” necessary to maintain unemployment claims.

“Going from two reemployment activities slash work searches per week to four. And we really lay out what those different definitions and opportunities are at our IowaWorforceDevelopment.gov website. You can go to that and it’s going to show you what those are. And we break them down,” according to West. West says they hope to make it faster and easier for people to find jobs. “You know it’s really a job seeker’s opportunity right now. What you may be eligible to qualify and get into career-wise now may not have been the case just 18 months ago based on where we are,” West says. “It’s a different time and we really want to help folks guide a lot quicker into the opportunities so that they don’t sit out there and start to linger and that starts to add up.”

West says there are thousands of jobs available in Iowa despite the low unemployment rate.

Dsm Police investigation church bomb threat

News

January 10th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

Police are investigating a bombing threat at a Des Moines church. KCCI reports a crisis line counselor on the east coast called Des Moines police saying they had been in an online conversation with a person who said they had placed multiple devices outside Burns United Methodist Church.The person told the counselor that they were planning to detonate the devices hours later. The pastor of the historically Black church decided to hold services online as a precaution. Des Moines police searched the church and did not find a threat.

Red Oak woman arrested Sunday night

News

January 10th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

Red Oak Police, late Sunday night, arrested a woman for Driving While Suspended. 32-year-old Sara Ann Billie, of Red Oak, was taken into custody following a traffic stop at around 10:40-p.m. near Highway 34 and 4th Streets, in Red Oak. Billie was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on bond amounting to slightly more than $491.

(Updated) – Iowa officials say they won’t enforce federal vaccine mandate for large employers

News

January 10th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – State Labor Commissioner Rod Roberts made the announcement in a written statement late Friday. It came shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court heard legal arguments over the requirement that businesses with 100 or more employees ensure workers are vaccinated or regularly tested for Covid.

Roberts said after closely reviewing the federal mandate, the State of Iowa has decided not to adopt it. Governor Reynolds issued a statement late Friday, too, saying the vaccine mandate dictates health care decisions and eliminates personal choice. On Saturday, a top official in the U.S. Labor Department said the Biden Administration fully expects state OSHA officials to enforce the vaccine mandate to protect workers.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the mandate is expected soon, perhaps even this week.

2022 Iowa legislative session starts TODAY

News

January 10th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The 2022 Iowa legislative session kicks off later this (Monday) morning at the Capitol in Des Moines. Republicans hold the majority of seats in the Iowa House and Senate, giving the G-O-P control of the policy agenda. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has made clear priority number one will be tax cuts, but she won’t reveal her policy proposals until tomorrow (Tuesday) night during the annual “Condition of the State” address.

“But you can look for a bold and historic agenda that includes among other things another round of tax cuts, a comprehensive workforce package and, of course, continued education reform,” Reynolds says. Speaker Pat Grassley, the top Republican in the House, says there are several issues related to parental involvement in education. “You’re seeing continued interest in parents having their voices heard,” Grassley says.

There’s no resolution yet, though, over the governor’s proposal to have the state give parents in a handful of districts state money to send their kids to a private school. The plan failed to advance in 2021 after a few House Republicans along with all the Democrats raised concerns. Grassley says tax conversations are going to be the most significant part of the 2022 session, as the state’s Taxpayer Relief Fund is overflowing. “With a billion dollars of overpayment from Iowa’s taxpayers, I think it’s imperative on the part of the legislature to make sure we’re getting that back in the hands of Iowans,” Grassley says.

Governor Reynolds says the long-term goal should be to eliminate the state income tax. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, says COMPLETE elimination of the income tax would forever eliminate about half of the state’s total revenue. “If the income tax is eliminated, millionaires and billionaires would have a $325 million tax cut. I think they’ve had enough tax cuts, so I think it’s time to focus those tax cuts on Iowa’s working and middle class, people who’ve been left out before.”

Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says the state’s flush with cash because of federal pandemic relief. “The idea that we’re going to spend these one-time dollars on a permanent elimination of the income tax doesn’t make sense,” Wahls says. Democrats say some of the state’s billion dollar surplus should be used on other priorities, like shoring up public schools that face teacher shortages. Republicans say there will be money in the general state budget for education. And Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny says the surplus is expected to double to more than two billion dollar by this summer.

“We want to use that to reduce taxes and, again, focus on the individual income tax rate to get that as low and as competitive as we possibly can,” Whitver says. The Senate and House are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. today (Monday). Shortly after convening, Republican Dave Rowley of Spirit Lake will be sworn in as a member of the senate. He won a special election in Senate District 1 in December to replace a Republican senator who resigned and moved to Texas for a job there.

Atlantic School Board meeting for Monday (1/10) is cancelled; Regular mtg. on Wed. unchanged

News

January 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Last this past week we reported the Atlantic School Board planned to hold a special session to possibly enact a policy with regard to Covid-19 vaccinations for District staff, based on a Federal Mandate. Late this (Sunday) morning, school officials issued a statement canceling the special meeting, following a separate statement Friday night by the Iowa Division of Labor.
(Here is the IDL statement) – “Late on Friday night, the Iowa Division of Labor issued the following statement: 
“As a state plan state, the Iowa Division of Labor is charged with protecting the health and safety of those in the workplace and has the authority to enforce workplace safety and health standards for Iowa businesses.  Iowa doesn’t have a standard requiring the COVID-19 vaccine or testing.  But after closely reviewing the federal OSHA vaccine mandate, Iowa has determined it will not adopt the federal standard.  Iowa had concluded that it is not necessary because Iowa’s existing standards are at least as effective as the federal standard change.”
 
The Atlantic School District says “Because the state of Iowa will not adopt the federal standard mandating vaccines, we will be canceling our special board meeting scheduled tomorrow (Monday) at noon.  We will still hold our regular meeting on Wednesday starting at 5:30pm.”

Arraignment set for Monday for an Atlantic man charged with Attempted Murder

News

January 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – An Atlantic man charged with Attempted Murder (a Class-B Felony) and Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury (a Class-C Felony) following an incident on December 5th, has entered a written plea of Not Guilty, and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday. Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to officially inform them of the charges against them. According to court records, Defense Attorney Robert J. Engler entered the written plea for 34-year-old Richard J. Doss, Jr., on Friday (Jan. 7).

Doss Jr., was arrested after a man arrived at the Cass County Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room after being stabbed. Atlantic Police said the incident happened at an apartment complex across the street from the hospital. The victim was treated at the hospital and then transported by helicopter to UNMC in Omaha for further treatment.

Doss Jr. was arrested December 6th, just hours after the stabbing. His trial is set for Feb. 22nd.

CAM School Board meeting set for Monday evening

News

January 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Anita, Iowa) –  Members of the CAM School District’s Board of Education will meet in a regular session beginning at 6:30-p.m. Monday (Jan. 10th), in the CAM High School Superintendent’s Office. Among the action items on their agenda, are those pertaining to:

  • Open enrollments, Resignations and Contracts (Under the Consent Agenda)
  • Approval of: Change to Legal Counsel; Mid-Term Graduates; Board Policies (500/600 series)
  • Approval of a Board Policy (403.7) w/regard to Employee Vaccination/Testing for Covid-19.

The CAM School Board will also share presentations with CAMEA (CAM Education Assoc.) with regard to Opening Proposals for Negotiations. They will also continue discussions pertaining to District Facilities.