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Iowa House OKs resolution to restore voting rights to felons

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa House has overwhelmingly approved a resolution that seeks to amend the state constitution and restore voting rights to felons who complete their sentences, but it’s only the first step in a long process.

The House on Thursday voted 95-2 to approve the resolution and send it to the Senate. If approved by the Senate and passed again by the Legislature in 2021 or 2022, it would go to voters.

The proposal is a priority of Gov. Kim Reynolds, but it could face opposition in the Senate. Lawmakers also are considering a measure defining what’s required for a sentence to be deemed complete. Some lawmakers want to require total repayment of restitution. Others want to exclude those convicted of murder, rape, or child molestation.

Iowa voter registration is currently canceled upon conviction of a felony and the rights can only be restored by the governor. Only Iowa and Kentucky have such strict requirements.

Update: WI Lottery officials ID winning ticket retailer

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Wisconsin Lottery officials have identified the retailer that sold the winning ticket in Wednesday’s $768 million Powerball drawing. Lottery Director Cindy Polzin told reporters at a news conference Thursday that a Speedway gas station in New Berlin in suburban Milwaukee sold the winning ticket. The station will receive $100,000 for selling the ticket.

Polzin says the winner hasn’t been identified. The person has 180 days to come forward. If the winner opts for a cash payout instead of annuities, the prize is worth $477 million. Annuities would be paid out over 29 years. Wisconsin Revenue Secretary Peter Barca says if the winner takes the cash option, the state would receive $38 million in tax revenue. He wasn’t sure how much tax revenue the state would collect each year if the winner takes annuities.

Iowa governor signs campus free speech legislation

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor has signed a bill backed by conservative groups that requires public universities and community colleges to implement policies protecting free speech on campus. The Des Moines Register reports that Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the legislation Wednesday mandating that the schools consider what changes they need to make to maintain the “fullest degree of intellectual freedom and free expression.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that ordered colleges to protect free speech or risk losing federal funding. Conservative students and groups nationwide complain that their free speech rights have been restricted on liberal campuses in recent years, triggering a series of proposals from state legislators.

Cass Co. Treasurer: 2nd half property taxes now due

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Cass County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall is reminding property owners, that the second-half of real estate and mobile home taxes are now due. You can pay your property taxes online at www.iowatreasurers.org, or in-person at the courthouse in Atlantic. The Treasurer’s Office accepts credit and debit cards, with a convenience fee. The deadline for payments without penalty, is Monday, April 1st.

(Final Update 2:14-p.m.) Vehicle strikes building in Anita Thu. morning

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports that at about 10:20-a.m. today (Thursday), they received word of an accident on Main Street in Anita. In their report Thursday afternoon, officials said a 1986 Chevy S-10 pickup owned and driven by 86-year old Merlin Joseph Kraus, was parked on Main Street when Kraus drove forward over a curb and struck a light pole.

Ric Hanson photo

He then put the pickup in reverse and struck a 2015 Chevy Impala owned by FNB Bank which was parked on the opposite side of Main Street. Kraus’ pickup then went forward once again, and struck a building at 764 Main Street, in Anita. One passenger in the Chevy, who hit their head on the windshield, was transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Anita Fire and Rescue for treatment of minor injuries. Damage to the parked vehicle is estimated at $3,000; damage to the building was estimated at $800; and damage to Kraus’ vehicle is estimated at $1,500. The incident remains under investigation.

Cass County Sheriff’s report – 6 arrests

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office report six arrests took place from March 17th through the 24th. On March 17th deputies arrested 36-year old Dustin Ray Bozwell, of Emerson, on charges of OWI 3rd or Subsequent Offense (D Felony) and Driving While Revoked (Serious). Bozwell was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on $6,000 bond. On March 20th,  the Cass County Sheriff’s Office served a District Court warrant for Probation Violation on 27-year old Mark Allen Fredericksen, of Atlantic. Fredericksen was already held at the Cass County Jail on Atlantic Police Department charges and remains held on $11,000 bond.

On March 21st, deputies arrested 31-year old Melanie Margaret Mary Padilla, of Cedar Rapids, on a District Court warrant for Violation of Probation. Padilla was taken to the Cass County Jail and released upon serving time owed. On March 22nd, deputies arrested 25-year old Tyler Mathew Harrington, of Lincoln, NE, on a charge of OWI 1st Offense (Serious). Harrington was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on his own recognizance. That same day, deputies arrested 56-year old Craig Allen Lang, of Atlantic, on a charge of OWI 2nd Offense (Aggravated). Lang was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on his own recognizance.

And, on March 24th, 47-year old Kevin Eugene Funke, of Massena, was arrested on a charge of Disorderly Conduct (Simple). Funke was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on his own recognizance.

State, USDA and local officials to tour flooded SW IA today and tomorrow

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — A group of state and federal officials will be in southwest Iowa this (Thursday) afternoon and Friday to meet with farmers and discuss flood recovery. State Representative David Sieck, a farmer from Glenwood, has lived along the Missouri River his whole life. “I was born in ’57, but my grandpa showed me a fence line marker along the railroad that said the water got to the top of that in ’52, so basically I’ve experienced a lot of flooding in my life,” he says. “Nothing to the extent that we have had in the last 10 days.”

Sieck rushed back to his farm from Des Moines after his son warned the water was going to swamp their fields.  “It was like wham, this thing started happening so fast that nobody could keep up,” Sieck says. “…My brother and I lost a little over 6000 bushels of corn…with the breaches that were occurring out on the river and the over-topping, the water just came in really, really fast.”

Sieck warns farmers in the area may have THREE lost growing seasons, but there is a sliver of good news. Some grain stored in bins on farms in the areas is being scooped out. “So that will happen quick because there’s more rain coming,” Sieck says, “especially if the bins are burst open.”  Sieck says the problems on his farm are “insignificant” compared to the devastation he’s seen elsewhere. Former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey — now a top U-S-D-A official — and Iowa Ag Secretary will be at a Farm Service Agency office in Sidney this (Thursday) afternoon.

Grassley to Visit Flooded Region of Southwest Iowa

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

WASHINGTON – On Friday, March 29, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa will be in Hamburg, Glenwood and Malvern for meetings with community leaders, emergency managers, small business owners, farmers, and other Iowans affected by flooding in the region. The topic of the meetings will be the devastating floods impacting southwest Iowa.

Details for each individual stop are below:

  • Meeting with community leaders, emergency managers, business owners, residents: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. George C. Grape Community Hospital (Hamburg)
  • Meeting with community leaders, emergency managers, business owners, residents: Noon – 1 p.m. Mills County Courthouse Second Floor Courtroom (Glenwood)
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture Town Meeting with USDA Undersecretary Bill Northey and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig: 1:30 p.m. Mills County Fairgrounds Lakin Building (Malvern).

Prior to the meetings, Grassley will tour flood-impacted areas in Southwest Iowa during a fly-over with USDA Undersecretary Bill Northey and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

Glenwood woman arrested on Mills County warrant

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Police in Glenwood report the arrest on Wednesday, of a woman on a Mills County warrant. 31-year old Corey Madsen, of Glenwood, was later released on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

U. of Iowa seeks to expel student from China a second time

News

March 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa has expelled a student from China for repeated academic misconduct for a second time after the first effort collapsed in court. Court records show that business student Pengzhen Yin was notified of his expulsion earlier this month, just weeks before he is expected to graduate. Yin has asked a judge to put the expulsion on hold, arguing that it is based on the same cheating incidents for which he was already expelled and reinstated .

Judge Karen Romano ruled in December that the university lacked proof that Yin plagiarized a paper. That allegation had prompted his expulsion because it was his third alleged violation of the business school’s honor code. After that ruling, the lawyer for the Board of Regents asked Romano to reconsider newly obtained emails to university officials in which Yin admitted he didn’t write the paper in question.

Romano refused, saying the board was asking for a “do-over” after failing to bring forward critical evidence.