Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says the state tax code “does not align with today’s economy,” and she’s “open to all aspects” of tax reform in 2018. State tax revenues currently are running far below expectations, however, prompting plans for extraordinary measures to ensure the current year’s state budget doesn’t slip into a deficit.

“We’re going to put everything on the table and that means we take a look at holistically how we can do comprehensive tax reform,” Reynolds says. “…That is a priority. I believe that’s the next thing we need to do to make sure Iowa is competitive, so that we can encourage business and industry to expand and grow and locate in the state of Iowa.”  But Reynolds says any tax reforms must be “sustainable” and cannot endanger previous state funding promises to schools.

House Democratic Leader Mark Smith says the state’s in a financial quandary now because of “corporate tax giveaways” that have “slowed the state’s economy” rather than stimulate it. He says university students are being forced, instead to pay higher tuition and property owners are paying higher taxes.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 4 Construction Office in Atlantic, report the northbound Interstate 29 exit ramp (exit 4) to westbound I-80 near Council Bluffs, will be closed from 8-p.m. Wednesday, June 14th, until 5 a.m. Thursday, June 15th, for road construction work…weather permitting.

Motorists will be detoured around the closure by taking U.S. 275/Iowa 92 (exit 48) to the South Expressway.

Construction during the 2017 season is part of the Iowa DOT’s Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvement Program.

Officials with the Harlan Police Department report five recent arrests or officer interventions. On Monday, 22-year old Anthony Michael McCoy, of Avoca, was cited for Driving While Suspended, and Failure to Maintain Safety Belt. He was cited following a traffic stop in the 800 block of Chatburn Avenue.

On Sunday, Harlan Police arrested 53-year old George Otis Brittain, of Harlan, for Driving While Suspended. That same day, 20-year old Elizabeth Marie Bailey, of Harlan, was cited for Driving While Suspended.

Last Saturday, 66-year old Larry Douglas Billings, of Hancock, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He was also cited for Speeding. And, on Friday, 55-year old Curt Grant Whitely, of Harlan, was arrested for Public Intoxication, after officers in Harlan responded to a call about a person needing assistance in the 1200 block of Baldwin.

A woman who was arrested June 4th in Cass County on Forgery and Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card charges, faces a separate charge in Adair County. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports 25-year old Chanel Quintana, of Northlake, IL, was arrested that same day for possession of marijuana, and she was cited for speeding (87 in a 70 mph zone). Quintana posted a $1,000 bond but remained in the Cass County Jail on a $7,000 bond (with 10% acceptable for posting), in connection with the Cass County charges. Her arraignment hearing takes place June 26th.

Sheriff Vandewater said also, 54-year old Tina Darlene Sigler, of Plattsmouth, NE, was arrested June 7th in Adair County, following a traffic stop on I-80 by an Iowa State Patrol. She was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense, Possession of Marijuana/3rd offense, Possession of a controlled substance/3rd offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was later released on $5,000 bond.

Her arrest occurred after the Trooper, who was initially off-duty, and in his personal vehicle, observed Sigler’s vehicle swerving from lane to lane and almost hitting a bridge guard rail as she passed over the bridge. She also nearly hit his personal vehicle when he was driving beside her in the other lane of I-80 westbound.

The Trooper switched to his marked vehicle in Stuart and caught up with the woman and pulled her over near the Greenfield exit. A check of records indicated Sigler was driving on a suspended Nebraska license. A probable cause search of her vehicle resulted in the recovery of a partially smoked marijuana cigarette, drug paraphernalia, and a substance Sigler confirmed was meth.

Licensed fireworks sales in temporary structures began today (Tuesday), under the new Iowa law.  Sales from permanent structures have been allowed since June 1st. All sales end on July 8th. The State Fire Marshal reports that hundreds of fireworks licenses have been issued, and more applications are being processed.  The current numbers include 274 licenses that have been issued for the sale of consumer fireworks, and 14 wholesalers that have registered.

Locally, three vendors have received permits to sell fireworks from temporary structures in Atlantic. They include: Bellino Fireworks, located in the Atlantic Shopping Plaza, near Hy-Vee; Wal-Mart, and Wild Willy’s Fireworks, LLC, located at 700 Park Drive.

There are currently four locations to buy fireworks in Carroll, one in Clarinda, 13 sites in Council Bluffs, two in Creston, one in Denison, two in Glenwood, and two in Shenandoah.

The list of available vendors and locations can be found here: http://www.dps.state.ia.us/fm/building/licensing/Fireworks/CF-Licensed-Sites.pdf

Check back daily to get the last list as permits are grants.

No injuries were reported following a boating incident at Lake Anita late this (Tuesday) Morning. Anita Fire Chief Josh Peach, who also manages Lake Anita State Park, told KJAN News that two men were out on the lake in an aluminum V-bottom style boat, that was apparently overloaded. With the high winds, the boat began taking on water, and capsized. The incident happened just before 12-p.m.

As the men clung to the boat one of them, who is a good swimmer, tossed the other a life jacket. The men, who were not immediately identified, and their boat, eventually drifted to shore and were checked out by EMS but did not require treatment. The boat was recovered at around 12:35-p.m. and all crews were heading back to the station a few minutes later.

Fresh on the heels of last week’s Atlantic City Council meeting, the City of Atlantic’s Community Protection Committee, Wednesday evening, will discuss the likelihood of grandfathering-in, the allowance of chickens within the City Limits. Last month, the City Council refused to change the Ordinance that would allow caged or other chickens to be owned within the City limits.

Last week, Atlantic resident Paul Fischer approached the Council during their meeting, to advise he had spoken with City Administrator John Lund last year at about this same time, requesting permission to have caged chickens, and was given verbal permission to do so. Fischer, who moved to Atlantic from Florida a little more than three-years ago, has three chickens in pen that’s about a year old. He lives at 1008 Birch Street.

During the Council meeting, Fischer asked for the Council to make an exception to the Ordinance since he already had permission to own them. The Council passed the matter onto the CPC. The issue will be discussed during their session at City Hall that begins at 5:30-p.m., Wednesday.

Rescue crews from Anita Fire and Rescue and Medivac Ambulance have been called to Lake Anita, where there are reports of a capsized boat near the dam, with two people clinging onto the hull. The incident was reported at 11:56-a.m.

No other details are available at this time.

A new law in Iowa updates the crime of dependent adult abuse to include verbal abuse as well as demeaning online comments, photos or video. Representative Michael Bergan, of Dorchester, helped guide the update through the legislature. “It reads, in part, ‘a willful act or statement by a caretaker intended to shame, degrade, humiliate or otherwise harm the personal dignity of a dependent adult,'” Bergan says. Representative Mary Mascher, of Iowa City, says the update was needed because of recently uncovered verbal abuse of mentally disabled residents at the Glenwood Resource Center.

“It was a very unfortunate situation because the person who committed the fault was actually fired, but then went down the road and was hired by another nursing facility because there was nothing in the law to prevent that,” she says, “and so this really and truly does clean up a gap in our law.” In addition, Dave Werning, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, says there have been a “couple of instances” where a caretaker posted an “offensive” video of an Iowa nursing home resident on SnapChat.

“When the initial dependent adult abuse laws were written, nobody anticipated the use, the growth, the expanse of all types of social media,” Werning says. The new standards took effect when former Governor Branstad signed the law on March 30th. Werning’s agency has written new rules for nursing homes and other facilities where this type of activity is now barred. Those rules will be reviewed by a legislative committee in July.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Kim Reynolds plans to use money from the state’s “Economic Emergency Fund” to ensure the state budget is balanced when the books are officially closed on the current state fiscal year.  “The bottom line is this…there will be continuity of government and Iowans will experience no change from when the sun sets on June 30th to the morning of July 1st,” Reynolds says.

Iowa governors have the authority to withdraw up to 50-million dollars from the Economic Emergency Fund to cover red ink. Reynolds says if the shortfall is greater than 50-million dollars, she’ll call legislators back to Des Moines for a “special session” to take steps to ensure the budget is balanced by September 30th. State officials have until then to count any payments to the state that were due BEFORE June 30th, but made late.

As for the spending side of the ledger, June 30th is the final day of the 2017 state budgeting year. “It’s absolutely not realistic for us to do additional cuts,” Reynolds says. And the governor says “right now” she has NO plans to ask state workers to take unpaid days off in the final 17 days of the fiscal year. State tax receipts were running about 100-million dollars SHORT of expectations through May 31st.

Reynolds says she’s been getting questions about the state’s financial predicament as she travels around Iowa. “Folks are rightly concerned about the state budget and what it means to them,” Reynolds says. Reynolds says the state will pay all its bills on time and that includes payments to public schools and health care institutions that provide care to Medicaid patients.

(Radio Iowa)