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Creston woman arrested on warrant for Theft

News

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Creston Police report the arrest Wednesday night of 45-year old Karen Brodsack, of Creston. Brodsack was taken into custody at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree. Her bond was set at $1,000.

And, the Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 41-year old Dennis Michael Smith, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday night at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. Smith was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear in court. His bond for the offense was set at $5,000.

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & funeral report,1/5/ 2017

News, Podcasts

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Senate Republicans have ‘first four’ proposals identified for early votes

News

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Republicans in the Iowa Senate have selected a handful of priority areas for quick action once the 2017 legislature convenes on Monday.  “We have four bills that I believe define us and give Iowans a clear indication of where we plan to go with policies for our state.” That’s Bill Dix of Shell Rock, the leader of Senate Republicans.

Two of the measures are proposed amendments to the state constitution and would be voted upon by Iowans. The first would limit state spending to 99 percent of available tax revenue. That’s been the practice in the legislature for about two decades, but that spending limitation is not required under the state’s constitution. The second proposed amendment has been sought by gun rights advocates and would insert the right to “keep and bear arms” in Iowa’s constitution. “Effectively accomplishing what is in our federal constitution,” Dix says.

The third priority for Senate Republicans will be legislation to forbid spending state tax dollars at Planned Parenthood. Dix says there are plenty of other clinics in Iowa that offer breast cancer screening and reproductive health exams which are covered by tax dollars for Medicaid patients. “Better options for more women and their health care,” Dix says.

The fourth and final priority area for Senate Republicans will be an effort to curb lawsuit abuse. “A measure that ensures losers in those court cases pay for the cost associated with the case,” Dix says.

Lawyers say “loser pays” laws often deter legitimate victims from getting compensation for the fraud or harm they’ve suffered. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland has been planning its lobbying campaign against G-O-P cuts, too. Dix says spending restraint, gun rights, tort reform and “protecting the unborn” were among the main promises Republican candidates made to voters in 2016.

“That sets a tone,” Dix says of the GOP’s “first four” priorities. “Obviously, there’s a lot more work that needs to be done, but those are four key measures that we want to move forward as early in the process as we can.”

Republicans will hold 29 of the 50 seats in the Iowa Senate when the legislature convenes Monday and be in control of the debate agenda. Democrats have held the majority for a decade, but with just 19 seats in Democratic hands this year, Democrats be the minority party in the state senate. Rob Hogg, of Cedar Rapids, is the new leader of Senate Democrats. He says Republicans are proposing solutions to “manufactured problems.”

(Radio Iowa)

Home destroyed by fire near Walnut Wednesday night

News

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Authorities say no injuries were reported following a house fire near Walnut, Wednesday night. Firefighting crews from Walnut and Avoca were called at around 7-p.m. to a home located at 49914 Western Avenue. When they arrived, the home, which was unoccupied at the time the fire broke out, was fully engulfed in flames. The structure was a total loss.

Firefighters were on the scene for slightly more than three hours. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. The fire was the second to have occurred in or near Walnut, in less than two-weeks. At around 5-a.m. on Dec. 22nd,  flames destroyed at home 408 Pearl Street, in Walnut. An overloaded electrical cord was thought to have caused the fire.

Iowa sees construction boom in midst of worker shortage

News

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Iowa is seeing a construction boom at the same time contractors are being challenged with a worker shortage. Chad Kleppe, president and C-E-O of the Master Builders of Iowa, says the situation will only worsen over the next five years as about one-third of the existing workforce retires. Kleppe says the worker shortage is changing the way Iowa builders go about their jobs.

“Contractors are, by nature, very creative in how they’re going to meet workforce needs,” Kleppe says. “Obviously, they’re trying to do more with less right now, but in some respects, they’re changing the way they may construct.”

Some contractors in central Iowa are putting pieces of buildings together on manufacturing floors before hauling them to construction sites as a way to save labor. Kleppe says his association is ramping up efforts to recruit students into considering construction industry careers.

“You can come out of high school and earn while you learn,” he says. “After five years in the industry, you’re making north of $50- to 55,000 with zero college debt.” Kleppe says they’re targeting Iowa kids as young as middle school.

(Radio Iowa, w/thanks to Rob Dillard, Iowa Public Radio)

Teacher exchanged sex messages with student, police say

News

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

PELLA, Iowa (AP) – A teacher has been accused of sending sexually explicit emails to a student while working for Pella Community Schools. Court records say 42-year-old Juan Munoz is charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee. He was arrested Tuesday after he turned himself in to police. Online jail records say Munoz remained in custody Thursday. The court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.

Authorities say a parent told the school district Dec. 2 about emails sent by Munoz, who taught Spanish at the district’s middle and high schools. Pella police Lt. Paul Haase says his department then took over the student’s email and corresponded with Munoz, who Haase says sent sexually explicit emails and photos.

School district administrators say Munoz resigned Dec. 5.

Former Council Bluffs candidate charged in Nebraska thefts

News

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A former Council Bluffs candidate for mayor has been charged with stealing vending machines in Nebraska. Online court records say 33-year-old Matthew Hartfield has pleaded not guilty to a dozen misdemeanor counts of theft. His trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 31 in Douglas County Court.

The thefts started occurring in November. Police say sometimes a well-dressed man would enter an Omaha store, measure a machine and take it, saying he’d bring back a larger machine. The vending machines’ owner estimated his loss at $10,000.

The Daily Nonpareil reports that Hartfield ran for mayor in 2009 and was beaten by incumbent Tom Hanafan.

Osceola auto dealer charged with ID theft

News

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

The owner of a Ford dealership in south-central Iowa is facing charges of identity theft after investigators say he was caught trying to steal over $16,000 through false claims of warranty work. Sixty-one-year-old Wil Reisinger, owner of Anchor Motor Company in Osceola, was arrested last week. Mike Athey, Deputy Director of the Iowa DOT’s Bureau of Investigation and Identity Protection, says the investigation started in August after a former service technician at Anchor Motor made a call to the Iowa Attorney General’s office.

“He was alerted that an employee number that Ford had assigned to him was now being used under the auspice of Anchor Motor well over a year after he had actually left employment there,” Athey said. Investigators uncovered 21 cases of fraud.”Some of the repair orders…the signatures contained upon those documents were not the signatures of the owners of the vehicles and some of the repairs were not even associated with that particular vehicle,” Athey said.

Police and prosecutors decided to charge Reisinger in connection with the five highest dollar claims, which range from $1,752 to 7,034. If convicted of the charges, Reisinger could face up to 25 years in prison. The DOT could also impose a five-year suspension from the auto dealership business.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa early News Headlines: Thursday, 1/5/2017

News

January 5th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Charles Grassley says he doesn’t think he’ll be condemned for moving quickly on a Donald Trump nominee for U.S. Supreme Court after refusing last year to hold hearings on President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. Grassley says the opposition expected from Democrats makes it more important that Trump does as promised and selects a nominee who received strong Senate support when named to a federal court.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Outgoing Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad says he doesn’t think tax cuts are feasible during the upcoming session, a position that seems to put him at odds with fellow Republicans who will control both chambers of the Legislature. Branstad told reporters at the annual Associated Press legislative seminar that although he generally supports tax reform, immediate cuts aren’t sustainable amid the state’s financial climate.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State officials say six employees workers have been fired from a southwestern Iowa disability treatment center after an investigation revealed numerous cases in which patients had been physically or verbally abused. The Department of Human Services said Wednesday that six other workers at the Glenwood State Resource Center have resigned and five were otherwise disciplined. One case is still pending.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that an unconscious inmate was beaten to death by a fellow prisoner at Iowa’s maximum-security penitentiary. It is believed to be first homicide at an Iowa prison since 2010, and has prompted a union to accuse the state of trying to cover up safety lapses. Documents show the deadly assault at the Iowa State Penitentiary continued despite a correctional officer’s failed attempt to get the assailant to stop.

Atlantic City Council hold hearing on Development Agreement for Whitney Hotel project

News

January 4th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

In other business, the City Council held a Public Hearing on a Development Agreement with Whitney Group, LLC, authorizing an annual appropriation of Tax Increment payments and pledging certain revenues to the payment of the agreement. The only comment came from Pat McCurdy, Chairman of the Cass Atlantic Development Corporation’s Housing Committee. McCurdy said he supported the project “100 percent.”

The Council did not take any action on the agreement, as a final wording is being hammered out. A vote on passing the agreement is expected during the next regular Council meeting on January 18th. Mark Smith, along with a group of investors purchased the three-story Victorian-era Boss Hotel that was built in 1890, and is on the list of the National Register of Historic Places. Smith has previously stated that plans for the structure includes commercial space and a restaurant on the first floor, along with a community room. The top two floors will be remodeled into eight apartment units on each floor for “mature adults.” The project is expected to cost $4-million.

The Council, Wednesday, passed a Resolution for matching funds amounting to $100,000, in support of an Enhance Iowa CAT grant for the Schildberg Recreation Area Campground improvement and bathhouse projects. Atlantic Parks and Rec Department Director Seth Staashelm said the Resolution was necessary because the previous application had been submitted to the now defunct Vision Iowa Board. The old application was rescinded and is being updated before being submitted to the Enhance Iowa Board for review and action, which is likely to occur later this summer.

The City’s share of the matching funds will come from the Local Option Sales Tax Recreation Improvement Reserve and the Hotel-Motel Tax.