(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Larson Christensen is asking the Iowa legislature to approve an 11-point-six percent increase in the court system’s budget. Christensen delivered the annual “Condition of the Judiciary” speech this (Wednesday) morning in the Iowa House. She did not make a budget pitch, but instead focused on court operations and promised a review of the juvenile court system will be done in November.

Christensen wore a face covering in the House until she was recognized to speak and put it back when she finished and left the room. Christensen says Covid had an abrupt and brutal impact on the judiciary.

Christensen says the covid storm continues to rage. The chief justice issued 30 orders since the beginning of the pandemic, but replaced those with one order in December that keeps some changes in place.

Christensen says some of the changes might never have been envisioned if the courts hadn’t been forced to innovate during the pandemic. Republican Representative Gary Worthan of Storm Lake is chairman of the subcommittee that drafts the court system’s budget. Worthan says there are a lot of good things happening in the courts.

At least 90 percent of the court system’s budget is for salaries and Worthan says it’s a House G-O-P priority to maintain staffing levels and courtroom hours, especially in the courthouses in each of Iowa’s 99 counties.

Worthan says he believes it’s important to add another four district court judges to handle the volume of cases in the system.

Des Moines, Iowa – A woman from eastern Iowa was sentenced last week in U-S District Court on a charge of Mail Fraud. Officials with the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, today (Wednesday), said 32-year-old Chelsea Lynn Gless, of Princeton, faces 3-years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release after her term is served. She was also ordered to pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund, and over $2.9 million in restitution to victims.

Gless was the manager and part-owner of Royal Metals Group, a business that purported to buy and sell precious metals for customers. Over a period of nearly four years, Gless made false representations to clients and instead of delivering precious metals and paying clients for precious metals, Gless misappropriated clients’ funds and precious metals. Gless used the funds to pay personal expenses and other Royal Metals Group clients who were owned money. Gless was charged in federal court on November 18, 2020, with Mail Fraud, Money Laundering, and Wire Fraud. On August 20, 2021, she pleaded guilty to a scheme to defraud and one count of Mail Fraud.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa said “Chelsea Gless chose fraud over business failure and misappropriated millions of dollars from her customers. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our federal and local law enforcement partners,” he said, “this prosecution sends a clear message to those like Gless that there are consequences for using lies and deception as a business model.”

The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated this case with assistance from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Davenport Police Department, and Bettendorf Police Department. FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel stated, “Chelsea Gless developed a scheme to defraud dozens of precious metals investors of millions of dollars. In some cases, the victims of this scheme lost their entire retirement savings. The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to apprehend subjects like Chelsea Gless whose crimes of fraud can have devastating financial consequences for their victims.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to lend its financial investigation expertise to our law enforcement partners to follow money trails that lead to criminals defrauding the public,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge, Tyler Hatcher, St. Louis Field Office. “It will always be a top priority to uncover and stop schemes that steal the hard-earned money of trusting investors and bring those who devise them to justice.”

January 12, 2022 (Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa is the first state to recognize employers with family-friendly policies, such as workplace flexibility and child care assistance, with a “Best Place for Working Parents” designation, the Iowa Economic Development Authority announced today. The designation is now available to employers of all sizes in Iowa who qualify through an online assessment.

“Iowa faces an ongoing workforce shortage like most states, and we are committed to providing the necessary support our families, businesses and economy need to prosper,” Governor Kim Reynolds said. “This new program recognizes employers for their investments in child care, helps them attract and retain working parents, and encourages competition and continued investment in Iowa’s families.”

Iowa’s participation in the national Best Place for Working Parents® initiative delivers on a key recommendation from Governor Reynolds’ Child Care Task Force. The task force convened last year after the Governor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board made confronting Iowa’s shortage of quality, affordable child care its top priority.

Iowa is a national leader in the share of households with all parents working. Family-friendly workplace policies benefit both working parents and businesses’ bottom line, research shows. For example, child care-related absences and employee turnover cost Iowa employers an estimated $781 million per year, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

“This new designation provides an economic development lever as today’s workforce needs continue to evolve and Iowa works to attract the talent we need for our businesses to grow and our communities to thrive,” said Debi Durham, executive director of IEDA and the Iowa Finance Authority.

Iowa employers can quickly determine whether they qualify for the Best Place for Working Parents® designation through a confidential online self-assessment. The assessment also helps businesses understand how they compare to others of similar size and industry across each of the program’s top 10 family-friendly policies.

More information about The Best Place for Working Parents® Iowa program can be found at iowaeda.com/best-place-for-working-parents-iowa/.

About The Best Place for Working Parents®
The Best Place for Working Parents® is a growing national network of business leaders proving that family-friendly is business-friendly. Originating in Fort Worth, Texas, The Best Place for Working Parents® seeks to support businesses with research-backed strategies that benefit working parents and businesses’ bottom line. Learn more at www.bestplace4workingparents.com.

(Radio Iowa) – The administrators of Iowa’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities say they’re struggling to retain enough staff. Devin Juel at the Hawkeye Care Center in Dubuque says at one point last fall, the facility had to shut down an entire wing due to staffing issues. And he says he knows other facilities are experiencing similar shortages. “We get calls daily. I take at least six to 12 calls a day from hospitals not only from here in Dubuque, but from Iowa City, Madison, Rockford, Illinois, even Omaha, Nebraska, looking for placement for people that need nursing home care,” he says.

Juel says his facility started to see a rapid decline in staff last summer. And that’s only increased the rate of burnout as remaining staff now have to work a lot of overtime. “People have to cover extra shifts and, and you know, it’s, it’s not an easy job. It’s pretty, pretty labor-intensive at times, you know, when you’re caring for adults, and some of them are pretty dependent and need a lot of help with dressing, bathing, etc, “according to Juel.

Juel says the facility will see many people apply for a job, but then few will follow through on interviewing and training. He made his comments on Iowa Public Radio’s River to River program.

(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors met this (Wednesday) morning during a regular weekly session. The Board approved an amendment to the Inclement Weather & Worksite Closing policy in the County Employee Handbook. Board Chair Matt Wedemeyer explains.

Wedemeyer, from rural Casey, was elected as Chairman of the Board during Monday’s annual re-organizational meeting, and succeeded Steve Shelley. Jerry Walker, of Bridgewater, was named Vice-Chair. In other business, the Adair County Supervisors held a Public Hearing on a FY22 Budget Amendment, during which there were no comments/objections. Matt Wedemeyer then read a Resolution, which the Board voted to pass.

In discussion, the Board received requests for funding in advance of setting the County’s FY23 Budget. The requests came from Adair County Conservation Director Dominick Johnson, Veteran’s Affair Commissioner John Schildberg, and County Attorney Melissa Larson. The new fiscal year starts July 1st, but counties including Adair are preparing to crunch the numbers now, and see what they can afford for various programs, staff and equipment needs.

DES MOINES – Gov. Reynolds has announced the launch of a first-in-the-nation Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Grant Program Tuesday during her annual Condition of the State Address.  The grant program will provide opportunities for current high school students to earn a paraeducator certificate and associates degree and paraeducators to earn their bachelor’s degree all while learning and working in the classroom. The program will begin in the 2022-2023 school year.  “This is a transformational opportunity that puts our schools at the center of growing their future workforce,” said Gov. Reynolds. “I can’t think of a better place to recruit our future generations of teachers and paraeducators than in our own classrooms. Through this first-in-the-nation experience today, we’ll be shaping our educators of tomorrow.” 

The Iowa Department of Education (DOE) and Iowa Workforce Development Agency (IWD) will use $9M in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief (ESSERIII) funds to create the model program which will train and educate current high school students and paraeducators for the next step in their teaching careers while they learn, work, and get paid in Iowa schools.

Through the grant program, school districts will be required to partner with local community colleges or four-year colleges/universities to provide the required education and training. The DOE and IWD will provide up to $40,500 over a three-year period for each high school student that completes the Paraeducator Certificate or Associates degree model. The DOE will provide up to $47,000 over a two-year period for each paraeducator that completes the bachelor’s degree model. Funding will support:   

• Tuition and fees up to $7,000/year for up to three years at a community college. 
• Tuition and fees up to $17,000/ year for up to two years at a public or private four-year college/university. 
• Hourly rate of $12 for high school aides while still in school and 50% of wages that districts currently pay for aides and paraeducators for up to 30 hours per week for 36 weeks.  

The grant application, deadlines and further information can be found here.  

More area/State news from Ric Hanson.

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(UPDATE 9:35-a.m.: The vehicle has been located. Police did not reveal if any arrests had been made in the investigation.)

(Radio Iowa) – Authorities in central Iowa are on the lookout for a vehicle they believe was involved in a deadly hit-and-run early this (Wednesday) morning.  Des Moines police and fire crews were called to a main eastside road before 3 A-M to investigate a report of a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle. They found a man with serious injuries — and he died a short time later at the hospital. Investigators say evidence at the scene shows the man had been hit by a car — which they’ve identified as a yellow 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier. The public is asked to call 911 if they see the car, which will have front end damage — and is now missing its front license plate.

Hit-and-run suspect vehicle

The victim’s name hasn’t been released (as of this report).

The latest area/State News, from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, says the Republican State Auditor in Mississippi has adopted his program for finding efficiencies and creating innovation in government. Sand says the Public Inefficiencies and Equity, or PIE program it was created in 2019. “It’s a program that essentially collects money-saving practices that government entities can use to protect taxpayer dollars and use them more efficiently. And then also rewards folks for doing well by putting a lot of those practices in place,” Sand says.

He says the program allows for new ideas to be added. “We also collect ideas — so if someone has got what we could call a PIE recipe…we would add that to the list and spread it around the state so these good ideas could get put into place in multiple locations more quickly,” Sand says.

Sand is taking the PIE program a step further by proposing a bill that would require the Iowa Auditor to distribute the PIE recommendations to public entities and prepare an annual report on the program. Sand is running for a second term as State Auditor. Republican Mary Ann Hanusa, of Council Bluffs recently announced she is running as well.