(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Business Council is releasing its Competitive Dashboard for 2022, perspectives from executives at Iowa’s 22 largest companies on how the state is competing in the national marketplace. Council chairman Tim Yaggi, president and C-E-O of Pella Corporation, applauds state lawmakers and the governor for the latest tax reforms, as he says Iowa has not been competitive as a state from a tax perspective.

“The new law, which the governor just signed recently, we think is a huge improvement from a competitiveness standpoint,” Yaggi says, “to make Iowa much more attractive as a place to potentially relocate businesses, as a way to get new talent into the state with competitive wages and competitive personal tax policies.” On Tuesday, Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill which will flatten Iowa’s personal income tax rate to 3.9% by 2026. While Iowa’s population growth has consistently trailed behind the national average, Yaggi notes Iowa is also 45th out of the 50 states in ethnic diversity. He says it’s vital that Iowa work harder to recruit people to move here — and to recruit younger people to move here.

“They are, by definition, going to be more diverse,” Yaggi says, “and we have to do a better job, frankly, of bringing in all people but a great deal of diversity to enable us to strengthen our companies and have the kind of thought leadership that comes and the performance that I think comes from diversifying the organization.” One of the state’s biggest shortcomings, he says, is a familiar refrain — the difficulty of finding and hiring qualified workers to fill the wide array of open positions.

“As we create new jobs, it can be very difficult to find the folks that we need to fill those jobs,” Yaggi says. “When you combine the low unemployment levels, fairly high participation rates with lack of good population growth, the ability for employers to fill jobs as we grow our businesses is a real challenge.” Iowa has much to offer newcomers, he says, including great schools, affordable housing and short commute times.

Leaders of the non-partisan, non-profit council say the Competitive Dashboard was created to serve as a guide to both lawmakers and business leaders in determining policies that will elevate Iowa’s economy.

(Radio Iowa) – The man accused of killing an Iowa State Patrol trooper during a standoff in Grundy Center last year will go to trial for murder this spring in Hamilton County. Forty-two-year- old Michael Lang is accused of shooting Sergeant Jim Smith in Lang’s Grundy Center home in a confrontation on April 9th, 2021. Lang, who himself was shot several times after police used an armored vehicle to breach his residence, is charged with murder, attempted murder and assaulting a police officer.

Prosecutors did not oppose a defense request in January to move Lang’s trial out of Grundy County due to extensive media coverage and public interest in the case. This week, District Judge Joel Dalrymple set May 9th as the date for the trial to begin in Hamilton County District Court in Webster City. Smith was a 27-year member of the Iowa State Patrol when he died of his wounds.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Personnel and Finance Committee held a brief meeting Thursday afternoon in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. They met to discuss a proposal to purchase property for the development of housing on the City’s south side. City Administrator John Lund explains.

The property in question is currently farmland owned by the Comes Family Trust. Councilman Pat McCurdy said “We need to acquire the land, first. The problem is infrastructure, moving on.”

City officials say a preliminary amortization shows that regular payments of principal, without balloon payments, at 3-percent interest over 20-years would require payments of $56,569, with the total amount of interest at $281,379.

City of Atlantic Personnel & Finance Committee, 3/3/22

The Mayor and Council members in attendance at Thursday’s meeting, were in complete agreement that purchasing the land is the right step in filling the housing needs the City has had for many years. Mayor Grace Garrett…

Two local realtors at the meeting said they know of at least three-to four people each, who are interested in building in Atlantic, and Comes’ property would fit the bill. Marty and Connie Boose, who have another housing project that’s about to get underway, are also in favor of the City’s plan to purchase the land. Marty Boose said he doesn’t see a conflict of interest.

The City’s Engineer, Dave Sturm says work on the preliminary plat is underway, and it’s set to be reviewed and likely approved during a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, next Tuesday (March 8th).

If approved by the full City Council, the closing date on the purchase of the property is May 15.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Auditor & Commission of Elections Stephanie Burke is reminding County residents the filing period for those interested in pursuing county office, will begin on March 7, 2022. Three seats (District 1, District 2 and District 4) on the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, as well as the offices of County Attorney, County Treasurer and County Recorder will be on the ballot. Current office holders for Supervisors are Charla Schmid, Mark Peterson and Mike Olson; for Attorney is Drew Swanson; for Treasurer is Jackie Porter; and for Recorder is Carleen Bruning. In each candidacy, there are a specific number of signatures that are required. Only voters living in the supervisor candidate’s respective district are allowed to sign the nomination papers. The offices of Attorney, Treasurer and Recorder are elected at large. All terms are four years.

Nomination papers and any accompanying affidavit of candidacy for the June 7, 2022 Primary Election must be filed with the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office beginning March 7, 2022. The filing deadline is 5:00 p.m. on March 25. Township offices will also be on the General Election ballot. Anyone interested in running for Township Clerk or Trustee only needs to complete the affidavit of candidacy and it must be filed by the March 25 deadline. The affidavit of candidacy and nomination papers can be found on the Secretary of State’s website, https://sos.iowa.gov/, or the County’s website, www.montgomerycountyia.gov. Papers can also be picked up at the Auditor’s office.

“For the General Election, things become a little more complicated. In the past, in Iowa filing for the General Election was usually in August. Now the filing deadline has changed. This will be the second election candidates will experience this,” Stephanie Burke, Auditor & Commissioner of Elections said. Like the Primary Election, filing begins on March 7th. However, the filing deadline for all Non-Party Organizations and Nominated by Petition candidates who will be on the November 8, 2022 General Election also ends on March 25, 2022. This deadline applies to candidates that are running by Nomination by Petition for the Board of Supervisors, Attorney, Treasurer and Recorder.

“Now to make things even more complex, the filing for County Agricultural Extension, County Hospital Trustees, and the Soil and Water Conservation has no start date, and the deadline is August 31, 2022,” Burke stated. Filing and signature requirements differ in all the offices in the Primary and General Election. Please contact the Auditor’s office at 623-5127 for more information. Democratic and Republican candidates must run in the June 7 Primary Election, with the winners moving on to the November 8 General Election ballot.

“Supervisor Districts and precincts have changed slightly due to the recent census. Maps can be located on the county’s website www.montgomerycountyia.gov or at the Auditor’s office.”

Officials with the Atlantic Community School District, Thursday, released a few photos documenting the progress being made on the Atlantic Middle School floor, including: the Gym; 3rd floor hallway; library; STEM room (the photo taken through the window), and the stage. The floors were extensively damaged by water used to fight the July 2021 roof fire at the Middle School.

The photos were taken by Superintendent Steve Barber and made available thanks to ACSD Communications Specialist Mallory Robinson.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday) released a list of arrests conducted from Feb. 18th through the 27th. On the 18th, 50-year-old Elizabeth Mae Christensen, of Shelby, was arrested following a Search Warrant executed at a residence in Shelby.  Christensen faces charges that include: Use of Minor in Drug Trade; Conspiracy To Deliver Controlled Substance to a Minor; Possession of Controlled Substance/3rd or Subsequent Offense; two-counts Possession of Controlled Substance – Marijuana/3rd or Subsequent Offense; Gathering where Marijuana is used, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

On Feb. 21st, 32-year-old James Isaiah Donevly McFarland, of Council Bluffs, was arrested following a traffic stop. He was charged with Open Container, Prohibited Acts Penalties, Possession of Controlled Substance, and Providing False Identification Information.

The following day, (Feb. 22nd), 22-year-old Emmanuel Alexis Mejia, of Denison, was arrested on an active Shelby County warrant. Mejia was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Driving while license was suspended.

There were three arrests in Shelby County on Feb. 27th:

• 31-year-old Dustin Allen Schnepel, of Underwood, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. The charge stems from an incident at residence in rural Shelby County.
• 37-year-old Christopher Sloan Gifford, of Harlan, was arrested Feb. 27th following a traffic stop. Gifford was charged with OWI/1st offense.
• and, 39-year-old Norma Dawn Purscell, of Avoca, was arrested in Shelby County for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense, following a call for service at a rural Shelby County address.

Note: Criminal charges are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said Thursday (Today), 43-year-old Myron Lee Brandon, of Pacific Junction, was sentenced Wednesday in Council Bluffs federal court, to 405 months in prison for two counts of Kidnapping and two counts of Transportation of a Minor. His term of imprisonment will be followed by 10 years of supervised release. According to court documents, a jury found Brandon guilty of the charges on October 6, 2021.

According to evidence presented at trial, on June 21, 2003, Brandon was in downtown Omaha and offered two girls, one fourteen and one fifteen years old, a ride. Brandon drove them to a remote location near Pacific Junction. Brandon then brandished a knife, tied the two girls with a rope, and sexually assaulted them. Brandon then burned the victims on their breasts with a cigarette. The girls escaped from Brandon when he retrieved a can of gasoline from the bed of the truck. The victims ran to Interstate 29 and were picked up by two individuals who assisted the girls. The initial police investigation did not locate a suspect, but the victims’ sexual assault kits were stored in evidence.

In 2015, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office implemented the Sexual Assault Initiative, a program that submitted unsolved sexual assault kits to a laboratory to identify any DNA evidence. Following DNA testing, Brandon was identified as a suspect in this matter.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department, Council Bluffs Police Department, and Omaha Police Department, with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Thursday) signed HF 2416 into law protecting girls’ sports programs at all school levels, including high school and collegiate levels in Iowa. The bill allows participation in sports based upon the biological sex listed on the athlete’s birth certificate.   “This is a victory for girls’ sports in Iowa. No amount of talent, training or effort can make up for the natural physical advantages males have over females. It’s simply a reality of human biology,” said Gov. Reynolds. “Forcing females to compete against males is the opposite of inclusivity and it’s absolutely unfair.”

This bill requires schools at all levels to designate sporting events as male, female, or co-ed. Only students who are female according to their birth certificate will be eligible to compete in girls sports. No student will be prevented from playing a sport that matches his or her biological sex, or a sport designated as co-ed.

Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, a Democrat from Coralville, said the bill violates the Iowa value of inclusion. “Iowa politicians have decided to pour gasoline on the culture war fires and embrace the worst form of identity politics, pitting Iowans against each other,” Wahls said. “…Why does this legislature have to police the lives of some of the most marginalized people in our society?” Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, said the bill will isolate trans youth and is discriminatory, just like previous policies that forbid participation based on other characteristics, like race.

Eleven states have passed similar trans athlete bans and lawsuits challenging those bans have been filed in four of them.

(Radio Iowa) – In hopes of luring in more educators, the Sioux City school district will be rewarding new teachers with a five-thousand dollar bonus. Permanent substitute teachers, food service workers and bus drivers will also qualify for a recruitment stipend. School board president Dan Greenwell says they’re focusing on positions where recruitment has been failing. “We need new employees,” Greenwell says, “and doing what we were doing and had been doing probably isn’t going to work in this market, so we have to try something differently.”

School board members say they need to take urgent action on staffing shortages. There are more than 50 unfilled teaching positions within the district. Representatives from the local teachers’ union say they’re happy to see new hires rewarded, but also say the district needs to focus on retention. Brenda Zahner is the union’s director. “You have so many employees who have gone above and beyond in the last couple of years dealing with all these staff shortages,” Zahner says, “and I hope that somehow somewhere you find something to give those people as well.”

New teachers will receive their stipend over the course of two years. They can expect the first installment at the end of September.

(by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – By a nearly unanimous vote, the Iowa House has passed a bill that would put new restrictions on food delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash. If the bill becomes law, the companies would face fines if driver are caught eating some of the food they’re supposed to be delivering. Representative Brian Meyers of Des Moines cites a 2019 study that found one in four delivery drivers sample the food.  “That is a pretty alarming number of people stealing fries,” Meyer said, “so I think that it’s important that we have those provisions in there on the food safety.” Restaurants would be required to put food in tamper resistant containers. Delivery drivers would be prohibited from smoking and they could not have kids or pets in the vehicle when food is being delivered.

The bill also would force delivery companies to have an agreement with a restaurant before they could advertise and deliver the restaurant’s food. Republican Representative Shannon Lundgren of Peosta owns a restaurant. “What really isn’t fair is when a national company privates our menus and places them on their website and acts as though they are us,” Lundgren says. “…In January of this year, my menu was pirated and we had to go through some very interesting steps to try to get removed from that website.” The bill passed the House on a 97 to two vote.

A similar bill is eligible for debate in the Senate…………