(Radio Iowa) — Republicans in the Iowa legislature have developed a plan they say will bring “transparency” to property taxes. Iowans could check new notices online and in newspapers after the value of local homes, businesses and farms are assessed that show what property tax RATE would be charged if city and county budgets stay the same. Property tax hikes that are greater than two percent would have to be approved by two-thirds of the members of a city council or county board of supervisors. Republicans like Representative Dustin Hite say it means local officials wouldn’t be able to let sizable tax increases automatically go into effect when property VALUES go up.

“When somebody’s property taxes go up — the check to they write to the county treasurer goes up — somebody should have had to vote for that and take responsibility for that,” Hite says. Hite, the former mayor of New Sharon, says this shouldn’t “hamstring” local governments. “What I think it’s going to do is make cities and counties think about what they are doing and think about it in a hard way to make sure that they are only raising those taxes that they think are necessary,” Hite says.

Senator Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, spoke early Wednesday evening just before Republican senators approved the plan. “The bill is all about truth in taxation,” he said. Democrats like Representative Timi Brown-Powers of Waterloo say the bill has changed significantly from its original version and the public has had little chance to examine the final product.  “We went from — in my opinion — a really, really bad bill to, now, a bad bill,” Brown-Powers said.

Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, says the bill will make it harder for communities to grow. “I can tell you that in the state of Wisconsin they did something similar a few years ago and listen up rural Iowa, the little towns and villages in Wisconsin are hollowing out,” Jochum said.

If Governor Kim Reynolds signs the bill into law, it would go into effect July 1st of 2020 — impacting the next round of budgeting by Iowa cities and counties.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:38 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have passed a bill limiting the powers of the state’s attorney general, citing frustration that the Democrat joined lawsuits opposing the actions of President Donald Trump. Attorney General Tom Miller says the bill approved Wednesday makes Iowa the first state to limit the attorney general to such an extreme and he’s not dismissed the possibility of a lawsuit to challenge it.

CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republican Steve King says the criticism he has faced from fellow members of Congress over his offensive remarks gives him “better insight” into what Jesus Christ experienced when he was persecuted for his beliefs. The Sioux City Journal reports King was attending a town hall meeting Tuesday in northeast Iowa when someone attending voiced concern about Christianity being persecuted in the U.S. King referenced Christ in talking about facing his “accusers” on the House floor.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and Democratic congresswoman Cindy Axne were among the 16 state officials to attend the first meeting of a flood recovery advisory board created by Reynolds to help Iowa towns flooded last month. Reynolds invited Axne to be part of the board, which met Wednesday to begin developing a plan for repairing hundreds of miles of levees and helping thousands of home and business owners.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have charged a second man in the death of a teenager who was fatally shot in northeast Des Moines. Des Moines police said Wednesday in a news release that 22-year-old Makaveli Depriest Russell has been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the April 14 shooting of 17-year-old Donzell Martin. Police say Russell was arrested Tuesday in East Hazel Crest, Illinois, and is awaiting extradition to Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) — The need for housing was the primary concern raised today (Wednesday) during the first meeting of the governor’s Flood Recovery Advisory Board. Governor Kim Reynolds says the state is waiting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond to a request for temporary housing trailers.

“Over 25,000 homes have been demolished or have had some kind of damage and over 4200 businesses and my guess is that’s probably still on the short side of the numbers that we’re going to see as we move through the process,” Reynolds said. FEMA is approving some money for individual homeowners to repair “essential living space.” Cindy Axne, who represents southwest Iowa’s third congressional district, says she’s met with flood victims who’ve been told they won’t be getting grants to repair their entire home.

“These homes won’t even be able to be repaired fully with $35,000, let along $17,000 or $20,000,” Axne said. Some flood victims may be able to get federal aid to cover living hotel bills. There’s a meeting tonight (Wednesday) in Glenwood for residents of Pacific Junction. Officials hope to gauge who plans to stay and who plans to leave the flood-ravaged community. Iowa’s Republican governor and Democratic Congresswoman Axne talked after the meeting to discuss collaborating on the flood response. Both opened the meeting by emphasizing bipartisanship.

“It’s going to just require a significant amount of coordination, not only at the local, state and federal level. I’m so appreciative that Congresswoman Axne is here. It’s going to take all of us working together,” Reynolds said. Axne said: “I want everybody to understand this is fully an Iowa issue. This is not a partisan issue. This is something that we’re all working on hard together.”

The head of Iowa Workforce Development reports 95 people have filed for unemployment benefits because they’ve lost their job due to the flooding.

CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republican Steve King says the criticism he has faced from fellow members of Congress over his offensive remarks gives him “better insight” into what Jesus Christ experienced when he was persecuted for his beliefs.
King was attending a town hall meeting Tuesday in his home district in northwest Iowa when someone attending voiced concern about Christianity being persecuted in the U.S., the Sioux City Journal reported . King answered, in part, by drawing a comparison to facing his “accusers” on the House floor.

“When I have to step down to the floor of the House of Representatives, and look up at those 400-and-some accusers … you know we just passed through Easter and Christ’s passion … and I have better insight into what he went through for us partly because of that experience,” King said.

The House voted 424-1 in January to rebuke King for remarks he made to The New York Times in which he asked why the terms white nationalist and white supremacist came to be considered offensive. King was also stripped of his committee assignments for two years.

King did not initially deny making the remarks to the Times and even cast a vote in support of his public rebuke. He has since said the Times mischaracterized his comments and on Tuesday said the newspaper had misquoted him. The controversy sparked numerous calls for King’s resignation, including the editorial boards of at least four daily newspapers with circulations in his district.

King has long been known for making caustic comments , especially on issues related to race and immigration. Shortly before his November re-election — the closest contest he has faced in his nine terms — the Washington Post reported that King met in Austria with the far-right Freedom Party, which has Nazi ties.

King also has called for an electrified fence on the U.S. southern border, defended racial profiling as a needed component of law enforcement and has suggested white people made more contributions to civilization than other groups.

Rescue crews were called to the scene of an injury accident at around 1:30-this afternoon. The accident happened on Interstate 80 westbound near Exit 75. Pictures from the scene show a semi tractor-trailer that looked like it may have rolled over, in the grassy area between the interstate and exit ramp. No other details are currently available.

Photo courtesy Becky Christensen, of Atlantic

The Atlantic Police Department reports two people were arrested on drug charges, recently. On Saturday, 26-year old Daniel Jones, of Atlantic, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Child Endangerment. And, on April 19th, 51-year old Charles Dejong, of Atlantic, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Theft in the 5th Degree, and on a Cass County warrant for Theft in the 5th. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

On April 18th, 39-year old Michael Trotter, of Atlantic, was cited by Police for Harassment in the 3rd Degree. He was released with the citation to appear in court.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – April 24, 2019 – The schedule for interstate closures in Council Bluffs this week has been updated. All closures are weather permitting and may be rescheduled if weather impacts construction.

Wednesday, April 24:

The right lane of the westbound I-80 Express, just east of the South Expressway, will be closed for repairs beginning at 9 a.m. The closure will be taken down for the afternoon rush hour by 3 p.m.

Northbound I-29 between Nebraska and Ninth avenues will be closed overnight from 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24 to 5:30 a.m. Thursday April 25. The northbound I-29 on-ramp at Nebraska Avenue will also be closed.

Friday, April 26

The right lane of the westbound I-80 Express, just east of the South Expressway, will be closed for repairs beginning at 9 a.m. The closure will be taken down for the afternoon rush hour by 2 p.m.

Iowa DOT anticipates significant delays could occur during the westbound I-80 Express lane closure. Motorists are encouraged to use northbound I-29/westbound I-80 local lanes as an alternate route. Please allow for extra travel time while this interstate repair takes place.

NORTHWOOD, Iowa (AP) — The owner of a northern Iowa dog breeding operation has pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of animal neglect. Worth County court records say the written pleas were submitted Tuesday for 66-year-old Barbara Kavars, of Manly. A nonjury trial start is scheduled for July 23. Court records say Kavars was holding Samoyed dogs in inhumane conditions when officials raided her operation on Nov. 12 and visited at other times. The records say the 17 dogs had fur matted by feces, skin conditions leading to fur loss, painful wounds, intestinal parasites and other maladies.

The records also say the dogs’ kennels lacked food and had water containers that were filled with ice. Kavars denied any wrongdoing and told officials she didn’t think the dogs needed additional care.

Cass County is the latest County to partner with the state of Iowa and the Home Base Iowa (HBI) initiative to become a Home Base Iowa Community. At an event held today (Wednesday) morning in Atlantic, Jason Kemp, a retired Air Force Veteran and Program Manager for Iowa Workforce Development/Home Base Iowa, said Cass County is the 91st Home Base Iowa Community .(Click on the left side of the sound bars below to listen)

Home Base Iowa is a statewide program designed to assist veterans transitioning back into civilian life. It helps Veterans and transitioning Service Members find positions at Iowa companies, pursue continued education, continue their service through the Guard or Reserves or any combination of those.

Cass County, in partnership with Home Base Iowa, will provide veterans countless resources and opportunities in Iowa.

Kemp said there are 130 Veterans published on Home Base Iowa. 36 of them are interested in opportunities in Cass County or Statewide. 17 have wage expectations of $55,000/year or less. He said they average 45 new Veterans per month. He said as the program continues to grow and be used by more veterans, it’ll be easier to share both statewide and local resources, opportunities and assistance. Cass County Veteran’s Affairs Director Mitch Holmes said during the event, said the transition from active military-to civilian life can be a big challenge.

HBI Program Manager Jason Kemp

Their training and discipline, he said, makes them a perfect fit for employers needing a consistent, dependable employee.

With Iowa’s current unemployment rate at 2.4 percent, businesses are looking to hire skilled workers. The Home Base Iowa program helps connect Iowa businesses with qualified veterans looking for career opportunities. Home Base Iowa’s private-public partnership provides a high level of commitment for veterans, transitioning service members and their families.

For more information go to homebaseiowa.gov.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials say late-winter moisture, flooding and low temperatures have delayed corn and other plantings in Nebraska and in some parts of Iowa. A U.S. Department of Agriculture report for the week ending Sunday says just 2% of the expected corn crop has been planted in Nebraska, compared with the five-year average of 8% by the date. Officials say 4% of the Iowa crop has been planted, compared with the 10% averaged over the past five years.

Nebraska oats planted was 30%, well short of the 72% average. The USDA says 48% of the expected Iowa oat crop has been planted, six days ahead of last year’s pace but five days behind the average pace over the past five years. Associate Nebraska climatologist Al Dutcher told The Grand Island Independent that the spring flooding is still affecting ag producers.