CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP)- Officials say British-based BAE Systems will maintain a presence in the Cedar Rapids area after it completes a deal to acquire Collins Aerospace’s military GPS business. BAE announced Monday that United Technologies Corp. had agreed to sell the GPS business for $1.925 billion. The Gazette reported that a BAE spokeswoman says plans are for the GPS business’s 675 employees to stay in their Collins facilities until the deal closes. Those workers then would become employees of BAE Systems and transition to a new facility in the Cedar Rapids area. The spokeswoman says it’s not clear where and when that would occur.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports three arrests over the past week. On Jan. 13th, 29-year old Alex Ryan Hollingsworth, of Cedar Falls, was arrested on a Adair County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault w/injury or mental illness/1st offense. He was released later that same day on his Own Recognizance/Signature bond. 44-year old Matthew Dwaine Seymour, of Omaha, was arrested Jan. 16th after he turned himself-in to the Adair County Jail. Seymour was wanted on Adair County warrants for OWI/1st offense and Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. He being held in the Adair County Jail on a $2,000 cash or surety bond.

And, on Jan. 16th, 28-year old E-Clifton Ezell, of Wyoming, MI., was arrested by Adair Police at the eastbound I-80 rest area, for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Carrying a concealed Weapon (A large machete, over 5-inches in length), and a felony Forgery charge. His arrest followed a call to authorities from the manager of the Casey’s Store in Adair, with regard to a counterfeit $50 bill she had just received, allegedly from Ezell. He was filling up his vehicle but left by the time police arrived at the store. The Adair Police Officer caught up with Ezell’s 2010 Ford F-150 pickup at the rest area.

A passenger in the vehicle was detained at the scene. Both subjects reportedly had a large amount of currency on them, which was checked for being counterfeit. Clifton Ezell also claimed possession of a substance identified as marijuana. He was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $4,000 cash or surety bond.

Officials with the Creston Police Department report 25-year old Shawn Shimer, of Greenfield, was arrested at around 1:15-this (Tuesday) morning. Shimer was taken into custody at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a Union County warrant for OWI/1st offense. Shimer was later released on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — A new study of direct care workers in Iowa shows a continued problem with finding enough people to fill the jobs. The Executive Director of Iowa Care Givers, Di Findley says low wages are one factor. “The good news is — yeah their wages have gone up a little bit — but the median wage is still only 13 dollars and 80 cents an hour,” Findley says.  She says the United Way of Iowa’s poverty report shows that wage is below the poverty level for a family of four. “And one of the other findings in the survey is that 28 percent were working more than one job. And 22 percent said they were seeking work outside of direct care — 78 percent of them said because of the low wages,” according to Findley. “And so, that certainly compounds the shortages and some of the issues that we are facing.”

Findley says it’s a key segment of the workforce when it comes to care. “They’re high demand, but they are also a very high-impact workforce….about 95 percent of the people who work in the field are women. They are home care aides, nurse aides, direct support professionals, and they serve Iowans of all ages and abilities,” Findley says. She says there is still a misconception that these jobs are at the bottom rung of health care. “We have people who have worked in this field for 30, 40 years and they are still viewed societally as entry level workers. And it is also often times viewed as womens’ work,” Findley says, “so that contributes, I think, to our challenges of trying to elevate the compensation levels for these individuals.”

Findley says the new Speaker of the Iowa House talked about focusing on the workforce, and that could be good news. “We hope that our elected officials will place a higher priority on this workforce and try to come up with some strategies to enhance the wages and benefits of this workforce,” she says.  Findley says these workers also face what is called the “cliff effect.”  “They get a little bit of a wage increase and it’s just enough that it compromises some of these worker supports. They end up being worse off,” Findley says.

She says things like the child care credit and supplemental food program are still needed by many of the direct care workers even if they get a wage increase. Findley says they hope to work with lawmakers this session to address some of these issues.

BRANDON, Iowa (AP) – A man whose elderly mother was found in a feces-filled house with 18 dogs in northeast Iowa has been given jail time and probation. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that David Rogers was sentenced last week to a year in jail with all but 60 days suspended. Authorities say Rogers and his mother lived in a Brandon home. Authorities say that last August he went to a hospital for a lengthy stay without making arrangements for care of his mother or the dogs. Officers called to the home later in the month found the dogs, four dog carcasses and the filth.