Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies report the arrest this (Saturday) morning, of a Nebraska woman on an alcohol-related charged. 49-year old Jennifer Mulholland, of Elk Horn, NE., was taken into custody OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop. Mulholland was held at the Montgomery County Jail on a $1000 cash bond.

The Iowa Supreme Court has sent a former state administrator’s lawsuit against former Governor Branstad back to district court. In 2006, Christopher Godfrey was appointed Iowa Workers Compensation Commissioner. Godfrey was confirmed by the state senate to serve in that role through 2015. Shortly after Terry Branstad was reelected governor in 2010, he asked Godfrey to resign. Godfrey refused and Branstad reduced his salary by $36,000.

The Supreme Court’s ruling upheld a lower court’s dismissal of Godfrey’s claim that Branstad and his staff violated the Iowa Constitution by targeting Godfrey because he is gay. Godfrey says his claim Branstad violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act by discrimination based on sexual orientation is still pending. Branstad and his aides have denied they targeted Godfrey because of his sexuality. The opinion also directed a district court to hear Godfrey’s argument that he is owed money because he was “falsely accused of poor work performance” and his salary was docked for “partisan reasons.”

Godfrey resigned nearly three years ago to take a federal job. The attorney representing former Governor Branstad, Governor Reynolds and four other Branstad administration officials says he’s confident the case will be “disposed” in Branstad’s favor. Godfrey’s attorney says there’s still a long way to go, but the court’s decision protects Godfrey “and all other Iowans from having their constitutional rights trampled on by Iowa governments.”

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has struck down as unconstitutional a portion of Iowa’s drunken boating law that allows officers to seek alcohol breath tests declaring the law coercive.

A divided 4-3 court concluded Friday that the portion of the law that requires individuals suspected of drunken boating to pay a fine of at least $500 if they decline a breath test violates the state constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The justices awarded Dale Dean Pettijohn Jr. a new trial during which the results of his breath test cannot be used. He was stopped by an officer while driving a pontoon boat on Saylorville Lake northwest of Des Moines in August 2013 and asked to take a breath test. He exceeded the legal limit and was convicted of drunken boating.

One person died and another was injured during a fiery collision this (Friday) morning, in Carroll County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 61-year old Debra Renee Kock, of Carroll, who was wearing her seat belt, died at the scene, after her 2011 Toyota RAV4 was struck by a 2011 Jeep Wrangler that ran a stop sign.

The accident happened at around 8:18-a.m. at the intersection of Kittyhawk Avenue and 170th Street, a couple of miles northwest of Carroll. The driver of the Jeep, 17-year old Kizer James Brockman, of Lincoln, NE. was injured in the crash and also transported to the hospital.

The patrol says immediately after the Jeep hit the Toyota, both vehicles landed in the east ditch and the Jeep caught fire.The accident remains under investigation. The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by deputies with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, along with Carroll County Fire and EMS.

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Friday) announced appointments to Iowa’s boards and commissions. The appointments are effective Saturday, July 1st, 2017, are unpaid and are not subject to Iowa Senate confirmation.

Among those she has appointed is:

• Kevin Blair, of Griswold – to the Council on Agricultural Education.
• Casey Alber, of Glenwood & Haley Tryon, of Griswold  – to the Iowa Council for Early Access.
• Blake Michelsen, of Guthrie Center – to the Iowa Council on Homelessness.
• Monalisa McGee, of Council Bluffs – to the Statewide Independent Living Council.
• Brandi Jensen, of Earlham – to the Medical Assistance Advisory Council.
• Mike Dickinson, of Logan – to Rural Health and Primary Care Advisory Committee.
• Kimberly Carter, of Council Bluffs…Heidi Lowthorp, of Sidney…Janell Leinen, of Panama…and James Holwegner, of Redfield – to the Southwest Regional STEM Advisory Board.
• Jerry Mathiasen, of Council Bluffs – to the Terrace Hill Commission.
• Kris Ranney, of Council Bluffs – to the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service.

Officials with the National Weather Service fanned out across Iowa Thursday to investigate areas where tornadoes struck Wednesday afternoon and evening. The results of their survey, released today (Friday), determined there were at least five, and possibly six twisters that touched down. Two of them occurred in Adair County.

The first began south of Stuart at around 4:12-p.m. Wednesday, and was rated an EF-0. It twisted its way across the countryside for seven miles with winds of up to 75 miles per hour, causing mainly tree damage, based on photographic evidence. The tornado dissipated at around 4:20-p.m.

The second tornado, rated an EF-1, was located 3-miles northwest of Carbon, in Adams County. It formed at about the time the twister near Stuart, ended, and had estimated peak winds of 80-to 90-mph.  The Carbon twister was on the ground intermittently for 11-miles and was about 100-yards wide. It snapped some tree trunks and caused other forms of tree damage before ending at around 4:48-p.m.

Another tornado impacts parts of Adair and Madison Counties. It began at around 4:45-p.m., Wednesday 5.5-miles east/southeast of Greenfield, and packed winds of up to 93-mph as it trekked for nearly seven miles. Along the way it sheared the tops off of trees and caused some damage to outbuildings before ending at around 5:02-p.m.

Another EF-1 tornado, happened in Taylor County, about 5-miles south of Bedford, but initially touched down just south of town. It dropped to the ground at around 5:05-p.m. and tracked for about 7-miles with winds of 90-to 110-mph. It was also about 500-yards wide. It finally ended its tour at around 5:20-p.m., but not before causing severe damage to several homes and outbuildings, especially where the winds hit 110-miles per hour.

There were no injuries reported with the southwest Iowa storms, Wednesday. The other tornado happened in the eastern Iowa town of Pleasantville. It packed winds of up to 100-mph and was on the ground for 18-miles. It started just before 6-p.m. and ended a little before 6:30-p.m. The twister was about 200-yards wide and caused damage to power poles, homes, outbuildings and trees. The weather service says the twister may have lifted or cycled several times during its path of destruction.

The Cass County Boards of Supervisors this (Friday) morning, held a public hearing on a proposal to enter into a General Obligation County Purpose Loan Agreement, and to borrow money in a principal amount not the exceed $4.5-million, with regard to infrastructure improvements for the Elite Octane, LLC ethanol plant currently under construction. There were no comments received from the public.

Afterward, Auditor Dale Sunderman said the County’s financial advisors said there’s good news with regard to interest rate and that the county may not need to seek the maximum $4.5-million previously discussed. That’s thanks in-part to a RISE (Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy) Grant the County has received from the State.

He said with the RISE grant and the low bid on the construction project, the County may need to only borrow $2.76-million General Obligation. Also, with projected interest rates at 1.72- to 2.53%, the County will be able to pay off the loan in 10-years.

The $2.76-million does not include the greywater installation from the City of Atlantic’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, the bid for which won’t be available until July 21st. It would include the road projects we’ve previously mentioned (Echo, Buck Creek and Glacier Roads). It would also not include any contingencies, which is why the Supervisors provided their verbal approval to enter into the agreement. The agreement will be formalized soon after the greywater bids are received, and that part of the project awarded to a contractor.

Regardless of the actual final amount of the G-O loan request, it will be paid for through Tax Increment Financing (TIF) derived from future taxes paid by the ethanol company, Elite Octane, LLC.  The tentative timeline for the project and financing are as follows:

July 20^th – Bids for greywater construction project received; July 24^th – Borrowing amount finalized; August 9^th – Final terms and bond purchase contract presented to the Supervisors for approval.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved the renewal of a 28-E cost sharing agreement with the City of Anita for mutual aid law enforcement support provided by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. The current four-year “Uniform Patrol Service Agreement,” as it’s known, expires June 30, 2017. The renewed price for the service is $67, 547 with a three-percent per annum increase. The County has a similar agreement with the City of Griswold for law enforcement support.

PRIMGHAR, Iowa (AP) – The remains of a World War II airman have been returned for burial at his hometown in northwest Iowa. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says the remains of Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Byron Nelson will be interred Saturday near Primghar. The Iowa National Guard will render full military honors at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery service.

Nelson was the nose gunner aboard a B-24 bomber that was shot down over Italy on April 25, 1944. He was first buried near Fognano, Italy, and eventually moved to the Florence American Cemetery in 1949. The remains were disinterred in August 2015 and ultimately identified through a DNA match with a grandnephews and other analysis.

Several “lawsuit reform” measures passed by the 2017 Iowa legislature are becoming law this Saturday. One new law will shield more than 100 fairs in Iowa from lawsuits over transmission of the bird flu and other diseases from the animals on exhibit. Representative Chuck Holz, a veterinarian from Le Mars, says the State Fair as well as county and district fairs are included. “The liability exemption is contingent upon the fair authority posting a warning sign at conspicuous places at the fair where people visit for the first time, so they would notice it,” Holz says.

The signs are to warn against touching the animals and to encourage fair-goers to frequently wash their hands to prevent the spread of disease. Tom Barnes with the Association of Iowa Fairs says county fairs have had similar warnings in the past, but the new law spells out exactly what they have to say. “There has to be a sign posted at the very first point of entry into the livestock area warning fairgoers of the possible pathogenic diseases,” Barnes says, “and all of our fairs, I know, are getting those signs prepared.”

Barnes says visitors to animal exhibits in other states have sued after contracting infections. State Senator Dan Zumbach, a farmer from Ryan, says going to a fair carries an “inherent risk.” “Some of these risks, such as being kicked or stepped on, are obvious, but exposure to pathogens — however — is not as obvious as a physical injury from an animal, ” Zumbach says. “This bill protects county and district fairs as well as the state fair from liability caused by pathogens believed to be encountered at these fair events.”

This new legal protection for fairs in Iowa passed the Iowa House unanimously. Only one member of the Iowa Senate voted against it. Republicans who hold a majority of seats in the legislature approved several OTHER bills that change the rules for lawsuits. The G-O-P changed liability standards in workers compensation claims, asbestos poisoning cases and medical malpractice lawsuits as well as so-called “nuisance” lawsuits filed against farmers.

(Radio Iowa)

(Delayed post) More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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