DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The director of the Iowa Public Information Board has quit so he can become secretary of the Iowa Senate. The Des Moines Register reports  Charlie Smithson told the board’s nine members in an email last week that his resignation is effective Thursday.

The board enforces the state’s open records and open meeting laws and began operation in July 2013. Smithson has been its director since Dec. 1, 2014. Margaret Johnson will be interim director while the board looks for someone to replace Smithson.

Ed Failor Jr. is an aide to Iowa Senate Republican leader Bill Dix, and Failor confirmed Wednesday that Smithson will be named secretary of the Senate when the GOP takes majority control in January.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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The Iowa Department of Corrections reports a man who failed to return from Work Release on Nov. 19th and was listed as escaped, has been apprehended. 30-year old David Michael Evans was arrested Wednesday and was being held in the Polk County Jail.

Evans had been placed on escape status after failing to return to the Fort Des Moines Work Release Facility from his place of employment. He was transferred to Work Release on Oct. 12th.

Evans’ 40-year sentence out of Polk County for Assault While Participating in a Felony and two counts of Prohibited Acts/Drug related, began Jan. 18th, 2013.

David Michael Evans

The Iowa Lottery’s top management is shooting to “make” 70 million dollars for the state treasury every year. “Powerball” and “Hot Lotto” ticket sales grab the headlines, but sales of scratch tickets are the steady, consistent money-maker for the Iowa Lottery. Terry Rich, the organization’s C-E-O, says that’s why the Iowa Lottery “refreshes” its scratch ticket line-up more than 40 times a year. “These are all basic, block-and-tackle, year-in-year-out business practices we do to make that $70 million base,” Rich says.

Sales for the Powerball, Hot Lotto and Mega Millions drawings are driven by how high the jackpots climb. “We have highs and we have lows,” Rich says. “Last January was huge, the largest jackpot ever and that really drove money to the bottom line. Now, we’ve had some good runs. We’re $12 million ahead year-to-date on sales already, but that was a $17 million dollar in January.”

Powerball ticket sales in a normal January are about 10-million. Rich says focusing on more than just those jackpot drawings, though, is important. He compares it to farmers who plant both corn AND beans. “One year you’ll have a good run with the corn — Powerball or Lotto — and one year you’ll have a good year with the scratch ticket and other operations that we have, so we work on all those,” Rich says. “And diversity of products is very important.”

During the last state fiscal year, the Iowa Lottery sold nearly 234 MILLION dollars worth of instant scratch tickets. That was more than twice as much as total sales for the Powerball, Hot Lotto and Mega Millions jackpots. Iowa Lottery retailers sold 100-million dollars worth of tickets for those drawings.

According to the Iowa Lottery’s website, the first ticket sold by the lottery back in 1985 was for a “Scratch, Match and Win” game. The Lottery is currently offering 49 different “scratch” ticket games for sale in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Red Oak say a traffic stop this (Thursday) morning at the intersection of N. 4th Street and Commerce drive resulted in the arrest of 51-year old Tina Ruthann Mendel, of Red Oak. She was taken into custody at around 12:35-a.m. for Driving While Suspended, and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $300.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A monthly survey of business supply managers shows improvement but still reflects relatively weak economic conditions in nine Midwest and Plains states. The Mid-America Business Conditions Index report released Thursday says the overall economic index for the region rose to 46.5 in November from 43.8 in October.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says he expects the overall regional economy will continue to underperform the national economy because of the region’s dependence on agriculture and energy.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

After a few down years, pork and beef production are doing much better this year. In one recent week, the two meats together reached an all-time production high. That pushes prices down. Iowa State University livestock economist Lee Schulz says the various meats are always competing for consumer food dollars. This holiday season, beef may have an edge over Christmas hams or turkeys.

“That doesn’t mean that we’re going to steal all the competition from those, but I think with lower prices for beef, you’re seeing them able to compete a little bit more with those traditional proteins for each holiday,” Schulz said. He suggests more families may choose prime rib for their big Christmas meal. “Now with lower beef prices, you are starting to see some more advertising in the form of rib roast…I think retailers do believe they can compete with some of those more traditional dishes,” Schulz said.

Low prices aren’t good news for Iowa farmers and ranchers. But, Schulz says producers remain optimistic – especially on the pork side – as Iowa prepares for two new slaughterhouses to come on line.

(Reporting by Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)

Iowa officials have formed a partnership with two other states on a “technology upgrade” to process unemployment insurance payments from companies and checks to laid-off workers. Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says the state’s current system is operating off a computer server that was built in 1973. “We want to get to the iPhone 7.0,” Townsend says.

Townsend’s agency is working with the states of Idaho and Vermont on this project. “We are buying from the State of Idaho a program that they developed internally to get themselves off the main frame to run their (unemployment insurance) benefit and tax programs,” Townsend says. The program is “cloud-based” which means it’s available over the internet via servers owned by a “cloud computing” provider.

Townsend says converting the unemployment insurance program to “the cloud” will cost the State of Iowa between six-to-seven MILLION dollars. “Just for comparison, there have been states nationwide that have put hundreds of millions of dollars into these programs and been unsuccessful and walked away,” Townsend says. “The State of Pennsylvania hired Xerox to create their program. They’ve put about $168 million into it and it’s still not working.”

Townsend says Idaho’s “cloud based” program has been operating for 20 months. “It’s been working very, very well for them,” Townsend says, “so we’re buying something that’s tried and true.” The State of Idaho touts its “Internet Unemployment System” as a revolutionary change. Idaho officials say their agreement with Iowa and Vermont will upgrade the system for “seamless” navigation among devices, be it a “smart” phone or a laptop.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s one-year-old wrongful conviction division is getting a new director, following the departure of its first leader this fall. The State Public Defender’s Office says that it has hired Illinois attorney Erica Nichols Cook to lead the division charged with investigating cases in which inmates claim they are innocent. The hiring comes after the previously unannounced resignation in September of director Audrey McGinn.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A woman has been arrested after protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline at the Iowa Utilities Board building in Des Moines and demanding a meeting with the board’s chairwoman. The Des Moines Register reports that Jessica Reznicek was arrested Wednesday on a trespassing charge after refusing police orders to leave the building.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Plans for a Marriott hotel in downtown Mason City are dead after a developer failed to meet the latest deadline to start construction. The Globe Gazette reports that San Diego developer Philip Chodur failed to break ground on Wednesday _ the last of three deadlines he missed as he tried to secure financing for the project. The hotel was part of a planned $36.2 million downtown development that includes the hotel, an ice arena, parking ramp and music pavilion.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A 46-year-old Marion man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after his conviction in a child pornography case. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Cedar Rapids says Bryan King was sentenced Wednesday. Prosecutors say King persuaded a 15-year-old child to produce an image depicting sexually explicit conduct and that King distributed that image and an image of another child to another person.

Members of the Griswold City Council and Griswold Rescue Department have agreed enter into mediation to resolve their differences with regard to matters that led up to the resignation of former Rescue Captain Julie Kline and nine members of the squad.

During last night’s (Wednesday evening’s) Work Session, Griswold City Attorney David Wiederstein mentioned that a complaint had been filed by Kline with the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) following a closed session that was held Nov. 12th. Wiederstein said on behalf of the City, he gave IPIB the materials they requested with regard to that meeting, and that the Board is conducting an investigation into whether there was a violation of the Open Meetings Law. He could say nothing further on that topic.

Wiederstein said in response to numerous requests for there to be mediation, he reached out to an area mediator and asked Dan Bechtol with Southwest Iowa Mediation Services, in Atlantic, to put together a plan how he would envision the process moving forward. His proposal was submitted to Wiederstein Sunday evening, who in-turn submitted it to City Manager Lora Hansen. It was also received by some members of the Council.

Rescue Squad member representatives requested the formal mediation process, which involves both sides meeting separately with a mediator in private sessions to discuss relevant issues. Eventually, a joint session will be scheduled between both parties, the City and Rescue Department.