DES MOINES, Iowa – November 17, 2017 – The Trump Administration recently appointed Annette Sweeney as the new State Director for USDA Rural Development in Iowa. Sweeney began her new role earlier this week. Sweeney’s experiences as a teacher, parent, family farmer, business owner and church volunteer led her to the Iowa House of Representatives from 2009 to 2013 where she sponsored numerous pieces of legislation that passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support. Her work improved opportunities for rural businesses and enhanced the quality of life for rural Iowans.

Since serving as a state lawmaker, Sweeney participated in trade missions to Brazil, China and South Korea promoting the quality of Iowa agricultural products. She also served on the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders board of directors working with legislators across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sweeney was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Agriculture Education and has volunteered with such organizations as Southfork Watershed Alliance, Iowa Corn and America Agri-Women, the nation’s largest coalition of farm, ranch and agribusiness women.

As State Director, Sweeney will use her leadership experience to oversee Rural Development programs in a customer-focused manner to restore prosperity in rural Iowa.

The Atlantic American Legion Building (The old Armory) will play host to a program this Sunday afternoon about Iowans’ role in World War One. Leo Landis, Curator at the State Historical Museum in Des Moines, will head up the presentation “Somewhere in France/Somewhere in Iowa,” beginning at 2-p.m., Sunday (Nov. 19^th). He says a lot of people are familiar with famous Iowans who served in World War II, but not that many are as familiar with those who’s stories from WW1 need to be heard, as well, including Veterans from Cass County.

Landis lead the research and set-up a special exhibit entitled “Iowa and the Great War,” and says there’s more than one interesting Cass County story to tell. A man from Anita, for instance, served with the Canadian forces overseas. Landis says one of the projects they’re working on pertains to an effort by the Historical Department in the 1920’s, to document the service men and nurses who gave their lives in service of Iowa. There are currently about 2,600 photos of those persons. But he says there were over 3,500 Iowans who died in service, including one that they need from Cass County by the name of Paul Fackler, who is one of the persons Landis will talk about. The title of the presentation, “Somewhere in France/Somewhere in Iowa,” refers in part, to the letters home from the war, and to the soldiers, some of which were published in local papers at the time.

The American Legion Building in Atlantic was completed as a memorial to World War I veterans. It continues to honor veterans and their families with a Military Museum and Military Library. There is no charge to attend Leo Landis’ presentation, but donations to the American Legion Memorial Building in Atlantic are always appreciated.

(For more from Leo Landis, go to the Podcast tab on the KJAN homepage and look for the Heartbeat Today program.)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Investigators believe a letter purporting to be from a juror who was bribed to rule for the University of Iowa in a major medical malpractice case was likely a hoax by someone upset with the verdict. Johnson County Lt. Doug Gwinn says his 20-month investigation into the letter’s shocking allegation of jury tampering has turned up no evidence that a bribe occurred. He says he’s been unable to identify the author of the letter but believes it was someone who wanted to help the plaintiffs get a new trial.

A judge received the anonymous letter after a February 2016 trial in which parents sued UI Hospitals and Clinics for brain damage suffered by their child during birth. Jurors ruled that UIHC was negligent but awarded no damages.

Authorities say a Boil Order for the City of Adair that had been in place since a water main break on Wednesday, has been rescinded. The water was deemed safe to drink and for other purposes after tests showed no bacterial contamination was found.

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested a minor in connection with social media threats that caused an Iowa high school to cancel classes today (Friday). The North Liberty Police Department said the person responsible for anonymous Instagram messages that threatened violence against a student and others at Liberty High School was taken into custody this (Friday) morning.

Officials with the Iowa City Community School District told students and staff to stay home from school Friday after learning of what it called a “credible threat” late Thursday. Investigators say they identified the person responsible with help from students and families who could be identified in the anonymous messages. They said additional information won’t be released since the suspect is a juvenile.

The school, which is in its first year, is expected to re-open this (Friday) afternoon for extracurricular activities.

DES MOINES – Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 3.0 percent for October. The state’s jobless rate was 3.6 percent one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent in October. “Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since January, 2001. This is great news for Iowa’s economy as we move into the holiday season,” said Beth Townsend, Iowa Workforce Development Director. “Our biggest gains this past month occurred in the manufacturing sector, which is the backbone of many of Iowa’s rural communities and economy at large. This sector has grown 6,000 jobs in the last year.” The number of unemployed Iowans decreased to 51,000 in October. The current estimate is 9,800 lower than the year ago level of 60,800.  The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,635,700 in October. This figure was 3,400 higher than September and 500 lower than one year ago.

Seasonally Adjusted Non-farm Employment

Employment in Iowa establishments was little changed compared to last month and held at 1,586,700 jobs in October. Gains in Iowa’s goods-producing sectors were exactly matched by losses in service industries. Private industries pared jobs for the second-consecutive month and were led by losses in trade. On the other hand, government added 1,100 jobs due to growth at the state and local levels. Following this month’s report, total nonfarm employment is now up 13,500 jobs versus last year’s mark, a gain of 0.9 percent.

Manufacturing led all sectors in jobs added in October (+2,200). This month’s gain for manufacturing is the second consecutive, and the fifth in the last six months. The majority of the jobs gained were in nondurable goods factories. Firms involved in food production and fabricated metal production added staff in October. Leisure and hospitality also added jobs in October (+1,800) with all of the growth stemming from accommodations and food services. Construction increased slightly in October (+500), snapping a streak of losses stretching back to April.

Alternatively, trade, transportation, and utilities pared the most jobs of any super sector in October (-2,300). The losses were sharpest in retail trade (-1,000) which has shown some signs of weakness throughout the year. Annual losses have been evident in both food and beverage stores along with general merchandise retailers. Other services shed 1,300 jobs in October and professional and business services lost 1,200 jobs. Within this sector, administrative and support and waste management alone lost 1,400 jobs since September but remains up 900 jobs annually. Other sectors posting small losses this month included education and healthcare, information, and financial activities.

Compared to last October, no sector has added more jobs in Iowa than manufacturing (+6,000) with the majority of the gains stemming from nondurable goods factories (+4,100). The annual growth in manufacturing marks a substantial turnaround for the sector that had lost jobs annually as recently as June of this year. Education, health care, and social assistance follows closely behind with 5,800 jobs added and leisure and hospitality is third with 4,400 jobs gained. Losses have been greatest in construction (-5,300) following a record-setting year last year that included several large-scale industrial projects.

If you’ve been out and about lately, you may have seen an animal that looks a lot bigger than your typical house cat, looking for food. Adam Arnold, Conservation Officer for Page and Montgomery Counties, says it wouldn’t be unusual for you to have seen a Bobcat. He says Bobcats have made a pretty remarkable comeback, especially in the southern tier counties of the State. He says he sees a good number of the animals during his rounds and in talks with hunters who may have trapped one during Fur Harvester Season.” Only one Bobcat is allowed per Harvestor license in this area. Further north, counties have closed their fur harvester season, and if you have caught more than the limit, you may end up having to turn it loose.

Bobcat

Arnold says the pheasant and quail hunting season got off to a slow start, due to the weather and a delay in bringing-in the harvest. He said when the season opened at least 50% of the crops were still in. Now that much of the crop has been harvested, hunters should have a better chance to get their take. He says the numbers aren’t as strong as they’d like, but he expects the numbers to rebound in the future. The kicker is, the birds are weather dependent, which can affect their ability to reproduce.

As for the deer archery season, Adam Arnold says safety needs to be addressed first and foremost. A number of tree stand accidents have been in the news lately, either because of aging equipment and/or failure to use a safety strap. He says the height at which tree stands are placed make them deceptively dangerous to work with. He urges you to inspect your equipment, make sure it’s not rotted out, and is certfied by the Tree Stand Manufacturer’s Association, and by all means, use that safety strap!

A traffic stop at around 1:40-a.m. today (Friday), in Clarinda, resulted in the discovery of drugs in the vehicle and the arrest of the driver. Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports officers arrested 51-year old Richard Lance Adkisson, of New Market.  He was arrested for driving on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of controlled substances, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Adkisson was being held in the Page County Jail on $2,300 bail.

Police reports have been submitted to the offices of Page County Attorney Carl M. Sonksen for review regarding the filing of formal charges.

MARION, Iowa (AP) — Police say no one was hurt when a World War II hand grenade was found in a Marion home. Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports that police were called about a possible live grenade Thursday afternoon. They reported finding the relic while cleaning. A member of the Marion/Linn County bomb squad went to the house to examine the device and remove it.

Police say they don’t known if the device was still functional. No one was hurt, and no property was damaged.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports 45-pounds of marijuana was seized into evidence Wednesday afternoon, after a Minnesota man was pulled over for speeding 62 miles per hour in a 55-zone. Deputy Brian Miller conducted the traffic stop near mile marker 7 on Interstate 80 at around 1-p.m., Wednesday. While speaking with the driver, 47-year old Vang Her, of Lake Elmo, MN.,, Deputy Miller detected the odor of marijuana coming from Her’s 2018 Ford F-150 pickup.

A probable cause search was conducted, during which several bags of marijuana were located in the bed of the truck. Her was arrested for Drug Possession with the Intent to Deliver. He was booked into the Pott. County Jail without incident.