The nation’s largest employer is announcing plans to increase its starting pay to nine-dollars an hour this spring, with plans to boost the rate another buck to ten-dollars an hour next year. Walmart has 67 stores in Iowa. The move by the retail giant will have a “significant” ripple effect on the markets across Iowa and nationwide, according to Creighton University economist Ernie Goss. “Their competitors like Target and Costco are going to have to raise wages and for one of their competitors, Sears, this may push them further into the economic abyss,” Goss says. “They’ve been in, I won’t say dire circumstances, but I will say not good over the last few years. It’s going to have a real ripple effect and I think a lot of that is going to be positive.”

Walmart is a 272-billion dollar corporation and Goss predicts the move to raise wages from the current seven-25 an hour will -not- have a big impact on its bottom line.  “Their profit margin is above Target right now, it’s above Costco, it’s higher than most of their competitors,” Goss says. “It’s going to ding them a little bit but I think in the end, they’re going to raise productivity or they’re going to have to reduce profits or they’re going to have to increase prices. I think it’s going to come in increased productivity. It’s going to push Target and Costco, two major competitors, to raise their minimum.”

Walmart’s first wage hike to nine-dollars an hour will come in April and Goss says it’ll be a beneficial move for consumers, the economy and for taxpayers.   “For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit for many of these Walmart workers, that’ll be reduced,” Goss says. “Of course, some food stamp programs other programs, that’ll now be reduced.”

A bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage to eight-75 an hour passed the Democrat-led Iowa Senate on Tuesday, though it is -not- likely to be approved by the Republican majority in the Iowa House.

(Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa plans to construct a residence hall that will house more than 1,000 students and be 12 stories tall, making it the largest dormitory on campus. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the university plans to open the 303,000-square-foot dorm in two years at the site of the old Iowa City water plant, overlooking the Iowa River.

According to university officials, construction for the $95 million building is scheduled to start late this spring, and be completed before the fall 2017 semester. The new dorm will have twice as many beds as another residence hall that is being built on the university’s campus. Plans for new construction come at a time when the university is trying to make room for larger incoming classes, and increase its in-state recruiting.

More area news from Ric Hanson.

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The 7:06-a.m. News with KJAN News Director, Ric Hanson

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Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report the arrest on Tuesday, of a Clarinda man on drug charges. 51-year old Clint Curtis Johnson was taken into custody on a warrant for Delivery of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine. Johnson was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on $50,000 cash bond.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Tuesday afternoon, of 34-year old Kale Garrett Hardman, of Red Oak, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. Hardman was taken into custody without incident at around 2:30-p.m., following an investigation into an incident that took place at around 11-a.m. Tuesday, at the City View Apartments, in Red Oak. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond, pending an appearance before the magistrate. Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies assisted in the arrest.

A simple violation and traffic stop Tuesday night in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of two people. Red Oak Police say 46-year old Lynn Kenneth Houtchins, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9:45-p.m., for Driving While Suspended and OWI/2nd offense. During the traffic stop, 44-year old Shelby Joann Olivares, of Red Oak, was arrested for Public Intoxication. Both were transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where Houtchins was being held on $2,000 bond, and Olivares’ bond was set at $300.

A restitution hearing is set to take place this afternoon in Atlantic in the case of an Atlantic woman who falsely claimed her 5-year old daughter had cancer and then raised money for her treatment. The hearing in the case of Leatha Kaye Slauson is set to begin 1:30-p.m. at the Cass County Courthouse.

Authorities believe nearly $30,000 was raised through various fundraising efforts, only $16,000 of which remains in a bank account. In January, the 30-year-old Slauson was sentenced to 5 years probation and was ordered to continue mental health treatment and not contact her five children unless requested by her therapist. In November, she plead guilty to two counts of child endangerment, one of administering harmful substances, one of theft and one of unlawful possession of a prescription drug.

At today’s restitution hearing, anyone who donated money to Slauson, and who wants to make a claim for the return of their donation, should present their claim and proof of donation. The court order says funds will not be returned without sufficient proof. Also, if provable claims exceed the available funds, the claims will be paid on a pro-rata basis.

Any remainder owed will be subject to an Order for Restitution. And, in order to protect the nature and deductibility of donations, any unclaimed money will be given to cancer research tax-exempt charity.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City mother has been sentenced to three years of probation for leaving her 10-month-old son alone in a bathtub while she smoked marijuana in another room. Twenty-one-year-old Maricela Vasquez pleaded guilty earlier this month in Woodbury County District Court to child endangerment resulting in bodily injury and possession of a controlled substance.

Vasquez agreed to a 10-day jail sentence on the drug charge as part of her plea agreement. She was given credit for the 10 days she already served in jail. She was arrested in August after Sioux City officers responded to a 911 call, found evidence of marijuana in the apartment and discovered the baby had nearly drowned. The boy has been removed from Vasquez’s custody.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lawmakers in the Democratic-majority Senate and the Republican-controlled House have not yet found consensus on a school funding level for the coming academic year. Both sides stuck firm to their original funding proposals Tuesday.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say they found two bodies with apparent gunshot wounds in a Cedar Rapids home following two 911 hang up calls. Local officials say police found a man and a woman dead at the home Tuesday morning after conducting a welfare check. Their names and ages have not been released.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Officials say they’re still dealing with the aftermath of a freight train that derailed about three weeks ago and spilled ethanol into the Mississippi River north of Dubuque. Kevin Baskins, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, told the Telegraph Herald on Monday that 55,000 gallons of ethanol remain unaccounted for at the site where three train cars went off the tracks February 4th and tumbled into the river. A total of eight cars that derailed appeared to spill ethanol.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Drake Relays is adding a women’s 800-meter race to this year’s meet. Officials announced Tuesday that they’ve lined up eight of the top 10 800-meter runners in the U.S. The field will include Ajee Wilson and Brenda Martinez, the second and third-ranked 800 runners in the world. The Drake Relays will be held from April 23rd through 25th at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

The National Weather Service says a winter storm will move across Iowa on Wednesday spreading moderate to heavy snow over the state. The snow will intensify during the morning and persist into the afternoon before diminishing in the evening.

Heaviest snow will occur in a band from northwest to southeast Iowa where 5 to 7 inches are expected and a Winter Storm Warning is in effect. On either side of this heavy band, 2 to 5 inches will occur with lighter amounts in the far southwest and far northeast.

Much colder air will dive into the state behind the system with highs in the single digits on Thursday and readings well below zero by Friday morning