A star of the television show “Shark Tank” was in Iowa Friday to speak at an event. Billionaire businessman Kevin O’Leary is a one of the “Sharks” who hear pitches from entrepreneurs and then decide if they will invest in that person’s business. The show is heading into its 10th year — and O’Leary tells Radio Iowa he is surprised by its longevity. “I am and we all are. This was a show about business and business is boring — at least we thought — and that’s not the case,” O’Leary says.

O’leary, who is also known as Mr. Wonderful on the show. He can be very blunt in telling an entrepreneur what he thinks of their chances to succeed. “I get a lot of flack for telling the truth and I’m not going to stop. The truth is going to be the truth and the fact that your business has no merit is going to play itself out and you are going to lose all your money,” O’Leary “I just think the other sharks are disingenuous. They try and make themselves feel better by saying to somebody ‘I’m not going to write you a check, but keep doing what your are doing.’ I’d rather say, ‘look you are going to go to zero…and really entrepreneurship is about success and failure. And I have a very simple metric — if it’s not making money in 36 months — take it behind the barn and shoot it.”

O’Leary says he’s had some big failures and some big successes in the investments he’s made on the show. “Probably my biggest surprise is a company called Potato Parcel, which ships a picture of you on a potato to somebody. I’m making a fortune on that,” O’Leary says. He says you never know what’s going to work. O’Leary says he does get a lot of people who come up to him and ask to borrow money, and he says people need to know they can’t pitch him a plan and be on the show. “There’s a law about this, you can’t predetermine the outcome of something like Shark Tank. They simply ask these entrepreneurs if you have ever petitioned or pitched a shark,” O’Leary explains. “And if you lie about it when I see you I’ll stand up and say I can’t talk to this person. Because I want the show to go on, I’m very proud of it, I’ve got 40 plus deals to protect, and I’m just thrilled to where we’ve gotten to.”

O’Leary gave the keynote speech at the Land Investment Expo in West Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

Committing a robbery with a FAKE gun would be treated by the justice system the same as an actual armed robbery if a bill under consideration at the statehouse becomes law. Prosecutors, law enforcement and convenience stores are backing the bill. Kelly Meyers, with the Iowa County Attorneys Association, says a hold-up with a toy gun has serious consequences. “That clerk doesn’t necessarily know whether that gun is real or a toy. The trauma is the same. So, we would like to take a narrow approach to addressing this real-life problem,” Meyers said.

Prosecuting a fake armed robbery is difficult as well, according to Meyers. “The perpetrator leaves, for instance, and they ditch the gun somewhere – the county attorneys still have prove that was indeed a dangerous weapon, so the clerk is in trauma, they don’t know if that’s a real gun or a toy gun,” Meyers said.

At a meeting on the bill, some critics said the penalties for creating a crime with a fake or real weapon shouldn’t be the same. A leading gun rights advocate said the bill needs further study to determine if it will deter crime, or if it will help county attorneys prosecute someone.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Joyce Russell, Iowa Public Radio)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A $1.25 million lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Omaha over the construction of the Omaha National Cemetery. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Seedorff Masonry Inc. of Strawberry Point, Iowa, has sued a Chicago construction company and the project’s insurer over unpaid bills.

The lawsuit says Archer Western Construction entered into a contract in 2014 with the Department of Veterans Affairs to furnish materials and perform the labor for the cemetery. An attorney for Seedorff, a subcontractor on the project, says Seedorff provided nearly $3.2 million in labor and materials, but Archer has paid the company only $1.9 million.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, Seedorff alleges Archer and Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America owe Seedorff $1.25 million, plus interest. The cemetery opened in 2016.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held next week for the grand opening of an $11.5 million housing facility for people and their families traveling to Omaha for cancer treatment. The American Cancer Society broke ground in late 2016 on the Hope Lodge Nebraska, located just off of Dodge Street near the Nebraska Methodist Hospital System. Lodging there will be free of charge for patients and their families traveling more than 40 miles for treatment. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Tuesday.

The three-story lodge includes 32 private rooms with baths. Sitting/television areas and laundry facilities are located on each floor. Common areas include kitchen, dining room, library, conference, exercise, game and meditation rooms. Free transportation will be available to local treatment centers for patients staying at the Hope Lodge.