Governor Terry Branstad says he’s not surprised his fellow Republicans in the legislature have been reluctant to embrace his regulatory reduction plans. “We knew this was going to be tough,” Branstad says. “You’re going up against all of the organized special-interest groups that want to protect their turf, but I’m still hopeful that we can get parts of it approved.”

Branstad’s bill that would have ended state licensing for barbershops, social workers, mental health counselors and other health care professionals was rejected by a three-member House panel. Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton suggests the move could “harm the public” by inviting pretenders into the state who would act as if they had legitimate training in the health care field. Branstad says there are too many state-licensed professions in Iowa.

“These licensing boards kind of look at it as something (like), ‘We’re there to protect the profession, not the public,’ and that’s my concern,” Branstad says. “In some cases we’ve gone into places where I really don’t think we need to be licensed and it drives up the costs and it keeps out the competition.”

Another proposal Branstad backed tried to change state regulations to make it easier for health care clinics that are for-profit to set up shop near already existing Iowa hospitals and clinics. That bill failed to advance in the Iowa House, too, because of opposition from Republicans. Branstad says these kinds of regulatory reforms will “never be easy” to get through the legislature.

“Every one of these groups is organized. A lot of ’em have lobbyists and they spend a lot of money and they always sell it on the idea, ‘Well, we’re going to protect the health, safety and well-being of Iowans,'” Branstad says. “But we have more licensed, regulated professions than anybody else.”

Branstad made his comments late Thursday during an interview with reporters from the Radio Iowa and The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Branstad was wearing a red lapel pin at the time. Kentucky’s Republican governor gave Branstad the pin — which featured a tiny pair of scissors. It’s a symbol of the Kentucky governor’s “red tape reduction” campaign.

(Radio Iowa)

Hunters in Iowa killed just under 101,397 deer this past season. Iowa DNR wildlife researcher Tyler Harms says that’s about 3,000 fewer than in the 2015-16 season, but nearly identical to the harvest from two years ago. “We’ve been holding right around that 100,000 mark for the last few years, which to us is a good sign – indicative of a stable deer population in Iowa,” Harms says.

A big factor in the lower numbers this past year was unseasonably warm weather early in the season, according to Harms. He admits some hunters are a frustrated they aren’t seeing as many deer as they’d like. “What we’re hearing, overall statewide, is hunters are pretty pleased with the numbers,” Harms says. “Obviously, that’s going to change depending on specific areas in the state.”

The deer population in southeast Iowa, for example, has decreased. That’s due in large part to a disease outbreak known as E-H-D. “That are was hit pretty hard with epizootic hemorrhagic disease a couple years ago, which can have some pretty drastic impacts on local population,” Harms says.

The Iowa DNR has a goal to manage for a deer population that can provide a harvest of between 100,000 and 120,000 deer each year, based on the recommendations agreed upon by a state deer task force. Around 170,000 hunters took part in the latest deer season. Harms says deer hunting license sales have been “stable” over the last 5 to 6 years.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Red Oak, this (Saturday) morning, arrested 37-year old Joseph Dean Wallace, of Clarinda, on felony drug charges. Officers took Wallace into custody at around 4:45-a.m. in the 400 block of E. Maple Street, in Red Oak. He faces felony charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine & Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver, and a simple misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charge.

Officers seized approximately 18.8-grams of Meth and about 24.1-grams of marijuana. Wallace was being held at the Montgomery Law Enforcement Center on a $100,000 cash bond.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Legislation making changes to Iowa’s workers’ compensation system is moving through the Legislature despite arguments that the new rules would penalize employees who work in physically demanding conditions. Committees in the House and Senate approved the bill Thursday, and it could come up for votes in the full chambers next week. Opponents have been critical of the bill’s move to cut compensation off at age 67 for fully disabled people, minimize late fees for employers and decrease coverage.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Lebanese man has been indicted on a federal count, accused of a scheme to smuggle guns purchased in Iowa to his country. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa says 42-year-old Fadi Yassine was charged in the indictment with conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act and to ship, transport, and deal firearms without a license.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sided with former Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett in his lawsuit against a state ethics board, saying the board was wrong to reprimand him in 2012. The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board had reprimanded Slockett for making campaign phone calls from his personal cellphone from his county office. On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa said a Polk County District Judge overturned the board’s reprimand Tuesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Collins-Maxwell School District middle school social studies teacher has been arrested after federal authorities allege he sent obscene photos to a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl in an internet chatroom and attempted to entice her for sex. The person he was chatting with was a federal Homeland Security agent.

A report called the Solar Jobs Census finds the number of people working in the solar industry in Iowa rose just over 60-percent in the past two years. Avery Palmer, spokesman for the non-profit Solar Foundation, says Iowa had about 350 solar jobs in 2015 versus more than 560 last year. The study finds one out of every 50 new jobs in the country last year was in the solar industry.

Palmer says, “What we’re seeing over and over is that the price of solar is going way down and solar is becoming more and more affordable and accessible no matter what part of the country you live in, whether you’re in a small town a big city or a rural area.” The census finds solar employment increased in 44 of the 50 states last year, growing by 25-percent nationwide, while Iowa’s increase was 61-percent.

“As solar becomes more attractive to homes, businesses and communities, companies are building more projects,” Palmer says, “and they are hiring more people to do the work.” The subject of solar jobs is wide-ranging, Palmer says, and includes far more than the people who install solar arrays on rooftops.

“If you have a big solar project that’s being built out somewhere in the country, you need folks to manage the project and to manage the finances,” Palmer says. “You also need people to do sales, to do the marketing, to do the engineering.” Palmer predicts steady growth, with an increase of at least 10-percent in solar jobs nationwide in 2017.

California saw the most growth in solar jobs in 2016, followed by Massachusetts, Texas, Nevada and Florida. Iowa ranks 41st nationally for the number of solar jobs, 38th in solar jobs per capita.

(Radio Iowa)

Supporters of President Trump are planning rallies in four Iowa cities tomorrow (Saturday). Organizers of these “Spirit of America” rallies across the country say their goal is to show there’s broad support for the president’s agenda.  “We just know how the last few years the middle class has become really crunched and he sees that and he wants to turn that around.” That is Tammy Kobza, a coordinator for the rallies in Davenport, Ottumwa, Des Moines and Council Bluffs. She says the rallies will feature speakers, patriotic songs, and fellowship.

“It’s a very upbeat, family-friendly time where we’re going to cheer him on and just see that America, by and large, believes in the values that our country was built upon and we’re ready to stand for ‘America First,'” Kobza says. The pro-Trump rallies in Iowa are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday). The central Iowa event will be held on the state capitol grounds in Des Moines. The rally in Ottumwa will be held in the Central Park Band Shelter. Davenport Guns will host the event in Davenport.

Organizers of the Council Bluffs event call it a “street corner” rally — at the corner of 16th and Broadway in Council Bluffs.

(Radio Iowa)

One of two Atlantic residents injured during a two-vehicle crash accident in Lancaster County, Nebraska, Christmas Day 2016, has died. 78-year old Joan Harlan, died Thursday, March 2nd, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

The Nebraska State Patrol said an eastbound semi had gone out of control, crossed the median and struck a westbound SUV occupied by Joan and her 78-year-old husband, Robert Harlan. The accident happened on Interstate 80 near the Waverly exit,  shortly after noon on Dec 25th. Both suffered serious injuries during the crash. The driver of the semi, 45-year-old Princewill Dabrinze, of Texas was hospitalized in fair condition at the time.

It’s believed the weather and road conditions were to blame for the crash.

(Oakland, Iowa) –Western Iowa poultry producers are invited to a meeting about a poultry processing project on Thursday, March 9th at 6pm at the Oakland Community Center (614 Dr. Van Zee Rd., Oakland, IA 51560). Local farmers are working with Golden Hills RC&D to aggregate poultry for transport to a USDA-certified processor. The project was piloted last fall and the meeting will discuss future processing details and logistics.

The group will be coordinating a group purchase of chicks to be ready for processing on the same date this spring, and likely with follow-up dates after that. Birds would be picked up at two or three locations in Western Iowa and transported to a USDA-inspected facility in Eastern Nebraska. Kevin Ellis, Poultry Specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) will also be at the meeting to answer questions about poultry production.

Producers who join the project will have their birds shipped collectively to a USDA-certified processor in Southeast Nebraska, saving time and money while expanding market opportunities to various wholesale and retail outlets in Iowa and other states. Live birds will be transported to the processing facility using a local contracted hauling company. Processed birds will then be shipped via refrigerated truck to restaurants, stores, consumers, or a cold storage facility in Harlan, depending on the producers’ preferences.

Funding for this project was made possible by the Local Food Promotion Program managed by the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, with matching funds from Golden Hills RC&D. For more information about the project, visit www.swiffi.org/poultry or contact Golden Hills RC&D at 712-482-3029 or lance@goldenhillsrcd.org.

The City of Atlantic has received an audit report from Gronewold, Bell, Kyhnn and Company P.C.  City Clerk Barb Barrick says the report shows the City’s receipts for its governmental funds totaled $12.176-million dollars for the year ended June 30th, 2016. They included:

• more than $3.57-million in property tax,
• $42,296 in other City taxes,
• $891, 112 in Local Option Sales Tax (LOST),
• $143,310 in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) collections,
• $1.134-million from intergovernmental sources,
• $92,793 from use of money and property,
• $77,177 from licenses and permits,
• $326,607 from charges for services,
• $1,432 from sale of assets,
• $2.272-million from debt proceeds,
• a little more than $2.015-million from proceeds of refunding bonds, and
• $1.146-million in miscellaneous revenues.

The City’s receipts for its proprietary funds totaled $4.059-million, of which $4.039-million was from charges for services.

Disbursements for its governmental funds totaled $12.372-million, and included:

• $3.684-million for Public Safety,
• $2.175-million for Public Works,
• $6,483 for Health and Social Services,
• $1.439-million for Culture and Recreation,
• $626,534 in Community and Economic Development,
• $1.009-million in general government
• $2.22-million for Capital Projects
• Nearly $1.21-million for Debt Service.

Disbursements of the City’s Propriety Funds totaled a little more than $1.98-million, which was attributable to its business-type activities. The report contains recommendations to the City Council and other City officials. The City has responded that corrective action is being taken for each item.

A copy of the Audit Report is available for review in the Office of the Auditor of State, and at the City Administrator’s office, at City Hall, in Atlantic.

(12-p.m. News)

(Updated 12:57-p.m.) — The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education met for a brief session this (Friday) afternoon to vote on approving a one-year Superintendent contract.

Atlantic Board of Education announces new Superintendent (Chris Parks/photo)

The person they selected for the position Steven H. Barber, Superintendent at George-Little Rock Community Schools in George (Iowa) was offered the job earlier this week, and has accepted. Barber has worked for the George-Little Rock District since 2013.

Bruckner said appeared to the selection committee and School Board to be a “Genuinely nice guy. A good guy.” She said also there was a consensus among the constituent groups that allowed him to “Rise to the top,” and that it was “Important that the teachers and administrators have a say in who was going to be their next boss.”

Prior to becoming the Superintendent at GLR, Barber was a Middle School Administrator with the Spencer Community School District (2004-2013). He also served in a Secondary Administrative position at the East Union Middle and High School in Afton (1999-2004), and as a Science Teacher and Coach (for both Academic and Athletic teams) at the East Greene High School in Grand Junction (1991-1999). While there, he coached the varsity cross country and boys track teams, and was an assistant boys basketball coach.

Steven Barber’s education includes: a Specialist Certification from ISU in Ames in “Superintendent Licensure in Advanced Studies;” A Master’s Degree in Education from ISU in Ames; A Bachelor of Science degree from Bemidji State University in Bemidji, MN; and an Associate of Arts degree from Worthington Community College in Worthington, MN.  He and his wife Debra have two grown daughters.

There were three finalists for the position, after months of meetings and planning for the interview process. In addition to Mr. Barber, Dr. Joe Potts, Ph.D, an Iowa native who resides in Kent, WA., and serves as High School Principal for the Kent Community School District; and Dan Dierks, who has served Superintendent for the Oelwein Community School District, since 2015, were interviewed for the job.

Steven Barber will succeed Dr. Michael Amstein, who is retiring at the end of the current school year, after having worked for the District since 2010.

(Noon News)