The Iowa Department of Revenue is fast-tracking the rules to implement a business tax break lawmakers approved this spring. Last fall, Governor Branstad directed the agency to erase the state sales tax on items that are used in the manufacturing process, but in March lawmakers stepped in, dumped the department’s plan and approved a similar, but slightly smaller tax break.

Victoria Daniels, Public Information Officer for the Iowa Department of Revenue, says “The department’s original rule was more broad than the law that passed.” This new tax policy went into effect July 1st. It means the state sales tax is no longer charged on “consumable supplies” like oils and lubricants that are “directly” used to manufacture something in an Iowa factory.

“This is going to save a lot of paperwork for companies out there, company accountants out there who have been tasked with keeping of those items separately,” Daniels says, “and, believe me, we are talking about thousands and thousands and thousands of items.”

State officials estimate that in the coming year Iowa businesses will save about 29 million dollars that will no longer be spent paying sales taxes on those supplies. The governor’s broader proposal would have saved businesses up to 10 million MORE dollars by erasing the state sales tax on other factory supplies that do not make contact with the product being manufactured.

(Radio Iowa)

Severe thunderstorms that rolled through northwest and western Iowa overnight caused a substantial amount of damage. The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency reports the roof was blown-off a power plant in Villisca today (Thursday) at around 3:45-a.m. There was also damage to a chicken plant southwest of Villisca, and large tree branches fell in the City.

Damage in Villisca (Photo’s by Montgomery County Emergency Mgmt. Agency)

In northwest Iowa’s Pocahontas County, extensive tree damage was reported to have occurred at around 12:50-a.m. today (Thursday), in Fonda. In Calhoun County, 12-inch diameter tree limbs succumbed to thunderstorm winds in Manson. Further north, in Palo Alto County, thunderstorm wind damage was reported to trees in Emmetsburg. Winds in Mallard gusted up to 65-mph.

In north central Iowa, extensive tree damage all across Kossuth County due to straight-line winds, with Algona, Swea City, Burt, Luverne and Bancroft specifically mentioned as hard hit areas. In Winnebago County, a large tree was uprooted near Lake Mills, with a few trees falling onto parked vehicles. Winds in the area were clocked at up to 70-mph. And, in Worth County, Highway 65 was blocked by downed power lines in both directions earlier this (Thursday) morning.

Work on the City of Atlantic’s streets and alley improvement projects could begin anytime, now that City Council has approved a construction bid from Henningsen Construction. Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm told the Council during their meeting Wednesday evening, that the latest work on more than a dozen alleys and streets could begin under the contract, is September 15^th, but it will likely begin much sooner.

Sturm said Henningsen’s bid was much less than what the City had budgeted for. The Engineers’ re-estimated costs was $1.18-million dollars, which was less than $1.59-million the City had budgeted for. Henningsen’s bid came in even lower than the re-estimate, at just under $1.14-million.

Sturm said Henningsen was able to bid lower than Western Engineering, because they have an asphalt plant near Atlantic due to the proximity of other area projects. A reduction in the price of oil (which is used in a Hot Asphalt Mix), was also a factor in the bid.

A traffic stop Wednesday in Fremont County resulted in a pursuit and arrest following an accident. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports deputies tried to stop a vehicle driven by 18-year old Drew Minono, of Hamburg, as he was traveling on Highway 275,  north of Hamburg. Minino failed to stop but was eventually apprehended in the 2700 block of 286th Street, after he lost control of his vehicle, which slid off the roadway. No injuries were reported.

Minino was taken to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, where he faces several traffic violations. He was subsequently released on bond.

Police in Red Oak arrested a woman on drug charges this (Thursday) morning. 19-year old Shelby Cheyenne Musland, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 1-a.m. on charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Musland was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Police in Red Oak, Wednesday, arrested a man wanted on Pottawattamie County warrants for Assault Causing Bodily Injury, and Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree. 42-year old James Reed Mitroff II, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 6:40-p.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,300. Mitroff was being held in the jail pending extradition to Pott. County.

Police in Council Bluffs report three people were injured when a southbound SUV went out of control, crossed the median of Interstate 29 and rolled over before collided with a 2012 Subaru in the northbound lanes, Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say the driver of the 1999 Chevy Blazer, 32-year old Kyle Yost, of Omaha, and his passenger, Dacia Lethan, of Council Bluffs, were ejected as their vehicle rolled over. Yost suffered a skull fracture and several other injuries. Leythan complained of pain in her back. The driver of the Subaru, 23-year old Cassandra Guerro, of Rochelle, IL, complained of back, chest and leg pain. All three were transported to Creighton University Hospital by Council Bluffs Rescue.

The crash happened at around 2:25-p.m. near the 52 mile marker of Interstate 29, south of the 9th Avenue exit. The accident resulted in northbound I-29 being closed to traffic for about an hour. The accident remains under investigation by the Council Bluffs Police Traffic Unit.

Council Bluffs officers were assisted at the scene by the Iowa State Patrol.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CDT

Another report is showing thousands of working Iowans are not making enough money to cover basic needs such as food, housing, health care, and transportation. The “Cost of Living in Iowa” report, released today (Wednesday) by the Iowa Policy Project (IPP), finds 19-percent of working households in Iowa do not earn enough to cover a “basic needs family budget.” Peter Fisher is the author of the report and the IPP’s research director.

“We found almost one in five Iowa working families do not earn enough to achieve self sufficiency,” Fisher said. The IPP report indicates single parents in Iowa are struggling the most. “Approximately 12-percent of married couples with children living at home don’t earn enough. It goes up to 27.5-percent for single persons and a whopping 62-percent for single parents,” Fisher said. The report also finds 17-percent of Iowans living in urban areas do not earn enough to meet basic needs, while the figures rises to nearly 22-percent for those living in more rural Iowa counties.

“I think that reflects two things; one is we found higher costs of living in rural areas, largely because of substantially higher health insurance costs, longer commutes and higher transportation costs,” Fisher said. “When you combine that with poorer job opportunities and lower pay, in general, in rural areas and you end up with a significantly higher percentage of families struggling to get by.” The IPP report follows a United Ways of Iowa report released last week that found nearly one-third of Iowans struggle to afford basic living expenses. Fisher says the United Way report included more Iowa families who are living in poverty.

“Those fractions are not really comparable for a couple of reasons, one is they’re looking at all families, all households in the state, whether of not there’s somebody employed,” Fisher said. “They’re including senior families and families headed by somebody with a disability, for example, who can’t work. We’re looking only at families with a full-time worker, so we’re looking at working families.” This is part 2 of a three-part report from the Iowa Policy Project. In April, the IPP released part one, outlining basic-needs budgets for various family types across the state.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Union County, Wednesday afternoon, said a woman from Lenox was arrested Tuesday evening in Taylor County. 24-year old Breanna Serena Sarratt was taken into custody at around 7-p.m. on a Union County warrant for Possession of Methamphetamine. Sarratt was being held in the Ringgold County Jail for Union County, on $1,000 bond.