A standing-room only crowd attending Monday night’s meeting of the Audubon City Council, hoping to get answers to questions they had about the Council’s decision not to re-appoint Lora Hansen as City Clerk during their meeting on January 13th, but they received very few answers that weren’t hidden behind the cloak of the law. After a lengthy and sometimes contentious session, the Council tabled action on appointing an interim City Clerk, pending talks with interim City Attorney David Wiederstein, who was appointed to fill the position of Lance Levis. Levis turned in his resignation last Thursday. Hansen has agreed to remain City Clerk in the interim, until the matter is taken up again in two weeks.

During the session, it was pointed out the Council may have broken the law with regard to what transpired during the last session and the events which led up to it. Dawn Rohe, a citizen of Audubon and City Administrator in Manning, said they violated Iowa Code at the previous meeting by not having the appointment of a City Clerk on the agenda 24-hours in advance of the meeting. She said each member of the Council could face financial damages for knowingly violating the rule. She said Mayor Clark “Sam” Kauffman could have vetoed the Council’s vote not to re-appoint Hansen, but he chose not to do so.

Rohe also made a request under the Iowa Open Records law, for documents pertaining to actions leading up to the Jan. 13th meeting, and any other pertinent information. The main question the 100 or so people who were in attendance at the meeting had, was why the Council thought it was necessary to replace Hansen — who has served the City for more than 30-years — with Janet Nelson (who subsequently withdrew her name from consideration). Councilman John Wetzel said that was something they couldn’t discuss.  He said that was one the advice of the City Attorney. He did say Hansen was supposed to be on a two-year appointment, and it was not performance-based. Wetzel says “If some day, if we can talk about more things, then we will.”

Wetzel also denied allegations Nelson was chosen in behind the scenes activities that would have been illegal under the Iowa Code. He said there was no interview. Instead, she was referred to him by a citizen. He saw Nelson and examined her resumed, but he denied he had an interview with her. Newly elected Councilman Jason Hocker was asked why, since he’d never worked with Hansen, would he make a motion to “get rid of her.” Hocker side-stepped the answer by saying he’s already spoken about the matter in area newspapers. That didn’t sit well with the man who asked the question. He said he the citizens would never have voted for Hocker they knew he intended to make a motion not to re-appoint Hansen.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democrats who hold the majority in the Iowa Senate want to boost state education funding for the 2015 school year, but the Republican governor and Republicans controlling the state House have shown little interest in considering the proposal this year.

Legislation to increase state funding for the school year that starts in the fall of 2015 was approved by a Senate subcommittee Monday. Under state law, the General Assembly is supposed to establish funding levels for kindergarten through 12th grade education over a year in advance.

Lawmakers have not always followed that law. Gov. Terry Branstad called the rule “outmoded” Monday. He also said the state could not afford the 6 percent budget increase that Democrats are seeking. Democratic leaders have said it’s important to abide by the law.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa legislative panel has unanimously approved a measure that would let active duty members of the military buy handguns without going through the usual permit process. A three-member House subcommittee approved the bill Monday and it now will go to the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Currently, any person buying a handgun must first obtain a permit, meet certain requirements and pay an annual fee. The bill would allow active duty members of the military to skip this process. Republican Rep. Dwayne Alons, of Hull, says the bill would align Iowa’s law with 37 other states that let active duty members of the military buy firearms without permits.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Senate has unanimously approved legislation that would exempt military pensions from state income taxes. The legislative body, where Democrats hold a slim majority, backed the bill Monday in a 46-0 vote. The legislation now moves to the state House, where it is expected to get speedy approval.

The military pension exemption is a top priority for Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, who has made support for veterans a key part of his budget plan this year. According to the Branstad administration, the pension exemption would cost the state a projected $10 million in lost annual revenue. Currently, military retirees over the age of 55 can exempt a portion of their military pensions from state income taxes.

A U-S District Court judge has sentenced 40-year old Michael Phillip Castor, of Council Bluffs, to 110 months imprisonment, on a charge of felon in possession of a firearm. Castor will also be required to serve three years of supervised release, to forfeit the firearm and ammunition he possessed, and is required to pay a $100 special assessment for the Crime Victim Fund. Castor remained in the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at which he will serve his sentence.

In sentencing Castor, Judge Robert W. Pratt found that Castor was subject to the enhanced sentencing provisions of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which increases the sentence of a convicted felon in possession of a firearm based on prior serious drug felony or felony violent crime convictions. Castor was found to have three prior violent crime convictions in Nebraska, including burglary, robbery, and the use of a firearm to commit a felony.