Iowa’s Sex Offender Registry is getting an upgrade, thanks to a nearly $110,000 federal grant. Terry Cowman, with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, says the money will be used by local sheriff’s offices to purchase needed equipment. “The equipment involves things like laptop computers, digital cameras for taking offenders’ pictures and electronic signature pads so we can continue our digital move to a paperless project,” Cowman said. Iowa sheriffs’ offices register and monitor more than 5,700 sex offenders statewide. Dozens of sheriffs have said they need equipment upgrades to set up remote registration stations and avoid delays in getting information posted.

“We hope to continue to get the resources spread out across the state,” Cowman said. “I believe we’ll have three-quarters of the counties affected by this particular grant.” Last year, the Iowa Sex Offender Registry (SOR) emailed more than 283,000 notifications on the movement of offenders and changes in relevant information. The SOR website —www.IowaSexOffender.com — averages over one million page views per month.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans are being warned to steer clear of a new scam involving a familiar con. An elderly man in the region was recently tricked out of several hundred dollars after a caller told him he’d won a big lottery jackpot. Jim Hegarty, with the Better Business Bureau, says the man was told he first had to pick up a “Green Dot MoneyPak” card to claim his winnings. Hegarty says, “They’re asking for the numbers off of the card and once you give them those numbers, they can go online and reload their cash cards and they’ve got your money.” The Green Dot MoneyPaks are basically debit cards that can be used for purchases or to add money to pre-paid cards. The victim in this case was an 89-year-old man in Mitchell, South Dakota. Hegarty says people should be very wary if they’re told they’ve won a prize but have to pay a fee for it up-front.

“No legitimate lottery is ever going to ask you to pay in advance,” he says. “The bottom line is, if it involves wiring money through Western Union, if it involves loading up one of these Green Dot MoneyPaks, it’s absolutely a scam.” This scam is reportedly operating out of Jamaica. Hegarty says the Better Business Bureau recently teamed up with Western Union to be on the lookout for possible scams of this sort.

(Radio Iowa)

Home sales in Iowa were up 13-percent in October compared to the same month a year ago, the Iowa Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Davenport real estate agent Don Marple was recently elected the group’s president. He credits low interest rates for the increase in activity. “I’ve seen interest rates anywhere from around 2.75 percent for a 15-year fixed program, up to 3.5 percent for a 30-year fixed program,” Marple said. “When I started in this business in 1976, it was 8.9 percent. We’ve seen highs and we’ve seen lows, this is the best.” There were 2,998 home sales in Iowa last month, up from 2,646 in October 2011. On average, homes sold last month were on the market 96 days, six days fewer than a year ago.

“That means the homes are on the market less time and they’re selling quicker. And because they’re selling quicker, they’re bringing more dollars. More people are getting in the market now because they see the prices are rising,” Marple said. The median home sales price climbed 5.4 percent to $126,500 in October, up from $120,000 last year. The rise in home sales and prices in October followed a slight slowdown in September. Marple notes sales, pending sales, and median sales price are all are on track to end the year ahead of 2011 figures.

(Radio Iowa)

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held today (Thursday) in Atlantic, for the new, nearly $12.3-million wastewater treatment plant. City Administrator Doug Harris said plans to replace the old wastewater treatment plant began in 2006.

Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor Mark Farrier talks about the new facility at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Thu., Nov. 15th 2012 (Ric Hanson-photo)

The City elected to replace the plant, rather than offer a piece-meal approach to repairs, after it was determined the current, nearly 70-year old facility could not handle a significant storm water run-off, and, because the D-N-R had required the city to build a million-gallon retention basin, or lagoon.

Mayor Dave Jones said the decision to build a new waste water treatment plant didn’t not come easy, but it became clear after much discussion, that building a new storm water detention pond wasn’t the solution to run-off into the river, and because the aging plant wasn’t capable of meeting the demands of the future. Doug Harris said the timing of the project was important, because of the grant funds that became available from the State The City received an “I-Jobs” forgivable loan award in the form of a $2-million grant, and a State Revolving Fund low-interest loan.

The citizens and businesses also are helping to pay for the plant through increased sewer and water bills. Phase One of the plant was completed in May 2012. Phase Two was essentially completed in September. The plant is fully functional. Harris said the project helped to stimulate the local economy, with construction crews staying in town, and through the use local contractors who aided in the completion of the project.

Wastewater Superintendent Mark Farrier was hired to run the plant. Farrier said the facility is a major leap forward from the old plant, and is fully contained so that no effluent is discharged in the nearby river. He said the plant can handle higher storm water flows without putting the City in violation of DNR and EPA rules and regulations. Peak flow capacity for the facility is 15-million gallons per day.

In addition to the hiring of Fox Engineering Associates, Incorporated as the designers of the plant, the City had approved Hawkins Construction Company, from Omaha, as company responsible for its construction.