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(Radio Iowa) – A study finds Iowa has the highest rate among all states for detaining black youth, and that disparity will be one focus of an event today (Tuesday) examining racial inequalities in the criminal justice system. Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP, founded the Iowa Summit on Justice and Disparities. She says the racial disparity among youth is tied to the disproportionate number of black adults in Iowa jails. Andrews says, “Studies show that having an experience with the juvenile justice system exponentially increases the risk for being involved in the criminal justice system as people become adults.”

According to The Sentencing Project, Iowa detains black youth in juvenile facilities at a rate more than double the national average. Four percent of Iowans are black, but blacks make up 25 percent of the state’s prison population. The Sentencing Project report says black Iowans are being incarcerated at nine times the rate of white Iowans. “When we look at those stats, behind those stats are individuals and behind those individuals are families,” she says.

Another focus of the summit will be the influence of prosecutors and county attorneys on racial disparities in the justice system. This is the ninth year for the Iowa Summit on Justice and Disparities. It will be held at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny.

(Radio Iowa) – Those who gathered recently in Des Moines to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor last week, were not sure that any Iowans who survived the attack were still alive — but Radio Iowa has found at least two. One survivor is 99-year-old Francis Riley, who lives in Cedar Rapids. His granddaughter, Sherry Steine-Ross, says he joined the Navy in 1933 as there weren’t many jobs available. “Joined and got stationed in Hawaii in June of 1941 — and I am sure he thought he won the jackpot,” Steine-Ross says. She says her grandfather was stationed on the U-S-S Vestal — which was a repair ship that was tied up the U-S-S Arizona. Her grandfather was preparing to raise the Hawaiian flag, known as the Union Jack. “They were I believe at least two minutes away from actually flying the Union Jack when the Japanese bombers started coming over. He was roped to the Arizona, so the hits from the Arizona also ricochet and hit the Vestal — some of the explosions hit the Vestal. And the Vestal was hit twice also,” she says.

Riley got an up-close look at the attackers. “He heard this noise coming and he looked up and he saw the red flag and he knew it wasn’t good. They were so close to the boat that…he saw a bomber and looked him in the eye and waved at him as they were bombing. And he said he made eye contact with him. And he said it was just horrific, there were fires, explosions, flames everywhere,” according to Steine-Ross. Steine-Ross says her grandfather actually called for tugs to pull the Vestal away from the Arizona after the commander arrived back on the ship. Riley suffered burns in the attack and lost fellow sailors. She says something that happened on the Arizona after the attack stuck with her grandfather. “You could hear them tapping morse code from the Arizona, the men that were still alive, he said you could hear that for weeks. He had tears rolling down his face. So, the things that he talks about like that actually had a tremendous impact on me as much as the bombing itself,” she says.

Riley was a signalman and traveled all over the world during and after the war. “He made it through the entire war and then ended up at the Bikini Islands in 1946. So, he was involved in all aspects from 1941 to 1946,” Steine-Ross says. He witnessed the atomic bomb tests on Bikini Island as one of his last assignments before leaving the Navy in 1946. Steine-Ross says her grandfather didn’t talk about Pearl Harbor and the war very much until she asked him to come and speak about it to one of her classes in college. She says he then would talk about it a little more. Steine-Ross says her grandfather did return to Pearl Harbor to attend the 50th-anniversary ceremony.

“He thought that the men who served should have gotten a lot more attention than all of the politicians who were there,” Steine-Ross says with a laugh. “He says it was very emotional before the ceremony, but the ceremony itself he thought the people who were there should have been more highlighted than the people who were speaking.” Steine-Ross says her grandfather is in good health with the normal aches and pains for a 99-year-old. Another Iowa Pearl Harbor survivor is Alvin, “Stub” Lindquist of Albert City, who celebrated his 102nd birthday on December 11th. Online information shows he enlisted in the U-S Navy in December 1937. He was called to active duty in July 1938 and served for eight years. He served on the U-S-S Tennessee from 1938 to 1942 — and was on board when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

The Red Oak Police Department reports 29-year-old Amanda Joy Williams, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 3:50-p.m. Monday. Williams was arrested in the 300 block of W. 4th Street, for Disorderly Conduct. She was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor’s budget director says there’s likely to be more than two BILLION dollars in the state’s Taxpayer Relief Fund by this summer. There’s more than a billion dollars in the fund now. Kraig Paulsen, the acting director of the Iowa Department of Management, says tax collections are ahead of expectations – and significantly above state spending plans.

“Six and a half months from now, there’s going to be a pretty significant ending balance and so I think the General Assembly and the governor are in a position to do some really good things for the taxpayers of Iowa,” Paulsen says. In a written statement, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds called the over-collection of taxes unethical and said she will explore making significant tax cuts in 2022. Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny says cutting personal income taxes is at the top of the G-O-P’s 2022 legislative agenda.

“We’re shooting to take another big reduction in the taxes Iowans pay,” Whitver says, “and we want to continue to make us one of the most competitive states in the country.” Whitver’s ultimate goal is complete elimination of Iowa’s income tax for individuals and couples. Whitver says Republicans would consider reducing the income tax for CORPORATIONS — if there’s a move to end or reduce refundable tax CREDITS for corporations.

“That may or may not come to fruition,” Whitver says. “We’re focused on the individual income tax rate in the Senate. We have been for five years. That’s where we’re seeing a lot of progress. That’s where we’re seeing a lot of economic growth because the individual income tax rate not only affects every individual person — every single taxpayer, but it also affects most of the businesses in this state.” That’s because most business owners report the revenue from their business on their PERSONAL income tax returns.

Democrats warn state tax revenue has been boosted by federal pandemic relief and is likely to fall as the tax cuts Republicans previously approved take effect. And Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says complete elimination of Iowa’s personal income tax would lead to a dramatic increase in the state sales tax. “Our analysis was you’d have to go up 30 to 32% to make up that revenue, which is obviously a non-starter,” Wahls says. “Not only would that have an enormously negative consequence on middle class families, it’s just not fair.”

Wahls says Democrats favor targeted income tax cuts for low and moderate Iowans rather than an across the board reduction that yields a higher proportion of relief for the wealthiest Iowans. “Tax policy, you know, it can be like watching paint dry,” Wahls says. “It can be really tough to follow all the numbers and what have you, but it’s just critically, critically important because that’s ultimately what structures all of the services that so many Iowans depend on.”

Wahls says an overall tax reduction would lead to cuts in state spending on schools and in the Medicaid program that provides health care coverage and other services to 775-thousand Iowans.

(Malvern, Iowa) – Firefighters from Malvern and at least a dozen other area departments were on the scene until just before midnight, Monday, battling a large a structure fire in Malvern. The call about a blaze at Mulholland Grocery, 409 Main St. in Malvern, was sent out at around 5:45-p.m. According to reports, employees noticed the fire and tried to put it out with extinguishers, but it became too much to handle. After Malvern Fire arrived on the scene, they quickly requested Red Oak’s ladder truck and one other ladder, in addition to the departments and personnel on hand.

Additional tanker support was being provided by crews from Hastings, Silver City, Glenwood, Macedonia, Carson and Sidney.  Henderson, Randolph, Shenandoah and Oak Township Fire were also on the scene. Pacific Junction’s 3,000 gallon tanker was requested, along with another tanker with 5,000 gallons of water.

Firefighters were in a defensive mode, trying to prevent flames from spreading to adjacent buildings. Authorities confirmed at 7:30-p.m., that the roof and second floor of the structure had collapsed. Crews were evacuated from the roof at around 7:15-p.m. when the danger of collapse became imminent. Crews were also attempting to slow down the amount of water being used from hydrants to lessen the strain on the city’s water system.

There were no injuries reported. Malvern Grocery is a fourth generation full service grocery store, specializing in premium quality meats, homemade fresh and smoked sausages and other homemade items.

DES MOINES – An inmate at the Fort Des Moines Men’s Correction Center failed to return to the facility from work release as required, Sunday. Authorities say 34-year-old Nicholas Dewayne Jerrold Stone, convicted of Domestic Abuse Assault-3rd or Subsequent Offense in Polk County, is 5’11” tall, and weighs 282 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on October 1, 2021.

Nicholas Stone (IA-DOC photo)

Persons with information on Stone’s whereabouts should contact local police.

(Radio Iowa) – A former eastern Iowa postal employee who took hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks from the mail will spend more than two years in federal prison. Thirty-eight-year-old Amy Jurisic worked at the Dubuque Post Office and pleaded guilty in June to one count of mail theft. Evidence at her hearing showed that between June 2017 through at least October 2018, Jurisic stole more than 60 pieces of mail that contained 650-thousand dollars worth of checks.

She gave the checks to an individual in Chicago who would attempt to deposit them into various bank accounts. Approximately 62-thousand dollars worth of checks were actually deposited into bank accounts. She was sentenced to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay back the 62-thousand dollars.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County, Monday, said three people were arrested over the past few days. Saturday afternoon, 41-year-old Justin Dean Miller, of Lenox, was arrested for OWI/3rd offense, Driving While Revoked, and Operating (a vehicle) without the ignition interlock. His bond was set at $6,300.

Friday afternoon, 31-year-old Heather Renee Plum, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Theft in the 3rd Degree. Her bond was set at $2,000. And, at around 11:54-p.m., Friday, 35-year-old Brett Michael Claccio, of Malvern, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

The Sheriff’s Dept. said also, 35-year-old Aaron Nosekable, of Glenwood, was injured at around 5:52-a.m. Saturday, when his 2002 Dodge hit a patch of ice in the 21,000 block of Barrus Road, in Mills County. The vehicle went out of control and rolled into the north ditch. The truck came to rest and then rolled down the embankment again. Nosekable suffered minor injuries and was transported to Jennie Edmundson Hospital by Silver City Rescue.

Authorities said also, there were no injuries reported following a rollover accident at around 5:04-a.m. Saturday. A 2000 Ford driven by 59-year-old Vincent Salerno, of Pacific Junction, was traveling south on 195th Street, when the vehicle lost traction due to slick road conditions. The vehicle entered the east ditch before it rolled over and came to rest.

(Radio Iowa) – Mostly clear skies are in Iowa’s forecast for tonight (Monday), what’s expected to be the best night for viewing the Geminid meteor shower — and a bonus comet. Professor Siobahn Morgan, who heads the University of Northern Iowa’s Astronomy Department, says don’t worry about bringing binoculars or a telescope. Just find someplace away from city lights, bundle up, stretch out and look up.

“The Geminid meteor shower is best viewed after midnight. Generally speaking, you want the moon out of the way,” Morgan says. “This is when the earth enters the cloud of bits and pieces of a comet that passed by years ago.” Viewing this year should be ideal as the shower is peaking when the moon is nearly new, so the skies will be darker. It’s called the Geminid meteor shower because those “shooting stars” appear to be coming from the constellation Gemini.

Geminids (Wikipedia image)

“Most people are familiar with Orion and Gemini is northward or up above Orion and slightly to the left,” Morgan says. “It’s close to being overhead in the night sky and you don’t want to look in any one direction. Just look around the sky.” There should be about 60 meteors per hour, or roughly one every minute. The comet Leonard should also be visible tonight, but it won’t be quite as easy to spot, and you -will- need a viewing aid to pick it out.

“Comets tend to look a little bit fuzzy,” Morgan says. “That’s the key give-away. They can be rather fuzzy and a little bit off in their color. They could be rather bluish or greenish. It’s not the most spectacular bright or easy-to-view one. This one, you’d definitely need binoculars.” Leonard may best be seen in the early evening, just below and to the left of Venus.