(Des Moines) – Auditor of State Rob Sand today (Tuesday) released an agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Walnut, Iowa, for the period July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The agreed-upon procedures engagement was performed pursuant to the Code of Iowa. Sand reported eight findings related to the receipt and disbursement of taxpayer funds. They are found on pages 7 through 9 of the report.

The findings address issues such as a lack of segregation of duties, the lack of a depository resolution, utility bill forgiveness in violation of Chapter 388.6 of the Code of Iowa, and disbursements exceeding budgeted amounts. Sand provided the City with recommendations to address each of the findings.

Seven of the eight findings discussed above are repeated from the prior year. The City Council has a fiduciary responsibility to provide oversight of the City’s operations and financial transactions. Oversight is typically defined as the “watchful and responsible care” a governing body exercises in its fiduciary capacity.

A copy of the agreed-upon procedures report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s web site at https://auditor.iowa.gov/audit-reports.

With Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Creston Police Department reports two men were arrested on separate charges, Monday. Officials say 33-year-old Clay Brammer, of Afton, was arrested on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. Brammer was being held without bond in the Union County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing.

And, 38-year-old Hoby Gatson, of Creston, was arrested Monday for Violation of a Protection Order. He was also being held in the Union County Jail, pending a bond hearing.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) – The third finalist in the search for a new University of Iowa president visited campus and held a public forum Monday. Wendy Hensel is currently the chief academic officer at Georgia State University — but says he has a Big Ten background — having graduated from Michigan State. She started her career in law, and took a job teaching law that she thought would be short-term until she decided what she wanted to do. “And it was not long before I realized that I had found my professional passion for the rest of my life. I love students. I love the mission of higher education,” Hensel says.

She says that would continue to be her focus at the U-I. “Students should be at the center of literally everything that we do. They’re the reason that we are here and their success is instrumental to our success,” according to Hensel. “I believe strongly, as I think all of you do too based on what I’ve heard today, that it is a moral imperative that anybody that we admit as sufficiently talented to be at this university — that we commit to get them through to graduation.” Hensel was asked about what appears to be a divide between the campus and the rest of the state on issues such as free speech.

Wendy Hensel

“We can come back to a respectful position in which everybody is on the team. Right now it feels very much like it is us and them. It’s the polar opposite. There’s very little in the middle, and I would pledge as president to commit to developing that relationship on a serious basis, ongoing and in advance of these serious disputes,” Hensel says. She was also asked about how she would deal with the Legislature and some of the bills targeting the universities. Handel says the first thing is not to stand up and say “No” to everything, but to find the issues where you can softly debate and talk about them. “If you take away tenure for example. That would be one that we’re never going to agree that it is acceptable to do that. That’s just fundamental to higher education, it allows the research enterprise to take on questions that otherwise would not be politically palatable,” she says. “Certainly in this environment it’s not hard to see how that might happen. most of it we can discuss as friends with data and common goals in mind”

Hensel will spend today (Tuesday) on campus meeting with more groups. The fourth and final candidate for the president’s job will be announced and visit campus later this week. The next president is expected to be hired on April 30th.

(Radio Iowa) – A day-long manhunt following a pursuit that started in South Sioux City and ended up near Holley Springs ended when a police dog found the suspect. Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan says the man who was driving the vehicle was found in a creek bed Monday afternoon. He says the man was found just north of Hornick after they sent more deputies and a dog to the area, and the dog found the man.

The man is identified as 30-year-old Edgar Vanegas-Sanchez of Colorado. Police say he was driving with passenger, 24-year-old Zachary Broken Leg, after they fled the scene when an officer saw them trying to steal the catalytic converter from a car in South Sioux City. The car ran over the foot and struck the officer as they fled, and both men later abandoned the car after crashing near Holly Springs. Broken Leg was caught, but Venegas-Sanchez stayed hidden for 12 hours before being discovered in the creek. The Sheriff says he did the best he could to hide in the creek bed — but the dog found him — and he suffered some superficial injuries from the dog.

Vanegas-Sanchez is charged with second-degree theft, felony eluding, interference with official acts, possession of burglary tools, and drug paraphernalia. Broken Leg is charged with interference with official acts, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of meth, drug paraphernalia, and burglary tools. The police officer was treated and returned to duty.

(Radio Iowa) – The weekly crop report shows some seeds got into the ground for the first time this year. The U-S-D-A’s crop report says most of last week was favorable for fieldwork and once soil temperatures warmed up enough that work turned from the preparation of the soil to planting in some areas. The report says four percent of the projected corn crop is in the ground. There were scattered reports of soybeans planted. The most progress was made with oats — as two-thirds of that crop has been planted.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Vice President Walter Mondale has died at the age of 93. Mondale’s campaign for the presidency that ended with a loss to President Reagan began with a 49 percent victory in the 1984 Iowa Caucuses. “I wouldn’t change one moment of it,” Mondale said in 1992. “I love public service. I love politics. I love being around people. I love to engage on issues. It is a blessing to be in public life.”

Walter “Fritz” Mondale (1928-2021)

During a debate in Des Moines just before the 1984 Caucuses, Mondale described Iowa politics as “open” and consequential. “On February 20, the Democrats of Iowa will be the most powerful citizens on Earth,” Mondale said. “…If there was ever a time that your country needed you, it’s this time.”

In 2015, Mondale told an Iowa P-B-S reporter that the Iowa Caucus system guarantees the candidates listen to Iowa voters. On Saturday, Mondale sent a note to former staff and campaign alumni, saying his time had come and urging them to continue the good fight. Mondale’s family announced he died Monday in Minneapolis.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration has sent Republican leaders at the state Capitol a letter, warning working conditions may be exposing legislative branch employees to Covid-19 hazards. The OSHA letter says no state law is being broken, but cited concerns about a lack of social distancing and that there is no requirement employees report Covid positive test results to leadership. The late January OSHA inspection of the Capitol did result in a 10-thousand dollar fine.

The inspector said the legislative branch wasn’t keeping records of workplace illnesses or injuries and employees were handling chemical disinfectants without proper training. The most serious citation, though, was about electrical outlets in a Capitol meeting room that posed a shock or burn hazard. A spokeswoman for House Republicans called it a politically-contrived investigation and said G-O-P leaders had taken what she described as extensive efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says the inspection was the result of a politically motivated complaint from union leaders. He said while the OSHA report noted it’s possible to contract Covid at the Capitol, that’s true of nearly every other activity in the world. So far this year, 10 cases of Covid-19 among people associated with the House and Senate have been publicly announced. One legislator has revealed she still has symptoms. Representative Amy Nielsen tested positive for the virus in late January.