(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.