(Radio Iowa) – Iowa legislators are making final decisions on next year’s state spending plan, but disagreements remain as the Iowa General Assembly aims to adjourn for the year soon. Senate Republicans propose a two percent salary hike for Iowa judges. House Republicans propose a more than six percent increase that’s in line with what the Iowa Supreme Court’s chief justice has recommended. Caitlin Jarzen, director of governmental affairs for Iowa’s court system, says the pay for county attorneys has kept pace with inflation, but judges’ salaries have not.

“We’re seeing a really a big problem with retention and recruitment,” Jarzen said. “…The Judicial Branch is being left behind while other salaries are increasing.” Some county attorneys are making almost as much as a district court judge. “This is a big problem because a huge portion of our judicial applicant pool is county attorneys,” Jarzen said. “…We’re going to get to a point where the position of a judge is not attractive to a county attorney anymore and we’d like to have their expertise on the bench.”

Jarzen says many attorneys in state government have salaries that are higher than a district court judge. The legal counsels working in state government agencies are even paid more than the Chief Judge on the Iowa Court of Appeals.  “We even understand we’re not going to compete with private industry salaries,” Jarzen said. “An attorney in private practice is going to make more and that’s just an accepted part of reality that you take a salary cut with public service, but now the judges’ salaries are getting to the point that other public servants aren’t even wanting to apply to be on the bench because it’s a salary cut for them, too.”

Iowa judges are paid less than judges in every neighboring state. The six-point-two percent salary hike proposed by the chief justice still won’t raise those salaries above judges in surrounding states.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has approved the governor’s plan to create a combined system to help Iowans with a mental illness as well as those with addiction issues. Republican Representative Joel Fry of Osceola says it’s the culmination of many years of work to improve services.

“I have worked on a variety of different pieces related to mental health and substance abuse for my last 14 years here,” said Fry, who is not seeking reelection, “and this is a great opportunity for the state of Iowa to be able to see these two worlds merge and to have a system statewide that I believe will benefit Iowans in some pretty dramatic ways.”

There are currently 13 mental health regions and 19 separate substance use treatment regions in Iowa. On July 1st of next year, they’ll be combined into seven behavioral health districts. Advocates say it will be particularly helpful for people who have a mental health diagnosis and also need treatment for substance abuse.

The bill does not provide a new source of funding for the system, but state officials say after the merger, they’ll be able to use 23 MILLION dollars that hasn’t been spent in some of the mental health regions.

(Radio Iowa) – The unemployment numbers for March are out and Iowa Workforce Development executive director Beth Townsend says things are holding steady. “Pretty stable from last month it’s down a little bit from the revised February number of three-point-oh percent down to two-point-nine (2.9) in March, which is a good sign,” Townsend says. The workforce participation rate dropped slightly as well.

“You never want to see a decrease in your labor force participation rate right? We would love for that to get back to where it was pre-pandemic when it was closer to 70 percent,” she says. Townsend says there were four-thousand new jobs in March to go along with the 11-thousand jobs added in February. Townsend says they are starting to see increases in jobs in the typical areas that add employees as we head toward summer.

“You know, ramping up for the summer construction season, which is a good sign so you always want your construction and your manufacturing to be hiring or at least not laying off,” Townsend says. “…As you know, we’ve seen some layoffs, some pretty big layoffs coming in May in June with the Tyson plant closing and John Deere has got some layoffs going on. So it’s a good sign that we added those jobs in February and March.” Townsend says Iowa’s economy continues to be resilient.

“Despite the inflation worries that we’re seeing nationally and the changes in the national unemployment rate — nationally we only have about 62 percent of the labor force participation rate. So, we’re well insulated from what’s going on nationally and that’s a good sign,” Townsend says. The U-S unemployment rate fell in March to three-point-eight percent.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center School Boards held a joint meeting Wednesday evening, in Guthrie Center. District Superintendent Josh Rasmussen said the Boards began their meeting with a Special Presentation from Senior Class students, with regard to the Senior trip to our nation’s Capital.

The Boards also acted on resignations and contract recommendations. In the Guthrie Center District…

With regard to Adair-Casey resignations and contracts, Rasmussen said…

Josh Rasmussen said they are still looking to fill some positions for the coming school year.

He said the Boards talked about School Safety and a School Safety grant they received from the State.

The Boards also approved their respective 2024-25 Certified Budgets.

Rasmussen said the Board also approved setting the dates for public hearings on the 2023-24 Certified Budget Amendment, as May 13^th in Adair-Casey, and May 14^th in Guthrie Center. The adjustments are needed, he said, due to some underestimated expenditures in both Districts.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced last Thursday (April 11, 2024), to 27 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon, following a guilty plea. According to public court documents, 21-year-old Keshawn C. Houtz-Mayfield, was found to be in possession of a firearm during the execution of a search warrant at his residence. Houtz-Mayfield was a convicted felon at the time of the search warrant and knew he could not possess firearms.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Houtz-Mayfield will be required to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The case was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Officials with the Glenwood Police Department report one arrest took place Wednesday. 38-year-old Jackie Marler, of Thayer, was arrested for driving while barred. Marler’s cash or surety bond was set at $2,000.

AFTON, Iowa [KCCI] — Another Iowa school district has approved a four-day school week. The Creston News Advertiser reports that the East Union school board approved the change last night (Wednesday night). The district says the goal is to improve teacher recruitment and retention. They say other school districts with four-day weeks have had success filling open positions.

The change goes into effect next school year.