(Radio Iowa) — It’s the day after Christmas and Iowa’s retail workers are preparing for their busiest day of the year for returns. Consumer advocate Michelle Reinen says anyone who got a gift they don’t want through online shopping should check to see how best to return the item. “Who’s responsible for shipping, what timing, how the credits will be provided directly back to a credit card or an in-store credit?”

When possible, Reinen says you should get a gift receipt and check with the retailer first on how it handles returns.  “It may also give you the options that you can go to a brick and mortar store and return the item,” she says, “even though you purchased it online.” If you have a complaint about a company’s return policy, get a hard copy and consider taking it to the Consumer Protection Division of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. Reinen says, “Getting the information in writing will be very important, but then file that complaint and let consumer protection assist you through the process.”

To file a consumer complaint, follow this link:
https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-consumers/file-a-consumer-complaint

(Radio Iowa) — The man who conducts the annual Iowa State survey on farmland values says many owners have been able to weather the downturn in the farm economy because they don’t have to make payments on their ground. Wendong Zhang says it’s something that goes with the profile of the state’s residents. “Eighty-two percent of the land is owned debt free. That is in part related to the aging population. There is more and more land owned by aging landowners. Sixty percent is owned by landowners who are 65 or above,” Zhang explained.  He says there also seems to be a lot of carry over from the days of record-high commodity prices. “I’m personally surprised how much equity and cash were stored through the golden years from 2003 to 2013,” according to Zhang. “During those years — during that decade — essentially Iowa farmers and across the midwest had seen eight percent annual growth in their adjusted farm income.”

But Zhang says there is a growing concern about the continuing increase in the number of farm bankruptcies as the economic downturn continues. He says when land is sold it continues to be mainly an Iowan to Iowan sale. He says there is a growing interest by investors in farmland. “But the majority of the action is still existing local farmers buying land. And buying land very nearby their existing operation as well,” he says. Zhang says the land that is available comes after the owner retires or passes it on. “Half the land are coming from estate sales. Twenty-four percent is coming from retired farmers,” Zhang says.

Zhang says those sales are most often to family members or other farmers.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:25 a.m. CST

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Public libraries in two eastern Iowa communities are joining a growing number across the nation in eliminating fines for overdue materials. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the Waterloo and Cedar Falls libraries will eliminate the fines Jan. 1 and forgive outstanding overdue-material fines. Cedar Falls Public Library Director Kelly Stern said fines are not the most effective way to manage borrowing and are not fair to low-income patrons. Fees for lost or damaged items will remain. Patrons with overdue items will be blocked from checking out further items until the overdue material is renewed or returned.

WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A former bricklayer made a deal with an eastern Iowa retirement home when he became a resident to allow him to put up a display of model trains. Jim Bennett of Washington says the holiday season is his favorite time for the past 10 years because he gets to display his enthusiasm being a train engineer. KCRG-TV reports that his train display is in the United Presbyterian Home’s lobby in the town of 7,400 people about 50 miles south of Cedar Rapids. He’s posted hours of operation for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and is likely leave the display up through February.

LEWISTOWN, Ill. (AP) — Bond is set at $250,000 for a driver charged in connection with a vehicle crash in western Illinois that left three Iowa residents dead. Twenty-year-old Pedro Orozco of Galesburg faces three counts of aggravated driving under the influence. He appeared earlier this week in Fulton County Circuit Court. Authorities have said he was driving northbound last Friday on Illinois Route 97 when the vehicle he was driving collided with another headed west on Route 9. The crash happened outside Cuba. The (Peoria) Journal Star reports Orozco is being held at Fulton County Jail. His public defender couldn’t be reached Wednesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Trial is set for Feb. 3 for an Iowa woman accused of a hate crimes, including intentionally running over a girl she thought was Mexican. Nicole Marie Poole has pleaded not guilty to the hate crime charge that stems from an incident at a convenience store in a Des Moines suburb. Police have said she went to the store after a hit-and-run in another suburb. Police say she drove onto a sidewalk to hit a 14-year-old girl, telling officers she did it because the girl “is Mexican.”

(Radio Iowa) — A hulking, vacant John Deere tractor factory in Waterloo that was built in 1947 has been saved from the wrecking ball and transformed into an upscale hotel. Originally called the C-2 Building, the six-story structure is now a Courtyard by Marriott. Michael Morain, at the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, says the project has won on a top historic preservation award from the state of Iowa. Morain says, “It was an opportunity and a challenge for the architect to come in and figure out how to turn this empty brick box into a stylish, swanky hotel for modern guests.”

It’s unusual for Marriott to convert a historic property but Morain says the company saw an opportunity to open a high-end boutique hotel in an area of Waterloo that was being overlooked. “If you get a chance to walk in, it feels like an old building,” Morain says. “You can immediately see the historic elements, but it also feels like a modern, stylish hotel that is polished and has all of the creature comforts that guests are used to.”

Davenport developer Rodney Blackwell worked with the state and with Marriott to preserve the 200-thousand square foot building, which had been vacant for years, and give it new life. “One cool solution the architects came up with, on each floor, there were lots of windows to let in light but the windows were too high to see out of, so they raised the floor,” Morain says. “On each floor, they built false floors which let people see out those windows, but those raised floors also provided space to hide all of the wires and ductwork and things.”

Residents all across Iowa are encouraged to take a closer look at their local history and consider ways to repurpose old buildings instead of knocking them flat. “So often we find that the easier, quicker solution might be to bulldoze down and build new,” Morain says, “but there are all kinds of examples of communities in Iowa that have rallied around historic properties and turned them into anchors for arts and culture and vibrant gathering places.”

The Iowa State Historical Society says the project displays one of the best, recent examples of historic preservation in the state.

(Radio Iowa) — The State Board of Education now requires school districts to include seatbelts on all NEW buses they buy. Department of Education attorney Nicole Proesch (Presh) says they are also in the process of clarifying how districts can pay to add seatbelts to the buses they already own. Proesch says they are changing the language the governs the use of the physical plant and equipment levy fund known by the acronym PPEL (pronounced Pepp-el).

“It expands the terminology for the term repairing of transportation equipment for transporting students to include retrofitting — when such retrofitting is aligned with schoolbus construction standards,” Proesch says.

The PPEL is an amount up to 33 cents for each thousand dollars of assessed valuation that voters in each school district can approve. It is most often used for building and equipment needs. She says the language for using PPEL wasn’t clear when the schoolbus seatbelt issue came up.

“When we went back and we were saying ‘look we are going to put seatbelts on buses,’ then we started to go back and look at our language to say — you know can schools now add seatbelts onto their buses if they want to retrofit and then be able to pay for it out of PPEL or not,” Proesch says.

Proesch says the change should do away with any doubt on how the PEPEL funds can be used. “Right now you can use PPEL to buy a bus, but we weren’t quite sure if our language would allow you to use PPEL to retrofit a bus. Which just kind of seems like it doesn’t really fit,” according to Proesch.

The Board of Education approved the rules clarification in November, and there is a public hearing on the proposed changer January 7th at the Board of Education’s office in Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa) — Just ten percent of gas stations in Iowa have pumps that will dispense the higher blend of ethanol that’s now cleared nationally for sale year-round. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is asking state officials for a 66 percent increase in the total amount of state “cost-share” grant money that’s available to stations that install E-15 pumps. Nathan Hohnstein, a lobbyist for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, says those state grants over the past few years have had a dramatic impact.

“In 2012, we didn’t have a single station or location in Iowa that was selling E15, you’re now having just roughly 230 locations that do sell E15,” Hohnstein says. “We’re very proud of this progress, however there’s a still lot of uncertainty at the federal level with the RFS and with trade.”

The state’s Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program will hand out three MILLION dollars in grants this year. The industry is calling on state officials to set aside FIVE million dollars next year — to award to stations that install E-15 pumps. “With the new rule of year-round E15, this past summer you saw E15 sales grow 46% nationwide compared to 2018,” Hohnstein says.

Hohnstein says the biofuels industry is facing economic headwinds, so expanding the number of stations where consumers can buy E-15 is important. “Roughly about 50,000 jobs are supported by the biofuels industry here in Iowa,” Hohnstein says.

There are 43 ethanol plants and 11 biodiesel plants in Iowa. (The math here is the state program will hand out $3 million in grants this year for E15 pump installation. IRFA is asking for an additional $2 million next year, for a total of $5 million in grants. That would be a 66% increase.)

A call to a residence in Council Bluffs at around 4:40-a.m. Christmas Day (Wednesday), about a stabbing, resulted in an arrest. Authorities say 60-year old Dwight D. Poore, of Council Bluffs, was arrested after he left the scene and was taken into custody without further incident. He was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail on two counts of Willful Injury.

Dwight D. Poore (CB PD Photo)

An investigation into the incident determined Poore was upset with 32-year old Jesse Poore, over allegations Jesse Poore had sexually abused a member of the family. During the confrontation,  Dwight Poore pulled out a knife and stabbed Jesse in the back. As Dwight attempted to leave the scene, he also assaulted his wife, by cutting her hand with the knife.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Public libraries in two eastern Iowa communities are joining a growing number across the nation in eliminating fines for overdue materials. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the Waterloo and Cedar Falls libraries will eliminate the fines Jan. 1 and forgive outstanding overdue-material fines.

Cedar Falls Public Library Director Kelly Stern said fines are not the most effective way to manage borrowing and are not fair to low-income patrons. Fees for lost or damaged items will remain. Patrons with overdue items will be blocked from checking out further items until the overdue material is renewed or returned.

LEWISTOWN, Ill. (AP) — Bond is set at $250,000 for a driver charged in connection with a vehicle crash in western Illinois that left three Iowa residents dead. Twenty-year-old Pedro Orozco of Galesburg faces three counts of aggravated driving under the influence. He appeared earlier this week in Fulton County Circuit Court.

Authorities have said he was driving northbound last Friday on Illinois Route 97 when the vehicle he was driving collided with another headed west on Route 9. The crash happened outside Cuba. The (Peoria) Journal Star reports Orozco is being held at Fulton County Jail. His public defender couldn’t be reached Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A former bricklayer made a deal with an eastern Iowa retirement home when he became a resident to allow him to put up a display of model trains. Jim Bennett of Washington says the holiday season is his favorite time for the past 10 years because he gets to display his enthusiasm being a train engineer.

KCRG-TV reports that his train display is in the United Presbyterian Home’s lobby in the town of 7,400 people about 50 miles south of Cedar Rapids. He’s posted hours of operation for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and is likely leave the display up through February.