(Radio Iowa)  – Practically every business in Iowa has a “HELP WANTED” sign in the window as so many industries scramble to find workers in an effort to survive the long-running pandemic. In north-central Iowa, a job fair is planned Thursday afternoon in the Webster City area. Rick Young, a Hamilton County supervisor from Jewell, says there is an unprecedented number of jobs to be filled.  “We have 17 employers who are going to participate,” Young says. “Our expectations are that within a 30-mile radius of Webster City, there are going to be 500 job offerings that day.”

The job openings are in multiple fields, including: banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, public safety and agriculture. Young says, “Our job now is to expand on childcare and housing to find someplace so these people can work and send their kids to and have a place to live.” The job fair will run from 3 to 7 P-M Thursday at the Briggs Woods Conference Center just south of Webster City.

Learn more at the Hamilton County Economic Development Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/Hamilton-County-Development-101584591678586

(Radio Iowa) – A lawsuit has been filed against the governor for ending the extra federal unemployment payments early. Attorney Jeff Carter represents four people who are suing — saying Iowa’s unemployment law prevented the governor from taking the action. “The whole purpose of the statute is to help people who are unable to help themselves. And then when you combine that with the fact that the language is shall — which is a mandate — that the state of Iowa is to do everything it can to the fullest extent to put that goal into practicality,” Carter says.

The benefits were to extend into September, but the governor ended them in June, saying Iowans were not seeking work because unemployment paid them more than what they would make at their jobs. “What has happened in fact the opposite of what she promised would happen,” according to Carter,” “Iowa’s unemployment rate has gone up. Only the benefits to these people who can’t find work have gone down. And it’s not in a vacuum, it’s not just in Iowa where that happened.”

The unemployment rate has inched up slightly — but Iowa Workforce Development says the number of people seeking work has also increased.”They can say that, but the fact is that only 67 percent of the jobs that were lost due to the pandemic have come back. So that means a third of those jobs haven’t come back. So you have all of these people looking for work — while the jobs have decreased by a third. And that’s as of now,” he says.

Carter is seeking class-action for the lawsuit as he believes there could be as many as 50-thousand Iowans who were impacted.  “Some of them are looking for homes now, because remember at the same time the moratoriums ended, and there are all of these people getting tossed out of their homes…some people have left the state to find work. We have talked to a couple of people like that,” Carter says. There are people who are worried about putting food on the table for their children. It’s a big deal, these people are getting significantly harmed. These are not people living on the top end.”

Iowa joins nearly a dozen other states in seeking temporary restraining orders to restore unemployment benefits. Carter says Iowa’s law is one of the strongest. “The mandate is clear, the purpose is clear and we feel ours is one of the strongest cases without having gotten into detail about the other state’s cases,” he says. The governor’s spokesperson, Pat Garrett, issued a statement in response to the lawsuit. “

The governor believes that we cannot continue to pay able-bodied people to stay home. Since the decision was made and announced in May, we have seen a 175 percent increase in people seeking employment at IowaWORKs offices and Iowa’s labor force participation rate has continued to rise. This was not only the right decision, but also in accordance with the law and this lawsuit has no merit.”

(Radio Iowa) – One man is dead after a Tuesday afternoon shooting outside a downtown Waterloo convenience store. The victim collapsed on a highway median.
Police officers and Waterloo Fire Rescue personnel were called to the 1100 block of Washington Street around 4:30 PM. When they arrived, officials found a male suffering from a gunshot wound lying in the median across from the convenience store. Police say the victim, who has yet to be identified, died from the injury. The shooting happened right after a severe thunderstorm rolled through Waterloo, toppling trees and power lines across the city.

The incident forced officials to close down streets in the area while they gathered evidence. At the height of rush hour, southbound lanes of the U.S. Highway 218 overpass were closed for about three hours. Police are looking for a suspect and asking for the public’s help in the case. Anyone with information should contact Waterloo police.

(Radio Iowa) – A trucker from Eldridge, Iowa has been charged in Indiana with the death of his girlfriend’s four-year-old. Thirty-five-year-old Dylan Diericx (dirks) is charged with a felony count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. The “News Sun” in Indiana reports Diericx called police in Shipshewana, Indiana on August 19th to report the child was unresponsive in the cab of his semi. The child was taken to the hospital and died. The report says Diericx told police the child was hurt while playing in the cab — but doctors say the child had multiple injuries that were not consistent with what Diericx told them.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday) released a report on arrests and incidents from the past week. On Wednesday (Aug. 25), 45-year-old Sabrina C. Bobzien, of Ashland, NE., was arrested at around 1:25-a.m., after a Deputy came upon her vehicle, which was stopped in the travel lane on Highway 92 westbound, in Council Bluffs. Upon further investigation, Bobzien was arrested for OWI/1st offense. Her bond was set at $1,000.

At around 1:40-a.m. Tuesday (8/24), 22-year-old David George Mitchell was arrested for Possession of a controlled substance/marijuana – 1st offense, following a traffic stop Kanesville Blvd., in Council Bluffs. Sunday morning, a call to check the welfare of an individual at the Loves Travel Stop in Shelby, resulted in the arrested of a suspicious male, 30-year-old James Gordon Hatella, of Spring Lake Park, MN. He was arrested for being a Fugitive from Justice, and held for another agency.

At around 1:35-a.m. Sunday, 22-year-old Logan Nathaniel Schulze was arrested on a hold for another agency, following a traffic stop on an SUV in Council Bluffs. Saturday night, 26-year-old Alexander Zacchaeus Hillers was arrested in Council Bluffs, following a traffic stop on Old Lincoln Highway. Hillers was charged with OWI/1st offense. Friday night, 32-year old Nikki Mae Brown was arrested following a traffic stop in Carson. She was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense, after a Deputy noticed her several times, her vehicle crossed the center line and fog line of Highway 59, near Dogwood Lane.

Friday afternoon, 32-year-old Benjamin Paul Jones was arrested in Honey Creek for OWI/1st offense, after authorities investigated a reported suspicious vehicle.

(Radio Iowa) – A group has formed with the intent of removing the name Columbus from Waterloo Columbus High School. Group member John McCoy says they are concerned about the history of the explorer Christopher Columbus. “I first became aware of it in the summer of 2020. John Farley, a sociologist, professor, had started a group that was investigating the history of Christopher Columbus. The concern was that the history as taught to us in grade school and high school was not accurate,” McCoy says.

Mccoy says that as they began to research the voyages of Columbus troubling information began surfacing. “This group was concerned that what was not disclosed was the inhuman treatment of Native Americans,” McCoy. The group presented its case to the Cedar Valley Catholic School Board and the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

Waterloo Columbus logo

“The board denied the name change, also said our faith has never been identified holiness with perfection of behavior,” McCoy says. “And we are saying we are not criticizing Christopher Columbus because he wasn’t perfect — it was because he was involved in human slavery. sexual abuse, mutilation, and killing of Native Americans. McCoy says since their request has been denied, the group is looking to raise awareness of the issue.

(Radio Iowa) – A single-vehicle rollover accident Monday morning in rural Emmet County has claimed the life of a Graettinger woman. According to Emmet County Sheriff Mike Martens says a 2011 Toyota Tundra was traveling southbound on a county road when it entered the east ditch then struck a field approach before flipping onto its top. The driver, 66-year-old Kim Driftmier of rural Graettinger, was trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated by personnel on the scene.

Driftmier was transported to Avera Holy Family Hospital where she later died from her injuries. The Emmet County Medical Examiner’s Office has ordered an autopsy as part of the investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says congress likely cannot ban private companies from requiring Covid vaccinations among employees. Grassley cites the lawsuit challenging a vaccine mandate for staff at a Houston hospital that was dismissed in June. The federal judge said the hospital was making a choice to keep staff, patients and their families safer. “I imagine you’re going to have more employers, both hospital as well as other private employers, mandate it now that FDA has given permanent approval to some of the vaccines,” Grassley says.

Earlier this week, a California senator said she’s looking into how the federal government can encourage more Americans to get vaccinated. Grassley says he’d oppose any mandate. “I would not want to vote to make vaccinations mandatory,” Grassley says.  Grassley, who is 87, tested positive for Covid last November, but the senator says he did not suffer from any of the symptoms of the virus. Grassley was vaccinated earlier this year and has encouraged Iowans to get the shot, calling it the only way to we’ll beat the virus and get back our way of life.

(Davenport. Iowa) – The Department of Corrections reports Justin Antonio McGowan, who was convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter and Going Armed with Intent in Scott County, failed to report to the Davenport Facility as required, Tuesday.  Officials say McGowan is a 34-year-old Black male, height 5′ 8″, and weighs 245 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on May 6, 2021. Persons with information on McGowan’s whereabouts should contact local police.

McGowan

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, learned the County Fire Association had received a Department of Homeland Security grant for the purchase of mobile radios used for communication between departments and the Cass County Communications Center. Former Fire Chief and volunteer firefighter Mark McNees, is the project manager.

The project period and the budget period for the grant started August 23^rd and continues August 22, 2023. McNees said the radios will be distributed to most of the County Fire Departments.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon explained, it’ll bring more County emergency personnel and equipment into the 700-megahertz frequency band, so they can better facilitate communications.

Mark McNees was looking for 100-percent of the matching grant from the Board. It’s possible (American Rescue Plan (ARP) Funds could be used for the purpose. Board Chair Steve Baier said he would look into it. Action on the request for matching funds is expected to take place at a future Board’s meeting.

In other business, the Board set Sept. 14^th as the date for a Public Hearing on amending the Cass County FY22 Budget, which is necessary due to the inclusion of CARES ACT funding. And, the Board approved the appointments of James Stokley, from Anita, to the County Conservation Board, as well as Patricia Ostrus and Ray Ostrus as Franklin Township Clerk and Trustee, respectively, for the remainders of those office terms. Stokley will fill a seat on the Conservation Board until 12/31/2022.