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MEGA program for $1 billion plus projects gets legislators’ OK

News

April 17th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has voted to create a program  that would offer state tax credits and sales tax rebates for businesses that are making a more than one BILLION dollar capital investment in Iowa. Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs says it’s called the “Major Economic Growth Attractions” or “MEGA” program.  “These projects are rare,” Dawson said. “They don’t come around very often,” Dawson says.

Dawson says the local community has to approve the development. “It must be on over 250 acres,” Dawson says. “It must be primarily engaged in the advanced manufacturing, biosciences and research businesses only.” Senator William Dotzler  of Waterloo says these kind of incentives are necessary.  “We’re in competition with other states,” Dotzler said. “…Other states are putting in to these project even greater than what we are.”

The bill also provides some state funding to help 88 Iowa counties that are outside of urban areas improve tracts of land so it’s immediately ready for business development. Representative Brian Lohse of Bondurant says the upgrades required for certified sites can be out of reach for smaller communities.  “It is a very extensive and very expensive thing to do,” Lohse says, “and it’s incredibly productive.”

The far larger MEGA program won approval in the Iowa Senate a year ago, but stalled in the House over concerns about a foreign company owning farmland. The bill’s final version says a foreign business that gets incentives from this MEGA program cannot be located in the six countries considered to be adversaries of the United States.

CAM Cougars Boys Golf Update with Coach Joe Wollum

Sports

April 16th, 2024 by admin

CAM Cougar boys golf season got off to a slow start but has picked up as the season progressed.

Coach Joe Wollum had this to say on how the season has been going so far.

Coach Wollum elaborated on how well the individuals have been competing this year.

Coach Wollum says there is going to be some tough competition in the Rolling Valley Conference’s coming up later in the season.

Coach Wollum says he thinks the team is getting closer to their goals and expectations and hopes they achieve them at their conference meet next Monday.

The Cougars next golf meet will be Monday April 22nd in Rolling Valley Conference Meet at the Coon Rapids Golf Course, they will take on Boyer Valley, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Exira-EHK, Glidden-Ralston and Woodbine. That conference meet will get underway at 4:00 p.m.

 

 

CAM Cougar Girls Golf update

Sports

April 16th, 2024 by admin

The CAM Cougars girl’s golf team is coming off a tough loss to Boyer Valley and West Central Valley but CAM Senior Jenna Platt shot 55, ended up with being the medalist on the day. This is Platts first ever time being a medalist in her high school career. The Cougars only have three out for golf this season. These three golfers are new beginners to the game of golf this year. They have been working on their game throughout the season and are looking to learn as much as they can under coach Joe Wollum.

Coach Wollum thinks the new golfers have been doing a tremendous job this season and hopes things continue improve.

Coach Wollum talked about his experiences on coaching the three new golfers.

Coach Wollum elaborated what it felt like when Senior Jenna Platt won her first medal as a golfer.

Coach Wollum commented on what his main focus as a coach is for the rest of the season.

The next CAM Girls golf meet will be Monday April 22nd in a Rolling Valley Conference meet at the Carroll Country Club, where they will take on Boyer Valley, Woodbine, Coon Rapids-Bayard and Glidden-Ralston. That conference meet will start at 4:00 p.m.

Thayer man injured in a Union County crash

News

April 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Thayer, Iowa) – One person was injured during a rollover accident Monday afternoon, in Union County. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, 43-year-old Daniel Gary Goodemote, of Thayer, was driving a 2006 Ford Explorer SUV eastbound on 197th Street, when he lost control of the vehicle, which rolled into the ditch and came to rest on the driver’s side. The accident happened at around4:30-p.m.

Authorities say an investigation revealed several open and unopened alcoholic beverage containers were in the vehicle, along with a black package labeled “marijuana gummies.” Goodmote – who was wearing his seat belt – suffered suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries, and was transported by EMS ambulance to the hospital in Creston, where an OWI investigation took place with law enforcement.

Goodemote consented to Standard Field Sobriety Tests and a Preliminary Breath Test, that registered over .08%.  A urine sample was also obtained, which will be analyzed at the DCI Crime Lab. As of the latest report, no charges had been filed.

The SUV was a total loss, with damage estimated at $7,000.

Bodies found in Oklahoma positively ID’d as 2 missing women from Kansas

News

April 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Texas County, Oklahoma) – Authorities in Oklahoma, Tuesday afternoon, said the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner has positively identified the two deceased persons found in from Texas County, as 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley.
Their bodies were found Sunday, a little more than two-weeks after the women went missing while traveling from Hugoton, Kansas to pick up Butler’s children in Eva, Oklahoma, from a children’s birthday party but the women never reached their destination.
Their vehicle was later found abandoned on a rural highway in Texas County, Oklahoma, about 11 miles south of Elkhart, Kansas, on the Oklahoma-Kansas state line, three miles short of where they were supposed to pick up their children.
Kelley was the wife of a former youth pastor in Griswold (IA).

(Left to right): Veronica Butler; and Jilian Kelley,

On April 13th, 43-year-old Tad Bert Cullum, 54-year-old Tifany Machel Adams, 50-year-old Cole Earl Twombly, and 44-year-old Cora Twombly were arrested in Texas and Cimarron Counties. All four individuals were booked into the Texas County Jail on two counts of First-Degree Murder, two counts of Kidnapping, and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree.
In the court documents, investigators state they discovered Butler was in a “problematic custody battle” with suspect Tifany Adams’ son for the custody of Butler’s two children. Adams is the grandmother of Butler’s children and mother of the kids’ father, Wrangler Rickman, who has legal custody, according to the documents. The custody battle between Butler and Rickman began in February 2019, according to the documents.
On March 30, the day of Butler and Kelley’s disappearance, Kelley was chosen to supervise Butler’s court-ordered custody exchange with Adams at 10:00 a.m. local time.

Le Mars preps to launch summer food program for students

News

April 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Since Iowa leaders decided to turn down federal aid for summer food assistance programs for low-income households, communities like Le Mars are working to fill the gaps. Le Mars Community School District Superintendent Steven Webner says the northwest Iowa city is creating its own program that will be available to any students.

“The Summer Food Program is one in which all students are able to get food from distribution sites that the district has yet to finalize, during the month of June,” Webner says. “The school district is reimbursed the cost of the meals and the labor to make the meals.”

Late last year, Governor Kim Reynolds announced Iowa would not participate in the federal program because of administrative costs to the state, and because she said it “did nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.” Other Republican governors in about a dozen states made similar announcements.

Webner describes how the community program will work in Le Mars. “What we’re looking at doing is providing, a couple of times a week potentially, a bag of meals that the students can take home that will last a few days,” Webner says. “We’re looking at breakfast and lunch-type meals and any student can take part in this, if they like.”

The district will initially offer the program just during June, and if there’s a good response, it may be extended into July and August. While it’s aimed at latch-key kids, Webner says all Le Mars district students are eligible for the program.

“The intent is just for students whose parents may be working all day, or parents who qualify for free and reduced lunches, those types of things,” he says. “We’re just trying to help the community out.”

Webner says the director of food services and other employees will prepare and package the meals, and bring them to delivery sites in the district. They are also recruiting students to help distribute the meals.

Retiring Iowa legislators say raise lawmakers’ pay

News

April 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A few of the legislators who aren’t seeking reelection say it’s time to raise the pay for those who’ll be serving in the Iowa General Assembly next year.

Republican Representative Phil Thompson of Boone got his colleagues to laugh when he brought up the subject earlier this month. “Today I get to deliver my retirement speech at the age of 33,” Thompson said. “Unfortunately for me, I have to make up for all the money I lost these last six years and probably won’t get to do one of these ever again.”

The current salary for an Iowa legislator was set 18 years ago. “You all know how hard we have to work just to get here — all the doors, the events, the fundraisers, the parades. It’s a grind. My wife and I really did enjoy it most of the time. It was a fun run, but honestly we just can’t afford to do another round of it with our first kiddo on the way. I owe it to her to put my head down, earn and be a super dad,” Thompson said. “As rewarding as this work is, it really isn’t cut out for working age families. You guys should really fix that if you want a representative government.”

Sixty-four-year-old Representative Brian Best, a Republican from Glidden, is not seeking reelection after serving 10 years in the Iowa House. “I’m leaving, so it’s easy for me to say this,” Best said during his retirement speech. “What we pay you, me and those who will be elected — maybe we should think about paying a little bit more because it does really leave it to a really small portion of our population that can run for the Iowa House because of the wages that we pay.”

Iowa Capital Building

The six lawmakers who have leadership roles in the House and Senate are paid a salary of $37,500 a year. The other 144 legislators are being paid $25,000 a year. Most legislators get over $17,000 in expense payments each year as well to cover things like mileage and renting hotel rooms or apartments in Des Moines during the legislative session. Polk County lawmakers get less since they have homes near the Capitol. Polk County Representative John Forbes, a Democrat from Urbandale who’s not seeking reelection, said serving in the legislature has become a full-time job and he wouldn’t have been able to make it work financially when he was younger. “I would hope that the legislature looks at a salary increase at some point in time,” Forbes said, “to make sure that people who really want to run have that opportunity and not making salary a barrier for running for public office.”

The governor’s annual salary of $130,000 was set in 2005. More than a thousand state employees are paid more than Governor Reynolds. The salary for Iowa’s attorney general is about $123,000. The salaries for the four other statewide elected officials is just over $103,000.

Daisy Brand plans to build $708 million facility in Boone

News

April 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The maker of a well-known brand of sour cream and cottage cheese is planning to open a production facility in Boone

The Boone City Council has voted to submit an application for Daisy Brand to the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The application is for tax incentives from the state’s High Quality Jobs program. Boone Mayor Eli Stine says a state board is expected to approve the application Friday.

The City of Boone has agreed to a number of infrastructure improvements to attract Daisy’s investment and over 250 jobs. Stine says Daisy is “an incredibly well run company” and its $708 million project is by far the largest capital investment the community has seen.

The headquarters of Daisy Brands is in Dallas, Texas, and the company currently operates plants in Arizona, Ohio and Texas.

Iowa’s Varsity 8 Named Big Ten Boat of the Week

Sports

April 16th, 2024 by admin

 

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa’s Varsity Eight was named the Big Ten Boat of the Week on Tuesday after racing past Kansas and Kansas State last weekend at the Big Ten/Big 12 Double Dual at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas.

This honor marks the 18th time in school history a boat has tabbed as the Big Ten’s best of the week. It is also the first weekly honor for the Hawkeyes since April 18, 2023.

The Hawkeyes won both V8 races with the lineup of: Natalie Maher (coxswain), Orla Cuffe, Emma Dabinett, Karire Evans, Claire Wragge, Molly Shannon, Taryn Lindaman, Abbey Klostermann, and Hailey Mercuri.

Varsity Eight
IOWA (6:59.07)
Kansas (7:05.93)

IOWA (6:54.16)
Kansas State (7:06.59)

QUOTING HEAD COACH JEFF GARBUTT
“We are honored to be recognized for our performance this week in the double duals. This crew raced hard, overcame some challenges and were able to come away with two convincing victories this past weekend. We are excited to get down to Sarasota this weekend for the Big Ten Invitational and race against some of the top teams in the country.”

The Hawkeyes will return to action April 19 for the Big Ten Invitational in Sarasota, Florida.

 

Iowa punter Rhys Dakin on adjusting to his move from Australia

Sports

April 16th, 2024 by admin

Rhys (reece) Dakin (dah-kin) has big shoes to fill at Iowa. Dakin takes over the punting duties from fellow Australian Tory Taylor, who won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter while at the same time becoming a fan favorite as a Hawkeye.

 

Dakin says he is adjusting to life in Iowa but admits a stretch of January was difficult brutal weather wise.

 

The Hawkeyes close spring drills with an open practice on Saturday.