(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is now third in the line to the presidency. Vice President Mike Pence swore Grassley in as Senate President Pro Tempore today (Thursday). Since 1890, the president pro tempore of the senate has traditionally been the senator with the longest continuous tenure — from the party that’s in the majority. And Grassley has been in the U.S. Senate longer than any other Republican currently serving.

“I look forward to serving Iowa and the nation as president pro tempore during the 116th congress,” Grassley said in a video statement. The president pro tempore is to preside over the U.S. Senate when the vice president is absent. Vice President Pence and his predecessors have also been the presiding officers in the U.S. Senate and given authority to cast tie-breaking votes.

For the past 60 years, the president pro tempore of the senate has been third in line to the president, behind the vice president and the speaker of the U.S. House.

(Radio Iowa) — State tax collections were nearly five percent higher last month when compared to the state’s tax haul during December of 2017. Jeff Robinson is a senior fiscal analyst for the Iowa Legislative Services Agency. “Iowa net General Fund revenue continues to grow at a healthy pace, aided by the automatic Iowa income tax increase that results from a federal income tax decrease,” Robinson says. That happens because of the IOWA income tax deduction for FEDERAL taxes paid.

When FEDERAL taxes decrease, the deduction shrinks — and Iowans wind up paying more in STATE income taxes. State tax collections for the past six months are more than SEVEN PERCENT higher than during the same period last year. “Tax reduction legislation enacted by the Iowa Legislature in 2018 will begin to impact the Iowa revenue stream in January,” Robinson says.

The CURRENT state fiscal year that ends June 30th. Experts predict state tax revenue will grow by four-point-seven percent for the entire 12-month period.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Chicago-area for-profit college has agreed to reform its recruiting and enrollment practices and forego collecting about $493 million in student debt owed by 179,529 students. Career Education Corp., of Schaumburg, Illinois, agreed to a settlement with attorneys general from 48 states and the District of Columbia to close an investigation that began in 2014.
New York reached an earlier agreement. California is considering joining the settlement.

The average student debt relief will be about $2,750. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says $1.4 million owed by 715 Iowa students who took online courses will not be collected. Miller says the agreement will end what he termed deceptive practices, including misrepresenting total cost and transferability of credits.

The company denies allegations of wrongdoing and says it will work “to demonstrate the quality of our institutions and our commitment to students.”

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer reports the arrest at around 11-a.m. today of 49-year old Steven William Wells. The College Springs man was taken into custody at the Page County Sheriff’s Office on a Page County Warrant for two counts of Failure to appear in court. Wells posted $10,000 bond and was released pending future court proceedings.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports three recent arrests. Wednesday morning, 19-year old Elijah Davis Goodbird, of Council Bluffs, turned himself to authorities. Goodbird was wanted on a warrant for Failure to appear on an OWI/1st offense charge. He was transported to Pott. County Corrections without incident and held on a $10,000 bond. An inmate at the jail was presented with a warrant Wednesday afternoon, for Violation of Probation. 31-year old Delshonte Lavaille Barber, of Omaha, was read the warrant and returned to Corrections Staff. Bond was set at $2,000.

And, 46-year old Louie Joles, of Denison, was arrested Wednesday night in rural Crescent, following a report of a person trespassing on the property. Joles was located and taken into custody for Domestic Assault, and Trespassing. His 29-year old girlfriend from Omaha, suffered apparent minor injuries during the incident. Joles was being held without bond for the assault charge.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs man accused of threatening the city’s mayor and other city employees has pleaded guilty again and been sentenced to jail. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 33-year-old Chase Points was given 30 days in jail, a suspended two-year prison sentence and a year of probation. He also was ordered to obtain drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations. He’d pleaded guilty on Dec. 12 to harassment but changed his mind later that day. Pottawattamie County court records say he pleaded guilty again last week and was sentenced.

Court records say Points left a handwritten note Oct. 3 on Mayor Matt Walsh’s desk that said, “God is going to cut you down.” The records also say Points threatened a worker at City Hall on Sept. 27.
Walsh has said Points told him he’s homeless, going through hard times and can’t find work.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa legislators must create rules to regulate hemp production in the state now that Congress has legalized the crop and farmers are eager to start planting. Hemp comes from the same plant as marijuana but doesn’t contain THC, the compound that causes a high. Hemp is used in clothing, textiles, building materials, paper and food. Congress approved hemp production in the 2018 farm bill. The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa attorney general and state agriculture officials will meet this month to discuss state regulations for hemp.

One issue lawmakers may consider is if hemp should be allowed to make cannabidiol. Advocates say CBD can treat anxiety, epilepsy and depression. While hemp-derived CBD is allowed federally, Iowa’s medical marijuana law doesn’t allow CBD to be processed from industrial hemp.

(Radio Iowa) — The partial federal government shutdown is impacting Iowans from farmers to college researchers. While Farm Service Agency offices were initially open during the shutdown, they’re now closed in every Iowa county, cutting off some farmers from programs and payments. North-central Iowa farmer Brent Renner says he got his payment related to losses from the 2018 trade war, but other farmers were left waiting. Renner says the F-S-A runs all sorts of loan and payment programs. “There’s probably somewhere in the nation that has a different program that I have no clue of that is critical at this time of year that is affecting somebody directly that I’m not aware of,” Renner says, “but I would say, for most of us in Iowa, we’re not freaking out yet.”

Renner, who farms in Klemme, filled out his paperwork for the Market Facilitation Program and says he received his check after the shutdown began but before year’s end. The original deadline was in January and he says some farmers had reason to wait. “There are some that were not wanting their money, for taxes purposes possibly, until after the first of the year, so they didn’t go in to turn in their production, not knowing that this situation might occur, the furlough or the closed offices,” Renner says. “That production is unable to be calculated and the payments are unable to be made.”

Renner says there’s now no one to process applications or cut checks. He says farmers in his area remain hopeful the shutdown will be resolved soon, before anyone’s situation becomes dire. Meanwhile, faculty members and researchers at Iowa’s colleges and universities who planned to apply for federal grants and fellowships are seeing those options vanish. Amy Erica Smith, a political science professor at Iowa State University, expected to be spending time this month reviewing graduate student applications for a National Science Foundation fellowship. Smith says, “Right when the government went into shutdown, we got an email saying, ‘The government is officially in shutdown, the online system is off, stay put for further notice. We’ll let you know when it would be a good time to come back in and start reviewing applications’.”

Smith says the government closure takes some extra work off her plate, so it’s not a hardship for her. “It’s only too bad from the perspective of the graduate students who will hopefully still have an opportunity to receive this fellowship, but certainly the decision is going to be delayed,” Smith says, “and there will be chaos when everything comes back online.” While the disruption means Smith has less work at the moment, it could also mean a tighter deadline later.

(Thanks to Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)

Free tax preparation services will be available in Shelby County for low and moderate income taxpayers as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. For more information or to make an appointment call on or after January 7th to 712-755-3104. Call between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. After an appointment is scheduled the taxpayer will receive a confirmation letter explaining what to bring to the appointment.

The VITA program is open to Iowa residents with adjusted gross income below $57,000. Tax preparation services will be provided by IRS trained and certified local volunteers who utilize the Tax Slayer software to complete returns. Most returns will be electronically filed and to speed up the refund process participants are encouraged to have a savings or bank account, although it is not required. Taxpayers can have refunds deposited into more than one account and also purchase Series I US Savings Bonds.

Only Basic Federal, Iowa and nearby state returns will be processed. The program does not prepare Schedules or Forms related to Business profit/loss (except Schedule C-EZ or C with business expenses under $10,000), Capital gains/losses, Farm or rental income, Employee business expenses, or Moving expenses. A professional tax preparer should be consulted for these services. In Shelby County the VITA program is a joint effort of Shelby County Extension and Outreach and The Iowa Center for Economic Success. The program is financially supported by the Internal Revenue Service and the Iowa Department of Human Services. For more information about the program contact the Shelby County Extension Office at 712-755-3104.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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