(Radio Iowa) – West Liberty Foods is laying off more than quarter of its Iowa workforce in April. The layoff of workers on the turkey slicing line was announced in February after its customer Subway announced it is going to slice meat inside its sandwich shops. The executive director of West Liberty’s economic development corporation, Ken Brooks, says the cut in demand only impacts one part of the West Liberty business

“I do not anticipate the demand for the poultry products that West Liberty produces diminishing in any way,” he says. “What I think the market right now is realizing is a decrease in demand for some of that post-secondary processing that they have offered in the past.”

The company is working with the 260 laid off workers for reassignment opportunities elsewhere in the company and in the community. The City of West Liberty is offering utility billing extensions for individuals affected by the layoffs. West Liberty Foods currently employs 865 people in Iowa. It also runs facilities in Illinois and Utah.

(Radio Iowa)- The state law requiring state inspection of hotels and motels every other year is likely to be repealed soon. State officials haven’t been doing inspections that frequently and the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing has proposed that hotel inspections be triggered by customer complaints. Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate have sent the governor a bill to accomplish that goal. Senator Carrie Koelker, a Republican from Dyersville, says state inspections of hotels and motels are prioritized according to the kind of complaints.

“They also prioritize food inspections over hotels in general because there’s a greater potential for public harm, so customer complaints are sufficient and more frequent,” Koelker said. “We need to have hotels step up and take responsibility for their reputation, their bed bug problems, their own communities.” Democrats opposed the move and many who spoke during debate mentioned bed bug problems. Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines says the bill sends the wrong signal.

“When people come to this state to spend the night — come for the basketball tournaments, travel to do work, your relatives visit from out of town — you’d like to at least be able to say: ‘Hey, we keep an eye on our hotels. It should be good,'” Bisignano said. Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, says he got the willies when he checked into a southeast
Iowa hotel due to dirty sheets and a filthy bathroom.

“We want to sell Iowa as a great place to live, visit and enjoy yourself and so this bill just smacks against all that,” Dotzler said. “I know that our inspectors are overworked. Let’s add some inspectors.” Koelker, the bill’s floor manager, says the hotel Dotzler described was alarming, but Koelker says most hotels are part of chains that have higher standards than state law. “We all know I love tourism, I represent tourism and I invite people to Iowa,” Koelker said, “and so I obviously would not bring a bill to us that would damage our reputation.”

The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing has authority to inspect 580 hotels in the state, with 22 people on staff to inspect hotels as well as food processing plants, food establishments and home-based food businesses.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has sent the governor a bill giving state and local law enforcement officers authority to arrest undocumented immigrants and have them deported. The vote came two hours after the U-S Supreme Court allowed a similar Texas law to take effect — at least temporarily — while an appeals court reviews the policy. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison says Iowa must act because the federal government isn’t doing its job.

“We have never had such a situation on our southern border and extraordinary times require extraordinary measures,” Holt said. Holt says the bill pushes the envelope when it comes to state authority to enforce immigration law, but he says that’s what is required to address a clear and present danger.

“There are many in our country and in our state illegally who just came here for a better life. We know that,” Holt said, “but there are also gang members, drug dealers, terrorists and people who have killed American citizens who are endangering our citizens.” The bill passed with the support of nearly all Republicans and a couple of Democrats in the House. Representative Sami Scheetz, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says this bill may put the state in a legal quagmire because immigration policy is constitutionally reserved for the federal government.

“Illegal immigration is a serious problem that requires action, yet the approach laid out in this bill misses the heart of what it truly means to address this issue,” Scheetz said. “…Moreover, this bill in attempting to solve only one problem risks creating others, fostering fear among immigrant communities, disrupting families and potentially hindering cooperation with law enforcement.”

Governor Reynolds says the Biden Administration has failed to enforce immigration laws and she looks forward to signing the bill into law.

MADISON COUNTY, Iowa [KCCI] — A Creston man faces several charges related to a fatal crash last month in Madison County. Authorities say 30-year-old Charles Lohoff, was driving recklessly, and under the influence, when he crashed around 4 a.m. Feb. 4 in the 1000 block of Pitzer Road, between Dexter and Earlham. Lohoff’s passenger, 42-year-old Jonathan Taylor, of Adel, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lohoff was charged on March 18 with homicide by vehicle-operating under the influence, homicide by vehicle-reckless driving, and knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury.

Criminal complaints say that black box data obtained from the truck Lohoff was driving show he was driving 110 mph right before the crash and 90 mph at the moment of collision with a telephone pole.

Lohoff (Madison County S/O photo)

According to court records, Lohoff has posted a $40,000 bond and is scheduled for an initial appearance on April 2nd.