(Radio Iowa) The inappropriate behavior of a state official Governor Kim Reynolds fired in late March was escalating and made women feel unsafe at work, according to an employee who wrote a letter outlining complaints about her boss. The woman has asked that the letter be released to the public.

Governor Kim Reynolds released the letter, with some passages blocked out to try to preserve the identity of the Iowa Finance Authority employee who wrote it. Reynolds fired Iowa Finance Authority director Dave Jamison shortly after receiving the information. It alleges Jamison tried to pressure his employee to go to his hotel room and talked repeatedly in the office about sex, the size of his penis and the breasts of his employees.

Jamison, according to the letter writer, knew he was engaged in sexual harassment because he often referred to prominent men like Matt Lauer and Harvey Weinstein who were fired for alleged sexual misconduct. The woman who wrote these and other details down in a letter gave the governor permission to publicly release the document. Governor Reynolds has issued a statement, calling Jamison’s behavior “disgusting and abhorrent.”

Reynolds added that information like this “should only be released on the victim’s terms and no one else’s” because it is their story to tell. On Monday, Reynolds told reporters there were no paper documents related to Jamison’s firing and she did not intend to reveal the reasons for his dismissal to protect the victims of Jamison’s actions. In addition, Reynolds argued the new state law that requires public disclosure of the reasons state employees are fired does not apply because Jamison was an “at-will” employee she appointed to the job rather than a worker hired under the state’s merit-based system.

The executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council says the way he reads the law, it applies to ALL state employees and state officials, including Jamison.

Warning, the following link is not for children…Read the full, redacted letter here: https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/redacted-letter-1524770772.pdf

(DES MOINES) – Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Chuck Gipp announced his retirement Thursday. His last day at the department will be Tuesday, May 1, 2018.

“Chuck has an outstanding record of service to Iowa,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said. “He’s spent the last six years leading in this important department, protecting Iowa’s most valuable resources – our land, lakes, waterways and air. Thank you, Chuck, for your service to this great state, and I wish you all the best as you enter retirement.”

“During his time as director, Chuck used his passion for Iowa’s natural resources as his guide in leading the department,” Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg said. “He served our state well for many years, and I know this retirement is well-deserved.”

“It’s been an absolute pleasure to serve Iowans for the past 28 years,” Gipp said. “I’ve been blessed to work among some of the best in the state, and nothing is more gratifying than being able to make a difference in the lives of Iowans.”

Gipp was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1990, where he served nine consecutive terms in several different capacities, including House Majority Leader. After deciding not to seek re-election, Gipp was hired by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey as director of the Division of Soil Conservation. He served in that role for three years.

Gipp began serving as deputy director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in August 2011. Not long after, he became director.

Gipp resides in Decorah with his wife, Ranae. They have two children and one grandson.

Deputy Director Bruce Trautman will serve as acting director of the DNR.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A judge says an Iowa man is competent to stand trial on allegations that he used an electric guitar to beat his mother to death. Des Moines County District Court records say the judge filed the ruling Monday on 29-year-old Garret Selters, who has been undergoing treatment at a state mental health facility in Oakdale since the killing. He initially was ruled incompetent.

Selters, of Burlington, has pleaded not guilty to murder. Prosecutors say he swung the guitar into the head of 56-year-old Linda Selters at her home on Oct. 17. Defense lawyers say Selters will use an insanity defense at trial, which is allowed under Iowa rules. The trial has yet to be scheduled.

The Guthrie County Extension Service is hosting a Resume Workshop on May 15th. Iowa Works will be coming to the office at 212 State Street in Guthrie Center, from 1:30-until 4-p.m. that day, to help anyone looking for help on their resume and/or looking for resources to help find a job. A computer will be provided. You will be setting up an account with iowajobs.org, and companies will be coming to speak with you about job opportunities with them.

Registration IS REQUIRED. Call the Guthrie County Extension Office by May14th, at 641-747-2276 to reserve your place.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a bill requiring schools to adopt return-to-play rules for students who may have concussions. The Republican governor signed the bill on Thursday. The new law received bipartisan support from both legislative chambers. Schools will be required to adopt medical review protocols. Those protocols were first developed in 2013 by the associations that oversee high school athletics in Iowa. Most schools already followed the protocols, but they have been optional until now.

Legal liability will be limited for schools that choose to have a health care provider present at games. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency says the law is expected to result in “minimal” costs for schools.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a man surrendered after firing a pistol at an officer, who fired back. Police say no one was injured in the exchange, which occurred around 2 a.m. Thursday toward the end of a pursuit on northbound Interstate 35. The chase began a few minutes earlier, when officers spotted a vehicle believed driven by a man thought to be suicidal.

Officers deployed stop sticks that disabled the vehicle. Police say the man fired as his vehicle slowed, and a Des Moines officer returned the fire. He’s been identified as a 13-year veteran of the department, Dustin Wing. The man surrendered after a short standoff and was hospitalized for observation. His name hasn’t been released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Newly released records are raising questions about the planned $17 million move of an Iowa agency that was led by an official abruptly fired by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The Des Moines Register reports that former Iowa Finance Authority Director Dave Jamison requested in February to relocate the authority from state-owned offices to a long-term lease in another building. Jamison had said the current building was in poor condition and unable to meet long-term needs.

Records indicate the state Executive Council wasn’t informed that a third-party recommended the agency stay put, which would save about $6 million. State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald is reviewing if the council has the authority to rescind its decision. Reynolds fired Jamison in March for “credible allegations of sexual harassment.”

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — Siemens Gamesa says it plans to rehire more than 100 laid-off workers at its Fort Madison plant to make electrical turbine blades for a proposed Kansas wind farm. The Hawk Eye reports that the company said Wednesday the workers will be working full time because of the increased production demands. In January Siemens laid off about 195 employees in Fort Madison, leaving about 330 still on the payroll at the 11-year-old plant.

The company says the turbine nacelles and hubs will be made in Hutchinson, Kansas. The wind farm location hasn’t been disclosed.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A board that enforces Iowa’s government ethics laws hasn’t been following a rule that requires its meeting minutes to be available online. An administrative rule says minutes of Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board meetings will be “available for viewing” on its website, but the board hasn’t posted any since its November 2016 meeting. That means citizens who want to easily review actions taken by the board since then are out of luck.

Board director Megan Tooker says the agency is no longer able to update its website and is building a new one, which it expects to launch in the next few weeks. Tooker said the same thing in early January, when she explained why an upcoming meeting date hadn’t been posted. She explained then that the board was waiting to launch the site until after a Jan. 19 campaign finance filing deadline.

(Radio Iowa) — The deadline is next week for Iowa schools to apply to have their water fountains swapped out for water bottle filling stations. Suzanne Heckenlaible, executive director of the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation, says they’ve budgeted 300-thousand dollars for this year’s “Rethink Your Drink” program, which should be enough to outfit about 60 schools statewide. “Priority will be given to schools that have a large percentage of students on free and reduced-price lunch, they don’t have a current water bottle filling station, and they’re in optimally fluoridated communities,” Heckenlaible says.

Last year was the first year for the program and Delta Dental spent 230-thousand dollars to retrofit water fountains in 54 schools in 26 Iowa counties. That reached about 28-thousand students, encouraging them to quench their thirst without buying a sugary soft drink. “Not only are we bringing the water bottle filling station to the school, we’re also bringing water bottles to every child there,” Heckenlaible says, “so they actually have the tool to fill up their bottle throughout the day to ensure they are hydrated.”

Each child also gets a toothbrush and a book mark. Despite efforts by families, schools and public health agencies to educate students on better drink choices, kids often choose caffeinated beverages, sports drinks and energy drinks — or they just go without. “We know that more than 50% of children and teens in the U.S. are not properly hydrated during the school day,” Heckenlaible says. “Certainly, that can impact cognitive functions and energy levels throughout the day.”

By choosing water, she says students and staff are more alert, better hydrated, protect their tooth enamel and make their teeth more resistant to cavities. An added plus, in the first three months of the program, she says more than 200-thousand plastic water bottles were saved from Iowa landfills. The deadline for schools to apply is May 1st at the following website: www.deltadentalia.com/H2O