A task force meets for the first time today (Friday 2 PM) to study Iowa’s old and complicated alcohol laws which some say need to be revamped. Garrett Burchett (bur-CHET), of LeClaire, will represent a dozen “micro-distilleries” on the panel. Burchett runs a vodka distillery near Davenport that opened six years ago and now, his Mississippi River Distilling attracts nearly 60-thousand people a year.

“Those people come to see the mechanics of it, they come to see how it’s made, and at the end of the day, we believe they want to sit down and have a drink,” Burchett says. “We want to do that responsibly and within the laws, within those rules, no different than any other bar or restaurant but at the same time, we want that opportunity no different than breweries and wineries.”

The LeClaire distillery is growing, selling vodka, gin and whiskey to customers in 26 states and three foreign countries. Unfortunately for Burchett, Iowa code requires small distilleries to stop producing liquor once they reach a certain limit. “At some point, we will exceed that production limit,” he says. “This company will be so successful that we’ll have to close our doors to the folks of Iowa and Illinois. We’ll have to close our front door. There’s not a brewery in the state of Iowa that has a production limit. No one walked into a brewery and said, ‘Hey, no matter how successful you are, eventually, we’re going to have to put a stop to that.'”

In addition to the production limit, Burchett says another problem is the company is only allowed to sell two bottles of liquor per day to a customer and they can’t sell any by the glass. Also, free samples are limited to two ounces per person per day. The Iowa Alcohol Policy Task Force is expected to make recommendations to the next legislature. The group’s co-chairs are the directors of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division and Economic Development Authority. The other members represent Iowa’s beer, wine and liquor industries.

(Radio Iowa)

An investigation into the sexual assault and exploitation of 10 prepubescent girls has resulted in the conviction of a southern Iowa man. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a judge on Thursday sentenced 31-year old Timothy Ryan Zollman, of Van Wert, to 120-years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Zollman was earlier convicted on two counts of child pornography production, which included the videotaping of the sexual assaults.

Timothy Ryan Zollman

U-S Attorney Kevin VanderSchel said Zollman was a “Dangerous predator,” who “Was brought to justice because one of his victims, a young girl, was brave enough to report his criminal actions.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, U-S Dept. of Homeland Security, U-S Marshals Service, the Iowa DCI’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Decatur, Ringgold and Polk County Sheriff’s Offices, Creston Police Dept., Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the South Dakota Dept. of Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, as part of the U-S Dept. of Justice’s “Project Safe Child” initiative.

Any person having knowledge of a child being sexually assaulted, is encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline, at 1-800-284-7821.

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

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BLAIR, Neb. (AP) – A new filing with the Nebraska Department of Labor says about 400 Omaha Public Power District employees involved with the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant will lose their jobs by the end of 2019. District spokeswoman Jodi Baker tells the Omaha World-Herald that the number of affected employees is an estimate. The utility expected to have a more precise figure as it creates a clearer plan for closing the plant (located across the Missouri River from Missouri Valley).

The filing says the layoffs will occur in “several rounds.” The utility notified the first group of 58 employees on Sept. 1 that it would terminate their positions on Oct. 31, a week after the nuclear plant is scheduled to permanently halt operations. The Fort Calhoun nuclear plant is 20 miles north of Omaha. It employed about 700 people at its peak.

Officials with the Atlantic Police Department announced on their social media page today (Friday), Christian Holzapfel was recently sworn-in as the Department’s newest officer. Christian was hired in August to fill the open spot left by Lieutenant Jon Parsons, who retired in July after 25+ years of service.

The A-PD says they look forward to Christian growing with the department and that he looks forward to serving the community.

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones administers the Oath of Honor and Conduct to Christian Holzapfel. (Photo from the A-PD’s Facebook page)

Police in Creston say a resident in the 600 block of Wyoming Avenue reported Thursday, that sometime between Sept. 6th and 8th, someone stole two tires and rims from a trailer parked outside the residence. The loss was estimated at $201.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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A reminder today for residents of Atlantic. The Homecoming Parade begins at 2:30-p.m., and will result in the temporary closure of some streets. The parade begins at 10th & Linn Streets and proceeds west on 10th to Chestnut, north on Chestnut to 2nd Street, then east on 2nd to Walnut, and finally, south on Walnut to 6th Street.

Please be cautious as the parade makes its way through town. The Atlantic Trojans football team hosts the Denison-Schleswig Monarchs at the Trojan Bowl with kickoff set for 7:30-p.m., following the Freshman contest.  Both teams come in at 1-1, with this being their first district game.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – (The City Council in Atlantic won’t allow a pot bellied pig in the City limits, but…) The City Council in Cedar Falls has taken a step toward allowing backyard chickens. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the council voted 4-3 Tuesday to revisit a 10-year-old ban on the domestic birds. The council ordered staffers to prepare an ordinance for a future council vote.

A staff review showed many Iowa cities, including Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, allow a limited number of chickens. Cities that don’t include Ankeny, Coralville and Davenport. David Sturch of the city planning staff wrote in a memo to the mayor and council members that city staffers recognize that urban chickens “are a growing trend for people to have them as pets and for egg production.”

As we approach Sunday’s 15^th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U-S, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says “the scars of 9/11” are still with many Americans today. “America will never forget those who were lost and our prayers are with their loved ones who continue to feel the deepest pain at their absence,” Ernst said, pausing then apologizing as her voice cracked with emotion. “All of you know how deeply I feel about our war on terror and those that we’ve lost.”

Ernst spoke with reporters yesterday (Thursday) about the approaching 15th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Ernst says while 9/11 is becoming a “distant memory” for some Americans, there are thousands of U.S. soldiers on duty in the fight against terrorism. And Ernst notes that students entering high school this fall were born after the airliner attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

(Radio Iowa)