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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
No injuries were reported following a rollover accident early this (Sunday) morning, south of Atlantic. According to dispatch reports, the accident happened at around 12:15-a.m., near 610th Street and Lansing Road. Three occupants were out of the vehicle prior to the arrival of law enforcement and rescue.
The driver of the vehicle reportedly had a suspended license. No other details are currently available.
Voters in the Essex and East Mills community school districts will be asked to expand physical plant and equipment levies to pay for infrastructure projects. The proposals will be decided on by the voters, Feb. 3rd. The Daily Non Pareil says it’s the second attempt for East Mills, which would raise the board-approved levy of 33 cents per $1,000 taxable valuation to a total of $1.34 to be collected through property taxes and income tax surcharges.
The expanded levy would generate nearly $4 million in additional funding for infrastructure projects. The shared superintendent between East Mills and Essex, said East Mills would use the money for reroofing its high school building and completing a geothermal heating system at its elementary building.
The PPEL dollars in Essex would pay for a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, estimated to cost $725,000, as well as replacing buses and updating the district’s technology. Essex would also collect the maximum of $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. For a residential property worth $100,000, that translates to an increase of up to $66.40 per year. For a commercial property, it would be $127.30, based on 2013 property tax rollbacks.
In both cases, the PPEL funds would be limited to infrastructure spending. For the Essex election, polls will be open noon to 8 p.m. at Essex City Hall, 412 Iowa Ave. Polls will also be open from noon to 8 p.m. for the East Mills special election. Residents of Emerson proper will vote at the Emerson Community Building, while Malvern residents vote at the Malvern Public Library, 502 Main St., and Hastings residents at the Indian Creek Museum, 59256 380th St.
Emerson voters will have a special city election to fill a council vacancy. East Mills voters will also choose between Bruce Breeding and Brenda Koger to fill an open spot on the school board.
Tri-Center joined Hamburg and Farragut in receiving good news from the School Budget Review Committee earlier this week. The Daily NonPareil reports the Tri-Center Community School District – which serves Neola, Minden, Persia, Beebeetown — approached the state agency Wednesday afternoon to request a “modified supplemental amount,” the legal authority to spend dollars already spent to wipe the slate clean as the district tackles overspending.
The SBRC approved adding $480,244 in additional spending authority, as well as accepting Tri-Center’s corrective action plan, which projects a stable certified enrollment for the school district of 647 students. In exchange, the SBRC ordered Tri-Center to not spend more than $6.23 million from its general fund for fiscal year 2015 and to not spend any miscellaneous income until it’s received.
Tri-Center is required to submit monthly reports to its board showing the financial position of the district in relation to its budget control plan and spending authority, which will also be made available to state officials. Tri-Center Superintendent Tony Weers said significant reductions will still need to be made to spending. An estimated $600,000 in cuts are expected to be needed to reach the spending limits imposed by the state.
After hearing cases from Hamburg and Farragut, the SBRC approved budget authority supplement of $148,951 for Hamburg and $803,010 for Farragut as part of their corrective action plans. General budget spending for Hamburg for fiscal year 2015 will be limited to $2.5 million, while such spending for Farragut is capped at $2 million. Those figures don’t include allowable special education expenditures.
Similar to Tri-Center and other districts, the two Fremont County districts also will submit monthly reports to their boards and state officials. The districts must submit a plan to the SBRC by late next month to outline how to configure buildings to maximize potential cost savings with the least amount of facility upgrades.
In all three cases, the SBRC granted back budget authority, the legal right to spend money the districts have. None of the districts are receiving additional funding from the state, and none of the districts are insolvent. State law is designed to guarantee school districts across the state spend about the same amount of money per student. Tri-Center, Hamburg and Farragut all spent more than authorized for their general funds, which pays teacher salaries and other operational expenses.
While Tri-Center has sufficient enrollment to trim expenses to stay under the spending cap, the situation is different for Hamburg and Farragut. Both are small districts under the enrollment threshold widely considered sustainable.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst has followed up a national turn in the spotlight with a speech to home-state conservatives that stressed a need to rein in “executive overreach.” The freshman Republican appeared Saturday at a daylong forum attended by several potential 2016 White House contenders. The Freedom Summit was billed as the start of the Iowa presidential caucus chase.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Protesters have heckled Republican presidential prospects Rick Perry and Chris Christie over immigration policies during a conservative political forum in Iowa. The former governor of Texas was interrupted during his speech to the Iowa Freedom Forum by six people chanting, “If you become president, will you deport our families?” The six young adults claimed to be children of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Police escorted them from the auditorium.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Police are still looking for a man involved in a crash that caused a Council Bluffs house fire. The Daily Nonpareil reports that a man was driving a 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup just after 2 a.m. Friday when he crashed into the home’s porch. The suspect fled the scene.
COLLEGE SPRINGS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two family dogs that fatally mauled a 7-year-old College Springs boy have been euthanized. Malaki Mildward, a first-grader, died shortly after the attack Thursday afternoon. Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer tells the Omaha World-Herald that the dogs were 6-month-old puppies — a 25-pound female and a 35-pound male.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Police are looking for a man involved in a crash that caused a Council Bluffs house fire. The Daily Nonpareil reports that a man was driving a 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup just after 2 a.m. Friday when he crashed into the home’s porch. Witnesses told police the driver fled on foot. No injuries were reported.
Council Bluffs police say the truck caught fire after the wreck and was engulfed in flames by the time officers arrived. The fire spread to the porch, but the house was not damaged. Assistant Fire Chief Matt Thomas says the wreck caused an estimated $15,000 in damage.
Police Sgt. Jason Bailey says the department hasn’t been able to contact the pickup’s registered owner.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge in Iowa says a man sentenced to life in prison for two robberies is one of the most dangerous people he’s ever seen. The Sioux City Journal reports that U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett made the comment at 23-year-old Jamal Dean’s sentencing on Friday.
Authorities say Dean, of Sioux City, has a criminal record stretching back to age 7. In August, he was found guilty of conspiracy, weapons, carjacking and robbery charges in connection with separate robberies of drug dealers in April 2013. He also pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge in state court after he shot a police officer in the head.
Bennett says he believes in second chances, but described Dean as one of the biggest threats to society he’s ever seen.
COLLEGE SPRINGS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two family dogs that fatally mauled a 7-year-old College Springs boy have been euthanized. Malaki Mildward, a first-grader, died shortly after the attack Thursday afternoon. Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer tells the Omaha World-Herald that the dogs were 6-month-old puppies — a 25-pound female and a 35-pound male. Palmer says the dogs were mixed-breeds with some bulldog heritage and had shown no signs of aggression.
Palmer said the boy’s family also euthanized another family dog — a bulldog mix who was not involved in the attack on the boy. Authorities believe Malaki went outside to play with the puppies, as he often did, when he was mauled. No one witnessed the attack.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Dr. Ben Carson is appealing to Iowa conservatives with messages about securing the country’s borders and cracking down on employers who hire immigrants illegally. The retired neurosurgeon called for a harder tack on immigration, expanded school choice and less government spending in his speech Saturday to an Iowa gathering showcasing potential 2016 White House candidates. Carson spoke extemporaneously as he roamed the stage.
Carson is a former physician at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and author who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination. He has a following among conservatives for his harsh critiques of President Barack Obama’s health insurance law.
He told the crowd that he’s vehemently against the federal government diving further into health care. “Even if it worked,” he said, he would oppose it.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is holding up his “go big and go bold” attitude as something Republicans need to emulate in Washington. In a speech to Iowa conservatives Saturday, Walker ran through a litany of changes he’s implemented that curtailed union power, relaxed teacher tenure laws, strengthened gun rights and restricted abortions. All resonated with a Freedom Summit crowd sizing up potential 2016 GOP presidential candidates like him.
Walker shared stories of staring down union interests in the face of mass protests, constant jeering and even death threats to him and his family. He fought off a recall attempt and then won re-election last fall. The neighboring state governor drew connections to the leadoff caucus state, noting how he attended elementary school in Iowa until his family moved.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has followed up a national turn in the spotlight with a speech to home-state conservatives that stressed a need to rein in “executive overreach.” The freshman Republican appeared Saturday at a daylong forum attended by several potential 2016 White House contenders. The Freedom Summit was billed at the start of the Iowa presidential caucus chase.
Ernst has enjoyed celebrity status within GOP circles since winning a long-held Democratic seat in November. Just this week, she delivered the party’s televised response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. Ernst revisited themes from that speech, including calls to fight Obama’s executive orders on issues like immigration and pass Keystone XL oil pipeline legislation that the president has vowed to veto.
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