State regulators selected a company Thursday to begin the process of cutting the number of greyhound tracks in half. State lawmakers create a deal that was signed into law by the governor that shuts down the Council Bluffs track and shifts the management of dog racing in Dubuque to the Iowa Greyhound Association. The deal also requires to the casinos that are now running the tracks to pay into a retirement fund to get out of the dog-racing business. Iowa Racing and Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says Spectrum Gaming of New Jersey will handle the issue.

“What this vendor will do is go through a public process and make a recommendation to the commission promulgating rules for this distribution,” Ohorilko says. The company will use the next several months to come up with a plan. “The process for them to receive public input will go on throughout the winter. The report will be expected in late February with a public presentation at the March meeting.” Ohorilko says. The deal reached in the legislation has the Council Bluffs casino paying 65 million dollars over the next seven years, and the Dubuque casino will pay one million dollars each year into the fund. Half of the fund goes to retiring greyhound breeders and the other half goes to those still in the industry. Ohorilko says the paperwork is also in the works to shut down the two current dog tracks.

He says both tracks have given the commission notice that they intend to terminate live greyhound racing. Ohorilko says December 31st is the last day the Mystic track can hold the racetrack license in Dubuque. The track is running simulcast races right now. The other track has a little more time before it stops running the dogs. “Horseshoe over in Council Bluffs, the statute requires them to run through the 2015 racing season. They run year-round, so there will be one more year there,” according to Ohorilko. The Iowa Greyhound Association filed an application October 1st for a license to run greyhounds.

“The commission is currently reviewing that application, the D-C-I is performing background checks on board members and key employees,” Ohorilko say. “A decision will need to be made by December 1st as to whether to grant that license. Should that license be awarded, they will be able to open on January 1st.” He says the track would begin with simulcast racing in January if it is approved for the license. He says they plan to have public input before the final decision on the license.

He says they will hold a special meeting later this month or early November to allow the Iowa Greyhound Association to present their application and to get public input from those who support or are against the new license before the final decision. The Racing and Gaming Commission made the decisions on the greyhound issue at their meeting Thursday in Clinton.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A lawyer for a female prison guard suing Iowa for sexual harassment says the Department of Corrections practice of allowing violent inmates to watch sexually graphic movies encouraged prisoners to harass and threaten her. Kristine Sink’s attorney, Paige Fiedler, told jurors in closing arguments yesterday that Sink tolerated threats of rape and murder. She is seeking up to $4.5 million for emotional distress. Sink contends supervisors at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison allowed harassment by inmates and co-workers.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — Officials in Waverly say a longtime city employee has died while working at a site. City administrator Phil Jones tells the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier 62-year-old Dan Sinnwell, a senior employee in the city’s engineering department, collapsed Wednesday morning.

MONTROSE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in the southeast Iowa city of Montrose are considering banning residents from keeping a variety of livestock within city limits. The Keokuk Daily Gate City reports the Montrose City Council discussed a ban last week and could take up the matter again at its November 6th meeting. Montrose is a city of about 900 residents along the Mississippi River.

Police in Audubon are warning residents to lock their vehicles! In the past several weeks, as recent as this (Thursday) morning, a few vehicles in the City of Audubon have been entered and had items such as wallets, purses, checkbooks, and loose change stolen. All the vehicles that were entered were unlocked, making it very easy for the criminal.

Officials say the suspect in the Thursday morning thefts wore a black hooded sweatshirt and black sweatpants. The only other description of the suspect is that they are of medium build. The incident in question happened at about 6-a.m., in the 200 block of Scott Street, in Audubon.

Police are asking residents not to leave your personal items in your car and to keep it locked. If anyone has any information regarding these incidents, please contact the Audubon Police Department at 712-563-2500.

A Creston man was arrested early Thursday morning. 29 year old Nickolas Wilkinson was arrested and charged with third degree sexual abuse. Wilkinson is being held in the Union County Jail on 10-thousand dollar bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – With just weeks left in a tight Senate race that he started with an advantage, Democrat Bruce Braley is trying to raise concerns among women voters about his Republican opponent, Joni Ernst, and take some of the sheen off the farm-raised, military veteran who rose from relative obscurity to GOP stardom during the campaign.

The four-term congressman and Democratic supporters are running ads and holding events questioning Ernst’s position on abortion rights. He is also attacking Ernst on the minimum wage, another issue the campaign thinks resonates with female voters.

Iowa has never elected a woman to Congress or as governor. Ernst has stressed her background as a mother and female veteran as she has made her case to Iowa voters.

A special investigation from the State Auditor found the former Monona County Auditor misused the county credit card. The investigation began after former auditor Brooke Kuhlmann was arrested on July 29, 2013 for possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Deputy State Auditor, Tami Kusian, says Kuhlman routinely did not report to work after her arrest and other employees took over her duties and found some issues and asked for the audit.

“We identified over eight-thousand dollars of improper credit card charges and late fees associated with that credit card,” Kusian says. She says Kuhlmann use the card to buy things for her personal use. “There were a lot of convenience store purchases, retail vendors, there were some purchases at the Winnavegas Casino, Apple i-Tunes, those kinds of things,” Kusian says. Other purchases on the county credit card 100 dollar debit cards from Wal-Mart. There also late fees totaling near 11-hundred dollars. Kusian says the county had guidelines that were to limit how the card was used.

“There were minimal approved usages of it. And in this case it was mainly for gas-type charges, and in fact the county did not use it for meals and those types things — some of those things we did find on the credit,” according to Kusian. The audit also found that a personal check was sent to the credit card company. “The former county auditor’s family did pay a large portion of the improper items. They did make a payment to the credit card company of over eight-thousand dollars,” Kusian says.

Petitions were submitted to the county board of supervisors for Kuhlman’s removal from office, but were withdrawn after she resigned on December 11th of 2013. The audit shows Kuhlman entered a written plea of guilty to possession of a controlled substance on December 30th and she was sentenced to two days in jail and fined 315 dollars. Kusian says the audit recommends the county ensure the monthly credit card statements are delivered to and reviewed by a staff member who does not have access to a county credit card to prevent future abuse.

Copies of the report have been filed with the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Monona County Attorney’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Five employees at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown were fired earlier this year after a sexual harassment investigation. A spokesman for Gov. Terry Branstad confirmed the terminations Thursday but declined to offer details, calling it a personnel matter. The firings were first reported by the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The investigation became public because several fired workers had hearings related to their eligibility for unemployment benefits. Decisions in those cases were made public.

Documents say the investigation was into a complaint of sexual harassment made against a food service worker.  A call to the home’s Commandant Jodi Tymeson was not immediately returned. Branstad expressed support for Tymeson’s leadership on Thursday.

More than 600 veterans and their spouses live in nursing home and assisted living facilities at the Iowa Veterans Home.

A Creston woman reported to the Creston P-D Wednesday, that someone had used her credit card without her knowledge or authorization. The card was used in Detroit, MI, on several dates. The loss was estimated at just over $90.  The incident remains under investigation.

The Audubon Police Department today (Thursday) released a report on their most recent arrests. On Sept. 28th, 21-year old Luke John Irlbeck, of Audubon, was arrested for Harassment in the 3rd degree. Irlbeck appeared before a magistrate, and pled guilty to the charge.

And, on Sept. 21st, officers with the Audubon Police Department arrested 40-year old Tiffany Michelle Kidd, of Audubon, for Violation of Probation. She was transported to the Audubon County Jail where she is being held.