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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
Republicans have been criticizing Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley for missing most of the hearings the Veterans Affairs Committee held when Braley was on the panel. Now, a national group is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to air that complaint in ads on Iowa T-V stations.
Congressman Braley, the Democratic Party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate this year, attended five of the 19 House Veterans Affairs Committee hearings held during the two years Braley was on the committee. The ad from “Concerned Veterans for America” says Braley “skipped an astonishing” number of hearings. Dan Caldwell, a former Marine who is the group’s legislative campaign manager, says Braley was absent or “AWOL” in 2011 and 2012 when veterans needed him most. “He neglected his responsibilities as a member of the VA Committee and it was quite (clear) these responsibilities were a low priority to him,” Caldwell says.
The ad mentions one particular hearing Braley did not attend which focused on the long-wait times for veterans seeking care in the V-A system as well as bonuses being paid to some executives in the Veterans Administration. “The VA Committee…has been very proactive in flushing out a lot of these problems with the VA and Congressman Braley obviously neglected his duties as a member of the full committee and that, in our mind, is unacceptable,” Caldwell says. The Concerned Veterans for America ad asserts Braley was too busy attending three different fundraisers on September 20th of 2012 to go to that particular V-A Committee hearing.
Braley’s staff says Braley was not at a fundraiser, but attended a House Oversight Committee hearing instead, an assertion Caldwell disputes. “In that hearing he offered no testimony, there are no recorded remarks,” Caldwell says. “…What it looks like he did was show up briefly, got recorded attending and then left.” Democrats charge “Concerned Veterans for America” is mainly financed by the Koch (like Coke) brothers, businessmen who have donated millions of dollars to conservative candidates and causes. State Representative Todd Prichard, a Democrat from Charles City who is a major in the Iowa National Guard, defends Braley.
“It’s about getting results for the people you represent and it’s about taking care of those people back home and that’s what Bruce did,” Prichard says. “That’s what he did for the people I served with.” Prichard’s Guard unit served 17 straight months in Iraq, but when the soldiers returned in 2007 they were declared ineligible for military education benefits. They were also denied combat pay. “Things that were promised to us that weren’t really delivered,” Prichard says. “But Bruce was able to work to get us kind of what we had coming for the service.” Prichard also cites Braley’s work to extend another federal law that offers grants to returning soldiers with disabilities, so they can retrofit their homes.
“And that’s how I know Bruce, as a champion and somebody who’s going to go to bat for veterans ’cause that’s what he’s done for me and the people I served with,” Prichard says. As for the attendance issue in D.C., Braley’s staff says the congressman attended 15 of the 17 hearings held by the House Veterans Affairs SUB-committee he was assigned to, so Braley’s overall attendance record for committee AND SUB-committee hearings was above 50 percent. Attendance records were an issue in the U.S. Senate race earlier this year.
Joni Ernst, who won the G-O-P’s U.S. Senate nomination in June, was criticized by one of her Republican opponents for missing about 40 percent of the votes taken in the Iowa Senate in the 2014 legislative session. Ernst is a state senator and an Iowa National Guard unit commander. A Cedar Rapids Gazette analysis concluded about 10 percent of the state senate votes she missed where taken while she was on active duty. The other 90 percent were missed because Ernst was out campaigning for the U.S. Senate.
(Radio Iowa)
Authorities in Audubon County are investigating several reported incidents of theft. Several vehicles were said to have been entered at various, numerous locations in Exira earlier this week. Money and personal items were removed from the vehicles.
Sheriff Todd Johnson reminds persons in the area to keep their vehicles LOCKED. He also requests anyone with information about the thefts to call the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office at 712-563-2631, or Audubon County Crimestoppers at 712-563-2234. A Crimestoppers reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest an conviction for the thefts.
Persons calling in with tips do not need to give their names in order to be eligible for the reward.
(Story used 5-pm Thu & during overnight news)
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad has sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking that Iowa officials be notified about any immigrant children placed in the state. About 120 children who entered the U.S. illegally and alone were sent to Iowa in the first half of the year. Branstad learned of the placements from a news reporter.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A convicted armed robber accused of living under the identities of two boys who died in the 1940s remains in custody without bond. Ronald Dwaine Carnes appeared in court yesterday in Cedar Rapids on Social Security fraud and identity theft charges. Prosecutors say he spent decades under the boys’ IDs after escaping from a North Carolina prison in 1973.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The father of a pregnant woman who was shot and killed in rural southeast Iowa in 2012 says the family can start to heal now that the woman’s husband has been convicted in her slaying. Todd Caldwell says he was disappointed Seth Techel didn’t show emotion in court. Techel faces a mandatory life sentence for Lisa Techel’s death.
MONTROSE, Iowa (AP) — An 88-year-old southeast Iowa man has died in an all-terrain vehicle accident. Lee County authorities say Dale Carter lost control of the vehicle Wednesday while traveling on an incline as he was working in his yard in rural Montrose. He was pinned beneath the vehicle after it rolled backward and landed on top of him.
From left: King Tyler Christensen, Queen Kourtnie Stphenson, Princess Hannah Misner, Prince Wyatt Saeugling.
Seven contestants were narrowed down to four candidates in the Cass County Fair Queen competition Thursday night in Atlantic, and when all was said and done, Kourtnie Stephenson received the title, sash and crown. Courtney is the daughter of Corey and Tammy Stephenson. Hannah Misner was selected as Princess.
And, out of three young men vying to become Fair King, Tyler Christensen received the honors, while Wyatt Saeugling was named Prince. Christensen, who’s the son of Jeff and Shelly Christensen, also won the title of Mr. Congeniality, while Kourtnie Stephenson was named Miss Congeniality. The Cass County Fair continues through Tuesday, July 29th.
Friday’s Schedule at the Fair (7/25):
8:00 A.M. – 10:00 A.M…………………………Beef Weigh-In
9:00 A.M…………………………………………..Rabbit Show
9:00 A.M……………………………………… Horse Show
10:00 A.M………………………………………Commercial Exhibits Open
10:00 A.M………………………………………4-H Exhibits Open
1:00-P.M.…………………………………..…..Clover Kids Animal Show
3:00 P.M…………………………………………Livestock Judging Contest
6:30 P.M.…………………………………………Mutton Busting
8:00 P.M…………………………..…………….Bull Ride
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – A RAGBRAI participant from Sioux City has been found dead in his tent in Mason City in the second death during the weeklong bicycling event. The Des Moines Register reports 74-year-old George “Frank” Brinkerhoff was found dead inside his tent Thursday morning at Parker’s Woods Campground. Mason City police Sgt. Greg Scott ways Brinkerhoff was participating in the Register’s Annual Bike Ride Across Iowa. Scott didn’t know if Brinkerhoff was riding alone or with a group.
Scott says Brinkerhoff appeared to die of natural causes, but a medical examiner who responded hasn’t determined the cause of death. On Monday, 62-year-old Tom Teesdale, of West Branch, had a heart attack and died at a hospital in Emmetsburg.
There have been 30 deaths during RAGBRAI’s 42 years.
Police in Council Bluffs report one person was arrested Wednesday in connection with a robbery that occurred Saturday morning. Warrants for 1st degree robbery were issued Wednesday for 21-year old Jared Brandt, and 34-year old Misty Huff, both of Council Bluffs. Huff was arrested that same day, while Brandt remains at-large. Both are suspected robbing two men who agreed to meet with a man after arranging for the sale of a pickup truck.
When 56-year old James Burdick and 54-year old Robert Coates, both of Omaha arrived at the pre-determined location at around 10:40-a.m., Saturday, Brandt allegedly pointed a small caliber revolver at the men and demanded their cellphone and cash they’d brought with them to purchase the truck. Huff allegedly was armed with a crow bar.
The Council Bluffs Police Department is asking for your help in finding Jared Brandt, who’s 6-feet 1-inch tall, weighs about 270-pounds, and has short black hair. He should be considered armed and dangerous. If you have any information on his whereabouts, call the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712-328-4765.
Three people were hurt when a semi and a pickup collided Tuesday afternoon on Highway 71, in Montgomery County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 1995 Chevy 1500 pickup driven by 41-year old Dannie Runyon, of Red Oak, was traveling north on Highway 71 at around 4:45-p.m.. A 2012 Kenworth semi driven by 41-year old Keith Steen, of Queen City, MO., was also traveling northbound behind the pickup, when Steen tried to pass at the intersection with Highway 34.
The semi clipped the left rear corner of the pickup, which went off the road to the northeast after the impact, and entered a ditch. The pickup came to rest after striking a tree. Runyon, and two passengers in the pickup, 36-year old Kevin Houchin, and 42-year old Robert Denny, both of Red Oak, were transported to area hospitals.
Runyon and Houchin, who were wearing their seat belts, were both flown by LifeNet to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, while Denny, who was not belted-in, was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Red Oak Rescue.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and Villisca Fire and Rescue personnel assisted at the scene.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley blasts the Obama administration for not telling state officials about dozens of Central American children being placed in Iowa after entering the U-S illegally. Grassley, a Republican, says the feds were wrong to put the 139 children in Iowa homes without giving the state a heads-up to provide health care, mental health care and other state services. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, disagrees.
“My colleague is just wrong in saying that somehow we ought to let everyone know where these kids are, who they are,” Harkin says. “That is wrong.” Harkin says the operation was kept secret for a reason as there have been angry protests in other U-S cities along the Mexican border which likely traumatized the already-frightened children. “These kids need to be protected, housed and kept safe,” Harkin says. “They don’t need to be made public objects where perhaps people can go out and picket a house. Maybe some family has taken in two or three of these kids to feed them and keep them safe. This is a humanitarian gesture.”
Reports say as many as 57-thousand children from Central American nations have entered the U-S, undocumented and unaccompanied, since last fall. Earlier this week, Governor Branstad said he didn’t want the children brought to Iowa, calling them “lawbreakers.” Again, Harkin disagrees: “There’s a reason for the privacy, there’s a reason to protect these kids,” Harkin says. “Keep in mind, these kids are not criminals, they’re refugees. They’re kids that are escaping murder and violence and rape and all kinds of bad things.” The children deserve due process, Harkin says, and it needs to be determined if they qualify for asylum.
“I just met yesterday with the ambassadors of all three countries, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala,” Harkin says. “Things are now being put in place to help stem the exodus of these kids from those three countries.” Grassley is quoted as saying the cost to taxpayers to care for the children could be as much as one-thousand dollars per day.
(Radio Iowa)
Iowa is enjoying a near “normal” growing season this year and crop conditions are conducive to a bountiful crop. Before this year’s crop is even out of the field many farmland owners and tenants will be discussing next year’s rental rate and leasing agreements. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach works to bring unbiased information to both land owners and renters to help both parties make successful management decisions. The land valuation and leasing meetings discuss current land values, rental rates, trends and projections of how values and rents might change in the coming years. Other topics will include: how to calculate a rental rate based on county specific information, the variety of leasing arrangements that land owners and tenants may use, and the expected cost of crop production in the coming year. There will be a leasing meeting held on August 5th at 9:00 am in Audubon, Iowa, at the Audubon County Extension Office, located at 608 Market Street. The cost is $20/person pre-registered, or $25/person without pre-registration. Attendees will receive a land leasing handbook with reference and resource materials. The workshop will last approximately 2 ½ hours. Shane Ellis, ISU farm management specialist for the west central region of the state will be presenting. Registration is due by Monday, August 4th, please call the Audubon County Extension office at 712-563-4239.
DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey has announced that the $1.4 million in cost share funds made available statewide last week to help farmers install new nutrient reduction practices have been obligated. The practices that were eligible for this funding are cover crops, no-till or strip till, or using a nitrification inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer. Northey said “The tremendous response to these cost share funds shows again that farmers are committed to using voluntary, science-based conservation practices to continue to improve water quality. In less than one week Iowa farmers committed to matching the state investment, so $2.8 million in new water quality practices will be going on the ground this fall.”
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship received applications covering 59,883 acres from 597 different farmers seeking to participate in the program. That includes 54,679 acres of cover crops, 2,531 acres of nitrification inhibitor, 1,656 acres of no-till and 1,015 acres of strip-till. Farmers in 90 of 100 Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state received funding.
Northey announced on July 8 that the funds would be available on July 17. All the funds were obligated to farmers in less than five business days. Only farmers not already utilizing the practice were eligible to apply for assistance and cost share was only available on up to 160 acres. The cost share rate for cover crops was $25 per acre and was $10 for farmers trying no-till or strip till. Farmers using a nitrapyrin nitrification inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer were eligible to receive $3 per acre.
Farmers are encouraged to still reach out to their local Soil and Water Conservation District office as there may be other programs available to help them implement these voluntary, science-based water quality practices on their farm.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship received $4.4 million for the Iowa Water Quality Initiative in fiscal 2015. These funds will allow the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to continue to encourage the broad adoption of water quality practices through statewide cost share assistance as well as more intensive work in targeted watersheds.
Last year in just two weeks over 1,000 farmers signed up for cost share funding to help implement new nutrient reduction practices on 100,000 acres. The state provided $2.8 million in cost share funding to help farmers try a water quality practice for the first time and Iowa farmers provided at least another $2.8 million to support these water quality practices.
Visit CleanWaterIowa.org to learn more about voluntary, science-based practices that can be implemented on our farms and in our cities to improve water quality. Iowans can also follow @CleanWaterIowa on twitter or “like” the page on Facebook to receive updates and other information about the ongoing Iowa water quality initiative.