w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Deputies in Montgomery County arrested a man early this (Thursday) morning, who was wanted on three warrants. 39-year old Donavan Lucius Sands, of Red Oak, was arrested on two Montgomery County warrants for Failure to Pay Child Support, and on a Red Oak Police Dept. warrant for Theft in the 2nd degree. Sands was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $7,000 cash bond.

Officials at the Iowa Department of Revenue say Iowa should once again try to collect sales taxes from online retailers, now that Republicans have retained control of the U-S House and it’s unlikely to happen at the federal level. Iowa and other states lose millions of dollars in sales taxes from purchases made on the internet. Victoria Daniels at the Iowa Department of Revenue says late last year it looked like Congress was going to force the retailers to collect the state taxes nationwide.

” Probably the best shot to get something done at the federal level was during that lame duck session last year and it didn’t happen,” Daniels says. Republicans in the U-S House are backing a new bill that would exempt many sales from the tax. Daniels says that’s why Iowa needs to pass a bill in the Iowa House that allows the state to collect the taxes.  “It definitely makes federal legislation less of a save all, and we need to take matters into our own hands,” according to Daniels. Retailers from Walmart to small main street businesses support the effort, because, they say, internet sales have an unfair advantage over their brick and mortar stores. But some state representatives like Greg Forristal, a Republican from Macedonia, view it as a tax hike, so their bill would have any newly collected taxes go right back to taxpayers.

“In other words if we’re going to raise taxes let’s make sure it benefits the taxpayers,” Forristal says. The lone Democrat on the House panel objected, saying any new tax revenue should go for education and mental health and other priorities.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Officials with the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, say due to construction, the west, 10th Street entrance to CCMH will be closed Thursday, March 28th from 10 am – 3 pm. Patients and visitors will need to use the north atrium entrance or the east entrance at the back of the building during those hours.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A new rule backed by Secretary of State Matt Schultz is taking effect that allows election officials to remove people from voter registration lists if their citizenship is questioned.  Schultz, a Republican, says the change is needed to reduce voter fraud, which he’s made his key issue since taking office in 2011.

The rule effective Wednesday allows Schultz’s office to compare voter registration records against federal immigration lists. Anyone registered to vote flagged as a noncitizen is notified by mail that they may be unlawfully registered and should provide citizenship proof.

Opponents have unsuccessfully fought enactment of the rule. They say it intimidates immigrants who are citizens and may discourage them from voting.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa says it will continue to fight the rule in court.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Woodbury County sheriff is considering suing the county board of supervisors over a disputed policy that prevents off-duty deputies working community events from wearing their uniforms and driving county cars.  The Sioux City Journal reports Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Drew wants to reverse a policy adopted in 2010 by the board that prohibits county employees from using county equipment for things like private security at community events. The board said at the time it was a liability issue.

Opponents argued people are more likely to respect uniformed officers. Drew, who was elected in November, says elected officials should have leeway to set their own policies. He told the board Tuesday that he would allow some time for them to work out a compromise before filing a lawsuit.

Cable Customers with Harlan Municipal Utilities (HMU) will see an increase in their bill starting in May. In a regular board meeting Tuesday, the HMU board of Trustees approved resolution No. 40 for the rate changes for Cable TV and Internet Services. Doug Hammer, Marketing Director for HMU, said at the meeting, new network contracts were signed and many of the channels were increased and a lot of the increases were in part because of sports content. “This is where a lot of the hidden fees come in. Folks like Turner will go out and spend $11 billion for the college basketball tournament because they know they have a revenue stream to pay for it. They continue to pass it along to the cable and satellite customers. And we are seeing it across other sports too,” according to Hammer.

He says even the once free “over the air” content is now being paid for by the consumer. He says “Our basic cable cost of $14.49, that 38% off the top just for the TV stations that we never paid for, is being paid by the customer.” The difficulty in avoiding the rate increases are because of how the contracts are dictated by TV companies. “People always say is there a way to mitigate the cost, how do we slow down or can we stop the increase? The only way to do that is drop content. There is the possibility to drop broadcast channels but that won’t save much. To drop other channels, you will have to wait to the end of the contracts. You can’t drop one channel or you lose out on other channels. It’s an all or none,” he says.

Overall, the basic cable TV package for HMU customers will increase by $2 and expanded basic cable $4 to $52.95. All bundle packages of either/or cable/internet, cable/phone or all three will be a $3 increase. All premiere movie packages such as HBO or Showtime will increase $2 as well. The increase will go into effect on May 1st.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The Iowa has voted to create a new state department to deal with emergencies. The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management agency is currently a division of the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Senator Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, is critical of Governor Branstad’s opposition to the idea — and Hogg suggests that if the Emergency Management division had been elevated to a full-fledged agency, western Iowans hit by Missouri River flooding would have been better served. “And you know what Governor Branstad offered? Zero from state government,” Hogg said.

Last year Governor Branstad vetoed a similar bill creating a new Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department. A spokesman for the governor defends the way state government responded to Missouri River flooding. Senator Hogg scoffs “It’s really easy for people to do a good job when you just ignore it.”

Republican Senators say Hogg’s comments are over the line. Former Governor Chet Culver created a new but temporary state agency to deal with the severe flooding that hit the state in 2008. A spokesman for current Governor Terry Branstad says not every crisis demands a new state agency.

(Radio Iowa)