An administrator with the Iowa Department of Human Services went before a legislative panel Monday to defend her agency’s handling of child abuse and neglect allegations. Wendy Rickman is head of Iowa’s Division of Adult, Child and Family Services. “Our system is functional. It is beyond functional,” Rickman said. “We have outcomes that I would put up against any state.”

According to Rickman, her division receives about 50,000 calls a year of alleged reports of child neglect and abuse. She says 52-percent of those reports are assessed. The hearing follows the death of 16-year-old Natalie Finn of West Des Moines last October. The West Des Moines teen died of starvation and State Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, has questioned if a lack of DHS social workers allowed the alleged abuse of Finn to go uninvestigated.

“The social workers are telling us that ‘we should be protecting kids, we’re not because we’re overworked. Our staff load is too high. We’ve doubled our overtime in the last year,'” McCoy said. “So my question is: Are we leaving vulnerable children out to fend for themselves when we don’t have adequate staffing?”

Rickman said, while she doesn’t dispute that more social workers would be beneficial, she believes Iowa’s child welfare system is NOT failing. McCoy and other lawmakers have asked the DHS for data on staffing numbers, overtime hours, and caseloads. Finn’s parents are facing numerous charges in connection with the death of their daughter and alleged neglect of their other children.

(Radio Iowa/Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Sarah Boden)

After years of trying, it appears politicians pushing to make it LEGAL to set off fireworks in Iowa may get their wish in 2017. A bill addressing the issue has cleared procedural hurdles and is eligible for debate at any time in the Iowa Senate. Senator Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, says northwest Iowans look across the border at South Dakota, where fireworks displays on private property have been legal for years.

“We see everyone blowing them off, technically illegally, and I’ve always said there needs to be regulation in Iowa that either gets rid of them altogether or fully allows them to be sold and blown off,” Feenstra says.

It is illegal to light fireworks in Iowa without a permit from city or county officials. In addition, it’s illegal to SELL fireworks in Iowa. The bill pending in the senate would erase those obstacles and set up a system for licensing and regulating businesses that sell fireworks and assessing a sales tax on fireworks sales. “We’re simply saying, ‘Hey since they’re allowed in the state at this point, now let’s allow them to be set off,'” Feenstra says.

If the bill advances through the Senate AND the House this year, sales of consumer fireworks could start in June. The legislation would make it legal to sell and ignite fireworks during limited holiday periods, like the 4th of July, Christmas and New Year’s. The bill would give cities and counties the option of passing local ordinances that forbid fireworks displays.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A veteran GOP congressman is drawing bipartisan criticism for saying America can’t restore “our civilization with somebody else’s babies.” Republican Steve King of Iowa made the comment on Twitter. House Speaker Paul Ryan says he disagrees with King’s viewpoint while Republican congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida advises King to “get a clue.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.3 percent in January as Iowa employers added nearly 10,000 jobs. Iowa Workforce Development announced Monday that the rate dropped from 3.5 percent in December and was down from 3.8 percent a year ago. The national rate rose to 4.8 percent in January.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Elected officials in Dubuque County will get pay raises, but it will be less than half of what a panel recommended. The Telegraph Herald reports county supervisors Monday unanimously approved 3.5 percent salary increases for elected officials. That’s in line with the raises approved for county staff who aren’t part of a union, though is far less than the 7.5 percent increase recommended by an advisory board. Annual salaries range from $48,605 for supervisors to $122,726 for the county attorney.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Residents and officials are uneasy about plans for a farm slated to house 98,000 chickens that likely will be approved with little oversight from Cerro Gordo County. The Globe Gazette reports the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reviewing a manure management plan for the proposed Wharam Creek Poultry facility. The proposed farm is just 2,000 birds shy to be regulated by the matrix used to evaluate large animal feeding confinements in Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.3 percent in January as Iowa employers added nearly 10,000 jobs. Iowa Workforce Development announced Monday that the rate dropped from 3.5 percent in December and was down from 3.8 percent a year ago. The national rate rose to 4.8 percent in January.

Agency director Beth Townsend says employers in the state added 9,900 jobs, with hiring especially strong in professional and business services. The number of unemployed resident dropped from 59,000 in December to 56,600 in January.

One person was transported to the Shenandoah Memorial Hospital following an accident this (Monday) morning, in Page County. The Sheriff’s Office say 27-year old Kelly Renae Barrett, of Hamburg, was driving a 2015 Chevy Malibu eastbound on 310th Street about two miles west of Hackberry Avenue at around 7:18-a.m., when she lost control of the vehicle in the icy road.

The car slid into the ditch and struck a tree. Barrett was knocked unconscious during the accident. She was transported to the hospital by Shenandoah Ambulance for treatment of unknown injuries.

The vehicle sustained approximately $2000 damage, while the tree sustained minimal damage.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, Monday, released his weekly arrest and incident report. The Sheriff says on March 9th, 50-year old Duane Allen Funke, of Bridgewater, was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine, Burglary in the 3rd degree, Criminal Mischief in the 5th degree and Trespass, after he allegedly entered an unoccupied structure in rural Stuart by breaking through a porch window. Funke admitted he had been staying at the residence since Dec. 2016, and had hidden a vehicle in the garage. He allegedly took several items from inside the home and garage as well. Funke was located by law enforcement in the basement of the home. A search of his person revealed a small container of meth. Funke was being held in the Adair County Jail on $5,000 bond.

On March 7th, 24-year old Kharlice D. Anderson, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested following a traffic stop for speeding at around 2:30-a.m. on Interstate 80, in Adair County. Anderson was a passenger in the vehicle and admitted to having purchased marijuana in Colorado. He was charged with Possession of Marijuana and later released on $1,000 bond. The driver of the vehicle was not charged.

Later that same day, 24-year old Junior Romain Hicks, of Lamoni, was arrested for Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia, following a traffic stop in the 2000 block of Highway 25. His vehicle was pulled over when a deputy clocked the vehicle traveling 71mph in a 55 zone, and noticed the car was not maintaining its lane. Hicks admitted he was trying to roll a marijuana cigarette at the time his vehicle strayed out of its lane. Marijuana and a marijuana grinder were observed on the vehicles’ floorboard. Hicks was brought to the Adair County Jail and later released on $1,000 bond.

On March 8th, 24-year old Alex Robert Coyle, of Bagley, MN, was arrested in Stuart for Criminal Mischief in the 4th degree, after allegedly using his fist to punch a hole in a wall. Coyle was later released on $1,000 bond.

No injuries were reported following a rollover accident near Creston this (Monday) morning. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says 66-year old Richard Cook, of Creston, was driving a 2008 Toyota Tacoma pickup southbound on Green Valley Lake Road, when the vehicle went out of control on the icy roadway. The pickup entered the east ditch and rolled onto its top, causing about $5,000 damage. The accident happened just before 11-a.m.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 4:30-a.m. Sunday, of 28-year old Nathan Andrew Wilcoxsen, of Coin. Wilcoxsen was taken into custody on a felony warrant for Theft /Possession of Stolen property.  The Charge stems from an investigation conducted by the Page County Sheriff’s Office.  Wilcoxson was unable to post the $5000 bond, and was being held in the Page County Jail.

Nathan Wilcoxsen (Photo submitted by Page County S/O)