w/ Ric Hanson

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Two people were injured Tuesday evening, after a van rear-ended a tractor about three-miles northwest of Clarinda. The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports a van driven by 61-year old Karla Morrison, of Clarinda, was traveling south on O Avenue, just south of the intersection with 170th Street, when she failed to notice a dual axle farm tractor, driven by 47-year old Terry Hughes, of rural Clarinda.

The 2000 Chrysler Grand Voyager hit the rear of the tractor, causing the 2007 John Deere Model 6430  to toll twice into the east ditch. Both drivers were transported to the Clarinda Regional Health Center by Clarinda E-M-S. Both vehicles were totaled in the crash, which happened just before 5-p.m.  Officials cited Morrison for Following too close.

A 2010 Glenwood High School graduate hired as a part-time district-wide audio-visual support technician has been charged with sexually abusing a female student inside a high school closet. 19-year old Andrew Schoening, of Glenwood, faces up to 10-years in prison if he’s convicted on a charge of statutory rape. He would also be required to register as a sex offender. 

According to court documents filed in Mills County, a 15-year old female told Glenwood police Schoening forced her to have sex in a closet at the high school. Schoening was hired by the Glenwood school district’s technology team in September. He oversaw audio-visual equipment at high school athletic contests. The alleged incident happened during the school day on December 20^th. The student reported the alleged incident to high school staff, and school officials promptly notified local law enforcement. Schoening resigned after the incident came to light last week. 

Mills County Attorney Eric Hansen told the Omaha World-Herald that Schoening, who turns 20 next month, faces a charge of third-degree sexual abuse, which requires the prosecutor to prove only a sex act with a person who was 15 when the defendant was 19 or older. Hansen said regardless of consent, any sexual contact involving Schoening and the minor would constitute a crime because of the age difference.

Council Bluffs defense attorney Mike Murphy said he intends to prove the sexual contact was “consensual.” Murphy hopes proving the encounter was consensual might result in a less severe penalty or exoneration. He said Schoening and the girl were acquaintances who often crossed paths in the high school.  Schoening has admitted to having sex with the teen. He also admitted to police that he knew the girl was under age.

Schoening remains free after posting bail last week. A Mills County magistrate has ordered him not to have any contact with the girl or her family.

A new report ranks Iowa’s K-through-12 education system 31st in the nation. The report comes from the American Legislative Exchange Council. It gave Iowa an overall grade of C-minus. Iowa had very low marks in college programs that prepare teachers and in keeping effective teachers in the classroom. Iowa got a D-plus for failing to do enough to get rid of ineffective teachers. Republican Governor Branstad suggests the report should be a “wake-up call” for state policymakers who’re reviewing his education reform plan. Democrats suggest the report from the Republican-leaning group is skewed. They point to other reports indicating, for example, that Iowa high schoolers who took the A-C-T had an average score that ranked second in the nation.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

A three-member panel has given initial approval to a proposal that would broaden the definition of “justifiable force” for Iowans who believe they face a threat from an attacker and shoot a gun in defense. Representative Matt Windschitl, a Republican from Missouri Valley, says it’s about protecting law-abiding Iowans from frivolous lawsuits.  “What we’re trying to address is Iowans’ individual right to protect themselves and their neighbors from any kind of threat or harm without having to face any kind of civil liability,” he says.

The three-member House subcommittee that considered the bill held a sort of public hearing yesterday that drew critics of the plan. Polk County Attorney John Sarcone suggested the proposed change would give defense attorneys another tool to try to justify the criminal conduct of gang members or those accused of domestic abuse.  “We’d allow people to get off because someone made a comment or looked at somebody the wrong way,” Sarcone said. This same “justifiable force” proposal was introduced in the Iowa legislature last year, too, but never cleared a committee in the House or Senate.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Iowa’s congressional delegation is split along party lines over a key proposal President Obama highlighted in his “State of the Union” speech. Obama has proposed raising the tax rate to at least 30 percent for Americans who make more than a million dollars, an idea Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett advocates. Obama invited Buffett’s secretary to last night’s speech in D.C., as Buffett often says he pays a much lower tax rate than his secretary does. That does not sway Steve King, a Republican Congressman from western Iowa. “Warren Buffett has shielded a lot of income,” King says. “We can’t look at Warren Buffett’s tax rate and his secretary’s tax rate and draw any calculation…so it looks to me like it’s a political ploy more than anything else.”

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says “under-taxing” millionaires and billionaires isn’t the problem. “But the most important thing is the intellectual dishonesty of saying that Buffett’s paying 15 percent and that’s less than what his secretary pays. He pays 15 percent on capital gains, but you’ve got to remember that same money was taxed at 35 percent at the corporate level,” Grassley says. “You could figure that dollars taxed at 50 percent, not 15 percent.” Republican Congressman Tom Latham of Clive doesn’t directly accuse President Obama of engaging in “class warfare,” but Latham’s no fan of raising the tax rate on the wealthy. “I think it’s important that we try to unite the country and not divide the citizens economically or wherever,” Latham says, “because we’ve got a lot of problems in this country.” Iowa’s three Democratic Congressmen all support the higher tax rate for people who make more than a million dollars

Congressman Leonard Boswell, a Democrat from Des Moines, says he’s been a “long-time” supporter of raising the tax rate on top wage earners. “Maybe amnesia set in how we got to where we are, but there’s no point in lamenting on it. We’re there,” Boswell says. “How do we get out of it? And if everybody participates and I mean everybody — all — we can do this.” Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, says the Republican Party’s “trickle down” economics doesn’t work and Harkin argues Obama’s tax proposals “promote a better, more fair tax structure.”

President Obama is due in Iowa over the noon-hour today (Wednesday). He’ll give a speech at a manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids, a stop through five “battleground states” in the November election and a backdrop to highlight the president’s proposals to boost the manufacturing industry.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Officials say some Pamida stores will close as part of the merger with Shopko, but it’s still unclear how many, if any, will be shuttered in Iowa. Shopko, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, announced earlier this month it will take over Pamida, headquartered in Omaha. There are six Shopko stores and 30 Pamidas in Iowa. Shopko spokeswoman Tara Powers says the two companies have been linked in the past, but only behind the scenes.  “Shopko and Pamida were one company back in the early 2000s, but at that time, they were really run as two separate organizations and they shared some back office functions but they were largely independent of one another,” Powers says. “The difference today is they are truly merging together under the Shopko banner as one company, one corporate office.” While some company mergers are just done on a balance sheet, she says customers will see big changes at Pamida locations. The Pamida name will be eliminated and most product lines changed.

“Shopko Hometown carries a much larger assortment of certain categories, like apparel and home merchandise and they have a big emphasis on national brands,” Powers says. “The product mix that consumers will see when they come into the store is going to be very, very different from what they’re used to at Pamida.” No changes are planned at any of the Shopko stores, but some 80-million dollars will be invested over the next year to convert most of the 193 Pamida stores into Shopko Hometown stores this year. Combined, the new chain will have almost 350 stores in 22 states. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The merger is expected to close in mid-February.

“The two companies looked at the retail landscape together and see that there is a lot of opportunity to serve smaller communities,” Powers says. “(Customers) currently have to drive anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to go into a larger town to go to Walmart or Target to get everything they need. The idea with a Shopko Hometown store is they can get everything they need in a smaller footprint store right in their own community.” There are currently Pamida stores in 30 Iowa cities: Albia, Audubon, Bloomfield, Chariton, Clarion, Corydon, Dyersville, Eldora, Estherville, Forest City, Glenwood, Greenfield, Harlan, Humboldt, Hampton, Ida Grove, Jefferson, Missouri Valley, Mount Ayr, New Hampton, Oelwein, Onawa, Osceola, Perry, Red Oak, Sheldon, Sigourney, Toledo, Waukon and Winterset. There are now six Shopko stores in the state: Burlington, Council Bluffs, Dubuque, Fort Madison, Mason City and Sioux City.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Monsanto Seed Company said Tuesday Blane Kerkhoff, of Audubon, has been selected as a winner in the “America’s Farmers Grow Communities” contest, which gives farmers the opportunity to win $2,500 for their favorite local nonprofit organizations. The donations are available through the Monsanto Fund. Kerkhoff has designated the Audubon High School Wresting Fund to receive the award in Audubon County. Audubon Community School District Superintendent Brett Gibbs, Kerkhoff and a Monsanto representative will participate in a check presentation ceremony Saturday morning, beginning at 9:30., at the Audubon High School (800 3rd St. in Audubon).

Farmers in 39 states and 1,245 counties were eligible to win $2,500 for their favorite community nonprofit.  America’s Farmers Grow Communities is part of a broad commitment by the Monsanto Fund to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to society, by helping them grow their local communities.

Nearly 60,000 farmers participated in the second annual Grow Communities program, which is designed to benefit nonprofit groups such as ag youth, schools and other civic organizations. For more information and to see a full list of winners, visit www.growcommunities.com

Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation said Tuesday, that the westbound I-80 rest area, located between Adair and Casey at milepost 80, will be closed beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25th, until approximately 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26th, weather permitting, for installation of a wind turbine blade. The rest area will be closed to allow the wind turbine blade to be installed on the facility’s grounds using two large cranes.

The blade will ultimately serve as a sculptural element on the site and be accompanied by an interpretive plaque. The blade and transportation to the site were donated to the State of Iowa by Siemens Energy of Fort Madison, Iowa.  There will be no public viewing area for the wind blade installation. Parking on interstate highways and freeways is for emergencies only.

The rest area is located at the threshold of an Adair County wind farm. Visitors to the site will discover several design elements incorporated into the building and grounds that speak about energy and alternatives such as wind.

Iowa has become a national leader in the wind energy industry, employing many Iowans in this important energy sector and businesses throughout the state. The industry is a significant contributor to the state’s economy. According to the Iowa Wind Energy Association, the wind energy industry in Iowa currently employs at least 3,000 full-time workers in manufacturing, operation and maintenance of wind turbine components, with an estimated payroll of $70.2 million.

Iowa produces 20 percent of all the electricity generated in the state from wind turbines, ranking it first in the nation and second in the world. Siemens has a 600,000-square-foot wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Fort Madison, serving as the largest employer in that community and Lee County with nearly 800 employees, contributing to the economic revitalization of the region.