SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Woodbury County attorney is expected to announce his ruling today (Friday) on whether he’ll charge a Sioux City police officer who fatally shot a South Dakota man during a traffic stop. County Attorney Patrick Jennings has scheduled an afternoon news conference to discuss the Dec. 7th shooting of 36-year-old Daniel Riedmann, of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.

Police have said Officer Dylan Grimsley and his partner learned during the stop of an arrest warrant for Riedmann and a warning that Riedmann was considered armed and dangerous.

Police say Riedmann ignored the officers’ commands to show his hands and unlock a door of the vehicle in which he was a passenger. Police say Grimsley shot Riedmann when Riedmann reached for something. Police say a loaded handgun was found in the vehicle.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials have confirmed that the state has stopped servicing or tracking the more than 700 self-help computer kiosks installed to replace dozens of unemployment offices closed in 2011 as a money-saving effort.

Iowa Workforce Development spokeswoman Courtney Greene told The Des Moines Register that it’s unknown how many kiosks in the virtual access points program are still dedicated to helping the unemployed. Initially the kiosks were placed in public places such as libraries and homeless shelters.

Greene says improved technology that lets Iowans file for weekly unemployment claims by smartphone has made the kiosks less essential. She says the kiosk system was discontinued as part of the department’s efficiency efforts. It’s unclear when the department ended the program.

Iowa’s Joni Ernst has joined with seven other Republican senators in urging President Trump to “pursue a principled and tough-minded Russia policy.”Ernst and the other senators cited Russia’s “aggressive behavior” in Ukraine and Syria as well as Russia’s “warfare” in “cyberspace.” The group said “Russia’s cooperation is desirable” on issues like nuclear arms control and attacking terrorism. But Ernst and the seven other Republicans warned Trump against pursuing cooperation with Russia “at the expense of our fundamental interests of defending our allies and promoting our values.”

Ernst has often said visiting the Ukraine as a college student and seeing the Soviet system up close prompted her to join the military. In the letter to Trump, Ernst and the other senators asked him to “condemn” Russian aggression in Ukraine and “take…steps” to stop it. The group of senators also urged Trump to maintain current U.S. sanctions against Russia.

The statement from Ernst and the seven other G-O-P senators comes a few days after Trump’s Super Bowl interview on Fox News. The network’s Bill O’Reilly labeled Vladimir Putin “a killer” and Trump replied that there are “a lot of killers” — then Trump asked: “You think our country’s so innocent?”

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop early this (Friday) morning in Adams County resulted in a man being arrested on a weapons charge. The Adams County Sheriff’s Department says deputies stopped a vehicle about three-miles northwest of Lenox, near the intersection of 265th and Quince Avenue at around 12:25-a.m. Upon further investigation, Deputies located a loaded revolver under the passenger seat of the vehicle. 21-year old Bryan Garcia, of Lenox, was taken into custody for Carrying Weapons (Concealed). Garcia was brought to the Adams County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

The union that represents the largest group of state employees has issued a response to budget cutting maneuvers by the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC). Iowa’s prison system was ordered to trim $5.5 million from its budget after Governor Branstad signed a measure that slashes more than $100 million from the current state budget to deal with lower-than-expected state tax revenue.

On Wednesday, the DOC announced plans to shut down programs tied to prison operations in Anamosa, Clarinda, Fort Madison, and Sheldon. Corrections director Jerry Bartruff said the cuts would result in “an estimated reduction in staff positions of three-percent.” AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan issued a statement on Thursday saying it’s unclear exactly how many layoffs there will be, but he knows eight probationary correctional officers from Fort Madison and nine officers from the Iowa State Penitentiary have already been terminated. He fears “there may be many more.” Homan says the Branstad administration has decided to “balance a failed budget on the backs of public employees.”  (Radio Iowa)
……………..
FULL PRESS RELEASE FROM AFSCME:

DES MOINES – AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan issued the following statement in response to the facility closures and Correctional Officer layoffs announced by the Iowa Department of Corrections:

“It’s a scary time for correctional employees across Iowa. The Iowa Department of Corrections informed us that they would be laying off a number of probationary Correctional Officers, though it is unclear exactly how many that will be. Eight officers from Fort Madison and nine officers from the Iowa State Penitentiary have already been terminated, though I fear there may be many more. DOC also announced plans to close down the Luster Heights Camp at Harper’s Ferry, the Lodge at Clarinda, the John Bennett Unit at Fort Madison, and the Residential Treatment Services at the Sheldon Community Based Corrections facility. Contrary to the Department’s statement, this was not done collaboratively; it was an arbitrary announcement. AFSCME wasn’t notified of these actions until after they were put in place.

“At a time when our prisons are severely understaffed, this is the last place that the State of Iowa needs to be cutting corners. Branstad and Reynolds have given away our state’s massive surplus in the form of tax credits and giveaways to big businesses while underfunding public services. When the budget disaster they created came back to bite them, rather than borrowing from the maxed-out rainy day fund or ending some tax cuts, they decided to balance their failed budget on the backs of public employees. These layoffs and closures are completely avoidable under responsible leadership, but unfortunately that’s something we’re lacking. I invite Governor Branstad and soon-to-be Governor Reynolds to spend a day in an understaffed prison; maybe then they’ll reconsider where cuts should be made.”

Legislators have begun discussing new legal limits for where drones may fly in Iowa and who may have access to drone video. State lawmakers considered regulating “unmanned aerial vehicles” in 2014, ultimately passing a narrow law that bans police and state troopers from using drones to catch speeders. Republican Representative Jarad Klein, of Keota, is leading the discussion on drones.

“You see how much the technology has advanced, beyond where we thought it would ever be,” Klein says. “I don’t anticipate rushing this by any means, but we’re going to keep it moving along. We’re going to address the concerns that everybody’s bringing up and make sure we’re good to roll.”

Two legislators met with critics and supporters of the proposed bill Thursday morning. Thirty-three states have some sort of law that addresses the use of drones.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:20 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa House panel has approved a minimum wage bill that could result in pay cuts for tens of thousands of workers. The Local Government Committee approved the bill Thursday. It would ban Iowa’s counties and cities from increasing their local minimum wages and cancel higher wages already implemented in Polk, Linn, Johnson and Wapello counties. All Republicans on the committee supported the bill while all Democrats were opposed.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Federal officials say a former eastern Iowa police chief has pleaded guilty to charges of stealing a police gun and lying to a federal agent. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa says 47-year-old Jeffrey Filloon, of Toledo, Iowa, pleaded guilty to the counts Thursday in Cedar Rapids’ federal courthouse. In exchange, other counts were dropped.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans on a legislative committee have approved a bill that would make big changes to Iowa’s collective bargaining law for public employees. The Senate panel approved the bill Thursday after hearing strong opposition from Democratic lawmakers. Iowa’s current collective bargaining law allows public sector employees like teachers, nurses and correctional officers to negotiate job benefits, including health insurance, extra pay and seniority. The bill would prohibit those discussions.

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — Iowa election officials say nearly 6,000 Dallas County absentee ballots went uncounted from the Nov. 8 election because of several mistakes by local election officials. A letter from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office says a total of 5,842 ballots went uncounted, but the office acknowledges the missed votes did not change the outcome of any election on the ballot in the central Iowa county.