A report released Wednesday shows nearly one-third of Iowans struggle to afford basic living expenses. Deann Cook is executive director of United Ways of Iowa, which issued the statewide study. “This report indicates that over 381,000 households in Iowa, or 31-percent of the state’s total, are unable basic cost-of-living in their county,” Cook said. Around 12-percent of Iowans are below the federal poverty line, but Cook says that federal level is “outdated” and thousands of Iowans above the line are living paycheck to paycheck.

“And, most often, they have nothing left to navigate any unexpected expenses they may have such as a car repair, an illness, or a job loss,” Cook said. Heather Hennings is the president and CEO of the United Way of Siouxland and the incoming United Ways of Iowa Board Chair. She says wages in Iowa are failing to keep up with the rising cost of living. “Sixty-eight-percent of all jobs in Iowa pay less than $20 an hour and most of those actually pay between $10 and $15 an hour,” Hennings said.

The report could fuel more debate over efforts to raise the minimum wage in the state. “There are a lot of people who are working hard, playing by the rules…and we live in a country where you think, if you do work hard, you should be able to support your family. In some cases, that’s not happening,” Hennings said. The United Ways of Iowa represents 25 local United Ways that serve more than half of Iowa’s 99 counties.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Court of Appeals says a lawsuit in Council Bluffs over a property registration fee should be given class action status. Carla Limmer filed suit against the city of Council Bluffs in January of 2015, saying the property registration fee of 15 dollars for each rental unit exceeded the reasonable cost to operate the program. Limmer asked that the suit be certified as a class action so it would include all 26-hundred property owners.

The city opposed the class action status, saying the result of Limmer’s suit would benefit all rental owners whether or not it was a class action. The district court ruled for the city. The Iowa Court of Appeals overturned that ruling, saying
Limmer’s legal fees for pursuing the issue could be more than her individual damages.

It says in cases where the cost of litigation is large in comparison to the damages that could be recovered by each individual, certifying a class action makes it more likely the action will be fully litigated.

(Radio Iowa)

An 80-hour Bible-reading marathon begins at 8 a.m. today (Thursday) outside every county courthouse in the state. Karen Brownlee has been organizing the volunteer readers who will be on the Des Moines County Courthouse lawn in Burlington. “We have two-hour teams that come in read for a two-hour period and then another team will take over at that point,” Brownlee says. “The plan is to continue 24 hours a day, so in the evening we will switch to an indoor setting, the House of Prayer, which is just to the left of city hall.”

This scene will be replicated in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. Organizers estimate it takes 79 hours to read the Bible aloud, at a “pastoral” pace, from the first chapter of Genesis to the end of Revelations. Brownlee says they hope to complete their task in each county by 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 3rd. “We wanted to just share the hope that is given in the Bible for our land right before America’s birthday,” Brownlee says.

Governor Branstad signed a proclamation in April, encouraging Iowans to take part in the event. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Freedom from Religion Foundation have raised constitutional concerns, arguing the government should be “neutral” toward religion. The “First Liberty Institute” has said it will defend Branstad if he is sued over the matter.

A lawsuit challenging President Obama’s proclamation declaring a “National Day of Prayer” each year was tossed out by a federal appeals court in 2011.

(Radio Iowa)

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 65-year-old man has died of injuries suffered in an all-terrain vehicle accident north of Orange City. The Sioux City Journal reports that Kenneth VanGorp was driving an ATV with an attached sprayer trailer in a ditch when he lost control. The ATV and sprayer rolled in the ditch, pinning VanGorp underneath it.

The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office says a passing motorist spotted VanGorp trapped under the ATV and called authorities. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries. The Orange City Ambulance as well as the Orange City police and fire departments also assisted in the incident.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole for participating in a four-state methamphetamine trafficking operation. Federal prosecutors say 49-year-old Anselmo Salazar, of Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced Wednesday after being found guilty in December in a drug and money laundering conspiracy. The ring, which was based in St. Joseph, distributed more than 15 kilograms of meth from 2009 to 2013 in northwest Missouri, northeast Kansas, southern Iowa and Nebraska.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Neighboring property owners have filed an appeal with Iowa City Board of Adjustment in an effort to stop an Iowa City couple’s plans to build a home designed to resemble Kinnick Stadium. The Press-Citizen reports that the appeal was filed Wednesday by the Neighbors of Manville Heights Association and property owners in the area. Reed and Sandy Carlson have filed building plans for a nearly 7,500-square-foot house that would echo the stadium architecture.

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 65-year-old man has died of injuries suffered in an all-terrain vehicle accident north of Orange City. The Sioux City Journal reports that Kenneth VanGorp was driving an ATV with an attached sprayer trailer in a ditch when he lost control. The ATV and sprayer rolled in the ditch, pinning VanGorp underneath it. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — A mausoleum at the Greenwood Cemetery in Muscatine has again been vandalized. The Muscatine Journal reports that sometime over the weekend, vandals wrote graffiti in three spots on the Harry W. Huttig mausoleum. It was the second time in three months that vandals have hit the cemetery and the second time in the last 20 years that the mausoleum was a target.