State policymakers are beginning to suspect more and more Iowans are shopping online rather than in bricks-and-mortar stores in the state. Data shows wages in Iowa are on the rise, but state sales tax receipts are barely growing.  David Roederer, the governor’s budget director, says “We’re trying to determine whether or not it is a softening of spending or whether it is a change in the way Iowans are purchasing products.”

Iowans are to pay the state sales tax on purchases they make online from retailers with a “physical presence” in the state, but House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, a Republican from Clear Lake, says some businesses do not calculate the taxes for online purchases. “Maybe it’s simply making Iowans more aware that they owe that tax and they’re obligated to send that in if it’s not being collected,” Upmeyer says. “It doesn’t mean that they, but they’re on their own to submit it.” Upmeyer hears from Main Street businesses in Iowa who say it’s unfair competition from online retailers. “There’s also people that don’t want us to collect it,” Upmeyer says.

State sales tax receipts increased just one percent in February compared to the same month a year ago. In the past EIGHT months, sales tax payments to the state are up a little less than one-and-a-half percent. Experts had predicted consumer spending in Iowa would grow twice that much.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Page County arrested a Clarinda man Thursday morning on a warrant for Probation violation. 33-year old Kenneth James Johnson was arrested at the Page County Courthouse, in Clarinda. Johnson was taken to the Page County Jail where he was unable to post $2000 and was being held pending further court proceedings.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports there is currently a technical issue with the Sheriff Office’s phone lines. All administrative lines will only continually ring. That includes 911. HOWEVER, 911 calls will automatically be transferred over to a neighboring county and then they can reach the Adair County Sheriff’s Office through  radio communications for emergency dispatch.

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) – Midland University has dropped plans to reopen the former Dana College campus in Blair. The university announced Friday that it will focus on improvements in its Fremont campus and on finding a permanent home for MBA, other graduate and nontraditional programs in Omaha.

In June 2013 Midland announced that it was raising money to use on the Dana campus. The 126-year-old Lutheran college closed in 2010, and many of its students transferred to Midland University in Fremont, about 20 miles away. Midland officials say the Dana campus required a significant amount of money to maintain an aging physical plant and a challenging path to acquire accreditation. The officials concluded that the costs of reopening Dana were prohibitive compared to other growth options.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A daily quiet time has been established at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Hospital officials say less noise provides a more professional atmosphere for staff members and easier rest for the more than 33,000 patients admitted each year. The initiative took effect Tuesday.

Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports that quiet time runs from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Lights are dimmed and people are encouraged to speak softer. The hospital also is working on equipment changes. Hospital officials say the campaign was prompted by patient feedback.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s public universities aren’t off the hook yet for refusing to pay millions of dollars in fees to a program that subsidizes health insurance for residents with health risks. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Iowa Individual Health Benefit Reinsurance Association can sue the universities to try to collect the unpaid fees. The decision overturned an appeals court, which ruled last year that the association didn’t have the power to sue.

The association contends that the universities, like all state agencies, school districts and municipalities with self-funded health plans, are members and required to pay annual assessments. For years, the schools agreed and paid. But after the University of Iowa became self-insured in 2010, all three universities contended they were not covered by the law and stopped paying.