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(Podcast) KJAN News, 10/6/15

News, Podcasts

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

(Podcast) A check of the area’s top news at 7:07-a.m. from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Push back on Branstad’s proposed $37 million business tax break

News

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

The chairman of the committee in the state senate that drafts tax state policy says Governor Terry Branstad is trying to push through a 37-million dollar tax break for businesses that senators reviewed but did NOT approve two years ago. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the Governor is “Making an end run around 150 legislators who, at this point, have not come to consensus on whether or not in fact we ought to approve this policy.”

Bolkcom is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. He says the governor is abusing executive power by having the proposal drafted as an administrative rule and implemented by his state agency. “This governor has been around so long he thinks that he gets to make all the decisions and this is just another example,” Bolkcom says. “Earlier this year he closed two Mental Health Institutes. A year and a half ago he closed the Juvenile Home for girls. He shut down 60 Workforce Development centers. All of those things illegal, but he believes that he has absolute power at this point.”

Bolkcom says the move is also suspect because Branstad item vetoed millions of dollars worth of state spending for schools in July. “Three months later we apparently are flush with money and are able to give another major corporate tax cut,” Bolkcom says.

The proposal deals with “consumable supplies” that are used in the manufacturing process, like hydraulic fluids and drill bits. Branstad’s Department of Revenue is proposing an administrative rule that would exclude “consumable supplies” from the state sales tax. It’s an estimated savings of 37 million dollars for Iowa businesses.

Branstad describes it as a way to “modernize” the tax code. A bill that would have achieved the same goal passed the Republican-led Iowa House in 2013, but stalled in the Iowa Senate, where Democrats control the debate agenda. A legislative committee reviews all administrative rules and could block the proposal.

(Radio Iowa)

(Podcast) Skyscan Weather Forecast, Tue., 10/6/15

Podcasts, Weather

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

The Freese-Notis forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Bluffs man arrested after stun gun deployed

News

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

A man from Council Bluffs who allegedly attempted to run over a person with whom he had a dispute was arrested early this (Tuesday) morning, but not without a fight. According to Bluffs Police, Michael Wurtz was taken into custody in the basement of his residence, after officers forced their way into his home and used a stun gun to bring him under control.

The incident began at around 1:45-a.m. , with officers being dispatched to the 1700 block of 6th Ave for a disturbance between two parties. As officers were in route witnesses stated one of the males attempted to run over the other male. Officers made contact with the victim and he stated he was assaulted by the suspect, Michael Wurtz, and that Wurtz attempted to run him over and did strike the victim’s vehicle.

Officers checked for the Wurtz at his residence and saw the man enter his home. Officers attempted to make contact with Wurtz but he continually refused to open the door. Police then made a forced entry into Wurtz’s home and located him hiding in the basement. Wurtz refused to comply with officers, forcing them to deploy a Taser to gain control of the man. Wurtz was treated on scene by medics for the Tazer deployment and transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Harvest moves ahead with dry weather

Ag/Outdoor, News

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey says the latest U-S-D-A crop report shows good progress in the harvest. According to Northey, “Last week we had five percent of the corn, seven percent of the beans out. Now we’re up to 13 percent of the corn — 32 percent of the soybeans.”  Northey says he’s hearing good things about yields.

“It’s gonna vary every place, but certainly in some areas of north-west and north-central Iowa we’re seeing 60-bushel soybeans where sometimes those are normally 50-bushel soybeans. Certainly corn in a lot of places over 200 bushels (an acre) in place that don’t always get that,” according to Northey. “We are going to have other parts of Iowa that are not going to have their best crop, but in some of these areas, that’s the best crop they’ve harvested.”

The corn harvest is 10 days ahead of last year, but eight days behind average. The soybean harvest is one week ahead of last year, but one day behind average. He expects thing to move forward quite a bit this week. “If we get a good week this week and dodge some moisture in the middle of the week, we’ll be moving along real good,” Northey says.

He says the crop appears to be pretty dry. There have been some concerns about the beans not being dry enough. “Stems are a little damp in some places, so it makes it a little hard to harvest. It takes a lot of power to get those damp stems through the combine, but with good yields, you’ll certainly take that,” Northey says.

Northey farms corn and beans near Spirit Lake.

(Radio Iowa)

Former clerk in Mills County town faces Theft & other charges following State investigation

News

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

The former city clerk in Pacific Junction faces a charge of first-degree Theft following a state investigation that revealed she gave herself unauthorized Christmas bonuses, vacation and sick pay. The Omaha World-Herald says 43-year old Kari Williams was also charged with felonious misconduct in office, tampering with records and failing to publish city expenditures. The latter two charges are misdemeanors, while the Theft and misconduct charges are classified as felonies. The four charges result from an investigation conducted by the Iowa Auditor’s Office.

According to the criminal complaints, Williams accepted full-time employee benefits, such as vacation and paid sick leave, even though she knew she was not working the required number of hours to be considered full time. Williams also issued Christmas bonus checks to herself for amounts greater than what had been approved by the city council. She also knowingly published city expenditures in a public notice in a newspaper that were not accurate and concealed unpaid federal taxes, according to court documents.

Williams resigned in March, before the results of the auditor’s investigation were announced in April. The criminal complaints were filed against her in August following an investigation by the Mills County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation found nearly $32,000 in improper disbursements.

The investigation covered the period from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2013. Williams became city clerk on May 17, 2004. According to the auditor’s investigation, Williams was paid $15,857 in improper vacation, sick leave and holiday pay, $702 of improper payroll due to double-counted hours and a $460 payout which could not be identified as vacation or sick leave. There were also thousands of dollars in improper vacation and sick leave payouts, and improper bonuses to her and another employee, who also no longer works for the city.

Mills County Attorney Tricia McSorley said Monday that the other person will not be charged. The paper says the city also owed the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, penalties and interest totaling $73,826 as of the end of last year. The city took a loan to pay it.

Red Oak man arrested for trespassing

News

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

A Red Oak man repeatedly in trouble with the law was arrested again early this (Tuesday) morning on a Trespass charge. 53-year old David Lawrence Howe was taken into custody around 3:20-a.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $300 bond.

Howe was previously arrested Sept. 27th for Public Intoxication, and on July 19th for OWI.

Stanton man arrested Monday night for domestic assault

News

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Authorities in Montgomery County report a Stanton man was arrested Monday night on an assault charge. 47-year old Michael William Arterburn was taken into custody at around 8:05-p.m. following an incident in the 2500 block of 190th Street, north of Stanton. Arterburn was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond (pending an appearance before a magistrate), on a charge of Serious Domestic Assault.

Iowa early News Headlines: Tue., Oct. 6th 2015

News

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad says he doesn’t have the power to cut taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood in Iowa. Some Republicans are targeting the group because of videos released by an anti-abortion group. But Branstad says no state dollars are paying for abortions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s dominant health insurer has agreed to start selling policies that will qualify for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield announced Monday that plans will be available for 2017. As a result, moderate-income Iowa residents were not able to choose Wellmark insurance if they wanted to purchase policies that qualified for new federal subsidies to help pay their premiums.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds have announced an initiative to increase skilled labor in Iowa, but it’s unclear how much the plan would cost or how it would be funded. Branstad and Reynolds said Monday the Future Ready Iowa plan aims to increase the number of Iowans with two-year and four-year degrees, as well as apprenticeships and other certifications. The new initiative seeks to have 70 percent of Iowans with that extra education and training by 2025. Details about how much the initiative would cost were not released.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in Dubuque are investigating the death of a man who was found in the rear of a home with gunshot wounds. The person was found behind a home around 11 p.m. Sunday. Dubuque Police Lt. Scott Baxter says the shooting was not a random act of violence, and authorities suspect the victim and shooter knew each other.

 

(updated 3:20-a.m.) NWS forecast for Cass & area Counties, 10/6/15

Weather

October 6th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Early this morning: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Calm wind.
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 76. Light and variable wind becoming south southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South southeast wind 8 to 10 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Breezy. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 64.