(Radio Iowa) — A new study of direct care workers in Iowa shows a continued problem with finding enough people to fill the jobs. The Executive Director of Iowa Care Givers, Di Findley says low wages are one factor. “The good news is — yeah their wages have gone up a little bit — but the median wage is still only 13 dollars and 80 cents an hour,” Findley says.  She says the United Way of Iowa’s poverty report shows that wage is below the poverty level for a family of four. “And one of the other findings in the survey is that 28 percent were working more than one job. And 22 percent said they were seeking work outside of direct care — 78 percent of them said because of the low wages,” according to Findley. “And so, that certainly compounds the shortages and some of the issues that we are facing.”

Findley says it’s a key segment of the workforce when it comes to care. “They’re high demand, but they are also a very high-impact workforce….about 95 percent of the people who work in the field are women. They are home care aides, nurse aides, direct support professionals, and they serve Iowans of all ages and abilities,” Findley says. She says there is still a misconception that these jobs are at the bottom rung of health care. “We have people who have worked in this field for 30, 40 years and they are still viewed societally as entry level workers. And it is also often times viewed as womens’ work,” Findley says, “so that contributes, I think, to our challenges of trying to elevate the compensation levels for these individuals.”

Findley says the new Speaker of the Iowa House talked about focusing on the workforce, and that could be good news. “We hope that our elected officials will place a higher priority on this workforce and try to come up with some strategies to enhance the wages and benefits of this workforce,” she says.  Findley says these workers also face what is called the “cliff effect.”  “They get a little bit of a wage increase and it’s just enough that it compromises some of these worker supports. They end up being worse off,” Findley says.

She says things like the child care credit and supplemental food program are still needed by many of the direct care workers even if they get a wage increase. Findley says they hope to work with lawmakers this session to address some of these issues.

BRANDON, Iowa (AP) – A man whose elderly mother was found in a feces-filled house with 18 dogs in northeast Iowa has been given jail time and probation. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that David Rogers was sentenced last week to a year in jail with all but 60 days suspended. Authorities say Rogers and his mother lived in a Brandon home. Authorities say that last August he went to a hospital for a lengthy stay without making arrangements for care of his mother or the dogs. Officers called to the home later in the month found the dogs, four dog carcasses and the filth.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – (Updated) Police have arrested a 28-year-old man suspected of killing his girlfriend’s mother in Fort Dodge. Police say Mark Russell, of Fort Dodge, is charged with first-degree murder. He was arrested after police were called to a home around 9:15 a.m. Monday. Officers dispatched to check on a domestic dispute there found the 45-year-old woman unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police identified her Tuesday as Angela McLeod. Investigators think Russell grabbed an object inside the home and struck McLeod with it.

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

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Leaders in Davenport, Iowa, are condemning a snow display depicting a figure gunning down a snowman wearing a Bernie Sanders shirt and another adorned with a Democratic Party hat. Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said Monday he’s asked the police chief to investigate the display, noting “all hate speech is wrong.” Homeowner Donald Hesseltine laughed off such concerns. He says he created the display over the weekend to “mess with” friends who support Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president. The display includes a mannequin topped with a military helmet that is holding a rifle and chainsaw. The rifle is pointed toward the Sanders snowman, which has red-dyed snow near its head.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — A high school science teacher in Davenport has been accused of secretly recording nude videos of two females who’d stayed at his Bettendorf home. Clinton Van Fossen is charged with five misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy and with other crimes. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney. Associated Press attempts to reach him Monday were unsuccessful. Davenport Community School District officials say Van Fossen had been placed on administrative leave with pay. He is listed as a science teacher at Davenport West High School. He’s denied knowing about two spy cameras police say they found in his Bettendorf home.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a collision between a semitrailer and a car left two people dead in Sioux City. The crash occurred around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Police say the northbound semi collided with the eastbound car at an intersection. The 19-year-old man and 18-year-old woman in the car were pronounced dead at the scene. Police say the truck driver wasn’t injured. The names of those involved and other details about the crash haven’t been released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic White House hopefuls are deploying surrogates across the early primary states and beyond as they try to make up for their limited time on the trail. Candidates have deployed their spouses, their children and celebrities to make their case to undecided voters and help them raise money in unorthodox ways. The surrogates will become even more important this week as four senators running for president will be stuck in Washington to serve as jurors for President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. The proxies can help fill in the gap as the senators are sidelined from campaigning in the critical final stretch before voting.

The Iowa State Patrol, Monday evening, released additional information on an accident involving two teens who had absconded from the Clarinda Academy Monday afternoon. Authorities say the accident happened as Clarinda Police were chasing a 2018 Chevy passenger car that had been reported stolen. The vehicle was occupied by the driver, 16-year old Isaiah Mikah Fontana, and his passenger, 16-year old Chris Nathaniel Sullivan, both of Clarinda.

Authorities say at around 2:26-p.m., the car, which was traveling at a high rate of speed on Highway 2 near mile marker 37, topped the crest of a hill and went out of control before entering the north ditch and vaulting over a field drive. The vehicle rolled twice before coming to rest on its top. The teens were transported by Shenandoah and Clarinda Rescue squads to the Clarinda Regional Hospital.

Authorities had been looking for the teens since they absconded from the Clarinda Academy earlier in the afternoon, on Monday.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Dept. Director Bryant Rasmussen, Monday evening, updated the Parks Board on several matters, including tree removal at Sunnyside Park. Rasmussen said work on removing some trees and pruning others will begin soon. In 2015, a survey conducted with the help of the District Forester, counted and categorized the trees at Sunnyside, including those with issues that needed to be addressed immediately.

The Forester was brought back in this year, to re-assess the trees. Rasmussen said some 30-to 40 trees need to be removed or pruned. The ones that need to be removed are either dead, or have a rotten core, are leaning or are splitting down the middle: Those that pose a safety issue to park users. Some of the trees to be removed, including those over 2-feet in diameter and the Oaks, will need to be handled by a professional tree removal company.

Atlantic Parks & Rec Board (1/20/20) Ric Hanson/photo

Rassmussen said it is cold enough now that they were able to get the the ice to freeze at the Sunnyside Park Ice Skating rink, but there are some issues with cracking and ice heaves that need to be addressed once it gets a bit warmer, so they can add water and smooth out the rough spots. Once the rink is open, the Parks and Rec Department has hockey and ice skating equipment available, along with “Curling” with frozen milk jugs, frozen pop bottle bowling and more.

On a somewhat related note, Rasmussen said ice fishing is allowed at the Schildberg Park, but the ice is NOT monitored, so use Due Diligence to make sure it is thick enough before you venture out onto the lakes.

Rasmussen said the Parks Department has the raised garden beds for Mollett Park assembled and ready to be installed this Spring. Questions remain, though, including getting water access from AMU to the beds, and what the fee should be for the rental of a garden bed, compost, and tools. He said they have tentatively discussed a total fee of $35, which includes $20 for the raised bed, and $15 for the cost of utilities and tools. There will be 10, fenced in raised beds, with two available for Master Gardeners. Rasmussen said the Master Gardeners will offer once a week seminars for the plots and other helpful advice to potential users.

In other business, Bryant Rasmussen said the Parks and Rec Dept. will offer bikes to rent beginning this Spring, in coordination with the Atlantic Police Department. The bicycles are those that have been confiscated, or found and never claimed. They were stored for a year or more in the P-D’s basement. New (unpaved) trails will be opened-up at Sunnyside for bike paths, and helmets will be available “Compliments of people who left them after RAGBRAI,” and kids helmets courtesy of the Kiwanis Club.

Rasmussen said “Friends of the Parks” will hold a meeting 5:30-p.m. Feb. 4th at the Parks & Rec Office, to discuss community outreach, volunteering and overall promotion of the City’s Park Assets. Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting.

Rasmussen also encourages everyone to explore all the recreational equipment available at the Parks Office and storage shed, including Cross County skis & poles, bag boards for rent, a ping-pong table and net, discs for Disc Golf, horseshoes, croquet, volleyball, football and pickle ball equipment, board games, and much more.

Call the Parks and Rec Department Monday through Friday from 8-a.m. to 5-p.m., at (712)-243-3542, go to their website https://www.atlanticiowa.com/atlantic/city-departments/parks-recreation/ or follow them on social media.

(Radio Iowa) — An Iowa State University study finds Iowa’s job rate grew by more than seven-percent in the decade since the Great Recession, but that growth was very lopsided. I-S-U economist Dave Swenson says between 2007 and 2018, jobs in Iowa’s metro areas grew by nine-percent, while the state’s rural areas saw jobs fall by two-percent.

“Iowa recovered a little bit more rapidly from the Great Recession than the nation,” Swenson says. “We didn’t contract as much as they did nationally and we recovered back to our pre-recession level of employment about a year before the nation did, but growth at the national level had a much sharper slope.” Compared to the national average at just over 16-percent, and job growth in surrounding states which averaged more than nine-percent, Iowa’s recovery was not nearly as strong.

“We rank this decade alone just 6th worst in growth,” Swenson says. “Among our neighbors, we rank worst and among all of the Plains states, we’re growing at a slower pace than all of the Plains states as well.” Swenson notes that Iowa’s jobless rate didn’t take as great of hit during the recession, falling just over two-percent compared to a five-and-a-half-percent drop nationally. Using federal data, Swenson found the state’s strongest job gains were in real estate and rental or leasing, which includes farmland rentals, while the greatest loss was in durable goods manufacturing.

“The growth in the metropolitan economies is relatively strong, but our economy is being dragged down somewhat because we’re populated with a lot of industries, agriculture, manufacturing, and industries that depend on agriculture and manufacturing that aren’t growing very fast,” Swenson says. “Our industrial mix is somewhat unfavorable towards growth.”

During the past decade, Swenson says Iowa’s metro areas added more than 30-thousand jobs in areas like health care and social assistance, while smaller communities lost nearly 13-thousand jobs. The shift makes it harder for people in rural communities, he says, as they have to travel farther for health care. In the future, Swenson says, rural areas may have to rely more on technology for those services.

(Radio Iowa) — A Spencer man is facing several charges after a domestic disturbance call turned into a standoff at a home Sunday. Upon arrival, officers determined the suspect 21-year-old Dawson Walker had threatened the occupants of the home with a gun and was keeping them locked inside. Officers made entry into the house and evacuated the occupants safely, along with removing the firearm.

Police say Walker armed himself with a butcher knife, and a standoff ensued. Walker eventually gave up and exited the home, where police took him into custody without further incident. Walker was charged with felon in possession of a firearm, domestic abuse assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, operation without owner’s consent, false imprisonment and interference with official acts.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports two 16 year old white male students who absconded from the Clarinda Academy earlier this (Monday) afternoon, were captured following a high-speed chase. The teens were in a vehicle that had allegedly been stolen from Clarinda. The vehicle went out of control and crashed.

No further information will be made available until sometime tomorrow (Tuesday).

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports two 16 year old white male students absconded from the Clarinda Academy a little after 2-p.m. They were last seen on foot heading westbound from the campus.

Law Enforcement & Clarinda Academy staff are conducting a search at this time. No further information available.