WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in Congress are celebrating the signing of President Donald Trump’s tax proposal. The voters who elected Trump seem pleased but far from ecstatic.

Trump was elected with big support from blue collar voters who wanted him to change the economy. Some are not quite sure what to make of a tax bill whose biggest benefits go to corporations and the wealthy.

Most Americans will get a tax break. Some Trump voters in business will see major benefits. And others hope the wealth trickles down to them.

Sam Baker, an Iowa farmer, summed it up when he said: “It’s going to help me a little, I suppose.”

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reminds residents of the community, that iF 1-to 2 inches of snow falls this weekend and accumulates on the streets, that a citywide on street parking ban would be in force until the streets are plowed & the snowfall ends. Vehicles not removed are subject to parking tickets & tow/impound. Brothers said the snowplows are primed and ready to go there is a significant snowfall.  Crews will be monitoring conditions, with staff on standby, if the flakes start to fly.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — A visit by Santa Claus to a Muscatine City Council meeting ended with police escorting him from the room after he gave council members and the city administrator lumps of coal. The Muscatine Journal reports Muscatine resident Max Kauffman dressed as Santa to deliver the gifts Thursday night. Kaufman has been a critic of the council’s efforts to remove Mayor Diana Broderson from office, a move blocked by court action. After she was reinstated, she won a second term in November.

Kauffman also has criticized City Administrator Gregg Mandsager, who has sued the mayor and city. After giving Broderson candy, Kauffman gave coal to the others. Upon reaching Mandsager, the administrator asked the police chief to escort him from the room. Kauffman was banned from the chamber for six months.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Insurers for the city of Des Moines paid $2.1 million to a lawyer who alleged he suffered head injuries when he was hit by a falling garbage can. The city this week released a copy of its November settlement with Jaysen McCleary in response to open records requests. McCleary alleges he was struck in January 2014 by a solid waste container that fell from a city truck collecting it outside his home. His lawsuit alleged the city was negligent, and he sought damages for medical expenses and pain and suffering.

During the case, reports from medical experts who evaluated McCleary were inadvertently made public by one of his attorneys. An Iowa Supreme Court justice had ordered the Des Moines Register not to publish the information, but lifted the order Tuesday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge visitor center is closing for the Christmas holiday starting on Sunday. Refuge officials say it will remain closed through Monday and reopen for regular business hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The visitor center will also close for the New Year’s Day federal holiday on Jan. 1. It will reopen on Jan. 2. The seasonal sections of the refuge tour road and refuge grounds will remain open during those federal holidays.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is located 25 miles north of Omaha on U.S. Highway 30 between Missouri Valley, Iowa, and Blair, Nebraska.

Thousands of Iowans were expected to be hitting the highways Friday through this weekend, for Christmas activities. The man who oversees the state’s Highway Helper program, Scott Marler, deals with problems throughout the year. He says one of the biggest keys to making sure you get to your destination without problems is to be sure your car is ready. “One of our most frequent items that we see out on the roadsides actually are stalled vehicles,” Marler says.

‘Highway Helper trucks operate on the interstates in the Des Moines, Council Bluffs and Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area. Marler says a little preparation can prevent problems during busy holiday times, and throughout the year. “Travel prepared and do keep you vehicle maintained,” Marler says, “particularily during these winter months. That’s when we are most concerned with people finding themselves inadvertently in harms way.”

His crews see a lot of other things happening out on the roadways that could lead to problems. Marler says most can be prevented. “Drive alert, don’t drive distracted, put the cellphone down. Buckle up. Every seat every time,” Marler says. “If you do those things, people will get to where they need to go safely.” Marler says the Highway Helpers are out weekdays from five a-m until eight p-m. And he says they are also out sometimes during major holidays when traffic is expected to be heavy.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans who might be considering taking up beekeeping in the new year will have plenty of opportunities to learn what all the buzz is about. A record number of 36 courses will be held across Iowa during 2018 for both the beginner and advanced beekeeper. Dustin Vande Hoef, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, says the courses are very informative. “These are often put on by local extension officers or community colleges and led at the local level but working with our state apiarist,” Vande Hoef says. “We’ve collected them so folks can get a sense of where all the classes are and if they’re interested, I encourage them to look into them and consider signing up.”

Most of the classes charge a fee, from 35 to 100-dollars, though some are free and several are starting in January. “Actually, a lot of them, it’s a series of classes and a number include a site visit where they’ll go out to a place where they’re keeping bees and get an understanding,” Vande Hoef says. “There are some full-day classes where it’s just one day but many it’s a series of hour or two classes at night or on weekends and they’ll go through it in a series of classes.”

There are now about 45-hundred beekeepers in Iowa who manage more than 45-thousand colonies of honey bees. “We continue to see interest both at the hobbyist beekeeper level where they have a hive or a handful of hives that they keep and use the honey and give it to their friends as gifts,” Vande Hoef says, “but we also are seeing growth in the commercial size where they’ll have hundreds or maybe thousands of colonies where they’ll hire those out to go pollinate crops.”

Iowa honey bees produce about four-million pounds of honey every year, valued at over eight-million dollars. Meanwhile, the economic value of honey bees as crop pollinators in Iowa is estimated at $92 million annually. Find details about the classes at the website: http://www.abuzzaboutbees.com

(Radio Iowa)

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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A Page County man was sentenced earlier this week to 10-years in prison for 3rd degree sexual abuse, but the sentence was suspended and 26-year old Kenton John Alexander, of New Market, was placed on formal probation for three years. In addition, Alexander, who plead guilty to the offense earlier this month, must complete the Sexual Offender Treatment Program, and he’ll reside at the Residential Treatment Center until maximum benefits have been achieved. He was arrested last July, in Clarinda.

Alexander will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The judge also ordered Alexander to be committed into the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections for the rest of his life.