A new state law establishes a new income tax credit for individuals and couples saving for their first home. The new law applies to deposits in savings accounts Iowans use EXCLUSIVELY to set aside money to cover the costs of buying their first home. Individuals may claim a yearly credit of up to two-thousand dollars. Couples saving for their first home could get a yearly four-thousand dollar tax break. Republican Roby Smith of Davenport guided the proposal through the Iowa Senate last month. “This helps Iowans with their pursuit of the American Dream…This is economic development,” Smith said during senate debate.

He said also “It helps home builders. It helps lumber yards, it helps small businesses.” The bill easily cleared the legislature, but there was one “no” vote in the Senate. In the House, 11 Democrats voted against it. Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the state already forgive more than 400 million in taxes this year because of ALREADY EXISTING tax credits. “Giving tax breaks is a lot more fun that taking them away,” Mascher says, “but until lawmakers get serious about demanding hard evidence that a given tax break creates growth, state budgets will continue to run in the red.”

Representative Charlie McConkey of Council Bluffs was among the majority of Democrats who voted for the bill. “I think we all can remember our first purchase,” McConkey says, “how tough it was to come up with the downpayment on that.”

Governor Branstad approved the bill creating this new tax credit yesterday (Tuesday). Iowans will be able to start claiming the income tax credit for savings deposits made after January 1st of 2018.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County have confirmed an Exira teen was hurt in a motorcycle versus deer accident Tuesday night west of Griswold. 17-year old Chloe Anthofer was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by 18-year old Samuel Dankert, of Griswold, when the eastbound cycle struck a deer on Highway 92 near Contrail Avenue, at around 9:50-p.m.,Tuesday. The machine went out of control and veered off the road before coming to rest on the shoulder.

Anthofer was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Griswold Rescue. Authorities say Dankert was cited for failure to hold a valid driver’s license.

A traveling photographic memorial of Iowa military personnel who have died fighting terrorism will be on display during the May 20th Ba-Da Ba-Da Bing Bang Rally in Atlantic. Sponsored by Rolling Hills Bank and Trust, the “Remembering Our Fallen” display will be open May 19-21 at the American Legion Memorial Building (formerly the National Guard Armory) at 201 Poplar St. The hours are from noon to 4:30 p.m. Friday; from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

Bill Williams, co-creator of the memorial, said “We must remember these American heroes and speak their names when we see their family members. We can never forget those who sacrificed everything for our freedom.” And, “While this memorial is about those who have died, it was created for the living…to help the families in their grief, while reminding the rest of us of the terrible price paid for our freedom by our current generation of military.”

The World-Herald sponsored a display Saluting Veterans of the War on Terror at the Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland. JAMES R. BURNETT/THE WORLD-HERALD

The memorial and 18 other state memorials represent 60 percent of our country’s fallen since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. These memorials have been created by Patriotic Productions, a non-profit organization headquartered in Omaha, Neb. The goal is to complete a national traveling memorial that will include all U.S. military personnel who have died during the War on Terror.

More information can be obtained by calling Bill Williams at (402) 612-0210 or by visiting the websites at: RememberingOurFallen.org or PatrioticProductions.org.

A traffic stop Tuesday night in Pottawattamie County resulted in the arrest of a Nebraska man. Sheriff’s officials say a Deputy saw a 1999 Cadillac Escalade with a forward facing red lamp at around 9:10-p.m. and initiated the traffic stop near 300th Street and Cottonwood Road.

The driver identified himself as Michel Hargreaves, but an investigation determined his real name was 31-year old Kevin Daniel Hargreaves, of Omaha. He was subsequently arrested for providing false identification and having no driver’s license. Hargreaves was also cited for having lights of an improper color.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a man shot near a Des Moines elementary school has died. Police say 23-year-old Choice Elliston died a little after 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at a hospital. He’d been taken by private vehicle to Broadlawns Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon and then was transferred to Iowa Methodist Medical Center. He lived in Des Moines.

No arrests have been reported in what police say is Des Moines’ 14th homicide of the year. The shooting occurred near Monroe Elementary on the northwest side of the city. The school was locked down from 2 until 2:30 p.m.

A traffic stop Tuesday afternoon in Audubon County resulted in the arrest of a woman on alcohol and drug charges. 47-year old Kristen Marie Hughes, of Red Oak, was pulled over south of Hamlin on Highway 71, after authorities received a complaint about her driving. Hughes faces charges that include OWI/3rd offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Failure to yield half of the roadway. She was brought to the Audubon County Jail and later released with a court appearance, set for May 15th.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says fired F-B-I director James Comey took actions that “called into question” the “political independence” of the agency. Grassley issued a written statement early Tuesday evening, shortly after the White House announced President Trump had terminated the F-B-I director. Grassley says Comey’s “recent decisions on controversial matters have prompted concern from across the political spectrum.”

Grassley specifically cited Comey’s “handling” of the investigation into how Hillary Clinton managed email when she was secretary of state. Grassley said Comey had lost the “trust and confidence” of the public — and Grassley said that undermined the effectiveness of the F-B-I.

Grassley is also blasting Comey for failing to provide senators with information “that Comey himself pledged to provide.” Just before Comey was fired yesterday (Tuesday), the F-B-I sent Grassley’s committee a letter correcting and clarifying some of the statements Comey made last week during testimony before the committee.

(Radio Iowa)

An Iowan was recently elected as the youngest president of the board of directors of the National Rifle Association. Forty-eight-year-old Pete Brownell is the C-E-O of the Montezuma-based company Brownells, which makes guns, gun parts and accessories. In an interview with Radio Iowa, Brownell says there is significance to him becoming the youngest to hold the position. “Well, I represent a generation change, the N-R-A has a tendency to be looked at as out of touch. But I can tell you, it’s pretty darn diverse age wise,” Brownell says.

He says beyond that age of members, the organization is getting better at becoming more diverse it “spreads its wings” to represent more ethnic groups and different thoughts. “So I kind of represent that next generation of thought and speed and technology and adoption of the 21st Century,” Brownell explains.

The group has some five million members. Brownell says his focus as president won’t involve the political issues, but will instead stick with the core purpose of the organization “The bulk of the work that the N-R-A does is really in training, education, program development, supporting and promoting hunting and hunting safety,” he says. “So there’s a lot of programs that the N-R-A does.”

Brownell says the political issues often overshadow the other things. “There’s a lot of training and safety that goes into what the N-R-A does…it never gets any publicity out there because the legal issues are what the news, and the legislative issues are what the news covers,” Brownell says, “it doesn’t cover training of youth or hunting safety or conservation efforts that we do. Or youth activities and youth training. I like that stuff, that’s where I am focusing.”

Critics of the N-R-A say they organization pushes more people to own guns, but Brownell says the increase in demand for guns comes from the public, not the organization. “The big one and probably maybe the largest emerging one, is the one for protection,” Brownell explains. “And that’s not just men buying guns, that is women, that’s the L-G-T-B-Q community. Those are the African-American communities out there buying pistols, they’re buying training, they’re looking for ranges to improve their skills.”

He says people the police cannot be everywhere and they want to be able to defend themselves when needed. There’s also been an increase in the number of high school students involved in trap and skeet shooting. Brownell says the N-R-A works with people to train them to properly use their guns, and have programs that work with the police, military. He says another program works with kids.

He says the Eddie Eagle program teaches children who find a gun to ‘stop, don’t touch, run away tell an adult.’ “My kids still know that, and if we had that in every school out there, we might have less problems. So, we are going to be pushing some of those training activities,” Brownell says.

He says he’ll be the voice to explain the training and work the organization does when people are critical of the N-R-A. “The really good programs that everybody needs to at least to consider get overshadowed sometimes, and it’s my job to…raise the bushel basket off those and shed the light on them for everybody to see the benefits of ,” he explains. “You know, that’s how I answer. It’s not about the guns, it about the training and access.”

Brownell is the second Iowan to become the N-R-A president. Former deputy Des Moines Police Chief Kayne Robinson served as the N-R-A president from 2003-2005.”Kayne was right there with Charlton Heston when he was there. So, it was a great time for Kayne to be in a position were it was kind of redefining the N-R-A as well. And I find myself kind of in that same position — not redefining but reinforcing the work the N-R-A has been doing since its origination a 150 plus years ago.”

Brownell was elected president at the group’s annual meeting in Atlanta at the end of April after serving on the board of directors since 2010. Brownells was founding in Montezuma in 1939 by Pete Brownell’s grandfather.

(Radio Iowa)

Spring weather in Iowa often includes hailstorms and Iowans filed 27-hundred hail claims last year with State Farm Insurance. The average cost to repair hail-damaged cars was over four-thousand dollars while the average home roof repair topped 11-thousand dollars. State Farm spokeswoman Holly Anderson suggests Iowans check in with their insurance agent now, before the next storm strikes.  “Find out what is your deductible, what will your insurance cover,” Anderson says. “You need to know those things when you’re filing a claim and just for peace of mind so you know that during this hail season, that you are covered.”

Iowans need to be vigilant when it comes to severe weather and Anderson suggests keeping an ear to the radio. “We always say safety first, but if you know that there is an advance storm warning that’s threatening damaging winds and hail,” Anderson says, “we really advise folks to move their cars and boats and their other fun toys under cover so that you can try to avoid damage.” If your home’s roof or windows have been compromised by a storm, Anderson says you may need to act quickly.

“If you know you’ve had hail damage, whether it’s significant or not, if it’s safe to do so, go ahead and make temporary repairs to prevent any additional damage that might be coming through from rain and things like that,” Anderson says. “Save your receipts because a lot of times, those temporary repairs are something that’s covered under your policy.”

In the State Farm report for 2016, Iowa ranks 25th in the nation for the most hail claims.

(Radio Iowa)

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

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