House Republicans are pushing ahead with a proposal that seeks to put Iowa’s “Right to Work” law in the state’s constitution, knowing the Democratically-led Iowa Senate won’t take up the measure. A House subcommittee held a hearing on the proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday. Charlie Wishman of the Iowa Federation of Labor told Republicans the amendment is unneeded and divisive. “Why are we doing this right now, re-fighting battles that have been fought in other states that have tore them apart if you’ve been watching the news?” Wishman asked.

The “Right to Work” law guarantees no Iowa worker is required to join a union, or pay union dues. Nicole Crain of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry told lawmakers if Iowa ever gets rid of its Right to Work Law, companies won’t do business here. “The nation’s leading relocation firm reported that 50 percent of all companies looking to relocate or expand automatically eliminate non-Right to Work states,” Crain said. “That’s automatically over 50 percent.”

The meeting was testy at times. Representative Greg Foristall, of Macedonia, chided the crowd after Marcia Nichols of the AFSCME union spoke.  “I guess I have to question what you’re threatened about,” Nichols said to conclude her remarks, and people in the crowd clapped. Foristall interjected: “No, it’s two to 100 here or whatever, so no penetrations will be allowed because I don’t want to let this get out of hand.” Later, Foristall told the union members they don’t understand economics and the shouting started. “I warned you about demonstrations,” Foristall said. “The meeting’s over.”

Foristall is chairman of the House Labor Committee, and the full committee is the next stop for the proposal.

(Radio Iowa)

A public hearing will be held tonight (Thursday) in Atlantic, with regard to a proposed amendment to the Cass County Zoning Ordinance, which would possibly allow for a change to the Business District section of the Ordinance. Some people have expressed concern or interest that the change, if eventually approved by the Board of Supervisors, would permit a business to sell and repair firearms, and/or locate and indoor shooting gallery. But Zoning Administrator Rich Hansen says that topic itself is not on the agenda for tonight’s meeting.

He says “We’re just updating the permitted uses in Business District. Nothing [In the proposed amendment] has firearm sales and repair, or indoor shooting facility,” but there is interest in that type of business coming into the area, so the Commission wanted to update the zoning so it can be approved under Business District. Hansen says the Commission will simple be updating the Zoning Manual to allow a business dealing with guns, into a Business or Light Industrial District. He says the person who has shown some interest in establishing the type of business that would fall under the proposed amendment, has been thinking about the matter for a few years.

Any action taken by the Commission tonight will have to be approved by the County Board of Supervisors. Hansen says there’s really no need for people to get upset about the possibility of a shooting range being locating near Atlantic or any other community, at least for the immediate future. He says right now they’re simply updating their zoning books to allow that type of business, if someone was seriously considering, and had the resources to invest in it.

The hearing will be held in the basement meeting room at the Cass County Courthouse, beginning at 7-p.m.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (1.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A law firm says more than 70 Iowa communities are getting a total of more than $3.5 million from the settlement of a lawsuit filed against a Swiss manufacturer of the herbicide atrazine.  The Iowa City Press-Citizen says Iowa City’s share is nearly $141,000. Spokesman Jerry Brown for Korein Tillery, the law firm that handled the lawsuit, says a dozen Iowa communities will receive between $100,000 and $350,000 each from the $105 million settlement.  The lawsuit against Syngenta was settled in October.

City officials say Iowa City water customers are no longer being exposed to the weed killer, which can run off farm fields. The city began operating a new water treatment facility in 2003, and the water no longer comes straight from the Iowa River.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Authorities in Union County say a man wanted for the attempted murder of a Creston woman Wednesday morning was arrested and is being held in the Union County Jail in Creston.

Officials report 20-year-old William Michael Bird turned himself in to the Union County Law Enforcement Center today (Thursday), at around 2:20-a.m. He was subsequently arrested on three Union County Warrants charging him with Attempted Murder, Domestic Abuse, and Burglary in the 1^st Degree. His combined bond for the charges was set at $52,000.

Authorities said Wednesday, Bird’s female victim was able to get away from the Creston residence where an incident of assault allegedly took place. She ran to a neighbor’s home, but Bird allegedly chased her down and stabbed the unidentified victim her in the upper chest before fleeing the scene. The woman was taken to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston for treatment. Her name, and a report on her condition, is not available.

Authorities in Montgomery report the arrest Wednesday night of an Emerson man. Sheriff’s officials say 43-year old Troy Daniel Smith was arrested in Mills County at around 7:30-p.m., on a valid Montgomery County warrant for Theft in the 5th degree. Smith was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 cash bond pending a court appearance.

Iowa’s governor has assembled a task force that’s planning for possible drought this summer. Rather than hiring one state official to focus on water usage issues, Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Chuck Gipp says it makes more sense to have people from a variety of state agencies involved. “We’re not here to scare anybody about what the water usage available is, but we want to caution people that we are still in the middle of a drought and we have stream segments that are way below normal flow,” Gipp says. “In fact, if you look up at Ames to see the Skunk River, you won’t see a Skunk River.”

The state climatologist, the state geologist and a handful of other state officials are part of the “Hydrology Work Group.”  “They issue a report about every other week about water flows and streams that are in drought condition here and severe drought condition,” Gipp says. Current state law already lays out the protocol for which water users should be cut off first if the water supply dips. “It says that out-of-state water users get it cut off first. Then it’s lesser priority things like crops and then organic crops and then it’s livestock,” Gipp says. “And, obviously, the last entity that gets cut off of the use of water is people.” Gipp’s agency — the Department of Natural Resources — has the authority to order “lower echelon users” to give up their water supply if it’s coming from a river with a water level that’s dangerously low.

“We are required to allow enough water to go past that particular user to make sure there’s sufficient for the downstream user, so minimum flows we have to maintain, if we can,” Gipp says. “If there’s enough water coming from the top side, we have to maintain that for users all the way down the river system.” According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the northwest third of Iowa is suffering through “extreme” drought. “Severe”drought conditions are reported in 58 percent of the state. A federal report issued last week concluded 60 percent of the entire country is in a drought, including the entire state of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican lawmakers say they’re going to try again to ban the rare use of public money to finance abortions for low-income women. Missouri Valley Representative Matt Windschitl says he and other House Republicans are holding preliminary talks on a proposal to prevent Medicaid reimbursement for any abortions. Last fiscal year, the state reimbursed 22 abortions at a cost of $19,402.

State and federal laws now limit abortion funding to low-income women who are rape or incest victims, whose lives will be in danger if they don’t get an abortion, or whose fetuses face severe deformities. A similar effort delayed Iowa lawmakers during the end of last legislative session, as Republicans tried to push a rule banning government-funded abortions. Republicans finally gave up the effort under pressure to end the session.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press