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Davenport considers selling fire training building

News

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Davenport is considering selling a city-owned fire department building for $200,000 less than it cost to build six years ago. The Quad-City Times reports that the land the building sits on was owned by Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, which sold it to Hawkeye Paving, of Bettendorf. The company wants to use the building as its new headquarters.

The proposed contract would have Hawkeye pay the city $600,000 and would let Davenport and other emergency agencies use parts of the facility for training purposes for free until October 2020. Movable training pieces such as the burn tower and a hazmat simulator would be sold to the city by Hawkeye for $1, and the city would have to pay to move those training pieces elsewhere.

The vote to finalize the building sale could take place as soon as Jan. 9.

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & Funeral report, 12/31/18

News, Podcasts

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Play

Creston Police report (3 arrests) – 12/31/18

News

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Police in Creston arrested three people over the past few days. Sunday night, 59-year old Teresa Vivian Vaca, of Creston, was arrested at the Wal-Mart Store, for Theft in the 5th Degree. Vaca was cited and released at the scene. Saturday afternoon, 44-year old Cory McKinney, of Lorimor, was arrested in Creston for Driving While Barred. He was also cited for Fraudulent Use of Registration and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability (Vehicle insurance). McKinney was released from the Union County Jail on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. And, late Friday morning, 26-year old Tina Louise Perrigo, of Creston, was arrested at the Fareway store in Creston, for Theft in the 5th Degree. She was released on a Promise to Appear in court.

(7-a.m. News)

Prairie City boy is Hawkeyes’ ‘Kid Captain’ for Outback Bowl

News, Sports

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — A Prairie City boy will celebrate his 14th birthday tomorrow (Tuesday) by serving as “Kid Captain” for the Iowa football team as the Hawkeyes play Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl. Gabe Graber’s mother, Emily, says her son was born on January 1, 2005 with a rare birth defect. “Gabe’s congenital heart defect is called double-inlet left ventricle, which means that his right ventricle never fully developed, and his left ventricle is responsible for handling the whole function of his heart,” Emily said.

Gabe Graber

Gabe had two heart surgeries before his third birthday. During his second surgery, Gabe suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side. But within two months, he was walking again. His father, Darin, says a third major surgery followed a seizure in 2015. “After the surgery or since, he’s been like a changed person. He has a lot more confidence. He’s more engaging with people,” Darin said. Emily added, “Gabe has taught me the definition of resilience. He continues to fight no matter what obstacles he’s faced.”

Gabe’s parents made their comments in a video produced by the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. This marks the 10th year for the UI Kid Captain program. The Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida kicks-off tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11 a.m., Iowa time.

Nebraska man gets 10 years for stealing copper wire in Iowa

News

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing copper wire in western Iowa that was soon tracked to his Nebraska home. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 39-year-old Brian Cave was sentenced Thursday in Council Bluffs after he pleaded guilty to theft. The judge says the sentence will run the same time as a theft sentence Cave is serving in Nebraska.

Court records say some wire was stolen in May from a Union Pacific yard in south Council Bluffs. Police put a GPS tracking unit inside another spool of the wire at the yard. It was soon stolen as well. Authorities say the GPS attached to the spool showed its new location as Cave’s home in Omaha.

New Year’s Fireworks rules in Atlantic

News

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

A reminder, fireworks may be used in Atlantic to celebrate the coming of the New Year, but there are restrictions on when they may be used. City Code says fireworks are permissible “New Year’s Eve starting at 6 p.m. and ending on New Year’s Day at 12:15 a.m.” Also, “No fireworks of any type shall be discharged within 300 ft. of any Public school building, assisted living facility, or hospital.”

Penalties for violating the Ordinance is as follows:

A. “Any person who violates the provisions of the fireworks discharging ordinance or without reckless intent causes injury, property damage or a fire shall be guilty of a scheduled municipal infraction punishable by a $250 fine in addition to established court costs.

B. Persons who violates the discharging fireworks ordinance after having been found guilty of a previous municipal infraction involving fireworks shall be cited for a municipal infraction with a fine of $600 plus associated court costs.”

For other cities in the area, contact your local City Hall or look online for their posted ordinances, as available.

Red Oak woman arrested for OWI/drugged Sunday night

News

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Red Oak Police arrested a woman Sunday night, for Operating a vehicle While Intoxicated (OWI) – drug related. 26-year old Joslin Nicole Davies, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9:35-p.m. following a traffic stop at the intersection of 3rd and Oak Streets, in Red Oak. Davies was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond. Sheriff’s Deputies from Cass and Montgomery Counties assisted Red Oak Police during the incident.

IA employer plans to build new facility & bring jobs to Kentucky

News

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin says more manufacturing jobs are coming to his State. Bevin said in a statement that Pella, Iowa-based Precision Pulley and Idler plans to locate a $10.8 million manufacturing and distributing operation in an existing 105,000-square-foot building in Maysville and will hire 134 full-time employees over the next 10 years. The company supplies idlers, pulleys, bearings and other products.

PPI President and CEO Roger Brown said the Maysville facility allows additional capacity to meet the company’s growing demands. The company operates 12 facilities in the U.S. and also has locations in Canada and Chile. Bevin says the jobs will benefit the economy in northeastern Kentucky.

Party prep work underway for 2020 Iowa Caucuses

News

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The 2020 Iowa Caucuses are 399 days away, but the leaders of Iowa’s two major political parties say it’s already “Caucus season” in Iowa. The next Iowa Caucuses are scheduled for February 3rd, 2020, but a couple of dozen potential Democratic presidential candidates and two declared candidates have made their way through Iowa already. On the Republican side, Donald Trump has held three campaign-style rallies here since he was elected president in 2016.

The priority for the party leaders who are hosting the 2020 Caucuses? Make sure the voting goes smoothly on both sides. “This is the one, strong bipartisan part of the job that, quite frankly, I rather enjoy,” says Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann. He was the party’s chairman during the 2016 Iowa Caucuses. That’s when Microsoft developed the reporting system for Caucus results from both parties. Troy Price has been the Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman since July of 2017 and he was just reelected to another two-year term in the job.

“Whatever system we end up using, we always do a lot of testing around it and we always have back-ups in case it doesn’t work,” Price says. The Iowa Caucuses are party events, so the two parties have to raise money privately for all the expenses. Iowa Democrats will have NEW expenses this time around, as NATIONAL party leaders have imposed new requirements, like allowing absentee participation.

“As well as some of the other mandates, too, in terms of like making sure we can re-canvas, recreate what happened on Caucus Night, so we know there is going to be additional expense,” Price says. “We just don’t know the final tally of that, but we are planning it’s going to cost more than what it has in the past and we are prepared to raise the resources to make sure we run a caucus that’s going to be accessible to everyone.”

In 2019, Iowa Democrats will host their presidential candidates at two annual party fundraisers — one in the summer and one in the fall. Kaufmann says the Iowa G-O-P’s leadership hasn’t yet decided when Republican party fundraisers will be held in 2019.   “I will tell you that I’m not going to provide a platform by which people, on our dime, can beat up on our Republican president,” Kaufmann says.

He says “legitimate” Republican challengers to Trump may emerge in 2019 and Kaufmann says they’ll be welcome at G-O-P events if they avoid “mud-slinging” and focus on their policy differences with the president.

Iowa early News Headlines: Monday, Dec. 31st 2018

News

December 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

BROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — Utility crews extinguished a fire at a nuclear power plant in southeast Nebraska over the weekend. The Nebraska Public Power District says the fire was discovered in the basement of the facility around 9 a.m. Saturday while crews were investigating a hazardous gas. It was extinguished before 10 a.m. The utility says the fire never threatened public safety.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — A major financial rating agency has lowered its bond ratings for an Iowa town because of how it is financing a $70 million arena project. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that S&P Global Ratings pointed to Coralville’s bank loans with variable interest rates to pay for the planned 5,700 seat arena set to open in 2020. City leaders say they remain confident the project does not threaten the city’s finances.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman whose son died from a drug overdose has had a chance to hear his heart beat again in the chest of an Ohio man who received it as an organ donation. The Quad City Times reports that Lisa Bragg met Friday in Davenport with 45-year-old Kenneth Vogelsong, of Sherwood, Ohio. Bragg’s 27-year-old son, Markus Abbott, died in January, and his heart was transplanted in Vogelsong.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — In 2008, Barack Obama won the hearts of Iowa Democrats. Today, his supporters are looking more pragmatically for someone who can simply seize the presidency from Donald Trump in 2020. Niki Neems, a Democratic activist in Iowa city, says that ideally she would want to fall in love with the new candidate the same way as she did with Obama. But she adds that the candidate’s ultimate success at defeating Trump is more important. Neems says, “So, for me, it’s OK to just fall in like.”