Area and State News.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) – The “State of Tobacco Control” report issued by the Iowa American Lung Association shows the state’s grades have not changed from last year. Association advocacy director, Kristina Hamilton, says there has been one recent improvement in tobacco prevention. She says Iowa’s Medicaid program now provides a comprehensive quit smoking benefit. “This is something that the Lung Association is very excited about, because it provides new opportunities to help smokers on Medicaid quit,” she says.

The state received an F grade for providing access to services to help people quit tobacco prior to the recent change. The report also gives Iowa an F grade for ending the sale of flavored tobacco products, the level of state tobacco taxes, and the amount of funding of tobacco prevention programs. “Despite receiving over 265 million dollars from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes in Iowa — the state only funds tobacco control efforts at 17-point-one percent of the level that the C-D-C recommends,” Hamilton says. “So, we really want to at a minimum protect the four million dollars in tobacco control funding at the state level.”

The one area where the state gets an A grade is the Smokefree Air Law. “Our smoke-free air law it is very strong, we just want to see the loophole closed for casinos,” Hamilton says. Currently, smoking is allowed in restricted areas within casinos and we would like to see that loophole closed to protect workers and patrons.” Hamilton says they would also like to see E-cigarettes defined and taxed as tobacco products. “We are very concerned about the use of electronic cigarettes among youth. Those rates have risen in past years and we are very concerned about that,” she says.

She says smoking rates have dropped from 25 percent 20 years ago when they first did the report to below 16 percent now. “Smoking rates are still high among men, indigenous people, L-G-B-T people, and people of lower socioeconomic status. So, we still have to remain vigilant and we definitely have made a huge dent in smoking rates in the state of Iowa,” Hamilton says.

She says tobacco use remains our leading cause of preventable death and disease.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report 31-year-old Benjamin Wyatt Barnes, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 4:20-p.m. Wednsday, in the 100 block of W. Coolbaugh Street, on a Montgomery County warrant. Barnes was wanted for Violation of the Sex Offender Registry, 2nd or subsequent offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic High School Large Group Speech team competed at the District level at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln on Saturday, January 22nd. All ten groups (Varsity and Freshman teams) received a Division 1 rating and will advance to State contest on Saturday, February 5th at West Des Moines Valley High School.

Coaches Trisha Niceswanger and Brandon Baggett are very excited about last weekend’s results. Niceswanger says “It is a huge accomplishment for all ten of our entries to earn a 1 and advance to State! I am really looking forward to how we can improve on our pieces and compete again in two weeks.” (Photos courtesy Coach Niceswanger)

Baggett adds “I have really enjoyed working with this year’s group of students. Our experienced competitors have improved dramatically and our freshmen have some serious potential. It is an exciting time to be involved with the speech program.”

District Results are as follows:

Clarinda, Iowa – The Iowa Dept. of Corrections said Wednesday evening, that 59-year-old Kenneth Louis Howell Jr., who was serving a 35-year maximum sentence for the crimes of Prohibited Acts — Manufacture, Delivery, Possession from Lee County, died late Sunday night at the Clarinda Regional Health Center. Officials his death was likely due to complications related to COVID-19 and other preexisting medical conditions

An autopsy will be completed by the State Medical Examiner. Howell Jr. began his sentence on October 16, 2018.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senate Republicans have released a tax plan to lower the state income tax to three-point-six percent within five years. Governor Reynolds has proposed a four percent rate within four years. A mechanism in the bill could eventually eliminate personal income taxes altogether. Senate G-O-P Leader Jack Whitver.

“Really, we’re in a position where we can’t afford not to do tax cuts. This is important for the everyday Iowan,” Whitver says. “…Their bills are going up and we’re trying to put more money in their pockets.” The Senate GOP bill includes Governor Kim Reynolds’ proposal to eliminate taxes on retirement income and provides a tax break for retired farmers. Whitver of Ankeny says when fully implemented, the plan will reduce state income taxes by two BILLION dollars.

“We think this is really important to keep good on our promise to return an overcollection of tax dollars back to the people of Iowa,” Whitver says. The plan cuts the corporate income tax rate along with changes to reduce tax credits and exemptions for businesses by 140 million dollars. Whitver says it’s an attempt to reform how corporations are taxed.

“We want to have a real conversation in Iowa about what that rate should be and can we lower that rate if we get rid of all those special interest carve outs,” Whitver says. “Your rate shouldn’t depend on how many lobbyists you have here at the Capitol to get you those carve outs and we want to lower it for everybody.”The plan includes a maneuver that reclassifies local option sales taxes as a statewide tax. Whitver says the move would let lawmakers put other state funds in the voter-approved by long empty account voters approved in 2010 to pay for water quality and outdoor recreation projects.

“We’re not going to raise the sales tax. We’re going to work within the parameters that we already have in place,” Whitver says. “We wanted to start that conversation and we’ll see where that conversation goes.” House Republicans plan to release their own tax plan soon and promise it will not raise taxes for any Iowan. The Senate’s Democratic leader says the plan Republicans in the Senate have released will result in higher taxes overall and cuts to state services.

ROCKWELL CITY, IOWA – Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Public Safety report that on January 25, 2022, at approximately 12:30 p.m., the Rockwell City Police Department was called to Casey’s General Store in Rockwell City for a subject needing help.  It was discovered that a male subject was suffering a gunshot wound.  He was taken by ambulance to the Stuart Memorial Community Hospital and later air lifted to a Des Moines hospital.

Rockwell City Police Department requested the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.  The case is currently under investigation with the assistance of the Rockwell City Police Department, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol.

The victim is not being identified at this time, and is reported to be in stable condition.

ATLANTIC – Cass Health and its affiliate organizations have released their scholarship applications for the upcoming school year.
2022 Scholarships
• Cass Health offers a $500 scholarship to a southwest Iowa student who is enrolled or accepted into a nursing program. Deadline is April 1, 2022.
• Cass Health offers a $500 scholarship to a southwest Iowa student pursuing a degree in a health-related career. Deadline is April 1, 2022.
• Cass Health Auxiliary provides two $1000 scholarships for students pursuing a health-related career. Deadline is April 1, 2022
• Cass Health Foundation offers $10,000 in scholarships to students who are enrolled and have been accepted into a nursing or medical doctor educational program. The scholarships were established by a bequest from Louie and Elsie Hansen. Deadline is April 1, 2022.

Applications are available on casshealth.org/scholarships, and can be turned in to the Marketing and Communications Department by the respective deadlines listed above. For more information, contact Kat Niemann, Marketing & Communications Specialist, at 712-250-8022 or nieka@casshealth.org.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate, is trying to recruit more people to work at the polls in the state’s 99 counties during election nights. “We want to make sure we’ve got a reserve. We are looking for more diversity. With all these new folks coming on as voters — it’s a perfect time to add some of these new folks onto the list,” Pate says. “We need more than 10-thousand folks as workers. Personally, I’d like to be more at 12-thousand be more flexible on the hours of their poll workers.” He says poll workers get paid and the training is not difficult.

“Basically they are checking in the voters. They’re going to make sure they have the correct ballot in the right precinct. They are going to ensure elections run smoothly in each of their precincts,” he says. Pate says you can sign up at pollworker.Iowa.gov. “Well get you some more information. The county auditor can reach out to you and get you on board. For most poll workers it is a one-day commitment. Some poll workers choose to put a little time in and help in other ways, because we have early voting and absentee voting and that process takes a little extra work. We do use poll workers for that,” according to Pate.

The primary elections are June 7th and the general elections are on November 8th. Pate made his comments as part of national Poll Worker Recruitment Day Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa) – A move to get rid of the state law that forbids schools from starting the fall term before August 23rd has stalled in the Iowa House. The tourism industry objects, arguing families quit traveling and they lose student employees if school starts earlier in August. Craig Patterson is a lobbyist for Okoboji Tourism. “Every day that Okoboji loses from that summer season, it’s over a million dollars in hidden revenues that doesn’t come in,” he says.

Representative Thomas Moore, a Republican, is a retired teacher and coach from Griswold. “We don’t want to infringe on our business partners that are paying the taxes and making the money for the state government,” he says. “We also want that local school board to be able to make what the best decision for them is and so it’s a ‘Catch 22’ situation, I guess.” Moore is chairman of the subcommittee that discussed getting rid of the mandatory school start date. He announced at the end of a hearing that the bill would not advance.

Margaret Buckton is a lobbyist for the Urban Education Network, representing 22 school districts where nearly one in every four students are enrolled. She says having less time away from school avoids learning loss. “It’s important to work with communities and child care providers and staff and the local economy to figure out what is the best fit for all of these things and we trust our school boards to make those decisions in the best interests of their students and their taxpayers,” Buckton says, “so we’re in favor of this bill.”

In 2015, former Governor Terry Branstad criticized schools for starting before the State Fair was over — and he signed a law that has forbidden all public and private schools from starting before August 23rd. The mandatory starting date law does not apply to districts that have year-round school.