Seven members of the Glenwood Fire and Rescue Department resigned Tuesday after a dispute over how the department is run, though the chief says the department still has enough members to fulfill its duties. According to the Daily NonPareil,  the resignations occurred following a meeting on Monday of the Glenwood Fire Association. Fire Chief Butch Fidler told the paper that the Association’s members, who are volunteers, were upset with how city administration chose the department’s leadership.

Iowans who participate in fantasy sports leagues could legally accept any amount of prize money for winning if a bill under consideration in the legislature becomes state law. Iowa is one of a handful of states where it is illegal for someone to collect more than 50 dollars if the real professional athletes they’ve assembled as a fantasy squad have the best combined statistics. John Cacciatore is a lobbyist for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. He says it’s a game of skill, just like bowling leagues or cribbage tournaments in Iowa where significant prize money can be awarded to the winners.

“You pick players from real time statistics and real time activities to put your teams together,” Cacciatore says. “…It requires research and skill to put those teams together.” But the state-licensed casinos are pressing hard against that concept, urging lawmakers to set daily wagering limits and forbid anyone under the age of 21 from winning one of the daily fantasy league prizes. Mark Beltrame  is a lobbyist for Scientific Games, a company that develops products for the gambling industry.

“There are certainly aspects of participating in this, particularly on a daily basis…without any limitations — that certainly sounds like, perhaps, another activity,” Beltrame says. Brian Carter, a retired Methodist minister, says when money’s involved, it’s gambling and the state should forbid it. “I had a lot of people as I was in ministry having sexual addictions and I’m not comparing fantasy (sports) game players with them, but I’m saying they found that their problem was the internet. That compounded their problem,” Carter says. “And I think when we’re starting to talk about fantasy game playing and opening it up, we’re going to have problems.”

The lobbyist for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association shoots back at those who contend it’s gambling. “There’s a difference between gambling and wagering on the outcome of a game, you know, who will win between the Bears and the Packers versus providing an entry fee to compete with other folks who pick their teams and compete against each other to win that contest,” Cacciatore says. Under current Iowa law, fantasy sports league participants with a “bona fide social relationship” can win prizes of no more than 50-dollars a day.

The N-F-L’s “Perfect Challenge” fantasy game has a one-MILLION dollar prize and, if an Iowan were to win, it would be illegal for them to collect that prize. A bill that would let Iowans accept any level of cash prizes for being the champion of a fantasy sports league easily cleared the Senate State Government Committee this week on a 13 to one vote. A subcommittee in the Iowa House has also signed off on the bill.

(Radio Iowa)

Woodbury County officials filed a first-degree murder charge Thursday in the death of Sloan man on January 9th. Twenty-nine-year-old Timothy Rodger Schroeder is charged in the shooting death of Dustin Taylor Wilder. The body of Wilder, who was 29, was found at his home in Sloan by a dog sitter. Court documents state that Schroeder and his wife Amanda accompanied Wilder to his home after leaving a bar in Sloan.

Court information says Amanda Schroeder told investigators that she and another man, Dustin Duncan, overheard her husband say he wanted to commit a robbery and do something big or kill someone before Wilder was found dead. Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Drew says investigators are still hoping to find an important piece of evidence in the case. “The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who would come across a tri-fold black billfold, it could be anywhere in the area from Sloan to Sioux City to South Sioux (City). Anything with identification that would come back to the victim,” Drew says.

Schroeder is also charged with going armed with intent and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Drew says Schroeder has been previously convicted of felonies twice and was arrested late January 9th on a parole violation. “He has been the focus of the investigation, and the community has not been at any risk because he was in custody within hours,” Drew says.

No one else has been charged in the case at this time. Schroeder is being held in the Woodbury County Jail on a 320-thousand dollar bond.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — AIB College of Business officials say this spring will be the final season for the school’s athletic department. The Des Moines Register reports the move was announced yesterday just more than a week after the private business college said it would become the University of Iowa’s Des Moines campus.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The head of the Iowa National Guard says that overseas requirements for the unit continue to decline. Major General Timothy Orr addressed the Iowa General Assembly yesterday. He says they currently have about 150 soldiers and airmen deployed around the world.

WAPELLO, Iowa (AP) — County officials say a man did nothing illegal when he shot two dogs, one fatally, owned by his neighbors in southeastern Iowa. A news release issued Wednesday from the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office says the Louisa County Attorney has decided not to file criminal charges against Michael Drayfahl of Wapello. The Muscatine Journal reports he shot Tammy and Greg Slater’s German shepherds Sunday. One dog was shot through the leg, and the other died in the shooting.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Railroad officials say it’s unclear how much ethanol has leaked into the Mississippi River following a train derailment in eastern Iowa, but that they’re working to monitor the environmental impact and offload fuel from the train. The cars went off the tracks Wednesday morning in a remote area about 10 miles north of Dubuque.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees Thursday afternoon released the names of the victims of Wednesday night’s explosion and fire. McNees said 57-year old Paul McDaniel, of Atlantic, died at the scene of the blaze at 604 Olive Street. His wife, 57-year old Denise McDaniel, also, of Atlantic, died this (Thursday) morning at a hospital in Omaha.

Earlier, McNees said a broken gas line caused the explosion and fire that happened just after 10-p.m. Denise McDaniel was found in a room upstairs. She was unresponsive and underwent CPR before being transported to the hospital in Atlantic and later flown to Omaha. Paul McDaniel was found deceased in the second floor bathroom.

Neighbors told McNees they heard a loud “boom” prior to noticing the flames.  Investigators with the state Fire Marshal’s Office and Chief McNees used that information and spent the night combing through the home trying to determine the cause. They discovered a natural gas pipe in the basement broke due to the weight of clothes on hangers being hung on the pipe. The ignition source of the explosion is not known, but since a kitchen stove on the first floor is directly above the pipe in the basement, it’s believed the stove may have sparked the explosion.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – The city administrator in a western Iowa town has been charged with assaulting his 15-year-old son. Court documents say 45-year-old Bradley Hanson, city administrator in Onawa, got into a fight with his son at their home. A criminal complaint with the Monona County Sheriff’s Office says Hanson slapped his son, who slapped him back, and Hanson then took him to the ground and slammed his head into the floor.

Records show Hanson’s wife called police as the fight occurred. The sheriff’s office says the teen had minor injuries, but didn’t require medical treatment. KTIV-TV reports Hanson was arrested Jan. 28. A message left with Hanson’s attorney Thursday was not immediately returned. Hanson has since bonded out of jail. A court hearing is set for Feb. 11.

In an update to our earlier reports, a broken gas line is to blame for an explosion and fire in Atlantic late Wednesday night that has now claimed the lives of two people. Firefighters were called to 604 Olive Street (Denise’s Taxi Service) at around 10:08-p.m.  When crews arrived on the scene they knew they had victims trapped. A female victim was found upstairs. The woman was unresponsive and underwent CPR before being transported to the hospital in Atlantic and later flown to a trauma center in Omaha. A male victim was found deceased in the second floor bathroom. KETV in Omaha reports the female had died from her injuries at Nebraska Medicine. Both victims were said to be in their 60’s. No names were released as of mid-day, Thursday.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees said neighbors told him they heard a loud “boom” prior to noticing the flames.  Investigators with the state Fire Marshal’s Office used that information and spent the night combing through the home trying to determine the cause.

He says they discovered a natural gas pipe in the basement broke due to the weight of clothes on hangers being hung on the pipe. The ignition source of the explosion is not known, but since a kitchen stove on the first floor is directly above the pipe in the basement, it’s believed the stove may have sparked the explosion.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The head of the Iowa National Guard says that overseas requirements for the unit continue to decline. Major General Timothy Orr addressed the Iowa General Assembly Thursday. He says they currently have about 150 soldiers and airmen deployed around the world. Thousands have served in combat and combat support roles over the past 13 years in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Orr said the guard is focused on training, so that the guard is ready for military duties and emergency response in the state. He said the guard is “mission focused and warrior ready.” There are about 9,200 National Guard soldiers and airmen in Iowa.

AMES, Iowa – ISU Theatre students performed on all three of the Guthrie Theater stages as part of the final events of the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The festival took place January 18-24 at various locations throughout the Twin Cities.

Taylor Sklenar, from Treynor.

A staged concert reading of senior in performing arts, English, and chemistry Taylor Sklenar’s original one-act play was one of three plays performed on the Guthrie Theater’s McGuire Proscenium Stage. Taylor’s play was awarded second place and will be considered for invitation to the national festival at the Kennedy Center. Taylor is from Treynor.

KCACTF is a national organization sponsored by the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The organization celebrates and encourages excellence in college and university theatre across the country. Region V’s festival includes competitions, workshops, and exhibitions in all areas of theatre, including acting, directing, playwriting, criticism, design, dramaturgy, and technical theatre. The Region V festival brings together approximately 1500 students, faculty, and staff from colleges and universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas to celebrate and experience the best of college theatre.

(Press Release)