DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad acted within his constitutional authority when he vetoed funding for two state-run mental health care facilities last year and closed them.  Twenty legislators and Danny Homan, the president of the largest state employee union sued Branstad claiming a state law requires Iowa to have four mental health care institutes and limits Branstad’s ability to close the facilities by vetoing the money to run them approved by lawmakers.

The court concluded today (Thursday) that legislation doesn’t mandate the continued existence of state mental health institutes and Branstad’s veto fell within the governor’s constitutional line item veto power. The court agrees with a November 2005 ruling by District Court Judge Douglas Staskal and dismisses the lawsuit.

Iowa Congressman Steve King says he might be interested in a new position next year — in Donald Trump’s administration. “I just don’t know. I worked a lifetime to be in a position to have maximum impact in a time like this and we’ll have to see what opportunities might be offered up or not and that’s not something I have a lot of control over,” King says. “But my life in the last 20 years is to serve and so this is a time to really roll up our sleeves and go to work and I look at it as a real, real opportunity for Iowans and for Americans.”

King cites the Homeland Security agency as a place that might lure him away from serving in the House. Trump did a fundraiser for King’s 2014 reelection campaign, but King wound up endorsing Ted Cruz before the 2016 Iowa Caucuses. Trump mentioned their complicated history this past Sunday during the Trump campaign rally in Sioux City. “Congressman Steve King, great guy,” Trump said. “I even liked him when he was endorsing Ted…It took him a little while, but he came around, right?”

King just won an eighth term in congress. The pollster King has used for a dozen years is Kellyanne Conway. In August, Conway took over as Trump’s campaign manager. King says Conway is “brilliant.”  “When Kellyanne came into the Trump campaign, you could see that she started to shift it around and she started to restrain and control some of the things that were going on that were undisciplined…You also saw the messaging come in,” King says. “…I think the Trump campaign was finely-tuned by Kellyanne Conway and she is a most essential component to his victory.”

King considers Conway a leading contender to be the press secretary for President-elect Trump because of her “utility” as a communicator. King made his comments during taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program that will air Friday night.

(Radio Iowa)

Creston Police arrested two people on drug charges, Wednesday morning. 27-year old Kurtis Fooken and 37-year old Justin Beckwith, both of Creston, were arrested at their residences at around 7-a.m., Wednesday. Both faces charges that include: Possession a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Failure to Affix Drug Stamp, and Gathering Where Controlled Substances are used. Fooken was also charged with Possession of Marijuana 1st Offense, while Beckwith faces an additional charge of Dominion/Control of a Firearm by a Felon. Both men were being held in the Union County Jail on a $100,000 bond, each.

And, Wednesday afternoon, Creston Police served a warrant on Justin Beckwith while he was incarcerated in the Union County Jail. The warrant was for Parole Violation on an original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Beckwith continued to be held in the Union County Jail on an additional $5000 bond, for a total bond amount of $105,000.

The Iowa-based offices of the U-S Small Business Administration report a big boost in loans to Iowa entrepreneurs with the fiscal year that ended September 30th. S-B-A spokesman Dave Lentell, at the agency’s Iowa district office, says it’s their mission to get capital into the hands of small business owners across the state who need it. “The SBA approved 484 guaranteed loans in Iowa, totalling $197.3 million,” Lentell says. “That’s a 9% increase in numbers from Fiscal Year 2015 and a 46% increase in dollars.”

The number of small business loans made by SBA rises annually at the national level, but with a relatively small population like Iowa’s, the state numbers don’t always hit new peaks every year. “Here in Iowa, it tends to fluctuate a little bit but for the last two years, our numbers have been slightly up,” Lentell says. “We attribute that to our increased efforts here in the state to better educate and inform small businesses on SBA programs and services.”

The report says the 484 loans approved during the fiscal year created nearly 25-hundred jobs in Iowa and retained another 34-hundred.  “The small business community here in Iowa is a very strong one. Over 98% of all businesses in the state are considered small. They are the engine that drives the economy,” Lentell says. “The important message is that SBA programs and services, including our financial programs, are here to help people start, grow and expand their own small businesses.”

The S-B-A has offices in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids and is available round-the-clock at www.sba.gov/ia

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs arrested a man this (Thursday) morning, for allegedly trying to steal copper wire from behind a former supermarket building. Officials say 33-year old Dustin Adkins faces charges that include 1st Degree Theft and 2nd Degree Criminal Mischief.

Officers on patrol at around 3:40-a.m.  in the area of 18th and W. Broadway saw a man behind 1817 West Broadway (the former-No Frills Supermarket). Upon further investigation, they discovered the man was in the process of stealing large gauge copper wire from the back of the building. Adkins was placed under arrest.

During the investigation, Adkins was also found to be in possession of methamphetamines, and had a valid warrant for his arrest (for Probation Violation- original charge Burglary and Possession of Controlled Substance). Adkins was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Dustin Adkins