Four years from now, telephone companies and cable companies will pay about 30 million dollars less in Iowa property taxes as a result of legislation Governor Kim Reynolds has approved. Buildings and cell towers will remain subject to local property tax assessments, but property taxes on “transmission equipment” like wires, cables and fiber will be phased out. Republican Representative Chip Baltimore of Boone says that brings property taxation on telecommunications companies in line with how other commercial property is taxed.

“This is an important bill in terms of trying to free up dollars to encourage these telecommunications companies to invest in that ‘last mile’ of infrastructure,” Baltimore says. “It’s going to be very helpful for those companies to do that, especially in rural Iowa.”

But Democrats like Senator Chaz Allen of Newton complained there’s nothing in the bill that forces companies doing business in Iowa, but headquartered out of state, to use the tax savings to expand broadband service in Iowa. “I’m just saying if we’re going to give this tax cut, Iowans need to know that this money’s going to stay in here, be reinvested,” Allen said, “not that this money is going to leave this state.”

Allen called for yearly public reports showing how the cable and telephone companies use the tax savings, but Republicans voted the idea down. “That’s sort of like us having the Department of Revenue saying: ‘Hey, we want to know how you’re going to spend your tax money when you get a return.”

That’s Senator Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull. Another Republican legislator said telecommunications companies should be able to use the tax savings to do things like pay investors or hire more workers if that’s a higher priority to the business.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of bankers shows that the economy is slowly improving in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says that while commodity prices have improved recently, they remain below breakeven for a large share of grain farmers.

The overall Rural Mainstreet index slipped slightly to 56.3 in May, up from 53.5 in April. It’s the highest level since July 2013. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy in the months ahead, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

More than one-third of bank CEOs identified rising regulatory costs as the top economic challenge to their operations over the next five years.

The Glenwood Police Department reports 32-year old Michael Phillips, of Glenwood, was arrested Wednesday. Phillips was arrested on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Theft in the 1st Degree. His cash or surety bond was set at $10,000.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children along with the Camden Police Department in South Carolina, are asking for the public’s assistance to locate a missing 2 year-old child. Dakota Ray was taken on April 15, 2018 by her parents William and Jessica Ray. According to law enforcement both William and Jessica are believed to be heavy methamphetamine users and law enforcement is concerned for the child’s wellbeing. The child and her parents were captured in surveillance images on Monday, May 14, 2018 at a hospital in Iowa. Law enforcement then received information that they may now be in Minnesota.

Dakota Ray

William & Jessica Ray

1996 Ford Aerostar van suspects are in

The child and companions are traveling in a 1996 gold Ford Aerostar van and may be frequently changing the license plate on the vehicle. According to Camden Police Department It is possible that they may be begging or asking strangers for money. The child and companions are also believed to be sleeping in their vehicle.

• Dakota is 2 years old. She is 2 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds and has blonde hair and blue eyes

• Jessica is 36 years old. She is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 112 pounds and has long light brown hair and blue eyes.

• William is 44 years old. He is 6 feet 1 inches tall and weighs 340 pounds and has light brown hair and brown eyes.

If anyone has seen Dakota, William or Jessica Ray contact the Camden Police Department at 1-888-CRIMESC (1-888-274-6372) or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — A southeast Iowa police officer accused of attacking her girlfriend has been fired. Oskaloosa Police Chief Jake McGee told The Oskaloosa Herald that Janay Pritchett was terminated last week. He declined to comment further. Pritchett’s lawyer, Jeffrey Bauer Jr., said Thursday that she intends to plead not guilty to the three charges: harassment, domestic abuse assault, display or use weapon and domestic abuse assault, second offense.

Court records say Pritchett’s girlfriend has told officers that she and Pritchett were arguing May 3 when Pritchett kicked her in the chest, pulled a pocketknife and cut her on the left side of her neck. The girlfriend said Pritchett then threatened to shoot her with a shotgun. Pritchett says in a court document that she didn’t pull a knife or cut the girlfriend.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Two Iowa women who lost limbs when they were struck while trying to climb through trains that were blocking the road sued the railroad Thursday for allegedly ignoring a safety hazard that’s left a trail of horrific injuries. The lawsuits filed in state court allege that trains operated by the Canadian National Railway and its subsidiaries routinely block street crossings in Waterloo, sometimes for hours. They say this leaves pedestrians trapped and facing bad options on a daily basis: wait for the trains to move, walk to an unblocked crossing that can be more than a mile away, or risk crossing between stopped cars that can start moving without warning.

“This problem exists in cities throughout the United States, but Waterloo is the poster child,” said attorney Bob Pottroff, whose Kansas-based law firm is representing the women and known for advocating on behalf of train accident victims nationwide. “We consider this a matter of great public safety concern.” He said the lawsuits allege that Canadian National essentially uses part of Waterloo as its switching station, a facility that is usually located outside of population centers and includes fencing and other security measures. The lawsuits claim that since 1991, at least five people have lost hands, arms or legs while trying to climb through a stopped freight train that started moving unexpectedly.

One was filed on behalf of a 37-year-old woman who lost her left leg and nearly all of the skin on the back side of her body when she was struck and dragged by a train in April 2017. The other was filed on behalf of a 67-year-old woman who lost both of her legs when a train rolled over them last September. A third lawsuit is pending in Chicago in the case of a former Waterloo resident who lost three limbs in a similar collision in 2011. Each happened on streets near the rail yard in the poor, heavily African-American east side of Waterloo, a city of 68,000 in northeastern Iowa. Residents say the company’s mile-long trains stretch far beyond the yard and can block several crossings, sometimes for hours multiple times per day, while they undergo maintenance and safety checks and load and unload cars. Those routinely affected include students at East High School.

Iowa law and a Waterloo ordinance state that trains cannot block crossings for longer than 10 minutes with some exceptions, for instance if the stop is needed to comply with safety regulations. The company’s operating rules also state that they shouldn’t block crossings for longer than that unless it can’t be avoided. Canadian National spokesman Patrick Waldron shifted the focus to the actions of the injured women, saying that trespassing on railways tracks and property “is illegal and very dangerous.” “These events are tragic examples of the dangers of climbing on trains or railway cars,” he said. “There are no circumstances where climbing on a train — moving or stopped — is worth the risk of serious or fatal injury.”

The railroad has previously said it’s aware of concerns about blockages in Waterloo but that “operational necessities” cause them. They have long been a source of frustration for residents.
In their lawsuits, the women say they waited an unspecified “reasonable amount of time” before they tried to climb through long-stopped trains, which didn’t sound any audible warnings before starting to move. They argue that the railroad has taken no other steps to protect the public at the site, such as building a footbridge over the rails or separating the trains at crossings when they are stopped. They’re seeking unspecified damages for their pain and suffering as well as punitive damages against the railroad, saying it acted with an “intentional disregard for public safety.”