A 53-year-old Clarinda man was killed in a plane crash in southwest Iowa’s Page County. Jac Crain, the owner of Crain Construction, left the Clarinda airport around 1:25 Sunday afternoon. The Clarinda 911 center got a call about a crash two miles southwest of Clarinda around 1:33 p.m. Upon arrival, officers determined that Crain was the only occupant of the crashed aircraft. Clarinda Airport Manager Milo Beery said the accident appears to have been a “stall-spin” mishap. 

The FAA has been called to investigate and Beery says while it is too early to tell, he believes something other than pilot error will be ruled as the cause of the crash. Crain, who has been a licensed pilot for “15-20” years according to Beery, has owned the BD4 airplane for about 5 years now. However, Beery says the BD4 has only been in the Clarinda hangar for about the last six months. 

Beery says the plane was considered to be an experimental aircraft because it was not factory built, but rather built by an aviation enthusiast.

(Chuck Morris/Radio Iowa, Shenandoah)

An annual competition is under way to find Iowa’s best burger. Nominations are being accepted in the contest sponsored by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and the Iowa Beef Industry Council. Beef Council spokesperson Michelle Baumhover says although hamburgers are included on most restaurant menus, the top burgers usually feature a unique twist on the all-American classic. “That is the great thing about a burger – it’s just a blank palette and people can put on the toppings and different condiments that appeal to a wide variety of tastes,” Baumhover said. “We’ve had burgers with peanut butter on them or eggs on them…all kinds of really creative and unique burgers.” The winner of the 2011 Iowa’s Best Burger Contest was the Bacon Cheeseburger at the Rusty Duck in Dexter.

Best Burger 2011 - Rusty Duck/ Dexter, IA

The winner of the inaugural contest in 2010 was the Mushroom Swiss Burger at the Sac County Cattle Company in Sac City. One of the restaurants in the competition, is the Farmer’s Kitchen, in Atlantic. 

There are only a few contest rules, including all entries must be burgers made from 100% beef. “Any burger, as long as it’s a patty, can qualify…and it can have any type of condiment or bun. It has to be an Iowa restaurant and it needs to be open at the time of the contest,” Baumhover said. Nominations will be accepted through March 16 and can be submitted through the Iowa Beef Industry Council’s website or Facebook page. Last year, 275 restaurants were named by roughly 35-hundred (3,500) nominations. Judges narrowed the list to a “top 10” and later selected the Rusty Duck as the winner. This year’s winner will be announced the first week of May to kickoff “Beef Month.”
(by Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

LINKS:
http://www.iabeef.org/bestburgercontest.aspx
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iowa-Beef-Council/120521031367367

Fundamental disagreements over taxing and spending policies continue to divide the two political parties in the Iowa legislature — and the disputes threat to derail key initiatives. Iowa’s Republican governor is even at odds with his fellow Republicans on some key spending priorities, like a 25-million dollar state grant program for businesses that promise to expand in Iowa. House Speaker Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha, the top Republican in the Iowa House, says that money is not included in the House G-O-P’s budget plan. “It’s not a hard no,” Paulsen says. “But we’re going to have to get some more detail on it.” Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal suggests it’s not a new concept to set aside state tax money for direct grants to businesses.

“If you look at our state, over the last 30 years we have provided somewhere between $15 and $50 million every year for job creation,” Gronstal says, “though Democratic administrations, through Republican administration.” Gronstal says it would be a “disaster” to discontinue that program as House Republicans suggest. “While some might say we shouldn’t be engaged in that game, I think to unilaterally disarm…when 49 other states have those kind of programs, I think that is foolhardy,” Gronstal says. The top Republican in the House, meanwhile, is critical of Gronstal and his fellow Democrats for not considering the property tax reform plan House Republicans have crafted.

“Unquestionably there is tax relief in that bill for every single taxpayer in the state of Iowa,” Paulsen says. “Over $400 million for homeowners and you can try to slice it up any way you want, but at the end of the day, that’s just simple facts.” The Democratic leader in the Senate disputes those numbers and Paulsen says voters in November may have to decide which party has the right answer, as legislators may not be able to come to an agreement on property tax reform.

(by O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)