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Iowa early News Headlines – Wed., Oct. 24th 2012

News

October 24th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A teacher’s aide at a central Iowa high school has been fired following an anonymous call about a murder in Indiana nearly 50 years ago. Officials learned Paula Pace was part of a family who tortured and killed a teenage girl in 1965. She pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Pace has worked for the BCLUW school district based in Conrad since 1998.

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — The trial of an Iowa teenager charged in the deaths of his grandparents in Manchester has been moved to next year. Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Sweet’s trial is now scheduled for March 6th in Delaware County District Court. He is charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Richard and Janet Sweet in May 2011.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Air National Guard says it has its first female brigadier general. The guard says Jennifer Walter of Indianola was promoted to brigadier general on October 14th during a ceremony at the 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines. She will assume duties as the Iowa Air Guard’s chief of staff.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Jurors are resuming deliberations today in the case of a conservative scholar who claims she was passed over for jobs at the University of Iowa law school because of liberal bias. Jurors deliberated the case of Teresa Wagner yesterday for eight hours at the federal courthouse in Davenport.

Posted in News |

Boswell & Harkin to campaign in Atlantic Oct. 30th

News

October 23rd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Officials with the Cass County Democratic Party have announced Senator Tom Harkin and Congressman Leonard Boswell will be campaigning in Atlantic next Tuesday, October 30th. Harkin and Boswell will meet with voters at the Cass County Democratic Party Election Headquarters at 511 Chestnut in Atlantic, starting at 10 AM.The public is invited to attend the program. Refreshments will be provided.

Congressman Boswell is running for re-election in Iowa’s new Third Congressional District which includes Cass County. Currently the Congressman who represents the Third District, Boswell is running against Tom Latham, who now represents Iowa’s Fourth District. Iowa lost a Congressional seat in the 2010 redistricting, setting up the campaign between the two incumbents. Latham is a nine-term Congressman while Boswell has been elected to eight terms. The race is one of the most closely watched Congressional races in the country.

Posted in News |

Legislative Coffees Scheduled for Cass County

News

October 23rd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Officials with PRIDE (the Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise) based in Atlantic, have announced that two legislative coffees have been scheduled to take place in Cass County, in preparation for the 2013 session of the Iowa Legislature. PRIDE President Kenner Baxter says “These coffees are opportunities to have face-to-face dialogue with our Iowa legislators.” It’s the first time the coffees have been held in the fall.

Baxter says reasons for the early coffees include redistricting, which has added a new legislator to our area in Senator Hubert Houser from Carson, and because they “Want to meet before the session begins to express what’s important to our citizens ahead of convening in January to be proactive.” She says  “Our legislators always appreciate coming to Cass County because we have such terrific attendance. People here really want to have input into our state government, so they participate when the legislators make time to come to our towns.”

Legislative coffees will also be held while the legislature is in session. The schedule for those events will be released in December or January. The first Fall coffee is set for Saturday, October 27th, at the Cass County Museum in Griswold, beginning at 10 a.m. Baxter says Representative Jack Drake and Senator Hubert Houser have committed to attending. Representative Clel Baudler has been invited. The second coffee will be on Saturday, November 17th, at the Marne Community Center, beginning at 10 a.m. Senator Houser has tentatively agreed to be present. Representatives Drake and Baudler are invited, but as both have contested races, their presence depends on the outcome of the November 6th election.

P.R.I.D.E. is the economic development organization that works on behalf of the cities of Cumberland, Griswold, Lewis, and Marne for Cass County development, plus numerous individual members and businesses in Southwest Iowa. For additional information, or to join P.R.I.D.E., please contact Kenner Baxter, President, at kennermc@metc.net, or Clarke Gerlock, vice-president, at 712-774-5476.

Posted in News |

Iowa’s corn & soybean harvests almost done, prices continue falling

Ag/Outdoor

October 23rd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Iowa farmers are growing more frustrated as corn prices are falling to a point lower than what the U-S Department of Agriculture predicted prior to the start of harvest. Jerry Norton, a corn analyst for the U-S-D-A, says prices have been dropping, so the agency lowered its average corn price last week for the entire marketing year.  “Part of that has to do with the fact that even though we have a crop problem this year, this crop is still at 10.7-billion bushels,” Norton says. “That’s a large crop. We’ve seen a lot of early corn movement for several reasons, part of it because there’s just not a lot of carry in the market, encouraging farmers to hold on to corn at this point.”

With the long-running drought, early predictions were for an abysmal crop which drove up prices. Harvest season started early due to dry conditions and the corn ended up being much better quality and quantity than expected. Norton says prices are so much lower because the crop was decent and farmers are selling, bringing up supply and lowering demand. In time, he says, things could turn around.

“It looks like the price level should be moving higher over time but we haven’t seen the price levels we would have thought we’d have seen by now, so it’ll be interesting to see how it develops over the next few weeks,” he says. The weekly crop report from the USDA out today (Tuesday) finds 93-percent of the corn crop had been harvested statewide, which was a month ahead of schedule, and 96-percent of the Iowa soybean crop is in from the fields, almost three weeks ahead of normal.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor |

Branstad floats flat tax rate option

News

October 23rd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says he’s considering a proposal that would let Iowa taxpayers decide if they want to deduct the federal taxes they pay from their state tax liability or just pay a lower flat state income tax rate. Branstad says discussions are in the early stages and models are being used to determine what the proposed flat tax rate might be. Currently, Iowa’s top marginal income tax rate is 8.9 percent, but ends up in the 6 percent range once federal taxes are deducted from a taxpayer’s state liability. Branstad says the proposal is part of a tax reform package for the 2013 legislative session on property and income taxes. He spoke about the plans on Tuesday to members of the Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress.

Posted in News |

Soil Temps Still Too Warm to Apply Anhydrous Ammonia

Ag/Outdoor

October 23rd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

As air temperatures continue to fluctuate, so do soil temperatures, and that means it is still too early for Iowa farmers to apply anhydrous ammonia (NH3) to their cropland this fall, according to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Anhydrous ammonia applied before daily soil temperatures, at a 4-inch depth, are 50 degrees Fahrenheit and trending lower can result in nitrogen losses that can impact crop development. These nitrogen losses can leach into groundwater and streams once anhydrous ammonia is converted to nitrate, creating water quality concerns.

As of Oct. 23rd, soil temperatures were actually trending higher across Iowa after air temperatures approached 80 degrees during a 3-day stretch. Historically, soil temperatures at a 4-inch depth cool below 50 degrees in the northern third of the state during the first week of November. In central and southern Iowa, soil temperatures cool below 50 degrees during the second and third weeks of November, according to Iowa State University Extension.

Barb Stewart, state agronomist with NRCS in Iowa, says this year’s drought left residual nitrate in the soil. “In many cases, crops did not uptake all nitrogen applied,” she said. “Consider taking a late spring soil nitrate test next year and make adjustments accordingly to make the best use of the nutrients.” Producers and fertilizer dealers are encouraged to visit the Nitrogen and Phosphorus Knowledge web page, http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/NPKnowledge/, to view daily, previous day, and a 3-day history of average soil temperatures in every Iowa county.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor |

QB Issues at Iowa State Threaten Season

Sports

October 23rd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Nearly every team in the country knows what it has and what it doesn’t by now. Iowa State has become the team without a quarterback. Issues at the game’s most important position are threatening to derail Iowa State’s once-promising season. The Cyclones (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) have dropped three of their last four games largely because of the league’s worst passing attack.

It’s gotten so bad that coach Paul Rhoads has made the starting job for Saturday’s home game against Baylor a three-man race. Steele Jantz, Jared Barnett and untested freshman Sam Richardson will all compete this week for the right to start against the Bears (3-3, 0-3).

Posted in Sports |

Hawkeyes lose 2 offensive linemen to injury

Sports

October 23rd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has lost starting offensive linemen Brandon Scherff and Andrew Donnal to season-ending injuries. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz says Scherff, a sophomore left tackle, broke a bone in his leg during Saturday night’s 38-14 loss to Penn State. Donnal, a sophomore right guard, hurt his right knee in the first half against the Nittany Lions. Junior Nolan MacMillan will move into Scherff’s starting spot at tackle for this weekend’s game between the Hawkeyes (4-3, 2-1 Big Ten) and Northwestern (6-2, 2-2). Redshirt freshman Austin Blythe will likely replace Donnal at guard. The loss of Scherff and Donnal is a blow to an offense that has scored just 26 points in the past two weeks.

Posted in Sports |

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23

Trading Post

October 23rd, 2012 by admin

FOR SALE:  Beagle AKC (Foxhound).  It is tri-colored (black, bornw, and white) and not fixed.  $100.  254-0166.

Posted in Trading Post |

Arrest made in Fremont County burglaries

News

October 23rd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Authorities in Fremont County say an arrest has been made in connection with two recent burglaries, and additional arrests are expected. The Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday, 21-year old Michael Lee Glenn, of Shenandoah was arrested Monday following the execution of search warrants at 306 West Washington Street in Randolph, and 1114 West Sheridan, in Shenandoah.

Officials say the search warrants and arrest stems from an investigation into burglaries to a residence and shop belonging to Raymond Welchans, and another burglary at a machinery building located at the Brad MacDonald residence, both in the Locust Grove Township.

(12:40-p.m. News)

Posted in News |