(Radio Iowa) — Due to year-end budget constraints, some road repair crews are having to stop working on flood-damaged highways in southwest Iowa. While water remains in parts of Fremont County closest to the Missouri River, retreating floodwaters have wreaked havoc on the county’s secondary roads. County Engineer Dan Davis says the county has started making repairs, but funding remains an issue.

“It’s just been very slow,” Davis says. “We’ve done a few contract repairs on FEMA projects. Our crews have done a lot of repairs with local funds. By the end of September, we were over 50% of our budget, which shouldn’t happen until December, so we had to cut some of that off.” Davis says his department remains in a holding pattern on major repairs until the county’s coffers are replenished by the federal government for work that’s already been done.

“Now, we’re in the waiting mode of getting reimbursed by FEMA for those projects that were either contracted done or that our crews did,” he says. In the meantime, Davis says his crews have worked to keep up with regular maintenance on other county roads so the problem isn’t compounded next spring.  “We’re still doing some patching to finish up the year and the weather’s cooperating,” Davis says. “Hopefully, we’ll get that completed and we’ll try to get as much open as we can this year until the weather changes. Then, we’ll hit it in the spring and hopefully we’ll be back caught up with our reimbursements is the big thing.”

County officials recently closed J-10 or Waubonsie Avenue between Bartlett and the Loess Hills following its collapse due to undermining from floodwaters and repeated heavy equipment usage for levee repairs.

(Radio Iowa) — The legislature is NOT likely to make wholesale changes in the state’s tax credit system according to a panel of lawmakers who spoke today (Friday) at a meeting of the Iowa Taxpayers Association. Representative Dave Jacoby of Coralville, a Democrat, used a barnyard epithet — which we have edited — to share his opinion.

“I’ll admit this: there are people on both sides of the aisle that are chicken____ to review some of them because they help some of their communities and they afraid that they may not perform as well as they should,” Jacoby said. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, says it took two decades to create a wide range of tax credits and legislators shouldn’t shy away from unraveling some of them.

“Eat a little humble pie here and actually think what’s best for a competitive tax code and for Iowa,” Dawson says. Dawson says some of the credits should remain, however, and Dawson points to the tax credit for restoration of historic properties, which he says is popular in rural areas. Dawson was not one of the small group of lawmakers who met three weeks ago to begin reviewing the dozens of credits available to Iowa taxpayers.

A lawmaker who WAS on the panel says the state will award 434 million dollars in credits in the current tax year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An 18-year-old Ankeny man has been arrested after being accused of recording men in bathrooms at Des Moines Area Community College and Principal Park, a minor league baseball stadium in Des Moines.

The Des Moines Register reports the man was arrested Friday morning and faces a charge of invasion of privacy after a man reported to police that he saw someone stick a device under a divider of a bathroom stall he was in while urinated on Sept. 9.

Police say the victim confronted the suspect, and a police search of the suspect’s cellphone revealed numerous videos of men being recorded in restrooms.

A transient man was taken into custody this (Friday) morning in Council Bluffs, for 2nd Degree Robbery. Council Bluffs Police say officers responded at around 8:50-a.m. to the 700 block of West Washington, for an armed male making threats. When officers arrived they learned, the victim, Steven Hairston II, and his wife, Candice Hairston, from Council Bluffs, were getting inside their vehicle when the suspect, 35-year old Daniel Kennedy, approached them.

Kennedy allegedly pointed what looked like a handgun at the couple, and began yelling at them to, “Get out of the car!” When Steven Hairston got out of his vehicle, he realized the handgun was a toy and he told Kennedy the police were on the way. Kennedy then allegedly threw a glass bottle and a sweatshirt at Hairston.

Officers arrived on scene and where able to detain Kennedy, and placed him under arrest. He was charged with Robbery 2nd and transported to Pottawattamie County Corrections for processing.

(Radio Iowa) — The Denison Community School District has completed its investigation and will be reinstating a teacher who used the “N” word when teaching about a court case. The Denison Community School District said while it is clear the situation has significantly impacted the educational environment, it is equally clear that the teacher had no malicious intent. The school district says it will work with teacher Crystal Holt, to implement necessary changes, in order to transition the teacher back into the classroom.

The District will be working in partnership with families, staff and the community to implement a High School Cultural Advisory Committee comprised of students, teacher leaders and school administration. The District will also develop a School and Community Advisory Committee of parents, educators, administration and school board members.

(Radio Iowa) — State regulators have fined Harrah’s Casino in Council Bluffs ten-thousand dollars for filing late paperwork on three requests from people who wanted to ban themselves from gambling. Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko says it took a couple of months to get the paperwork filed. “The commission’s expectation is that anyone who wants to participate in the program — that there information is uploaded in the state system within seven days,” Ohorilko says.

He says the number of violations dictated the fine. “It was the first time the commission has had to work with Harrahs on something like this. Typically those first offense violations within the past year come in at five-thousand dollars,” according to Ohorilko. “But since there were multiple incidents with respect to this review — the commission did set a penalty of ten-thousand dollars.” Ohorilko says the casino has taken steps to improve its operation to prevent future violations. “Essentially it incorporates multiple individuals as part of the process, and so that will help add some extra checks and balances to make sure that these forms are submitted timely,” Ohorilko says.

The I-R-G-C took that action at its meeting Thursday in Dubuque.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Director Tanya N. Garfield of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West today (Friday) reminded Iowa small businesses of the Dec. 23, 2019, deadline to apply for an SBA federal disaster loan for economic injury caused by severe storms and flooding that occurred March 12 – June 15, 2019. According to Garfield, small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. “Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the applicant suffered any property damage,” Garfield said.

These low-interest federal disaster loans are available in:

Area counties:  Audubon, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby.

The interest is 4 percent for businesses and 2.75 percent for private nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX  76155.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s 2017 stand-your-ground law doesn’t apply to defendants engaged in criminal activity prior to using deadly force.
Friday’s ruling reverses an Iowa Court of Appeals’ order in May issuing a new trial to Miguel Angel Lorenzo Baltazar, of Des Moines. He is serving life in prison for the July 2017 shooting death of Jeffrey Mercado. Baltazar maintains he feared Mercado had a weapon.

The Court of Appeals said Baltazar’s trial court issued faulty jury instructions that didn’t abide by Iowa’s new stand-your-ground law. The Supreme Court noted the new law says there’s no duty to retreat when a person isn’t engaged in illegal activity, therefore implying those engaged in illegal activity must retreat. Baltazar was illegally carrying a gun without a license.

(Radio Iowa) — Kansas and Arizona authorities have issued a “silver alert” for a missing Sharpsburg, Iowa man. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Arizona Department of Public Safety say 90-year-old James Lewis Larson was last seen November 13th near Lawrence. Additional information from Arizona authorities says Larson’s cell phone was pinged 30 miles outside of Yuma, Arizona on November 16th. Authorities say Larson was traveling from his home in Iowa to Yuma, but he never arrived. Larson is described as a white male, approximately 6-feet tall, 220 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes with eyeglasses. He was last seen driving a 2017 Ford Edge 4-door hatchback with Iowa license plate ASG 448. Anyone with information is urged to contact their local law enforcement office.