(Radio Iowa) – Labor Day union events and parades in most major cities in Iowa were canceled due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Iowa Federation of Labor spokesman, Lance Coles, says there was a lot of discussion before the final decision. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” Coles says. “Each of the cities have their own central bodies or affiliates and they met together. Up until about a few weeks ago they were still planning on having it — but with the increase in Delta COVID — they had a lot of discussion, and it wasn’t an easy decision, there were a lot of people who still wanted to have the events.”

He says they also decided to expand the recognition by designating September as Union Appreciation Month. “We decided why just take one day out of September and celebrate labor — let’s celebrate it the whole month,” Coles explains. Coles is a postal worker who has been a union member for more than 40 years. He was asked about where things stand in 2021. “I see it getting better. Our memberships are improving. People are wanting to join unions — especially the younger generation that wasn’t too savvy on what a union was or what it could do for them,” Coles says.

He says the pandemic has also made many people think about what jobs pay and consider if joining a union is a better option for their employment future. Some are critical of unions for getting too political, and leaning more toward Democrats. “In reality, about a third of our membership are registered Republicans. And another third are independents — kind of like the state of Iowa — it’s divided pretty well a third of the way across,” he says. “We don’t just say this is the candidate we want because they are the Democratic party.”

He says they review all the qualifications of candidates. Coles says the parade will be missed because they are a way to get out and meet people and show they pride that union workers have. Union events in Iowa City; Mason City, Des Moines; Cedar Rapids; Council Bluffs; FortDodge; Sioux City; Waterloo; Quad Cities; Clinton; Marshalltown have all been canceled. Dubuque Is still planning to have a Labor Day Parade, but has canceled its picnic.

SABULA, Iowa – Iowa DNR Conservation Officers responded to a boat crash on the Mississippi River on Sunday morning that left two people with serious injuries.

The crash happened around 10:30am, north of Sabula near river mile marker 542, when one vessel failed to maintain proper following distance, hitting and ramping the vessel in front. The crash caused serious injuries to an occupant and an operator of one of the vessels. One adult male was taken to MercyOne Clinton Medical Center and one adult female was airlifted to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, IL.

All safety equipment was properly in place on both vessels and passengers required to wear personal flotation devices were wearing them at the time the crash occurred.  Alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the crash.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources assisted the Iowa DNR with the investigation.

The Labor Day death toll in Iowa at last count, was four. The latest death occurred during a crash late Sunday morning, in northeast Iowa’s Allamakee County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 75-year-old John Thein, of Guttenberg, died when he was struck by a kayak that flew off a trailer being pulled by a pickup truck. The accident happened as the 2001 Ford F-150, driven by 69-year-old Andrew Wroble, of Harpers Ferry, was traveling south on County Road X-26 at around 10:50-a.m., Sunday.

The pickup was pulling a trailer with a kayak, when the boat separated from the trailer and went airborne, striking Thein, who was riding a 1995 Harley Davidson motorcycle northbound on X-26. Thein died at the scene. He was transported to the Allamkee County Morgue by ambulance. Wroble was not injured. The accident remains under investigation. The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Iowa DNR and Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office.

A rollover accident in northeastern Iowa’s Jones County, Sunday, resulted one death and one person injured. The accident happened at around 2-a.m. in Monticello. According to the State Patrol, a 2004 Ford Explorer was traveling south on River Road, when it entered the west ditch and rolled several times before coming to rest on its top. The 44-year-old driver from Anamosa, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and died from his injuries at the scene. A 42-year-old passenger in the SUV was wearing their seat belt. They suffered minor injuries and were transported to their residence by the Jones County Sheriff. No names have been released. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, Monticello Police, Fire and Ambulance, and the Jones County Medical Examiner.

The Iowa State Patrol reports the first fatal accident happened just before 8-a.m. Friday near Tiffin, in eastern Iowa’s Johnson County. Authorities say a 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander was traveling northbound on Half Moon Avenue, when it failed to stop at the stop sign posted at Highway 6. The vehicle went through the intersection and left the road before hitting a tree.  The driver, 64-year-old Chou-Long Huang was injured, and transported to the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa City. His passenger, 65-year-old Ychen Huang died at the hospital from injuries suffered in the crash. Both were from Coralville. The accident remains under investigation.

The second accident resulted in two dead and two injured. The crash occurred a little after 2-p.m. Saturday near Colwell, in northern Iowa’s Floyd County. The Patrol says a 2012 Ford Edge was southbound on Underwood Avenue near 140th Street, when the SUV crossed the center line of the road and struck a 2019 Ford Flex, head-on. The occupants of the southbound SUV suffered minor injuries. They were identified as 28-year-old Casey Lindahl, the driver, and a three-year-old passenger child, both of Charles City. They were transported to the Floyd Medical Center by ambulance. The driver of the Ford Flex, 77-year-old Chris Andersen and his passenger, 76-year-old Anita Andersen, both of Mason City, died at the scene. All of the victims in the crash were wearing their seat belts. The accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest tally shows the State of Iowa collected 10-point-six BILLION dollars in taxes and fees during the fiscal year that ended June 30th. That’s 619-million dollars ABOVE the estimate officials made in March. One reason the CURRENT surplus is so much higher than predicted is because officials had expected the state would pay out considerably more in tax refunds, but Jeff Robinson of the Legislative Services Agency warns the state is still due to send some local option sales tax money to local school districts and other calculations are still being made. “While Fiscal Year 2021 ended June 30 and refunds processed and charged to ’21 ended August 31, some transactions related to Fiscal Year 2021 will continue to be processed into the second half of September,” Robinson says.

In July and August — the first two months of the current state fiscal year — net tax revenue fell more than 11 percent compared to the same two months last year. “The decrease was concentrated in individual and corporate income tax deposits,” he says. “This situation was expected and is not a cause for concern as July and August corporate and individual income tax receipts last year were unusually high due to tax due dates that were delayed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

State officials moved the traditional April 30th deadline for filing Iowa income taxes to July 31st last year.