Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, says the Postal Service’s decision to delay closing all offices until May of next year isn’t just a move that will delay the inevitable. Braley says Congress has been working on changing the way the Postal Service funds its retirement system to allow them to save BILLIONs of dollars, and that’s why he favors delaying the closings. 

“I think in this case the moratorium on making decisions will allow congress more time to try to address the problems facing the Postal Service in a meaningful way,” Braley says. The congressman has backed a bill by a colleague on revamping the postal retirement system and he says the U-S Senate is also considering action as well.

“I think that the impact of congressional action between now and the date when the Postal Service has decided to postpone its decision making will at least inform the decisions of the Postal Service on what type of action it needs to take,” Braley says. Braley says his questioning of the Postmaster General makes him confident the Postal Service is looking at several options to revamp its business once the pension issue is settled. “I think they have a lot of ideas that they are prepared to implement, some of which are good and some of which are not, but they haven’t just been sitting there idly, they are preparing to deal with the realities of their funding,” according to Braley. 

There are 178 post offices in Iowa that are on the current list for possible closure. Locally, that includes those facilities in: Brayton, Cumberland, Grant, Kimballton, and Lewis. Braley and the rest of the Iowa Congressional delegation all asked the Postal Service to delay the closings, as did Governor Terry Branstad. 

(Radio Iowa)

Council Bluffs (AP) — Rick Perry is turning to his military service as a selling point to voters looking for a veteran in the Republican presidential campaign. The Texas governor is looking for a second wind, with mere weeks until Iowa starts the nominating process with its January 3rd caucuses. Perry is lagging in the polls, and is working hard to recapture the fervor of his August entry into the race.

Heading into today’s (Thursday’s) debate in Sioux City, Perry is expected to highlight his service. He is looking to use his record to tap into veterans, older voters who helped Sen. John McCain win the nomination in 2008. The only other military veteran in the GOP race is Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber says while an investigation is still underway in connection with a single-vehicle accident that claimed the life of a Shelby Firefighter on I-80 in September, it does not appear the driver of the vehicle will face any charges. The Iowa State Patrol is beginning to wrap up its investigation into the crash, during which firefighter Michael Collins died, as he was directing traffic around an accident on Interstate 80, near Shelby. Wilber told the Omaha World-Herald, that unless the report on the investigation shows that the driver of the car, 43-year old David L. Thies, of Ames, Iowa, did something reckless, which authorities do not expect, the only thing he’ll likely get, is a traffic ticket.

The 41-year old Collins, was killed September 18th, as he was standing in the left lane of I-80 directing traffic. The Iowa State Patrol says a Honda Accord driven by Thies, went around slowed traffic and struck Collins. Matt Wilber said he is awaiting the results of the State Patrol’s more detailed technical investigation, to be completed in the next few weeks, before determining if any charges will be filed.

Collins’ family hopes something turns up. They think something needs to be done. One of his brothers, 36-year old Al Fenderson, told the paper “To me, that’s just not something you just write somebody a ticket for, especially when you take somebody’s life. There needs to be some sort of punishment besides the ticket.”

But according to Pott County Attorney Matt Wilber, an overtly reckless act — such as drunken driving or drag racing — is necessary in order to file a charge like motor vehicle homicide. Neither of those instances can be proven in this case, he says. The accident that claimed Collins’ life marked the second time Thies had been involved in a fatal crash.

In 1988, he was riding a motorcycle near Axtell, Neb., when it crashed in an incident authorities said involved alcohol. Thies’ passenger, 20-year old Gina Pearson, of Kearney, was killed. Thies served 17 months for motor vehicle homicide, according to Nebraska Department of Correctional Services records.

Wilber said he was aware of the incident but said it has no bearing on the Collins investigation.

An Atlantic organization dedicated to supporting the Atlantic Animal Shelter has announced it is disbanding, and will no longer accept funding. Former members of “The Friends of the Atlantic Animal Shelter” say they will no longer exist as an auxiliary to the shelter. The group thanks its past supporters and suggests persons donate funds for the shelter to the City of Atlantic.

The funds should be earmarked for use at the Animal Shelter only. Any donations received by the Friends staff will be forwarded to the City fund.

In an update to a story we reported on Wednesday, the Iowa State Patrol says a Nevada woman suffered burns to her hands when the vehicle she was driving caught fire as it was traveling east on Interstate 80 in Cass County. Sgt. Martin McCreedy with the State Patrol’s District 3 office in Council Bluffs, told KJAN News the driver of a 2001 Subaru 4-door wagon, Lori Barrington was transporting several animals in her vehicle, when the flames broke out at around 11:40-a.m., Wednesday.

The Cass County Communications Center received calls about the vehicle being on-fire, with the driver apparrently unaware of what was happening. Barrington did eventually notice the flames. She pulled-over near the Wiota exit (64-mile marker), and was trying to get the animals out, when she was burned. Sgt. McCreedy says some of the animals also suffered burns. The animals were transported to the Audubon-Manning Veterinary Clinic Audubon.

Dr. Kate Hoffman, DVM at the Vet Center, says two cats and a bird died in the fire. A second cat suffered suffered some burns but was in stable condition. Another cat, and a dog were in shock, but reported to be in good condition. Barrington was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic. A report on her condition is not available.

When authorities arrived on the scene, the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames, and was a total loss. The Iowa DOT said eastbound I-80 was blocked while the vehicle was on-fire, while the left-hand lane of I-80 westbound was blocked by emergency equipment. The road was re-opened to traffic about an hour after emergency personnel arrived on the scene.