The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.
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The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.
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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Another trial starting date has been set for a 19-year-old in northwest Iowa accused of stabbing to death his ex-girlfriend and another young man. Woodbury Country District Court records say a judge cited scheduling and other problems in setting a new date to begin the trial of Tran Walker. The trial had been set to begin this coming Tuesday. The new starting date is May 2.
Walker’s pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing 17-year-old Paiten Sullivan and 18-year-old Felipe Negron Jr., who both lived in Sioux City. Police say Walker was in a car with the other two on Jan. 28 last year when he began to stab Sullivan because he was upset that she had broken up with him. Police say that when Negron tried to intervene, Walker stabbed him, too.
The Creston Police Department says a woman residing in the 400 block of N. Oak Street, in Creston, reported Wednesday that sometime between 1-and 9-a.m. Wednesday, someone cut the driver’s side rear tire on her vehicle, while the vehicle was parked outside her residence. The loss was estimated at $120. And, a Creston man reported Wednesday evening, that sometime over the course of the past five-to seven-months, someone had attempted to gain entry to his residence in the 500 block of W. Townline Street. Damage to the front and back doors of the home was estimated at $500. It’s not clear if entry into the residence was made.
The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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(Radio Iowa) — Figures from the Iowa Association of Realtors show sale prices rose in March while the number of homes sold dropped a little more than 11 percent compared to last year. Association president John Goede says those who sell homes don’t have a lot to complain about. “If you look at our figures this last six years here — we’ve had a little drop in inventory and a little drop in sales made — but actually the last three years, 2016, 2017, 2018, have been like rock stars,” Goede says. The median sale price for Iowa homes sold in March was up six-point-seven percent compared to last year at 160-thousand dollars. Goede says you have to look at the larger view. “This year’s rate that we have right now — the ten years previous to 2016 — that would have been the high point. So, we have a very, very good year, it’s just coming off an unbelievably stellar year,” Goede says.
Goede, who sells real estate in Spencer, says Iowa’s wage rate has gone up and that has helped the Affordability Index for home buyers. He says to buy a median home you need a median income, and Iowa’s median income is 100 percent more than needed to qualify for a median house. He says our median income is so good that it could actually buy twice the cost of a median priced home. Goede says interest rates remain low too — and that also helps home buyers. He says the drop in sales is also something that has to be seen in the bigger picture. “You know the sales are down….statewide they’re down about 280 homes in total,” Goede says. “That’s less than three a county — so it’s really not a big number — it’s just how statistics can play.”
The number of days a home was on the market before selling dropped by 14 days compared to last year in March. Homes sold in March were on the market for an average of 75 days compared to 89 days last year.
(Radio Iowa) — Republicans in the Iowa legislature have developed a plan they say will bring “transparency” to property taxes. Iowans could check new notices online and in newspapers after the value of local homes, businesses and farms are assessed that show what property tax RATE would be charged if city and county budgets stay the same. Property tax hikes that are greater than two percent would have to be approved by two-thirds of the members of a city council or county board of supervisors. Republicans like Representative Dustin Hite say it means local officials wouldn’t be able to let sizable tax increases automatically go into effect when property VALUES go up.
“When somebody’s property taxes go up — the check to they write to the county treasurer goes up — somebody should have had to vote for that and take responsibility for that,” Hite says. Hite, the former mayor of New Sharon, says this shouldn’t “hamstring” local governments. “What I think it’s going to do is make cities and counties think about what they are doing and think about it in a hard way to make sure that they are only raising those taxes that they think are necessary,” Hite says.
Senator Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, spoke early Wednesday evening just before Republican senators approved the plan. “The bill is all about truth in taxation,” he said. Democrats like Representative Timi Brown-Powers of Waterloo say the bill has changed significantly from its original version and the public has had little chance to examine the final product. “We went from — in my opinion — a really, really bad bill to, now, a bad bill,” Brown-Powers said.
Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, says the bill will make it harder for communities to grow. “I can tell you that in the state of Wisconsin they did something similar a few years ago and listen up rural Iowa, the little towns and villages in Wisconsin are hollowing out,” Jochum said.
If Governor Kim Reynolds signs the bill into law, it would go into effect July 1st of 2020 — impacting the next round of budgeting by Iowa cities and counties.
(Radio Iowa) — Iowa basketball star Megan Gustafson was in the House AND the Senate Wednesday, as Iowa legislators passed resolutions recognizing her achievements. Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City read some of the stats from Gustafson’s senior year. “She became a consensus first team All American,” Bolkcom said,”…and became the 4th player in women’s basketball history to score a thousand points in a single season.”
Lawmakers read through the many awards Gustafson won and also praised her for being a two-time Big Ten ACADEMIC All-American. Senator Zach Wahls of Iowa City read the closing lines of a resolution honoring Gustafson. “The Senate hereby recognizes and congratulates Megan Gustafson for her outstanding career at the University of Iowa and wishes her continued success during her Women’s Basketball Association career,” Wahls said.
The same document was read aloud in the House. Gustafson got long ovations from lawmakers, their staff and visitors watching the proceedings.
Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have made a habit of inciting controversy during the NFL draft in the Andy Reid era by acquiring players that have a history of off-the-field issues. This year, they didn’t even wait until the draft, trading for Seattle pass rusher Frank Clark on Tuesday. Clark was kicked off his team at Michigan after a domestic violence case, though he has remained trouble-free during his four years in the NFL.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas district attorney has declined to charge Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill with a crime in a domestic incident that involved his fiance and their 3-year-old child. Johnson County DA Steve Howe says authorities believe a crime occurred, but evidence does not conclusively indicate who did it.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright was warm enough on a cool day, allowing one run in six innings for his 150th career victory, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Christian Yelich came up as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, but Jordan Hicks struck him out to pick up his seventh save in eight chances. It was Wainwright’s first quality start in a game with a starting temperature of 60 degrees or cooler since May 27, 2017.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay ace Blake Snell lasted one out into the fourth inning in his return from a broken right fourth toe as the Rays lost 10-2 to the Kansas City Royals. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner hurt the toe attempting to move a decorative display in his bathroom on April 14. He allowed three runs, five hits and two walks and struck out three during a 65-pitch outing.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:38 a.m. CDT
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have passed a bill limiting the powers of the state’s attorney general, citing frustration that the Democrat joined lawsuits opposing the actions of President Donald Trump. Attorney General Tom Miller says the bill approved Wednesday makes Iowa the first state to limit the attorney general to such an extreme and he’s not dismissed the possibility of a lawsuit to challenge it.
CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republican Steve King says the criticism he has faced from fellow members of Congress over his offensive remarks gives him “better insight” into what Jesus Christ experienced when he was persecuted for his beliefs. The Sioux City Journal reports King was attending a town hall meeting Tuesday in northeast Iowa when someone attending voiced concern about Christianity being persecuted in the U.S. King referenced Christ in talking about facing his “accusers” on the House floor.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and Democratic congresswoman Cindy Axne were among the 16 state officials to attend the first meeting of a flood recovery advisory board created by Reynolds to help Iowa towns flooded last month. Reynolds invited Axne to be part of the board, which met Wednesday to begin developing a plan for repairing hundreds of miles of levees and helping thousands of home and business owners.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have charged a second man in the death of a teenager who was fatally shot in northeast Des Moines. Des Moines police said Wednesday in a news release that 22-year-old Makaveli Depriest Russell has been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the April 14 shooting of 17-year-old Donzell Martin. Police say Russell was arrested Tuesday in East Hazel Crest, Illinois, and is awaiting extradition to Iowa.