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Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Federal Prison for Firearms Charge

News

April 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced last Thursday (April 11, 2024), to 27 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon, following a guilty plea. According to public court documents, 21-year-old Keshawn C. Houtz-Mayfield, was found to be in possession of a firearm during the execution of a search warrant at his residence. Houtz-Mayfield was a convicted felon at the time of the search warrant and knew he could not possess firearms.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Houtz-Mayfield will be required to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The case was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

Glenwood Police report, 4/18/24

News

April 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Officials with the Glenwood Police Department report one arrest took place Wednesday. 38-year-old Jackie Marler, of Thayer, was arrested for driving while barred. Marler’s cash or surety bond was set at $2,000.

Another Iowa school district approves a 4-day school week

News

April 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Another Iowa school district has approved a four-day school week. The Creston News Advertiser reports that the East Union school board approved the change last night (Wednesday night). The district says the goal is to improve teacher recruitment and retention. They say other school districts with four-day weeks have had success filling open positions.

The change goes into effect next school year.

GOP lawmakers propose $1 billion reduction in state income taxes

News

April 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa/UPDATED) – Republican legislators plan to cut Iowans’ income taxes by a billion dollars next year. Cuts approved two years ago would have implemented a flat rate of just under four percent in 2026. The new G-O-P plan goes lower, to three-point-eight percent and it would take effect a year earlier — in 2025. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee that develops tax policy. “This is a culmination of discussions we’ve had over the past few months here,” Dawson says. “…We’ve seen a variety of tax proposals in this building, but the biggest question is how do we get some of these monies back to Iowa taxpayers.”

Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in the Iowa House. “This puts Iowa in the driver’s seat for being one of the most conservative states in the country, yet again, when it comes to taxation,” he says. The plan also tweaks property tax limits the legislature enacted last year, letting some cities and counties a bit more property tax revenue. The bill has already cleared a Senate subcommittee this (Thursday) morning. Lobbyists for developers, banks and business groups are praising the legislation. Brad Hartkopt is with the Iowa Association of Business and Industry. “We appreciate all the progress that has been made over the last several years in making our tax climate more competitive for both individuals and businesses,” Hartkopt said. “We believe this bill takes us in another step going in that direction and we support it.”

Mike Owen of Common Good Iowa says tax cuts should instead be targeted to Iowa’s working poor. “This bill compounds a patently unfair tax system that we have. It takes us away from a tax system based on an ability to pay.” Owen said. “…I would add this is one more case of taxes directing budget choices rather than the other way around, where we could determine our needs, transparently set priorities, find the best way to fund them.”

Republicans say this latest round of tax cuts are possible because their state budget plan for next year doesn’t spend all of the available tax revenue and there will be a withdrawal from the Taxpayer Relief Fund. It’s where unspent taxes from previous years have been deposited. Representative Kaufmann says that Taxpayer Relief Fund will have more than two BILLION dollars left in it after next year’s withdrawal. “We’re showing here in Iowa that we’re fiscally responsible,” Kaufmann says. “We’re understanding concerns of mistakes made in other states. We’re still able to actualize growth, fund our priorities.”

Senator Dawson suggests there may not need to be a withdrawal from the Taxpayer Relief Fund if the economy grows, which will lead to more tax revenue for the state. “I think that this is the best of both worlds that leaves the conversation for long term, further tax cuts,” Dawson says. “as well as strategic opportunities.” Dawson has proposed investing the nearly four BILLION dollars in the Taxpayer Relief Fund and using the profits to ratchet down the income tax rate over time, but that’s not included in this bill making its way through the legislature this week. There are some other policies in the bill. It lets county boards of supervisors decide whether to keep or disband county compensation boards. Kaufmann says the boards have contributed to the explosion in property tax growth.

“You’ve essentially got a group of friends getting together and recommending raises for each other…Counties cannot split the difference, look at things on merit,” Kaufmann said, “and so you’ve got an autopilot ponzi scheme of property tax growth that the local county supervisors…have no control over.”

The bill also repeals an 1848 law that has required Lee County to maintain TWO county courthouses.

DARRELL SOE, 89, of Elk Horn (IA) – Celebration of Life 4/22/24

Obituaries

April 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DARRELL SOE, 89, of Elk Horn, died Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at the Heritage House, in Atlantic. A Celebration of Life for DARRELL SOE will be held 3-p.m. Monday, April 22nd, at Ohde Funeral Home in Kimballton.

Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 2-until 3-p.m., Monday.

Inurnment with Military Honors will be in the Elk Horn Lutheran Cemetery in Elk Horn.

DARRELL SOE is survived by:

His daughter – Joni (Kevin) Butts, of Minden.

His sons -Jeff (Kim) Soe, of Red Oak, and Troy (Maria) Soe, of Omaha, NE.

His sister – Marsha (John) Brown, of Malvern.

5 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Farmers need to keep their machines, bodies in top shape for planting season

Ag/Outdoor, News

April 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowa farmers are firing up their tractors for the first time this spring, and one expert suggests before you plant the first seed, make sure your equipment, your body, and your mind are ready for the season ahead. Dr. Kimberly Lansing, a family medicine physician with Gundersen Health System, says do a thorough check of your heavy equipment to make sure it’s safe to operate after sitting dormant for the winter. “Even if you checked it in the fall, you want to make sure that some family of raccoons didn’t move into your machine shed and rearrange your hydraulics,” Lansing says. “So, going over everything right before you get out in the field, making sure your finisher’s ready to go, and your equipment’s all functional is probably one of the most important things.”

Farming ranks as one of the nation’s most dangerous professions, and Lansing says all tractors should have rollover protection systems, as many farmers who have to be rushed to the emergency room had an accident with a tractor. “Typically, equipment-related injuries, equipment, motor vehicles, including ATVs, tractors and motor vehicles are among the largest things that bring people in,” Lansing says. “We see the most injuries in these areas between April and September, which of course, corresponds to the time when most farmers are out in the field and active.”

Farming can be a very strenuous profession, placing extreme demands on the body. “Of course, you want to have yourself in as good a condition as you keep your equipment,” she says. “So, making sure you do get adequate sleep, because if you’re sleepy behind the wheel, bad things happen. Also, making sure you’re in condition to do what you’re doing. People that work on farms may have other health problems, and you need to be really careful and cautious about what your own limitations are.” Farmers are considered the toughest of the tough, but Lansing says if you’re having a physical problem, don’t shrug it off for later, as there may not -be- a later.

Photo courtesy of the Iowa State University Extension

“You definitely should not ignore warning signs just because you’re busy. I literally once had somebody who said they were calving and couldn’t come in with chest pain and they got in and they were having an active heart attack,” Lansing says. “Fortunately, he survived but your own health and being there for your family is more important.” Farmers are considered one of Iowa’s most vulnerable populations for mental health struggles, and rural suicide deaths are two times higher than the state’s city and metro areas. Lansing encourages farmers to look after one another.

“Farmers are very observant because they need to be in order to keep their farms running,” she says. “You’ve got to look for that animal that’s starting to look sick, or, ‘Oh, the weather’s going to do this,’ but being somebody who will go out and grab an extra cup of coffee and bring it to their neighbor and say, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ Just checking in with them and seeing how they’re doing is probably a nice first step.”

Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.

Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson recovering from knee injury

Sports

April 18th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

(Eagan, MN) — The Minnesota Vikings continue with voluntary off-season workouts this week at team headquarters in the Twin Cities. One of the players in the weight room has been star tight end T-J Hockenson, who is recovering from a serious knee injury he suffered in a game last year on December 24th against Detroit. Hockenson, a former Hawkeye standout, says rehab has been going well on his surgically-repaired knee. He says he continues to work hard to get the knee ready to play and would not put a timetable on when he would be ready to play in a game. The Chariton, Iowa product also says he isn’t sure of the solution, but he was not totally happy with the hit he took that caused the injury. Detroit defensive back Kerby Joseph went low to make the tackle, chopping at his knee, which caused the injury. Hockenson says he doesn’t think there was intent to injure, but he would have preferred to have been tackled higher on his body.

Vikings tight end T-J Hockenson says rehab on his knee continues.

Hockenson says he was not thrilled with the hit he took from Kerby Joseph that caused the injury.

Hockenson says he isn’t sure what the solution is on low hits, as the league also doesn’t want hits around the head and neck.

Hockenson says both he and Rams tight end Tyler Higbee suffered similar injuries on similar low hits, both from Kerby Joseph.

Hockenson says he is working hard in rehab but isn’t sure when he will be able to do football activities again.

Hockenson says things are on a great path on his road to recovery after his surgery.

Hockenson says early in his rehab it wasn’t easy.

Hockenson says it is good to be back at the team’s facility is good.

Hockenson says he is ready to push forward on his recover.

Hockenson says it is great to see new running back Aaron Jones in the building.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is excited about T-J Hockenson’s progress.

O’Connell says he is comfortable with knowing Hockenson will be back at 100% in 2024.

Three additional tornadoes in IA April 16th are confirmed

News, Weather

April 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Johnston, Iowa) – The National Weather Service reports three more tornadoes associated with Tuesday’s (April 16th) severe storms, have been confirmed. That includes two EF Unknowns, one near Manson with a path of just over six-tenths of a mile, the other south of Rolfe, with a path length a little more than 1.5 miles.
EF Unknows mean the wind speed is unknown since the tornado did not impact any damage indicators that are used to produce the rating. The other tornado was a EF0 near Rolfe with a path length of just slightly more than six-tenths of a mile, and an estimated wind speed of 70 mph.
According to the latest data, seven tornadoes occurred at various locations across the State, Tuesday, causing structural damage in at least two counties. The Weather Service continues to collect and analyze data about the storms.

Heartbeat Today 4-18-2024

Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

April 18th, 2024 by Jim Field

Jim Field visits with comedian Austin Anderson, who will perform Saturday night at the Wilson Performing Arts Center in Red Oak.

Play

Hawkeyes Beat Braves, 11-6

Sports

April 18th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team defeated Bradley, 11-6, on Wednesday night at Duane Banks Field.

The Hawkeyes trailed twice in the contest but responded both times to take the midweek contest with the Braves. Bradley struck first with a solo home run in the first, the Hawkeyes responded with a three run second inning.

After the Braves added five runs between the fourth and the fifth, Iowa again battled back scoring eight runs in the final three innings.

“I think for the most part it was a very good job,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Had the one bad inning in the fourth that looked like it was going to cost us. But other than that, we got off to a great start. The first three guys that went out there they did a nice job. Archer had a good start other than the solo home run to O’Brian.”

10 different pitchers saw action in the contest for the Hawkeyes. Anthony Watts had the longest outing throwing 1 1/3 innings to earn his second win of the season.

Ben DeTaeye threw the final inning of the game to close out the win. He joined Reese Beuter and Brandt Hogue as Hawkeyes who did not allow a hit or a run in the contest.

Andy Nelson, led the offensive charge for Iowa, plating three RBIs. Raider Tello and Reese Moore were both 2-for-5 and Moore scored three runs. Kyle Huckstorf and Gable Mitchell both scored two runs.

“What we were trying to do tonight is just be who we are,” said Heller.” We’re seeing that we do a good job of holding the zone and not expanding. Taking what they can get even if it is a walk, as well as being ready to do some damage if they get it over the big part of the plate. It was good to see.”

Iowa stole seven bases and hit .324 en route to the victory.

Iowa continues its home stand hosting Rutgers for a three-game series starting Friday at 6:05 p.m. (CT).