Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller reports Consumer Protection Division representatives will travel to Harlan and Atlantic next week to provide “mobile office” access for Iowans with consumer-related questions or complaints. Division representatives will be on hand to provide information, answer questions, and assist with consumer protection matters, including complaints from consumers.

Staff members will be available on Tuesday, July 18 at these two locations:

• Harlan: 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce & Industry (1901 Hawkeye Ave., Suite 101), and,
• Atlantic: 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Atlantic Public Library (507 Poplar St.)

Attorney General Tom Miller sends the mobile office to cities outside of Des Moines to assist Iowans with consumer issues. The outreach effort began last September when Miller traveled to Cedar Rapids and opened a temporary mobile office following a flood event. A Consumer Protection Division investigator provided flood victims with information on hiring a contractor, avoiding fraud, and the state’s price-gouging rule.

You do not need to reserve a time to speak with a Consumer Protection Division representative. If you are unable to visit the mobile office, you can still contact the division at 515-281-5926, call toll-free (outside the Des Moines metro area) at 888-777-4590, or email consumer@iowa.gov.

The State Patrol has released the name of a man killed in a crash that closed a section of Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa. The crash happened around 7:15 p.m. Sunday near West Branch when an SUV traveling westbound entered the median and struck a bridge support.

Seventy-three-year-old Neil Bell of Coralville died in the crash as he was thrown from the SUV which started on fire. The eastbound lanes of I-80 were closed for some time Sunday night due to the crash, which remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials say nearly three-thousand state employees who are members of a union are no longer be eligible for overtime pay. Governor Kim Reynolds says each state agency director must re-evaluate their budget and that includes allocation of overtime. “This actually gives them the opportunity to manage their resources and manage their departments,” Reynolds says. “I have full confidence in their ability to do so.”

The state’s collective bargaining agreement expired on June 30th. A spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Human Services says it was only through the contract that these 28-hundred employees were paid for overtime. The president of the union that represents these workers says many are nurses who work at state institutions. AFSCME Council 61 president Danny Homan says it’s a “below the belt move” and some of them will be forced to work overtime without pay.

(Radio Iowa)

Members of the Atlantic Library Board of Trustees, Monday evening, appointed Diane McFadden as Interim Director of the Library. McFadden, who has served the Library for more than 20-years, is currently the Adult Services Librarian. She’ll take over after current Director Natalie Struecker’s serves through her last day on August 1st.

Board member Dee Bebensee told KJAN News that the Board, Monday, officially accepted Struecker’s resignation, which she had submitted at the end of June. Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones said during last week’s City Council meeting, that Struecker had accepted a position with the Cedar Rapids Library. The Board agreed to approve a job posting in Library Professional Resources and other media, in hopes of finding a permanent replacement for Struecker.

In other business, the Board approved the appointment of Gene Fischer and Greg Williams to the Library Board. They will replace Jim Crall and Hans Krengel.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 41-year-old man has died from injuries suffered in a Monona County house fire. Firefighters were dispatched to the Onawa home around 9:30 p.m. on July 3rd. Neighbors reported hearing a big bang before the flames erupted.

One person at the home, Dallas Seward, was injured. Ronald Humphrey of the Iowa State Fire Marshal Division confirmed Tuesday that Seward died Sunday at an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital. Humphrey also says the cause of the blast and resulting blaze is still being investigated.