Senate Still Delays Confirmation Vote For Bill Northey To USDA Post
(Washington) — The U-S Senate has yet to vote on the confirmation of Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey for a top position within the U-S Department of Agriculture. Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Arizona Senator Jeff Flake have delayed the confirmation vote, leaving Northey in a state of limbo, and leaving hundreds of thousands of farmers without direction from the U-S-D-A. U-S Republican Senator Chuck Grassley address reporters about the topic with his weekly Capital Hill Report.
Grassley says both he and fellow Iowa Senator Joni Ernst have spoken to Cruz, as well as with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Grassley says the time table is left up to Senator McConnell.
Postal Workers Protest Job Cuts
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – U.S. Postal Service workers have taken to the sidewalks to protest job cuts at Des Moines’ main post office and other postal facilities across the country. About 100 people, consisting of postal workers, customers, teachers and others, turned out Wednesday afternoon in front of the post office near downtown Des Moines to protest recent cuts. Mike Bates, president of the Des Moines Area American Postal Workers Union, says the cuts have led to long lines and delayed service for customers. Bates says 36 of approximately 300 jobs have been cut from the main Des Moines post office, and another 34 jobs are set to be cut in February. He says that amounts to a staff reduction of more than 20 percent. Bates say the cuts are occurring across the country.
Military Museum Facing Financial Difficulties
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A museum that commemorates military milestones that took place in Des Moines is financially struggling and could close if it doesn’t find additional support.
The Des Moines Register reports that the Fort Des Moines Museum and Education Center’s three volunteers only open the facility to the public one day a week or through appointments.
Matthew Harvey is president of the museum’s board of directors. He says the museum has received few monetary donations and some volunteers have given their own money to help pay the bills.
The museum opened in 2004 but failed to attract many visitors and donors.
The fort was the site of the Army’s first black officer’s training class in 1917. It was later the first location to train women for the Army.
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City Of Davenport Told To Re-Hire Fired Fire Fighter Official
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – The Davenport Civil Service Commission says a fire chief who’d been fired should be returned to a high position with the department. Lynn Washburn and her attorney argued for her to be returned to a position in line with a district chief, the position she’d held at the Rockford (Illinois) department before Davenport hired her in 2011. The commission granted her request in a 3-1 vote Wednesday. City documents say Washburn was let go because she was “unsuitable or unfit” for continued employment. City Administrator Corri Spiegel says some sort of challenge to the commission’s ruling will be considered. Davenport doesn’t have a current opening for a district chief. Washburn’s attorney, Mike Carroll, said Thursday that she “just wants to be employed.”
Slaying Suspect Returns To Iowa From North Dakota
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A man accused of killing his stepson has been scheduled for a hearing Nov. 17 in Des Moines, now that he’s been returned from North Dakota. Court records say 41-year-old Randy Dean Miles Jr., of Des Moines, is charged with first-degree murder and arson in the death of 26-year-old Christopher Lenhart. Des Moines police say Lenhart was set on fire Aug. 25 and died two days later. Miles was found in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and detained there until his return Monday. Bail has been set at $2 million. The court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.
