Governor Reynolds and Agriculture Secretary To Lead Ag Trade Delegation to Japan
(Moville) — An agricultural trade team headed up by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa’s Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig will be leaving for Japan this weekend. Naig says Japan is an important market for Iowa farmers.
Reynolds and Naig will be joined by representatives from the state’s pork producers, cattle and beef organizations, corn growers, and the Iowa Farm Bureau. Naig says the purpose for the trip is to build and maintain important relations with Japanese customers.
The Iowa Agriculture Secretary tells who they hope to visit while in the land of the rising sun.
Naig says it is fortunate the United States and Japan recently made a trade agreement. He says that should help with this trade mission.
The trade team delegation consist of close to a dozen people.
Iowa Appeals Court Says Convicted Inmate Is “Not Dead Yet”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Appeals Court has ruled against a convicted killer who says he “died” during a medical emergency and thus fulfilled his life sentence.
Wapello County court records say Benjamin Schreiber has been serving the life term since being convicted in 1997 of beating a man to death.
Schreiber says his heart stopped five times on March 30, 2015, at a hospital where he’d been taken from the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison.
Schreiber filed for release in April 2018.
A district judge found little merit in Schreiber’s argument, saying his filing confirmed he was still among the living.
The appeals court affirmed that ruling Wednesday, saying: “Schreiber is either alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or he is dead, in which case this appeal is moot.”
Supreme Court Tells Coe College They Cannot Sell Grant Wood Paintings
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says a small liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids must continue to classify seven Grant Wood paintings as restricted gifts that cannot be sold.
Coe College doesn’t want to sell the paintings but has considered them unrestricted gifts, allowing the college to count them as an asset and boost the value of its endowment fund.
An auditor in 2016 concluded they should be reclassified as restricted property, which reduces the endowment’s available assets by $5.4 million.
Hotel magnate Eugene Eppley gave the college the seven panels that once made up the Grant Wood mural “The Fruits of Iowa” in 1976. Eppley required the paintings to remain in Coe’s library, so auditors argued they can’t be sold and must be held as a restricted asset.
The college took the case to court and a district court judge concluded Eppley’s intent must be honored.
The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday agreed, saying courts often require donation recipients to abide by donors’ wishes.
Ames Police Have Arrested Suspect In Murder Case
AMES, Iowa (AP) – Ames police say they’ve arrested a man suspected of fatally injuring his roommate at their apartment.
Officers who responded to the residence around 6:10 p.m. Thursday found the injured man suffering from knife wounds. Police say he was taken to a local hospital and then transferred to a Des Moines hospital, where he died.
Story County court records say 55-year-old David Hunter is charged with first-degree murder and with misdemeanor assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Police say he threatened another person. Police have not released the name of the roommate or the other person.
The court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for Hunter.
The records say Hunter told investigators that he was responsible for the man’s injuries.
University of Iowa Wishes To Purchase Additional Land
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa wants to buy more land in North Liberty.
The Iowa Board of Regents is being asked next week to approve spending nearly $2.2 million for about 22 acres (8.9 hectares) adjacent to 38 acres (15.4 hectares) the university already owns north-northwest of its Iowa City campus.
It’s unclear what the university has planned for the land, and
officials have declined to outline the university’s intentions.
A sign that’s long been in place on the 38 acres says a University of Iowa health care facility is “coming soon.”
The 22 acres are owned by a church.
Meredith Corporation Donates To Drake University
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Two foundations affiliated with the Meredith Corporation are giving Drake University $3 million to fund renovations to a building housing the Des Moines school’s journalism program.
Drake announced Thursday that the Meredith family’s foundation would donate $2 million and the Meredith Corporation Foundation would give $1 million toward improvements to Meredith Hall. The building houses Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The Meredith family and the media business contributed to the
construction of Meredith Hall, which opened in 1965. The last donations will go toward a lower-level addition and technology upgrades to the building.
Meredith is a media company that includes television, print and
digital platforms, including 17 TV stations and brands such as PEOPLE and Better Homes & Gardens.
Waterloo Woman Injured From Home Fire
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a Waterloo woman was taken to a hospital after a fire at her home.
Firetrucks were dispatched to the house a little before 10 p.m.
Thursday, and firefighters say flames were coming through some windows as they arrived. The woman already had escaped.
She reported that a space heater had caught some bedding and other items on fire in her room on the ground floor.
Her name hasn’t been released.
Union Agrees To New Contract With Quaker Oats
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Union leaders say they’ve reached a tentative contract agreement for more than 500 workers at General Mills’ processing plant in Cedar Rapids.
Local 110 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union said Friday that the contract could be ratified as soon as Thursday. Details on the agreement have not been publicly released.
Officials say 99% of the workers who voted Wednesday said no to a previous company offer.
The two sides have been negotiating since January, when workers voted for the union representation.
The union also announced Friday that nearly 700 workers at the
Quaker Oats processing plant in Cedar Rapids have ratified a new contract.
It calls for hourly wage increases totaling 10 percent over four years.
