Jeneary and Carlin To Hold Legislative Town Hall Meetings
(Le Mars) — State Representative Dr. Tom Jeneary of Le Mars and State Senator Jim Carlin of Sioux City will hold two separate town hall meetings this morning. The two republican lawmakers will begin their day with a town hall meeting at Joe’s Cafe in Akron starting at 9:00 a.m. Following their Akron visit, the two legislators will appear at Floyd Valley Healthcare conference room at 11:00 a.m. Both meetings are open to the public.
Jeneary and Carlin will discuss current legislation issues
Democrats To Hold Independent Review Of Caucus Process
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price says an independent review will determine what went wrong in the state caucus process that led to a dayslong delay in reporting the results, inconsistencies in the numbers and no clear winner. Price said Friday that the independent forensic investigation will determine what went wrong.
Almost nothing went right Monday, first when an app used to report the results failed and then when a massive backlog of phone reports and inquiries followed. Pete Buttigieg narrowly leads Bernie Sanders in Iowa’s released results, but The Associated Press has been unable to declare a winner based on the available information.
Democratic National Party Chair Wants To “Recanvass” Caucus Results
WASHINGTON (AP) – Will the Iowa caucuses ever wrap up? Now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee is calling for a “recanvass” of the results. Party leader Tom Perez tweeted Thursday that “enough is enough” after three days of technical issues and delays. Pete Buttigieg and Bernie
Sanders are nearly tied for the lead after the delays. Both candidates have declared themselves victorious in Monday’s contest. The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner in the contest. The Iowa Democratic Party suggested it may not comply with Perez’s request, issuing a
statement that said it would conduct a recanvass if one was requested by one of the candidates.
Low Turnout Reported During Iowa Caucus
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Democrats are recovering from a number of disappointments after Monday’s Iowa caucuses, though one has received less attention than the others. About 176,000 Iowans attended their precinct caucuses. That’s fewer than expected, and 62,000 less than the party’s
high-water mark of 2008. The parade of candidates and marquee events that drew thousands of activists and a Democratic base seething to unseat President Donald Trump had given some party insiders the impression turnout could match or top 2008.
Iowa National Guard Soldiers To Be Deployed
JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) – About 550 Iowa National Guard soldiers will be sent this spring to the Mideast. The Guard announced Thursday that members of its 1st Battalion would be deployed in late May to provide “area security and force protection” as part of military efforts that encompass 27 countries.
Those countries include Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Soldiers will be mobilized from armories in Charles City, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City, Iowa Falls, Oelwein and Waterloo. The soldiers will complete final training at Fort Bliss in Texas before being sent on the overseas mission.
The deployment is scheduled to last about a year.
Man Accused Of Killing Bank Employee To Have Life In Prison Sentence
(Algona) — The man accused of killing an Algona woman outside a bank in the Kossuth County town of LuVerne late last year changed his plea from not guilty to guilty during a hearing Friday.
Thirty-five-year-old Valentino Williams of Coralville, Iowa changed his plea during a hearing in Kossuth County District Court. Williams admitted in court to killing 43-year-old Jessica Weishaar outside the bank in LuVerne on the morning of December 4th, 2019. Williams was arrested following a
traffic stop along Interstate 35 in rural Franklin County little more than an hour after the shooting. Law enforcement was able to track down Williams vehicle after he was recorded driving more than 80 miles-an-hour by a D-O-T Enforcement officer south of Belmond. As a part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the first-degree Robbery charges against Williams. Judge Nancy L. Whittenburg accepted the plea and handed out the mandatory sentence of life without parole.
Des Moines Man Found Guilty Of Killing Homeless Man
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines man has pleaded guilty to killing a homeless man last year with a stolen car. The Des Moines Register reports that 22-year-old Donterius Bomar pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the January 2019 death of 69-year-old Charles Childs. Police say Bomar was driving the stolen car when he hit
Childs and kept going. Childs was found dead two days later inside a tent at a homeless camp. As part of his plea deal, Bomar could face up to 75 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for April 1.
Poultry Producers Concerned About New Strain Of Flu
(Des Moines) — Iowa egg and poultry producers are on high alert as China reports an H-5-N-1 bird flu outbreak has occurred near the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Iowa Poultry Association C-E-O and executive director Kevin Stiles says avian influenza is always top of mind for Iowa producers.
Stiles says Iowa’s poultry producers are better prepared now than they were five years ago as biosecurity has much improved.
Since the latest Chinese bird flu outbreak was the H-5-N-1 strain, Stiles says it’s more concerning than if it were another type.
An outbreak of the similar H-5-N-2 strain of avian flu in 2015 caused more than one-billion dollars damage to Iowa poultry producers as millions of chickens and turkeys had to be destroyed.
