Oliver Pleads Not Guilty To Shooting and Other Charges
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 22-year-old Sioux City man suspected of shooting at two bicyclists in northwest Iowa has pleaded not guilty to drunken driving and other charges.
Authorities say Terry Oliver Jr. on Monday entered a written plea of not guilty to OWI, going armed with intent and two counts of misdemeanor assault with a firearm. A trial date hasn’t been
set.
The bicyclists reported that they were riding along Iowa Highway 12 near Stone State Park when the incident occurred Aug. 5. They say a vehicle slowed as it neared them and someone inside it
started shooting. They took cover in a ditch.
A suspect vehicle was stopped four miles north, and Oliver and Cesar Gonzalez were taken into custody after a brief foot chase.
Authorities say Gonzalez is a material witness.
USDA To Purchase Meat — Assist Drought Striken Livestock Producers
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Agriculture Department will buy up to $170 million of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish to help drought-stricken farmers and ranchers.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack says the purchase for food banks and other federal food nutrition programs will help producers struggling with the high cost of feed.
The announcement comes as President Barack Obama campaigns in Iowa, where he criticized Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan for blocking a farm bill that could help farmers cope
with the drought.
Obama has pledged a wide-ranging response to the worst drought in a quarter-century.
His administration is giving farmers and ranchers access to low-interest emergency loans, opening more federal land for grazing and distributing $30 million to get water to livestock.
Iowa Wants To Start Up Again The Movie Industry
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Iowa is looking to restart its film industry after a scandal linked to a tax credit program shut down the state’s film office and sent some people to jail.
The Gazette says the scene moves from the courtroom to the process of rebuilding an industry that has a long memory.
Wendol Jarvis served as film officer manager during Gov. Terry Branstad’s previous four-term stint as governor. He says the fiasco was a mix of incompetency and greed that caused widespread damage. He says whatever course Iowa takes, the state must provide trust
and security.
Lawmakers appropriated $200,000 – half of what Branstad requested – when they voted last session to permanently end the tax credit program and keep the film office. There will be no
incentives when the office reopens.
Branstad Shows Ryan The Iowa State Fair
(Des Moines) — Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will escort fellow Republican Paul Ryan around the Iowa State Fair today. Branstad says the Wisconsin congressman is a good pick by Mitt Romney as his running mate for vice president.
Listen to
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Branstad has said in the past he prefers to see a governor become president and he says Romney fits that bill, while Ryan adds to the ticket.
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The governor was asked if he was being considered or ever contacted about being Romney’s running mate.
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The governor made his comments at the weekly meeting with the media. He was also asked if he will take any action to prevent the use of state money to finance abortions in the cases of rape and incest.
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House Republicans had asked the Iowa Department of Human Services to eliminate Medicaid funding of abortions in cases of rape or incest, but D-H-S director Charles Palmer responded last week in a letter and said such a move would “violate federal funding requirements” and would “jeopardize all” the money the State of Iowa gets from the federal government to cover Medicaid expenses. Palmer said the state would lose over two-point-one-billion dollars in federal funding if he granted the request. House Republicans suggested the governor could take action, but Branstad says the legislature has to do something if this is what they want to do..
Listen to
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Some House Republicans believe the budget bill passed by the legislature provides the legislative intent for the governor to take action. But Branstad says the bill has been thoroughly reviewed and the language is “very vague and there are many different interpretations of that.”
