Bohle Arrested For Delivery Of Controlled Substance Charges
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff’s Deputies have arrested a 27 year old Kingsley man for two counts of delivery of a controlled substance. Justin Bohle turned himself in to authorities after a warrant for his arrest had been issued. Bohle was booked into the Plymouth County jail where bond was set at $10,000.
Sioux Center Man Arrested For Theft And Burglary
(Orange City) — Sioux County authorities have arrested a Sioux Center man for burglary and theft charges. 36 year old, Jonathan Wood was placed under custody following an investigation of a residential burglary that occured last Friday. The Orange City Police Department and the Iowa Highway Patrol assisted with that arrest.
Arizona Fugitive Found In Storm Lake
STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) – A drug suspect sought by Arizona since 1997 has been arrested in the northwest Iowa city of Storm Lake.
Police say 40-year-old Jesus Carlos Soto was arrested Wednesday at a construction site. He’d been working under another name.
The warrants alleged possession of narcotics for sale and possession of marijuana for sale and were issued by Maricopa County authorities. Phoenix is among the cities in Maricopa County.
Maricopa County investigators tipped Storm Lake police on Wednesday that the FBI suspected Soto may be living in Storm Lake.
Soto remained in Buena Vista County Jail on Friday. He’s being held without bail, awaiting extradition to Arizona.
Cedar Rapids And Sioux City Bond Ratings Drop
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Moody’s Investors Service has dropped Cedar Rapids’ top bond rating a notch, down to Aa1 from Aaa.
The city drop has been expected since Moody’s announced in January that it had changed its methodology for rating cities.
Other Iowa cities’ ratings also have dropped, including Ames, Dubuque and Sioux City.
The new rating system places greater weight on a city’s debt and pension obligations and less weight on the local economy and tax base.
Cedar Rapids officials say the one-step downgrade in Moody’s 10-step rating system still leaves the city’s bond rating in a high-quality category.
Demolition Of U Of I Art Building Unveals Interesting Art History
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The removal of flood-damaged buildings at the University of Iowa has enabled views of a historic art building not possible for decades.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports demolition work ended in February on the former Arts Building complex, which was severely damaged by 2008 flooding. Over the fall and winter, workers demolished wings and additions that were built as the School of Art and Art History expanded.
Those four buildings hid parts of the Art Building, a brick structure built in 1936.
John Beldon Scott, director of the university’s School of Art and Art History, called it “like going back in time.”
He says no one has seen the building’s river-facing facade for 40 years.
The building is closed and officials are still deciding how to use the structure.
Clear Lake Trucking Firm Ordered To Re-Hire Former Driver
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) – A federal agency has ordered a Clear Lake company to rehire a truck driver who had raised safety concerns.
A news release from the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration says Absolute Waste Removal had to reinstate the driver and pay more than $23,000 in back wages, plus interest. OSHA also ordered the company to pay $50,000 in compensatory and $50,000 in punitive damages and pay attorney fees.
The company didn’t immediately return a call Friday from The Associated Press.
OSHA says the driver was fired on Feb. 27 last year after repeatedly raising safety concerns about new procedures. OSHA says the driver rightfully refused to operate the truck in an unsafe manor.
The company can appeal to the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.
Moisman Say She Objected To Decision To Pay Deputy After Job Was Eliminated
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – State Auditor Mary Mosiman says she objected to Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s decision to pay his chief deputy for months after eliminating the job, but that her concerns were ignored.
Mosiman was a Schultz deputy in 2012 when he cut Jim Gibbons’ job and transferred the duties to her.
Rather than dismiss Gibbons as he did four others who were laid off, Schultz let him keep a $126,000 annual salary for seven months even though it wasn’t clear what he was doing.
Mosiman says she raised concerns to Schultz and to an auditor conducting a routine review.
Democrats accused Schultz of cronyism after the Associated Press revealed Gibbons’ arrangement. The issue also quickly has become a problem for Mosiman, who was appointed auditor last year by Gov. Terry Branstad.
Audit Shows U Of I Worker Sold State-owned Computers To Friends
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A state audit says a former employee at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics illegally sold company computers to staffers and friends.
The audit released Friday alleges Brian Manary, a former information technology consultant, improperly sold the equipment while working for the hospital’s Health Care Information Systems department between 2005 and 2013.
The audit says the hospital lost more than $57,000, and the amount is conservative. Several individuals claim they bought computers from Manary, but they provided insufficient information.
A spokesman for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics says the hospital has implemented the audit’s recommendations for better inventory records.
Court records show Manary was charged with ongoing criminal conduct and first-degree theft. He pleaded guilty to the theft charge as part of a plea deal.
