Senate Passes Budget Bill – House To Follow On Monday
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Senate Republicans have approved a bill that would resolve an immediate shortfall in Iowa’s $7.2 billion state budget.
Lawmakers in the GOP-led chamber voted along party lines Thursday for the legislation, which has cuts totaling about $117 million.
The reductions require some Iowa departments to cut about $88 million for the budget year that began last July, leading to less spending on corrections, higher education and public safety.
An additional $25 million would be taken from various funds, including support for economic development and the arts. About $4 million would be saved from unused tax credits.
The bill heads to the GOP-controlled House, where there’s support.
Senate Democrats argued the cuts would hurt critical spending. Senate Republicans say they tried to reduce the impact of some of the cuts.
State Representative Chuck Holz of Le Mars says the Iowa House is scheduled to vote on the budget bill early next week.
The Le Mars lawmaker says most every state department was affected with the exception of education and medicaid. Holz says the legislature will carry over those budget cuts for the next fiscal year budget.
Holz explains what will likely happen with state government agencies due to the budget cuts.
State Representative Chuck Holz along with State Senator Bill Anderson will hold four legislative forums scheduled for Saturday morning. The two Republican lawmakers will be in Moville at the Moville Fire Station, Pierson City Hall, Kingsley Community Center and at Remsen at the Three Sisters Bistro. Holz
explains the purpose for having the legislative forums.
Chamber of Commerce To Hold Awards Banquet
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual awards night and banquet scheduled for Saturday. This year’s theme to the evening is “Thumps Up!” The evening will again feature videos of many of the towns leaders.
The Chamber will acknowledge all of the monthly “Employees of the Month” from 2016, as well as the “Bosses of the Quarter”. The highlight of the evening will be the announcement of the Le Mars Business of the Year, and the Citizen of the
Year. The Chamber of Commerce awards banquet will be held at the Le Mars Convention Center. Social hour begins at 6:00 p.m. with the dinner to begin at 7:00 p.m.
Supreme Court Turns Down Des Moines Water Waters Lawsuit
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a legal doctrine going back 100 years in Iowa that allows agriculture drainage districts to maintain immunity from lawsuits seeking monetary damages.
The ruling Friday presents an obstacle for the Des Moines Water Works, which is pursuing a lawsuit in federal court in Sioux City filed in March 2015.
The water utility for 500,000 Iowans alleges the three counties that oversee 10 agricultural drainage districts should be required to obtain federal water pollution discharge permits and pay the utility more than $1.4 million it has spent for increased filtration methods to remove the nitrates from water.
Pork Producers To Help Fund Water Quality Initiatives
(Des Moines) — The Iowa Pork Producers Association is partnering with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to offer cost share dollars to pork producers installing new nutrient loss reduction technologies. Through this
program, Iowa Pork Producers Association will provide up to $25,000 to offset up to 50 percent of costs for pork producers to install saturated buffers or bio- reactors on their farm land. Sites will be selected based on greatest opportunity for nitrate reduction and be geographically dispersed throughout the
state to aid in education and demonstration opportunities. Newly elected Iowa Pork Producers Association president, Curtis Meier of Clarinda explains the program.
Northey Defends Trade Agreements
(Des Moines) — One of President Trump’s first actions was to do away with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Trump has also advocated imposing a tariff on goods shipped to the United States from Mexico, and he also has threatened
to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA with Canada and Mexico. Agriculture is a benefactor when it comes to trade agreements. Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey attended the Iowa Pork Congress and says he
hopes President Trump can negotiate terms allowing the United States to be in a better trading position, while at the same time, not jeopardizing agriculture’s stance with existing trade agreements.
Speaking about agricultural trade, Northey is scheduled to travel to China in March for what will be his ninth trip to communist oriental nation. He will be a guest of the Iowa Soybean Association.
Northey says trade missions are essential to further enhance a trusting relationship between the producer and the buyer with hopes of bettering the financial position of the American farmer.
The Iowa Agriculture Secretary says the trip is being funded through soybean producer check-off funds. He says China continues to be a growing market for the U-S farmer.
Leath Continues To Justify Use of Iowa State Plane For Private Purposes
AMES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State University has released a redacted document that President Steven Leath says supports his use of a school plane for a largely personal North Carolina trip.
Leath flew the Cirrus SR-22 on the five-day August trip to his Jefferson, North Carolina home. He reimbursed ISU for flight costs, acknowledging the personal element.
But Leath has claimed he planned a donor visit and so the plane use had a business purpose, as required by law.
A Board of Regents audit report last month said that a “written
communication exchange” showed the donor cancelled the meeting the day it was scheduled. The Associated Press requested the exchange six weeks ago.
Iowa State responded Thursday that the communication was a text message received on Leath’s personal cell phone and is no longer available. But ISU released a November email from Leath to an assistant that it said contains the message’s content.
Leath’s email quotes the unidentified donor as texting “we just had a little emergency and have to head back to”. The rest is redacted. No date’s given.
A board spokesman says auditors viewed the message on Leath’s phone.
Work Continues To Clean Up Diesel Fuel From Pipeline Leak
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Workers were expected to complete cleaning some 140,000 gallons of diesel fuel that spewed from a broken pipeline onto an Iowa farm, the largest U.S. diesel spill since 2010. Vacuum trucks were sucking up the fuel that
spilled onto an acre of grass and tilled farmland when the pipeline broke. The spill was discovered Wednesday morning.
Man Rescues Burning Flag From Protest
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A man has rescued a burning U.S. flag from protesters in Iowa City. Organizers told the Iowa City Press-Enterprise that Thursday’s demonstration was aimed at injustice and U.S. imperialism. One onlooker, Matt Uhrin, used a fire extinguisher against the flames and, despite some pushing and
shoving, saved one of the flags and walked away. Uhrin returned when they set another flag aflame but was unable to retrieve it.
Officials Identify Dead Miner
BUFFALO, Iowa (AP) – Officials have identified a truck driver killed inside a limestone mine in eastern Iowa’s Scott County.
Buffalo police say 52-year-old Ronald Trich Jr., of Rock Island, Illinois, was killed.
Emergency crews were sent to Linwood Mining and Mineral near Buffalo a little before 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Company President Jonathan Wilmshurst said Thursday that Trich had worked for the mine for 12 years and was a mine truck operator. Trich was found buried in rock in a remote part of the mine where no operations were underway. He was
not in a vehicle. Wilmshurst says there were no witnesses to what he called an “isolated incident.”
Wilmshurst says the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration allowed Linwood to continue operations elsewhere in the mine, but employees were sent home Thursday.
