The former top cop of a northwest Iowa town has found himself on the wrong side of the law and may soon be on the other side of a barred door. The former Merrill police chief will be sentenced January 10th for accepting a bribe. A Plymouth County District Court grand jury in October of last year indicted 37-year-old Warren Palmer. He was accused of using his authority to coerce a woman to submit to a sex act during a traffic stop. Palmer was charged with accepting a bribe, sexual abuse and extortion. He pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe yesterday and could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison and a thousand-dollar fine. He resigned as police chief a year ago at the request of city officials.
Study shows less global warming impact on Iowa, midwest
September 21, 2004 By
An Iowa State University study on global warming finds that Iowa and some of its neighbors are bucking the warming trend. Professor Gene Takle says they’ve made that discovery using a detailed regional model of the climate in the U.S. He says they generally expect that winters throughout the U.S. will be warmer. He says they also believe it’ll be warmer in the summer, but were surprised to find that the increase in temperatures won’t be as much in the central U.S. as the rest of the country. Takle says there appears to be a hole in the climate warmup that starts in Missouri. He says they were surprised to find that the general pattern of warming that’s expected has an unusual pattern centered around the area of Kansas City where in the near term there’ll be less than average warming than over rest of the U.S. Takle says the trend spreads out to include most of the state of Missouri and half of the state of Kansas. Iowa is also part of the phenomenon. He says there should be a little spillover into Iowa where it looks like the warming will be a little bit suppressed. He says that’ll include more of southern Iowa than northern Iowa. Takle says a shift in the summer nighttime rainfall patterns is part of the reason for the variance in the midwest. He says some of the drier soils in Kansas and Missouri will receive more rainfall and the wetter soils will hold the temperature down during the day. He says more of the sun’s energy will go into evaporating the water, than heating the air. Takle, who is a professor of agronomy and geological and atmospheric sciences, says they aren’t sure what long-term impact the slower warm-up will have on Iowa and the other states. He says they haven’t explored all the consequences yet, and they don’t know how long the effect will last. He says their simulations go out until the year 2040 and beyond that they don’t know what will happen. He says it could turn around, or it could accelerate. The I-S-U Regional Climate Modeling Lab has been doing climate studies using models for about 10 years.
Grassley answers economic critics
September 21, 2004 By
A group of economists, including three Nobel prize-winners, is endorsing democrat Art Small in the race against U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley. The economists claim Grassley, a republican, has played a “crucial role in the corrosion of our nation’s finances” and that Grassley has done “serious harm” to the country’s economic future. Grassley says his critics must not be looking at the same economy he’s seeing. Grassley says “Every single economic indicator that we measure the economy by is very positive,” singling out the five-point-four percent unemployment rate and the creation of more than one-million-700-thousand jobs. Grassley says the nation’s economy is, by all counts, rebounding and thriving. Grassley questions the reputation of the economists who are so critical of his role as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee and of the economy in general. Grassley says “All you gotta’ do is get these guys out of their ivory towers that are backing my opponent, and they need to get out in the real world.” He compares them to George Bush Senior in the 1992 election when he didn’t know what cash register screening devices were. The list of economists backing Small includes Beth Ingram, chair of the University of Iowa’s economics department.
ATV’s raise injury concerns
September 21, 2004 By
A national expert on children’s safety says all-terrain vehicles, or “A-T-V’s” designed to make life easier are causing trouble because of misuse by kids. Chris Hannah of the Childrens Safety Network analyzed information on A-T-V’s in Iowa. He says they analyzed three years of fatality data and found 25 deaths involving A-T-V’s in Iowa. And he says the thing they don’t know is how many disabling injuries, near misses, untreated injuries and emergency room visits there are associated with A-T-V’s. Hannah says there are now more A-T-V’s in the state than tractors. Hannah says the vehicles can be a valuable and safe tool for use on Iowa farms. But he says when children get on the A-T-V’s and are unsupervised by adults, injuries happen. He says they know that 95-percent of the injuries to children involve kids who were too small to be on the A-T-V. Hannah says the four and three-wheeled vehicles appear to be large bikes or scooters, but he says there’s much more to them. He says what’s unusual about A-T-V’s is that they’re “rider active” — you have to be actively involved and know how to ride them and shift your weight. And he says the vehicles are sometimes taken where they aren’t meant to go. He says they’re not designed to go on pavement, and he says about half the fatalities in Iowa to children happen when they’re riding on or crossing public roads. Hannah says parents should take time to teach children the proper way to ride an A-T-V and supervise children when they do ride. He says the Iowa Department of Natural Resources offers safety courses for riders.
Big chunk of Homeland Security money goes to South Sioux City
September 21, 2004 By
Nearly half a million dollars in Homeland Security money’s coming to a community near Sioux City to help complete a high-tech communications system. The Nebraska town of South Sioux City is one of just nine cities in the nation to get the Information Technology Grants, and city manager Lance Hedquist says it’s recognition of their status as a technology leader. The project helps secure and oversee public city buildings as well as the water plant and water treatment facilities, power substation, and some of the other critical infrastructure. The city’s surveillance system uses a fiber-optic network, which Hedquist says is unique for a city to own. But the federal grant will complete it using “wi-fi” — wireless computing, extending its reach without having to install any more wires or cables. Hedquist says any police squad car driving within 2 blocks of the high school or junior high can take a look through the 48 cameras within the school system, and pan, tilt, and zoom them remotely to take a look at any area the cameras can reach. If an alarm goes off at a local bank, similar camera signals will let them look into the bank from police cars, so officers know from outside whether “a janitor hit the door or whether it’s a real situation.” Hedquist says the mayor and city council have agreed technology’s going to be part of their future, both to serve residents and businesses, and to attract new economic development. The South Sioux City Information Sharing Project’s getting 457-thousand, 226 dollars as one of the homeland security department’s information technology demonstration projects.
Governor urges lawmakers to move ahead on clean air rules
September 21, 2004 By
Governor Tom Vilsack is urging state lawmakers not to backtrack on clean-air rules for animal confinements. A new rule governing emissions of hydrogen sulfide was passed by a legislative committee but a subcommittee’s already been appointed to give it more study — which could signal the new law’s in jeopardy. Vilsack says we need to make a positive statement about the environment, adding “Iowans want clean air and understand the importance of having a healthy agriculture industry. He says we can have both, and these rules provide that delicate balance. At 30 parts-per-Billion, the law is far less restrictive than one adopted last year by the state’s environmental protection commission — and struck down by the republican-controlled legislature. Vilsack says it would be a “very serious mistake” for the legislature to nullify those rules, particularly since they provided no options for air quality at all. The new rule does not allow the state to fine or shut down a livestock operation that violates the standard.
Harkin to campaign with Dean for Kerry
September 21, 2004 By
Senator Tom Harkin says he’ll hit the campaign trail next month with Howard Dean, a former foe of John Kerry’s. Harkin says this time he and Dean will be campaigning for the Kerry/Edwards ticket. As you may recall, Harkin endorsed Dean right before the Iowa Caucuses this past January. Harkin says in October, he and Dean are going to “hit it hard.” Harkin says “it’s a whole new campaign” because polls show the presidential race is dead even since all the one- or two-point leads either Bush or Kerry have in polls in key states Iowa are within the margin of error. Harkin says he’s been told he’ll be traveling in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin between now and election day for the Kerry/Edwards ticket. Harkin says “these are all vital states” that Bush and Cheney are trying to win, too. Harkin’s statements earlier this summer that Dick Cheney was a “coward” for not serving in Vietnam were thought by some to have prompted the Kerry campaign to distance itself from Harkin and curtail his appearances on Kerry’s behalf.
