Seven people face a total of two dozen charges following a raid on three homes in Sac County. Acting on a tip, Sheriff’s deputies served search warrants at homes in Ulmer, Auburn, and Schaller. Inside they found methamphetamine, marijuana and more than nine-thousand dollars in cash. Fifty-seven-year-old Richard Straight and 48-year-old Deb Straight of Ulmer were both taken into custody. Authorities also arrested 47-year-old Peggy Niles of Odebolt and 46-year-old William Rench of Sac City. Two Schaller residents — 43-year-old Steven Christiansen and 34-year-old Lisa Conner, are also in custody after the raid. Authorities say more arrests are expected.
ICN used to create a new lawyer in Iraq
September 24, 2004 By
The state-owned Iowa Communications Network was used this week to help a Council Bluffs native who’s half-a-world away reach a professional milestone. A Supreme Court Justice stood in front of a video camera in Des Moines — and looked at a video link showing 25-year-old Melissa Head standing in Iraq. The two could see and hear one another, courtesy of the two-way video/audio link from the Iowa Communications Network. The judge administered the oath, and Head became Iowa’s newest lawyer. The soldier, who was wearing fatigues, may return to Iowa in December, or perhaps later, and would have had to wait ’til she returned to Iowa to officially become a lawyer if not for the special Des Moines to Iraq ceremony. Head is currently serving at what’s called “Camp Victory” in Baghdad. She’s a specialist in the Army Corps of Engineers and took the bar exam just before she left in August. She was in Iraq when she learned she’d passed.
Democrats and Republicans differ over importance of absentee ballots
September 24, 2004 By
Voting for the November election is already underway in Iowa, as yesterday was the first day Iowans could go into their county auditor’s office to cast a ballot. Yesterday was also the first day county auditors could sent out absentee ballots, and Iowa democrats are claiming a big lead in the push for that kind of “early voting.” Democrats began knocking on doors and giving voters forms to request absentee ballots back in June, and Iowa Democratic Party executive director Jean Hessberg says far more registered democrats have asked for the ballots than registered republicans. Hessberg says the party’s receives updates from about 35 auditors around the state and it looks like they’re “up” by about 35-thousand supporters when compared to the republican absentee ballot request. Hessberg says in a race as tight as this year’s contest, every person they can convince to vote early will make a difference. She points to the Gore-Bush presidential contest four years ago. Hessberg says Al Gore actually lost on election day in Iowa, but won by 4011 votes because he outpaced Bush in absentee ballots. She says that’s only a little over two votes per precinct, so every vote counts in this election. But Dave Roederer, the head of the Bush – Cheney campaign in Iowa, says democrats are just flaunting their absentee ballot program because polls show slipping support for John Kerry. He says democrats are concerned where the momentum is going and worried Kerry backers may switch to Bush, so they want to get them to vote as quickly as they can. Roederer concedes that traditionally democrats have had an edge in absentee voting, but he says republicans have better election-day turnout. Roederer says the GOP usually begins an absentee ballot push of its own later than democrats, knowing most people don’t like to vote that early. And Roederer scoffs at Hessburg’s claim of supremacy in an early count of absentee ballot requests. Roederer compares it to someone saying that after polls opened at seven in the morning they must be winning because they’re ahead at nine A.M. He says what makes the difference is how many have voted at nine o’clock at night. Roederer says absentee ballots are also unpredictable and just because someone chooses a republican or democrat presidential candidate doesn’t mean they’ll favor that party all the way down the ballot.
Whooping Cough outbreak hits Black Hawk County
September 24, 2004 By
Officials in at least one northeast Iowa county are dealing with an outbreak of whooping cough. Health officials have confirmed 21 cases of the disease in Black Hawk County. The disease — which doctors call pertussis — is spread through closes contact like kissing, sharing drinking glasses, or cigarettes. The disease initially seems like a common cold with a running nose. When it progresses, victims start coughing violently and begin to gasp for air. Teenagers and adults are the ones most-likely to spread the disease, according to doctors. Infants are most at-risk. Local health officials say the majority of the victims with confirmed cases of whooping cough in Black Hawk County are students at East and West High Schools in Waterloo. Friends and family members are also being treated. That means nearly 200 people are taking medication for whooping cough in the Cedar Valley.
Northwest Iowa men sue over loss of millions in investments
September 24, 2004 By
A pair of northwest Iowa men have filed suit, hoping to get back millions they claim to have lost in a pyramid scheme. The two LeMars men are suing American State Bank in Sioux Center, a bank loan officer and an Orange City accountant, for allegedly misappropriating their investments. Orville Schuster is seeking nearly three-point-six million dollars and William Schlichte wants 762-thousand in the U.S. District Court lawsuit filed in Sioux City. They claim they were duped in a pyramid scheme and that Schuster was persuaded to borrow two-point-four million dollars from the bank since 1997 for the investments.
Davenport priest defrocked
September 24, 2004 By
The Pope has defrocked an Iowa priest who’s been accused of molesting children. Davenport Diocese spokesman David Montgomery read from the official statement. He says Bishop William Franklin received notification from the Vatican that as of July 28th, Pope John Paul II decreed that James Janssen is dismissed from the clerical state, and the diocese Thursday announced that Janssen is “laicized,” or expelled from the priesthood. “Laicization” is the process by which an ordained priest is officially returned to the status of a layperson. Montgomery says the decree by the Pope does not allow for any appeal or recourse. Janssen retired in 1990, and earlier this year a review board began the process of deciding whether to ask the bishop to request he be removed officially from the priesthood. In the announcement, Bishop Franklin restates his sorrow and apology for all who have been harmed and says he hopes the decision by the pope will facilitate the healing process. Several lawsuits have been filed against the Diocese and Janssen, charging he molested children during his time as a priest. Reports on the ongoing investigations and cases are online at http://www.bishop-accountability.org.
London cabbies make stop in Des Moines
September 24, 2004 By
Five large black taxicabs are making a cross-country jaunt. They’re halfway from New York to San Francisco and they’re stopping in Des Moines this weekend. Terry Faucher is a cab driver from London. He and four other cabbies are making the four-thousand mile drive across the U.S. to act as tour guides for their hometown in England. Faucher says they’re promoting London by driving around in a grid pattern and offering people free rides in actual London cabs. The cabs are scheduled to arrive at Des Moines City Hall on Sunday at 9 A.M. Faucher says the cabs themselves are rolling billboards, inside and out. Each cab has a different theme to promote London, including its pubs, parks, theaters and the Underground, London’s subway system. He says the taxicabs themselves are very distinctive. Faucher, who’s 42, says he spent four years in training to become a London cabbie, earning what he says is the equivalent of a university degree in taxi. Faucher and the other four were chosen from among thousands by English passengers as the best cabbies in London to be ambassadors on this venture.
