Fayette County authorities have filed numerous charges against two northeast Iowa teens for running a poaching ring. 17-year-old Cody Farr of Hawkeye is being charged with 22 counts of shooting from a highway, seven counts of taking deer with a rifle, abandonment of wildlife, taking deer out of season, 21 counts of manner of conveyance, and 11 other game and fish violations. 18-year-old Brady Snyder of Waucoma was charged with seven counts of shooting from a highway, manor of conveyance, two counts of abandonment of wildlife, taking deer out of season, taking deer with a rifle, and 5 other game and fish violations. Both teens are also will be charged with shooting road signs and other criminal mischief, and could face more charges. Several deer, rabbits, pheasants and 22 high-powered rifle were confiscated. The week-long investigation was conducted by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, Fayette County Conservation, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Grassley talks Social Security reform
Senator Charles Grassley is holding 20 town meetings across the state this week, and he’s fielded questions about Social Security reform at each one he’s had so far. Grassley told an audience in Newton this morning that the retirement age may go up, and benefits may be reduced. “I think it’s kind of a moral issue of whether Grandpa Grassley, 71 years old, today drawing Social Security, should I just be worried about Grandpa Grassley or should I be worried about Dana Grassley, (who’s) 10 years old?” Grassley says. “When she retires, will she have Social Security?” Grassley held up charts, graphs and even a newspaper clipping to answer questions about the Social Security system and its predicted demise if nothing’s done. Donna McCoy of Newton asked Grassley about “privatizing” Social Security. McCoy fears the move to let younger workers pay less into the Social Security system so they can divert part of their Social Security taxes into private savings accounts. “I do not think it’s a solution. I think it’s very, very wrong,” McCoy says. “It could hurt Social Security in the end and hurt our economy.” Grassley says privatization will help younger workers save for their retirement and Larry Ballard of Newton was relieved by Grassley’s answers on Social Security. Ballard is getting Social Security disability benefits, and he believes Social Security is “in good hands.” Grassley heads the Senate Finance Committee and will be writing the Social Security reform bill. But he says nothing will be done unless President Bush becomes “professor Bush” and convinces the American people there’s a problem to be solved. Bush should “spend all his time, having a seminar with the American people” and encourage voters to pressure Congress to act. Grassley also fielded questions about Iran, Iraq, education, poverty, the economy and other issues during his 40 minute meeting that started at 7:25 this morning in Newton.
Mount Pleasant company to close, over 300 to lose jobs
A communications/electronics maker in southeast Iowa is shutting down its plant, eliminating more than 300 jobs. Celestica, which took over the Motorola factory in Mount Pleasant four years ago, says it’ll close the shop within six to nine months. Governor Vilsack, the former Mayor of Mount Pleasant, says it’s a big blow. Vilsack says there’s much concern and worry and “our thoughts and our prayers go out to the families who will be impacted by this decision.” He says the state Workforce Development office will be going into Mount Pleasant to offer some relief. Vilsack says many overtures were made to try and keep Celestica in place.Vilsack says the state, county and city made offers of nearly two-million dollars in various incentives, loans and tax breaks to keep the company to stay. Reports say Canada-based Celestica will move at least some of the Mount Pleasant operation to Mexico. Vilsack says the state will help in trying to “make the best of a very, very bad situation.”The shutdown within six to nine months will cost Mount Pleasant 334 jobs. State Representative Dave Heaton, a republican from Mount Pleasant, says he talked with state Economic Development officials two weeks ago about the situation and was assured, all was being done to keep the company from moving. Heaton says the discussion focused on Celestica’s reductions nationwide and he’d hoped Mount Pleasant would be able to avoid the cuts. Heaton says Governor Vilsack called him yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon with the bad news.Mount Pleasant lost another major employer in 2002 with the closure of the Blue Bird factory, which built school buses. 350 jobs were lost in that move. Another company moved into the building which cuts and packages paper products, employing 165 workers.
Project sends blankets to Tsunami survivors
Tsunami survivors in southeast Asia will be the next recipients of handmade blankets from the North Iowa/Southern Minnesota Chapter of Project Linus. Chapter Coordinator Deb Wolf of Osage says the group has given away thousands of blankets in less than ten years. Project Linus is a national volunteer organization that gives out homemade blankets to children with serious or life-threatening diseases, children who have been involved in a trauma situation or children who have lost a loved one. Wolf says they had a workday in Osage earlier this month and another one is coming up this Saturday. They had around a dozen volunteers show up on the 12th and they have another workday scheduled for February 26th in Waukon. Wolf says they are always looking for volunteers to help make blankets. If you don’t think making blankets is your thing, Wolf says you can still help out by donating materials they need.No experience is necessary to volunteer. For more information about Project Linus, call Wolf at (641) 732-3870 or log on to “www.projectlinus.org”.
Proposed bill would allow landowners to kill more deer
Landowners would be allowed to kill up to three times as many deer as they can today, if a bill that cleared the Senate Natural Resources Committee becomes law. Senator Dennis Black, a democrat from Newton who’s the committee’s co-chairman, says landowners and their tenants would be able to shoot up to 10 deer from one farming unit. Black says it’s an appropriate move because the deer eat the crops of rural landowners, and destroy gardens, too. Under current law, a landowner may only kill three deer per year on his or her property. Legislators are also putting pressure on state regulators to allow more targeted deer hunting in city limits. Black says there are “hot spots” in Iowa that need to have the deer population thinned. “Our major cities are along the rivers and they, of course, are where the deer congregate. They know where it’s safe,” Black says. “We want to work to make sure the city councils allow primarily bow hunting to reduce those number of deer.” Black believes 80-thousand deer can be taken down with these special hunts. Finally, the legislation would charge deer hunters another buck to raise money for the state’s HUSH or Help Us Stop Hunger program which lets deer hunters donate meat that winds up in food banks. The program will expand statewide, and the estimated 350-thousand dollars that will be raised will be paid to meat lockers that process the deer meat. Black says hunters are willing to buy an extra deer tag and donate the meat. A doe tag today costs $11. With the new surcharge, they’ll be $12. Black believes these steps will reduce the state’s deer population to a manageable level in two years. There are approximately 700- to 800-thousand deer in Iowa today. Black says a “manageable herd” is in the 500-thousand range. Also yesterday at the statehouse, the state veterinarian reported chronic wasting disease that attacks white tail deer, mule deer and elk is just eight miles away in Wisconsin.
Fans to find lots of traffic changes for wrestling tournament
More than 40-thousand fans are expected to crowd into Vets Auditorium in downtown Des Moines for the high-school wrestling tournament that begins today (Wednesday) and runs through Saturday night. Those fans will have to negotiate through the road construction zone along the Des Moines freeway…and then the construction of the new Iowa Events Center. The D-O-T’s Bill Lusher, who’s in charge of freeway construction, has tips on the best ways to get to Vets. Westbound travelers can take the 3rd-street exit to Vets, and may park in the north parking lot at the auditorium. He says they might need to proceed a little further downtown to find a parking garage there. If folks come into downtown from the west, take the 7th-street exit, as he advises it’ll offer great access to the parking garages. The project in West Des Moines provided for an extra lane going each way, so at least on that end of town there’ll be a third lane to make it a little easier for drivers. There’s some parking on the north side of Vets Auditorium but Lusher says some folks will have to venture farther downtown to find parking ramps. The DOT’s even planning to have message signs along the 235 freeway to help motorists follow the suggested alternate routes.
Consumer advocates warn against predatory lending
Iowa consumer advocates are urging state lawmakers to crack down on predatory lending. Last week they warned lawmakers about the high cost of “instant-refund” tax-return loans, and short-term, high-interest payday loans. They’re also targeting high-risk home-mortage loans. Tyler Uetz is an organizer with the Iowa Coalition Against Abusive Lending. Predatory mortgage lending alone, he says, “strips over 49-million dollars in wealth out of our communities,” and he charges most companies making the loans are based out of California, Texas and Florida. “Their employees aren’t here, their executives aren’t here, and they’re harming families, businesses, and the state of Iowa and its tax base.” Finance companies argue they’re providing a service to Iowans who can’t get a loan from a traditional bank because of bad credit. But Uetz says most Iowans aren’t out shopping for these loans — lenders seek them out. Most of the families already own their homes, he says, but under the pressure of a costly illness or credit-card debt, they’re being tempted to consolidate their debt through mail offers aimed at single mothers and working families. He’s seeing a lot of inflated appraisals that falsify the value of a home. They think hey have equity and can refinance at a lower rate, but when they go to their local bank and learn though they’ve borrowed 90-thousand dollars against a 100-thousand dollar house, it was only worth eighty…and they’re trapped. Uetz says payday loans cost Iowans $34 million dollars a year in lost wages. He says non-bank lenders are preying on people with poor credit, charging excessive fees and outrageous closing costs. Uetz says the group wants to require the lenders to tell everyone just what the loan’s costing them, a total most folks don’t know. They also want to limit the number of loans that can be made, explaining that many families are taking out a dozen “payday loans” a year and it’s becoming a cycle instead of a one-time stopgap measure. “As any hunter will tell you,” he says, “The key to a trap is that it doesn’t look like a trap.” Coalition organizer Tyler Uetz testified before the senate commerce committee.
