May 21, 2012

Grassley says calls to office overwhelming against big bail out

Nine out of ten calls coming into Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley’s offices are from people who oppose the federal government’s proposed 700-billion dollar Wall Street bailout. Grassley says the legislation that was rejected Monday by the U.S. House needs a significant overhaul before it can, or should, be able to pass Congress.

Grassley says, "One area where it’s gotta’ be beefed up is in the area of the insurance, so that more people in the House of Representatives who think the taxpayers are going to be stuck with this, and I can’t prove taxpayers wouldn’t be stuck with it, are not stuck with it." Grassley says there’s much "taxpayer outrage" at the perception corporate millionaires would be rescued from the fallout of their own risky financial decisions.

"The bill does not go far enough to make sure that they don’t reap benefits, golden parachutes, big salaries, and there’s things in the bill that deal with that but, quite frankly, it’s just window dressing," Grassley says. Loopholes still exist in the legislation, he says, so the wealthy financiers would be able to keep their riches and let the American taxpayers foot the bill.

"There are so many ways that existing people can wiggle out of it, do things to abide by the law so there’s no salary cuts, where there might not be any golden parachutes, have holes cut in them," Grassley says, "we ought to abandon the golden parachute. We ought to limit these salaries."

Grassley suggests that these people who led their corporations to the brink of financial ruin follow the Japanese example and take responsibility for their mistakes. Grassley says, "Come before the American people and bow their head as the Japanese corporate executives do, those that don’t commit suicide in Japan, and apologize." He adds, he wishes he could legislate something that would force these people to do just that. 

Bank video leads to arrest of Des Moines man in burglaries

Bank video used by police in case against Rickie Ivie. Police in Des Moines say surveillance video helped them capture a man believed to be responsible for burglaries at three financial institutions last week.

Officers arrested 42-year-old Rick Lee Ivie of Creston on Monday. He was booked in the Polk County Jail on three counts of third-degree burglary.

 Ivie is accused of breaking into two Des Moines banks and a credit union during the early morning hours of September 24th.

Police have not said what was taken in the burglaries. Police were aided in their investigation by video footage captured inside one of the banks – which clearly shows the suspect’s face.

Two die in I-80 crash in Poweshiek County

Two people were killed, four injured, in a crash late Monday afternoon on Interstate 80 in central Iowa’s Poweshiek County. The Iowa State Patrol reports shortly after 5 P.M., a 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada driven by 46-year-old LeeAnna Jo Vigor of Des Moines was westbound when it crossed the median and hit an eastbound semi driven by 40-year-old Jammye Lynn Haroldson of Missoula, Montana, and a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 49-year-old Charlene Large of Three Rivers, Michigan.

Killed in the accident were 21-year-old Randi Anne Thorn of Des Moines and an unidentified 17-year-old male from Pleasant Hill. Vigor, Large, 48-year-old Connie Marie Conlin of Des Moines and an unidentified 17-year-old male from Altoona were injured. Large and the unidentified male were airlifted to University of Iowa Hospital.

The other injury victims were taken by ambulance to Grinnell Regional Medical Center. The accident report doesn’t specify which vehicle or vehicles the victims were passengers in. Eastbound traffic on I-80 was shut down for several hours and rerouted onto U.S. Highway 6.

Authorities have now identified the 17-year-old fatality victim as Dylan Jay Wentland of Pleasant Hill and injured 17-year-old as Austin Courtney of Altoona. 

Linn Couny Courthouse back open after flooding

One high-profile downtown Cedar Rapids building is finally back after the June flooding. The Linn County Courthouse opened Monday for public business for the first time since the Cedar River rose out of its banks.

Judges, courthouse workers and others began the moving back process last week. Only about 80% of the courthouse reopened for business. Many court facilities set up shop at a building at Kirkwood Community College for most of the summer. Workers say they appreciated the offer of temporary space, but they missed their own offices and had to make do in cramped quarters.

District Judge Jane Spande said "I think everyone’s happy to be back–I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t the consensus." County Attorney Harold Denton agrees. Denton says it is good to be back and to be able to go into your office to prepare trial information of do dictation.

Courthouse officials and workers will have to put up with some temporary limitations for now. The building’s elevators won’t go back in service for about a week and access for the disabled is now provided by a temporary lift outside. Half the driveway around the courthouse caved in from the flood water. The biggest question remaining, though, is what to do about the first floor which did go underwater and the courthouse facilities manager says they’re looking at whether it should be courtrooms, or more office space.  

American Cancer Society worried about drop in women getting mammograms

Officials at the Iowa Chapter of the American Cancer Society say they’re concerned with a 4.2% decrease in the number of women 40 or older who’re getting breast cancer screenings. The Health Promotions Manager for the Iowa chapter, Theresa Allen, says that’s not good news because of the important role mammography plays in fighting breast cancer.

Allen says the earlier breast cancer is found, the easier it is to treat. She knows of several women who have had lumpectomy instead of having to undergo radiation treatment because they found the cancer early. Allen doesn’t know why the number of women undergoing the screening has dropped.

Allen says she’s not sure of the reason, other than a lot of women have anxiety of getting the mammogram for fear something will be found. But she says any woman 40 or older should have an annual mammogram. Allen says getting the test annually after 40 is important to early detection.

She says people’s bodies do change after 40 and getting the screening is very important along with a healthy lifestyle. Allen says a mammography takes only about 30 minutes and if you aren’t doing it for yourself, then you should do it for your family. Breast cancer remains a deadly threat in Iowa if not found and treated.

Allen says there will be almost 2,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer this year, with 400 of those women expected to die from the disease. Allen says we need to "empower all women 40 and older" to get a mammogram.

Allen says you can call your physician to schedule a mammogram. For more information, call 1-800-ACS-2345, or visit the American Cancer Society’s website . October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. 

Leader of campaign to end unplanned pregnancies visits Iowa

The "Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies" brought a national expert to Iowa on Monday to talk about more than just teenagers. Sarah Brown, C.E.O. of a national campaign to reduce unplanned pregnancies, says while the rate of teenage pregancies has declined, that’s not the case among people in their 20s.

"What’s going on with people 18 to 30? Why are they not better at sort of planning pregnancies, managing the start of their families?" she asks. "But it’s not just Iowa. This is a national problem. These rates are flat or getting worse, coast-to-coast." While issues like the importance of nutrition and exercise are commonly aired in public, Brown says too often the health issues of reproduction and child-bearing are ignored.

"Nationwide almost 45 percent of unplanned pregnancies are amongst Caucasian young women and about 40 percent are among women who have some college education," Brown says. "…This is a very, very common, widespread problem. About half of pregnancies are unplanned in this state and nationwide." According to Brown, Americans are still skittish about talking about pregnancy planning and pregnancy prevention.

"Ninety-eight percent of sexually-active Americans have used family planning at some point in their lives," she says. " This is a very mainstream activity, but we don’t talk about it enough." For example, Brown says too few women know the full range of options available to prevent pregnancies.

"Getting pregnant, having babies and raising families is one of the most important things any of us do and it’s also one of the most expensive," Brown says. "…The notion that half of pregnancies occur when somebody wasn’t planning to do that…strikes most people as a sort of wake-up call." Former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack is leading the Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unplanned Pregnancies. 

ISU economist skeptical of poor business ranking for Iowa cities

An Iowa State University economist is skeptical of an analysis by BusinessWeek magazine which places two Iowa cities in a list of top 20 towns likely to be hit the hardest by the financial crisis. David Swenson says the report is based only on the percentage of residents working in finance, real estate, insurance and leasing – and does not take into account if those firms are actually linked to the mess on Wall Street.

"Iowa’s finance industry, banking sector and insurance sector – by all intents and purposes – appear to be quite distinct from what’s going on nationally and tends to be much more conservative in its orientation, does not seem to be exposed to some of the big issues associated with the sub-prime issues and some of the bad commercial paper issues," Swenson said.

The BusinessWeek survey ranks West Des Moines fourth and Urbandale 12th on the list. Swenson says there are a few reasons why Iowa is not as vulnerable as other states to the financial fallout. First, Swenson says, Iowa banks did not get caught up in risky housing loans like institutions in Nevada, California and Florida.

"Second of all, our population wasn’t composed of a large number of people who might have been targeted for the sub-prime lending, so that wouldn’t have been as prevalent in our area," Swenson said. The BusinessWeek story points out that the towns on the list are simply "places to watch," and may not necessarily be in trouble.

Swenson does acknowledge that the financial crisis will be felt industry-wide. "The indications though are that Iowa’s firms have much less exposure than the national average," Swenson said. "Even though we have a much more higher concentration of employment, that’s offset by the lower level of exposure to these issues."