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Entrapment could be a defense for Council Bluffs councilman

February 26, 2009 By

Council Buffs City Councilman Darren Bates claims he only wanted a massage, not sex, when he answered an ad on the website Craigslist earlier this month. Bates was among six men cited during a prostitution sting. Apparently, they all answered the same ad and a meeting was arranged at a Council Bluffs motel.

Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilbur says the issue of entrapment is being brought up. Wilbur says, "If a person wants to raise it and say, ‘They talked me into it, they entrapped me,’ then, that just adds another element that we have to prove." Wilbur says in Iowa, they would also have to prove that the defendant was predisposed to do something like this.

Wilbur says, "We have to prove to a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt, using the totality of the circumstances, what was intended." The next court appearance for Bates is March 13th. At least one other member of the city council has called for Bates to resign.

 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government

Sioux City man dies in accident

February 26, 2009 By

A Sioux City man died in a one-vehicle accident this  morning southwest of Le Mars. The Iowa State Patrol reports 26-year-old Ramiro Barba was driving east on a Plymouth County road when he lost control of the sport utility vehicle.

Barba was ejected from the vehicle after it slid into the ditch and overturned. He was not wearing a seat belt. The patrol says the road surface was 100 percent ice covered and rain was falling when the accident happened at 6:45 this morning.

 

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Democrats in legislature say their budget plan is leaner than governor’s

February 26, 2009 By

Democrats in the legislature are proposing a spending outline for the next budgeting year that they say is more than $100 million less than the plan Democrat Governor Chet Culver unveiled in late January. 

Representative Jo Oldson, a Democrat from Des Moines, is chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee. "Iowans are all too aware of what the national financial recession is doing to their own pocketbooks and it doesn’t play out any differently for the state budget," Oldson says.

Democrats in the legislature propose an overall budget of more than six-billion dollars and they say while the governor pared many state agency budgets by about six-and-a-half percent, their plan cuts two percent below that in many areas.

Senator Bob Dvorsky, a Democrat from Coralville, is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "We’re trying to be as fiscally-responsible as we can.  Everyone is suffering in this economy not only in Iowa but across the United States and state government’s no different," Dvorsky say, "so we’re tightening up our belts." 

Democrats occupy a majority of seats in the legislature and therefore control the debate agenda in both the House and the Senate.  House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha says today’s one-page list of general spending items from Democrats offers few details. "Just standing alone in that chart, they don’t mean a whole lot," Paulsen  says.

Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton says he hasn’t been able to review the details either. "Sometimes cuts turn into increases when you study more closely," McKinley says.  "We just don’t know yet."

Democrats say while they’ll use part of the federal stimulus money to ensure there aren’t cuts in the state-run Medicaid program, the rest of the stimulus money probably won’t be used to plug holes in the budget. Republicans say they’re skeptical and charge that Democrats will use much of the federal stimulus money to avoid making budget cuts.

Click on the audio link below to listen to today’s news conferences featuring Democratic legislative leaders and Republican legislative leaders.

 

AUDIO: Democrats then Republicans 28:00 MP3

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Rain, sleet and snow in the forecast

February 26, 2009 By

After some Iowa cities saw high temperatures Wednesday in the 60s, it’s back in the deep freeze today. National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Volhollek, says much of Iowa’s northern half will be seeing rain, sleet and snow.

Volhollek says a good share of the state has temperatures just below freezing at the surface while we’re pulling in warm air aloft which will create a "messy mixture" over northern Iowa this afternoon. Much of the state’s northern half is under a Winter Weather Advisory through 6 P.M.

Volhollek says there’s some light precipitation falling in western Iowa while north-central Iowa will be seeing freezing rain and perhaps thunderstorms, "which could complicate matters." Seven counties in north central Iowa are under a Winter Storm Warning — Emmet, Palo Alto, Kossuth, Winnebago, Hancock, Worth and Cerro Gordo. He says areas of the state that are getting rain this morning could see an unwelcome change later.

He says the rain will change to sleet or light snow this afternoon. Some parts of northern Iowa could get six inches of snow before tomorrow. Volhollek says there’s a possibility for more snow from another winter storm system tomorrow night and Saturday. 

Filed Under: Weather

Proposed law would allow cities to regulate lawn fertilizer

February 26, 2009 By

Legislation proposed at the statehouse would allow Iowa towns to control the chemicals that go on the lawns within their city limits. Ames assistant city manager, Bob Kindred, told legislators the law would allow the city to protect a popular lake which is also the city’s main backup supply of drinking water.

Kindred says phosphorus from lawn fertilizer at nearby homes is ending up in the lake, creating algae blooms and degrading the water — and so far the city has not convinced homeowners to cut back: Kindred says with no tools to require homeowners to cut back on fertilizer use, the city is "in a bind." Current Iowa law says cities can not pass restrictions on chemicals that are stricter than state law.

Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames filed the bill to address the issue. Quirmbach says the city has asked the legislature to create a small exception in the state code which currently prohibits any local regulation of fertilizer and soil conditioner. Quirmbach says that cities would not be forced to restrict chemicals, but could do so if they wish.

Lawmakers though, heard spirited opposition to the idea. Mona Bond represents the turfgrass industry, and says commercial lawn companies already use non-phosphorus fertilizers. Bond and other critics say there should be mandated setbacks from the water instead of limits on fertilizer.

Bond says: "How come the houses go right down to the lake front property? How much is it going to cost the city to send out the quote ‘phosphorus patrol’ to find out who is applying and who isn’t? How is it going to know that you went and bought it (fertilizer) at Lowe’s and put it on? "

Critics also question whether the phosphorus is coming from Ames lawns, or from nearby farms. Ames officials respond that tests show waterways become more polluted with phosphorus after they leave the countryside and make their way through town. Some of the bill’s most powerful critics are the Farm Bureau and the chemical companies who worry about it being applied to agriculture.

Brad Epperley, lobbies for Monsanto, and says if this bill becomes law, that could open the way for counties to say no to farm chemicals within their borders. Epperly says it’s not that they oppose the law, it that they’re concerned with "piecemeal legislation across the state that could have an impact on agriculture."

But Senator Quirmbach says the bill is about lawn chemicals, not agriculture. And besides, he says, cities won’t automatically jump into the fray. "The city council would have to be very careful in crafting any city ordinance to balance the desire of residents to have nice-looking lawns with the public health and safety," Quirmbach says.

The Iowa league of cities predicts Ames would not be the only city taking advantage of the bill if it becomes law. Meanwhile, the bill proceeds to an uncertain future in the Senate. Another Senate bill would go further, mandating limits on phosphorus fertilizers on lawns statewide.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

U-I Dean says furloughs are part of budget discussion

February 26, 2009 By

A dean at the University of Iowa says furloughs are part of the discussion at the school to cope with state budget cuts. U-I College of Liberal Arts Dean Linda

Maxson told a faculty group Wednesday that nothing has been decided, but unpaid time off for faculty and staff is expected. She said employees could be furloughed "for a day or two or three."

Any decision won’t happen until after the legislature approves a budget in late April. Officials at the state Universities then will have about two weeks to submit a budget to the Board of Regents.

Under Governor Chet Culver’s proposal, Maxson says the University of Iowa could be facing a $26-million cut.

 

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: ,

Lawmaker wants gas tax increase for road repairs

February 26, 2009 By

The chairman of the Iowa Senate Transportation Committee says the federal stimulus package isn’t providing enough to cover the shortfall in the state fund which finances the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges.

Senator Tom Rielly, a Democrat from Oskaloosa, wants to raise the state gas tax to raise more money for transportation projects. "The stimulus package will help us. It’s gonna give us a good start, but that will take about $300 million of the $5.3 billion were looking at," Rielly says. "We still have to come up with $5 billion of the most critical needs."

Last week, Governor Culver pointed out the state’s getting $358-million for road and bridge projects and that’s more than the state spends in a year on the transportation network. Rielly says that’s just a fraction of what Iowa needs.

The last time legislators raised the state gas tax was in 1989, and Rielly says the "buying power" of the 21 cents per gallon tax has decreased significantly. "Simply because the cost of concrete, steel, payroll, insurance, fuel — everything has just absolutely gone through the roof, whereas the Road Use Tax Fund has just been stagnant," Rielly says. Rielly made his comments on the Iowa Public Radio program, "The Exchange." 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,
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