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IPERS hopes funds involved in fraud are still there

March 3, 2009 By

The top manager for the state retirement system answered questions from legislators today on the possible loss of hundreds of millions of dollars invested with a firm now under federal investigation.

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System ( IPERS) invested over $300-million with W.G. Trading and Westridge Capital Management.

The owners of the company were arrested and the company assets frozen in a federal fraud investigation. Some experts predict IPERS will not recover the money invested in the company, — but IPERS chief investment officer Karl Koch says they don’t know at this point.

"We have heard that there are a substantial amount of assets left for distribution. I don’t know if that’s fact or fiction," Koch says. The money was invested in a form of trading known as enhanced indexing, which Koch tells lawmakers was meant to minimize, not maximize risk.

"The objective that were following was meant to add value to whatever the stock market return was," Koch said, "the stock index arbitrage strategy appeared to fit that bill." Koch defended the investment, saying if auditors could not uncover fraud how could IPERS.

Koch says they have gone to court to try and recover the money and he says if the company does have assets remaining, it could take years to get it back. Koch told legislators IPERS will learn from their mistakes if they made any.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Child Abuse Prevention part of tax checkoff

March 3, 2009 By

Iowans that still need to complete their 2008 income taxes are being reminded that can contribute to child abuse prevention efforts. Amber Russell, with the group Prevent Child Abuse Iowa, says it’s the newest "check-off" on the state tax form.

She says Iowans can donate all or a portion of their state refund to the Iowa Child Abuse Prevention Program. Based on contributions to previous state tax check-offs, it’s believed 10,000 Iowans will contribute close to $100,000.

Russell says the Iowa Child Abuse Prevention Program has been in existence since 1982 and provide benefits and services state-wide. "The funds are operated as a grant program, which are then redistributed out to counties across the whole state," Russell said.

According to the organization’s Website, Prevent Child Abuse Iowa’s education program reached more than 19,000 adults and 67,000 children in 91 Iowa counties last year.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

No ban on cell phone use in cars — this year

March 3, 2009 By

A key lawmaker says bills which would ban cell phone use in vehicles or punish those caught putting on make-up or reading while driving will likely die in the Iowa legislature this year.

Senator Keith Kreiman, a Democrat from Bloomfield who’s chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was considering a bill which would have created a new penalty for drivers who crash their cars while engaged in some sort of distraction inside the vehicle, like sending a text message or watching a video.

"It was an attempt to try and make the roadways a little safer from people who are distracted while they drive and doing some really crazy things," Kreiman says. The list of "crazy things" in the bill also included playing video games or even eating while driving.

Senator Steve Kettering, a Republican from Lake View, was on the three-member panel of senators that reviewed the proposal. "You could see that it was like swiss cheese with everybody poking holes in it," Kettering says.

Kreiman, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says lawmakers just couldn’t come up with a workable definition of distracted driving. He says legislators, for example, didn’t want to punish the parent who turns around to deal with a child trying to escape a car seat and gets in a wreck, but Kreiman says they do want to punish those who get in a crash because they’re sending text messages or checking their email instead of paying attention to the road.

 

Filed Under: Politics & Government, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Iowa GOP chair rails against bill to link Electoral votes with popular vote

March 3, 2009 By

Matt Strawn The chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa is calling on the state’s top Democrats to stop a bill advancing at the statehouse which would change the way Iowa’s Electoral College votes are cast. 

In each presidential election, Iowa’s Electoral College votes are cast for the candidate who carries the state.

A bill pending in the Iowa Senate calls for a change, so Iowa’s seven Electoral College votes would be cast for the candidate who wins the popular vote nationally.

Iowa Republican Party chairman Matt Strawn is asking Democrats to take the bill off their to-do list. "This popular vote scheme is just another in the long list of, quite frankly, things that aren’t going to improve the lives of Iowans," Strawn says.

Iowa has been a battleground state in the past three presidential elections, with candidates spending time and resources here to win the state’s seven Electoral Votes. If Electoral College votes are cast based on who wins the most votes nationally, Strawn argues presidential candidates will bypass Iowa and campaign in bigger states where they can reap more votes.

Strawn is urging party activists to lobby legislators on the bill. "Let their legislators know, both Republicans and Democrats, that it is time to keep Iowa relevant in presidential politics," Strawn says.

As you may recall, Al Gore won the popular vote nationwide back in the 2000 election, but George W. Bush won enough states to win the Electoral College vote and Bush became the 43rd president.  In past weeks, some Democrats in the legislature have argued the Electoral College system should be changed to ensure whomever wins the most votes wins the presidency.

Read The Blog for an update on this story.  Governor Chet Culver and Secretary of State Michael Mauro — both Democrats — say the bill Democrats in the legislature are pushing is a bad idea.

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

Health Department investigating Salmonella outbreak

March 3, 2009 By

The Iowa Department of Public Health is investigating a salmonella outbreak in the state and spokeswoman Dr. Ann Garvey says it has -no- connection to the recent outbreak involving peanuts and peanut butter.

Garvey says, “We have five confirmed cases and about four cases pending and it appears the salmonella contamination is related to consumption of alfalfa sprouts.” Garvey says the cases are in several Iowa cities, in all areas of the state, and could not provide specific locations. She says if Iowans have alfalfa sprouts in their refrigerators, they should be on the safe side and throw them out.

“We’re recommending that Iowans don’t eat alfalfa sprouts until the source of the contamination can be confirmed and more information is available,” Garvey says. “What we really want people to know is, if you’re feeling ill and you’re having symptoms, you should see your health care provider.” Symptoms of salmonella include: fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. The illness can last four-to-seven days and most people recover without treatment, but severe illness may occur in the very young, the elderly, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

Contaminated foods usually look and smell normal. Garvey says the investigation began last Friday and continued through the weekend. “We’re still looking into it and the investigation is ongoing, but as soon as we get additional information, we’ll get that out to the public,” Garvey says. “For now, we’re just recommending people don’t eat the alfalfa sprouts they have or throw them away.” Several salmonella cases are also reported in Nebraska which appear to be from the same strain.

Nebraska officials have identified a possible source of the alfalfa as C-W Sprouts, doing business as Sunsprouts, which are sold in grocery stores and also distributed to restaurants. In Nebraska, 14 cases are confirmed, perhaps 14 more are being checked out. All are in eastern Nebraska, including Omaha, Lincoln and the following counties: Douglas, Sarpy, Cass and Lancaster. For more information on the illness, visit this page of the Iowa Department of Public Health website .

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Cascade beats Denver in 2A

March 3, 2009 By

Denver and Cascade players during free-throw. Cascade used an early scoring run to take control and never let Denver into the ballgame, winning 49-34 in a Class 2A quarterfinal.

Cascade Coach Mike Sconsa says his team came out strong. He says they came out loose and weren’t nervous and played a good game defensively. Sconsa says they have to keep the same approach in the next game.

Cascade advances to the semifinals with a 23-3 record.

Denver coach Steve Moon says their effort on the boards fell short.Moon says they didn’t do a very good job of blocking out and getting rebounds, as he says the nerves probably go to them.

He says knew they needed to limit Cascade to one shot and it wasn’t that they weren’t prepared, they just didn’t get the job done. Denver ends the season at 21-2.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Class 4A: Tracy Solomon, Des Moines Hoover

March 3, 2009 By

The senior scored 26 points in a sub-state semifinal round victory over Dowling Catholic. Solomon finished 12-of-14 from the foul line and also had four steals.

Filed Under: INS Player of the Week, Uncategorized
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