May 21, 2012

You are here: Home / 2009 / March / Archives for 12th

Democrats view Culver plan as starting point

March 12, 2009 By

Legislative reaction to Governor Culver’s $750 million borrowing plan to finance construction and renovation projects around the state is mixed. Republicans are cool to the Democratic governor’s proposal, while Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs view Culver’s proposal as a starting point. 

"We think it’s got a lot of good ideas in it and we are going to work with the governor on finding common ground," Gronsal says. "The problem isn’t the governor. The problem is Republicans. Republicans keep saying, ‘No," to any proposal to improve our economy."

Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton says the state shouldn’t be racking up more debt. "That’s what got us into this mess and it’s what will keep us into this mess," McKinley says. "You cannot borrow and spend your way out of the poor economy."

On Wednesday night, Democrats in the Iowa Senate approved a bill which would see the state borrow $175 million to finance construction and renovation projecs which were already on the docket, but a previous funding plan failed to produce enough money to cover all the expenses.

"The Democrats are talking about spending, borrowing to spend, taxing to spend and then repeating the process all over again," McKinley says, "and it simply is unsustainable."

Gronstal, the Senate Democratic Leader, defends the $175 million plan that passed the senate last night. "That legislation will provide for creating up to 5000 jobs in this state," Gronstal says. "…It will also finish our work on the Iowa Veterans Home so we can continue to care for Iowa veterans…It will build a number of prison facilities in the state of Iowa. We think that is the right thing to do and the response of the Republicans has been: ‘No, no, no’ — no to new jobs, no to locking up criminals and no to honoring and serving and protecting our veterans in this state."

Click on the audio link below to listen to Gronstal’s news conference this morning, followed the news conference featuring Republican legislative leaders.

AUDIO: Gronstal then Paulsen and McKinley (mp3 runs 14 min)

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

Animals die in Linn County fire

March 12, 2009 By

A fire this morning in eastern Iowa killed at least two dozen dogs and several other animals. The fire was reported shortly after 7 a.m. in a machine shed northeast of Palo in Linn County.

Firefighters say at least 30 dogs were inside and could not be rescued. Other animals killed in the fire include rabbits, pheasants, chickens and goats.

Fire crews from Palo, Hiawatha, Robins and Monroe Township responded to the scene, where black smoke could be seen from miles away. There’s no word yet what started the fire.

 

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Harkin says Atalissa bunkhouse shows need for more inspections

March 12, 2009 By

New criticism is being heaped on Henry’s Turkey Service of Atalissa which failed to get government permission to pay its disabled workers well under minimum wage. Twenty-one mentally-retarded men were evacuated from the eastern Iowa bunkhouse last month which the company rented. The century-old building was deemed an immediate fire hazard.

Some of the men had lived and worked in Atalissa for decades. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says the company hadn’t followed proper channels on the wage issue in five years. Harkin says, "No question there’s been a breakdown in the U.S. Department of Labor’s oversight of the 14-C program which allows employers to pay persons with disabilities less than a minimum wage and of a related program that allows employers to dock these workers’ pay for room and board."

The men range in age from 39 into their 70s.  After an audit in 2003, Henry’s was forced to pay some $20,000 in back wages to dozens of the men, which Harkin says was hardly even a slap on the wrist.

"These men were docked as much as $40,000 every month to live in this ramshackle building for which the employer only paid $600 a month in rent for the whole thing," Harkin says.

Some of the workers were only being paid $65 a month. Harkin presided over a Senate committee hearing on the Atalissa issue earlier this week and says it’s clear, the Labor Department needs to do more inspections and needs more inspectors. Harkin says they’ll need to "beef up" the number of people working in the U.S. Labor Department as they can’t do it with only three people inspecting some 2,500 places statewide every year.

He says there should also be a requirement that employers inform workers about deductions from their checks for room and board and that the workers, families, guardians, social workers and the state should be notified. Also, he says the deductions should be approved by the worker, in writing, ahead of time.

"The exploitation of workers with intellectual disabilities at Henry’s Turkey Service plant in Atalissa was, to put it mildly, a rude wake-up call," Harkin says. "The fact that these vulnerable people could be abused for as long as three decades without meaningful oversight or intervention by federal, state or local authorities truly shocks the conscience."

He says there’s a responsibility now to fix laws and oversight that made the abuses possible at the state, federal and local level. 

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

U-I symposium deals with 2008 floods

March 12, 2009 By

The University of Iowa Public Policy Center is hosting a symposium on the floods of 2008. The chair of the conference planning committee, Larry Weber, says they are discussing a variety of topics from the science of floods to the psychological impact. Weber says they want to share information learned from the recent flooding, and from the past to move ahead.

Weber says we have made progress, but the progress has been slow. He says the most recent flooding has raised public awareness, as many people thought the floods of 1993 were the "floods of a lifetime" but more record flooding came 15 years later. Weber says they hope to use the research and ideas to move toward better ways to handle the flooding in the future.

He says learning from each other is one of the main elements of the symposium and there are a couple of major initiatives underway to better understand floods. Miller says one would bring the resources in the state together more cohesively with a flood center in Des Moines. Miller says there’s also a center that would look beyond Iowa.

Miller says the University of Iowa is also planning for a national flood research center and they are planning to submit a proposal to the National Science Foundation for funding to bring national expertise together for flood research and education.

Weber is the director of the university’s Institute of Hydraulic Research . He says moving people out of the floodplain seems like one easy solution to the problem, but Miller says it’s not always that simple.

Miller says it is and isn’t that easy as land use changes cut across the entire watershed and may impact people that were not impacted by the flooding this year. He says the biggest gains could be in areas that were not affected, so you have to look at how people in the upper part of the watershed impact those in the bottom part of the watershed. Miller says many people are also surprised by the regulations put on those who have been impacted by the flooding. It is much different than other disasters such as a tornado.

Miller says in order to rebuild, FEMA requires many flooded areas to be mitigated against future floods. He says in the case of something like a tornado, people can immediately rebuild, while those in the flooded area see the rebuilding held up while work continues on the ways to prevent future flooding. The symposium will continue through Thursday. 

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With:

Culver unveils details of $750 million infrastructure package

March 12, 2009 By

I-Jobs logo Governor Chet Culver is pushing to have the state borrow $750 million to finance "thousands" of infrastructure projects he says will bring Iowa into the 21st century — and create jobs.

"It really bothers me that we have 70,000 families that are collecting unemployment," Culver says. "Those families are counting on all of us to provide solutions, to provide them some hope, to help them get a job."

Culver has even come up with a name for his proposal — I-Jobs — and a logo that incorporates the outline of the state in that name. "We have a choice. We can take control of our own destiny. We can come out of this recession better and stronger and more competitive," Culver says. "Iowa can literally work our way out of this recession."

Culver’s fellow Democrats in the legislature, however, have said they’re not interested in the governor’s idea of borrowing money to pay for road and bridge projects. Democrats have also started advancing two of the ideas Culver outlined in his package — borrowing money for already-started projects, like an upgrade of the Veterans Home in Marshalltown — and borrowing money for flood repairs and preparation for floods of the future. The governor says if those separate ideas wind up on his desk, he’ll veto the bills and continue to urge legislators to pass his "comprehensive" package that covers all the items on his wish list.

Culver invited community college officials, union leaders as well as city and county officials from around the state to his office this morning to witness his news conference outlining the $750 million plan. Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan was given a chance to speak just before Culver. "This is not a time for us to go and hide in the corner. This is a time that we, as a state, have an opportunity to make a difference not only today with the floods and the damage that we suffered last year, but also for the opportunities of the future," Hanafan says. "At a time when some people are going to sit back and not do things, we could be aggressive and really build this state into something that we can be very proud of."

Culver is calling for spending on the following:

  • $250 million for transportation infrastructure;
  • $175 million for already scheduled projects (similiar to bill passed last night in Iowa Senate);
  • $150 million for flood recovery and disaster preparation projects (similar to proposal from bill which cleared House Rebuild Iowa Committee last night);
  • $100 million for water quality and water improvement projects;
  • $75 million for local infrastructure, broadband and alternative energy infrastructure.

Culver’s deputy chief of staff indicated details of Culver’s plan will be posted on the governor’s website — http://www.governor.iowa.gov .

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

Top ranked Ames opens 4A tourney with big win

March 12, 2009 By

Top ranked Ames showed why it is the team to beat in the class 4A quarterfinal round of the boys state basketball tournament. The little Cyclones shot 64% for the game in a 69-42 win over Iowa City West. Doug McDermott scored 22 points and finished 10 of 10 from the field.

Second rated Linn-Mar took control by outscoring Cedar Falls 19-9 in the second quarter as the Lions cruised to a 64-41 victory in the 4A quarterfinal round. Cedar Falls had won the first matchup between the two in the final game of the regular season.

Linn-Mar’s Zach Bohannon who led all scorers with 17 points, says they all came out ready to play and it was nice to meet Cedar Falls as they were the only conference loss.

Cedar Falls coach Tom Bardal says Lin-Mar did a good job of getting the ball to Bohanan, and the defense was late getting to the outside shooters.

Third ranked Bettendorf got 16 points and 8 rebounds from Seth Van Deest in a 55-41 win over Sioux City East. Johnston outscored Urbandale 16-4 inthe fourth quarter to post a 43-37 win in a class 4A opening round game. Junior center Nick Smith scored 12 points and added 12 rebounds as the Dragons avenged two regular season losses to the J-Hawks.

Smith says "it’s amazing" as most of the team didn’t expect to get this far. The win avenged two regular season conference losses to Urbandale. Urbandale shot just 25% for the game and the inside duo of Reece Uhlenhopp and Tyler Lange combined to hit on only seven of 29 shots.

Defense led the Way for third rated Harlan in the opening round in class 3A. The Cyclones held Benton standout Levi Montague to just two points enroute to a 49-40 win. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Iowa State falls to Oklahoma State in Big 12 tourney

March 12, 2009 By

Marshall Moses matched his career high with 18 points and provided a much-needed inside threat as Oklahoma State held off scrappy Iowa State 81-67 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament.

Craig Brackins had 23 points and 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season for Iowa State which finished the season at 15-17. The Cyclones haven’t won a Big 12 tournament game since 2005.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »