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Bipartisan group of eastern Iowans complain about courthouse cuts

March 30, 2009 By

A bipartisan group of eastern Iowa legislators, lawyers and law enforcement officials staged a statehouse news conference today to complain about cuts in the travel budgets of district court judges.

Esther Dean, a lawyer from Muscatine, is a Muscatine County Supervisor. Dean says she and some of her clients will be forced to drive to a courthouse in Davenport as there’s no district judge living in Muscatine. "I am concerned as an attorney about clients, but I am also concerned about keeping the county courthouse open," Dean says.

Daisy Wingert owns a floral and gift shop in downtown Tipton and she worries about the downturn in traffic in and out of the Cedar County Courthouse in Tipton. "I am very concerned about us losing our courthouse facilities," Wingert says. "There is only so much business that can be demonstrated internally from a community. We do need outside people and I feel that the courthouse is like a magnet, bringing people into town."

Jackson County Attorney Chris Raker of Maquoketa says most district court judges live in urban areas — and the travel restriction mainly hurts rural Iowans.  "Iowa is a rural state and no matter how you dress up that pig, it’s still a pig," Raker says.

The travel restrictions on judges apply to civil trials, things like divorces and property disputes. But Representative Nathan Reichert, a Democrat from Muscatine, argues the travel restriction will have an impact on criminal trials, too, as all cases get delayed.

"All of the other pieces of justice continue to grind to a halt in some of these local courthouses when you take a docket or you take basically 20 to 24 days of service a month (and) turn it into 12 either judges not traveling or the combination of that with the furlough days that have been announced, the overall docket gets affected in the local courthouse," Reichert says.

Court officials say there are travel restrictions throughout state government and it would look unusual if the courts didn’t limit employee travel, too. Critics accuse court officials of conspiring to force legislators to provide the courts with more money since rural Iowans are disproportionately impacted by the limits on the travel of judges.

A bipartisan group of eastern Iowa legilsators plans to offer alternatives during debate of bills that apply to the judicial branch budget.

 

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

Iowa State football team has sense of urgency with new coaching staff

March 30, 2009 By

Paul Rhoads Iowa State football coach Paul Rhoads says their is a sense of urgency surrounding spring drills for the Cyclones.

After taking the helm following Gene Chizik’s departure to Auburn, the coaching staff is installing a new system and a different philosophy as the Cyclones look to improve upon last year’s 2-10 record.

Rhoads says they have a lot to learn and they continue to learn about the players and team, and the players are learning from the coaches.

He says they have to learn schemes and philosophies, but he says the players have taken that to heart.

Rhoads says the players have been receptive to changes. For many of the more experienced players this is their third different coaching staff. He says they have to convince them another new way is the way to do things, and he says there’s a natural tendency to fight. Rhoads says he asked the players to not put up a shield to the new ideas, and overall he says the players have not done that.

Rhoads says it’s hard to be told that you are wrong and the way you are doing something is not right. He says the biggest surprise thus far is the way the players have accepted the changes. Iowa State’s spring game is April 18th. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Rise in federal cigarette tax prompts more calls to quitline

March 30, 2009 By

A new 62-cent per pack federal tax on cigarettes taxes effect Wednesday but most Iowa smokers are already feeling the pinch. Many cigarette companies raised their rates two weeks ago to absorb the tax hike.

It’s prompting more Iowans to call the state health department’s hotline for help to quit smoking. Jeremy Whitaker, coordinator of Quitline Iowa, says, "We’ve seen about a 20% increase the week the prices went up and we hope there’ll be a sustained increase as people realize the cost of smoking is just too high."

The new federal tax increase applies not only to cigarettes, but to all tobacco products, like smokeless and pipe tobacco. It will mean most one-pack-per-day smokers will pay nearly $2,000 a year to smoke.

"Most of the companies already raised their prices so the tax takes effect but companies raised their prices in advance," Whitaker says. "They’ve also been doing a lot of promotions so people don’t notice the price impact quite as much, but when the dust settles from it, most packs will be well over $5. In fact, I saw a pack of Marlboros for over $6 a pack."

Whitaker says the number of smokers in Iowa continues to fall, year after year. In the past two years, he says the number of adult Iowa smokers fell by 22% and is now hovering at just 14%. He says, "There’s actually about 80,000 fewer smokers in Iowa than there were two years ago and our survey took place before the smoke-free air law took effect so we should see a sustained decrease in the number of smokers."

Whitaker says Quitline Iowa offers smokers all the tools they need. "Every Iowan can get up to two free weeks of nicotine patches, gum or lozenges sent to their home absolutely free," Whitaker says. "They also get counseling through Quitline Iowa that can more than double their chances of quitting."

The number to call is 800 Quit-Now. State health officials say smoking costs Iowans about a billion-dollars a year in health care costs.

AUDIO: Radio Iowa’s Matt Kelley reports on federal cigarette tax :42 MP3

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With: ,

Northwest Iowa man pleads in animal neglect case

March 30, 2009 By

A northwest Iowa man has pleaded guilty to animal neglect and six other charges. A judge Monday accepted 28-year-old Andrew Vaske’s guilty pleas to animal neglect, failing to properly dispose of a dead calf and horse and failing to vaccinate four dogs.

Vaske was charged by the Plymouth County sheriff’s office earlier this month after sheriff’s deputies seized 30 head of cattle claiming they lacked feed and water. Dead animals were also found at two rural Remsen locations. According to Plymouth County clerk of court records, the judge sentenced the rural Remsen man to serve seven days in the county jail for the animal neglect conviction.

He was ordered to pay fines totaling $750 for failing to dispose of the dead animals and failing to vaccinate the dogs.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Des Moines man charged after fatal Fort Dodge fight

March 30, 2009 By

A Des Moines man is facing charges after a fist fight turned fatal last night in Fort Dodge. Police Chief Doug Utley says they were called to a residential area at 1124 10th St. Southwest at 8:45 p.m. on the report of an altercation.

"When officers arrived, there was a group of people there with one individual lying on the ground having some difficulties," Utley said. "The officers called for an ambulance…shortly after that, (the victim) was pronounced dead at the hospital."

The victim is identified as 45-year-old Kenny Lee Thornton of Fort Dodge. The other man, 51-year-old Edward Ailey-Roberson, was booked in the Webster County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder.

Bond was set at one-million dollars. It’s not clear why the men were fighting. "There were several people there and the officers took some statements at the time and they’re following up today," Utley said. Police said some of the witnesses were intoxicated. Investigators don’t believe any weapons were involved in the fight.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Hatch on racially-charged outburst: "The moment overcame me"

March 30, 2009 By

Senator Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines A white state senator says he was overcome by the moment when he used the "n" word last week in a conversation with another legislator who is black.  Senator Jack Hatch, a Democrat from Des Moines, publicly apologized this afternoon during remarks on the senate floor.

"It was an unfortunate incident and one in which I am terribly sorry for," Hatch said.  "It was a comment that was started out of my great belief and dedication in finding health care for all and the moment overcame me." 

Hatch shepherded a bill through the senate that expands the number of Iowa children who are covered by health care insurance and he was angry about changes a House Committee made to the legislation.  During his three-minute-long speech this afternoon, Hatch listed some of the programs he’s worked on in the past to aid minorities.

"I’m a senator and legislator that has spent many years, my whole adult life, looking for ways to achieve racial and economic justice for all," Hatch said.  "…In my commitment to try and eliminate the disparity between health care for African Americans and other minorities propelled me to get too emotional.  I made a not only an inappropriate but a despicable comment…I realized immediately that I was wrong and I apologized to the legislator that I was speaking to." 

Hatch told his colleagues he had learned from his mistake. "No matter how well we think we are engaged, no matter how well we think we are connected, the difficult of race relations sometimes overcomes us," Hatch said. 

Hatch, angry at House leaders, compared himself and Representative Ako Abdul-Samad to a "slaves" and top Democratic leaders as "masters" in the battle over the bill Hatch hopes to advance.

Earlier today Hatch sent an email to every member of the Iowa Senate and House as well as all legislative staff.  Read it here . 

Click on the audio link below to listen to Hatch’s remarks on the Senate floor.

 

 

AUDIO: Hatch apologizes 3:00 MP3

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

Kurt Warner to help rebuild Cedar Rapids

March 30, 2009 By

NFL quarterback Kurt Warner is planning to help build some houses for low-income residents in his hometown of Cedar Rapids. Warner and his wife, Brenda, say they will help volunteers with Habitat for Humanity build 20 houses this summer.

The Warners will take part in the annual Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon scheduled for June 14-20. The June 14 start date will mark the one year anniversary of the day the Cedar River crested and buried ten square miles of Cedar Rapids under water.

The Build-a-Thon houses will be constructed in partnership with families affected by last year’s floods.

In Cedar Rapids alone, nearly 4,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Kurt Warner has helped raise more than $650,000 for flood victims in the last year through his First Things First Foundation.

Warner is a Cedar Rapids native and Northern Iowa alum who led the Arizona Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance last season.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,
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