A Flash Flood Watch is posted for south central and southeast Iowa. National Weather Service Meteorologist Brad Small says thunderstorms and periods of heavy rainfall have been popping up over the region this afternoon. He says the storms will come to an end tonight and be followed by fair and cool weather this weekend. The colder air could bring patches of frost Saturday night into Sunday. "We’re looking at near record low temperatures well into the 30s and maybe even reaching freezing in some low lying areas of northern Iowa," Small said. He says it’s unusual for Iowa to experience frost in mid-May. "Obviously, if we’re getting to record temperatures, it doesn’t happen all that often…it’s pretty late to have frost this far into May," Small said. After today’s rain, mostly dry conditions are expected through early next week – with high temperatures reaching the 70s on Monday and Tuesday.
Some parts of the state could see frost
Former NY firefighter, policeman gains law degree from Drake
The statewide bicycle ride known as RAGBRAI isn’t usually associated with the Nine Eleven attacks, but both are prominent events in the life of Darren Harkins. Another big event comes tonight as the New York native graduates from Drake University Law School.
The unusual tale begins a decade ago when Harkins was a New York City firefighter and some his co-workers invited him to pedal his bike across Iowa during the summertime.
“I met my wife in 1999 on RAGBRAI and we married out in New York in 2003 and I visited Iowa numerous times during the course of the relationship and always loved Iowa,” Harkins says.
“When I had to retire early in 2005 due to some health problems, I thought that moving back to Iowa would be a great opportunity to start a second career and go back to law school.” He says those health problems were a direct result of the attacks on September 11th, 2001.
Harkins says, “I was told by the New York City Fire Department medical office that due to some of the debris I inhaled over the course of my service down at the World Trade Center site that I would never again be a full-duty firefighter, so they gave me the option to retire early.”
After serving for two years as a New York City policeman, Harkins switched over to the fire department and served on the F.D.N.Y. for ten years, rising to the rank of lieutenant. While some might see it as a stretch, going from being a cop to a fireman to a lawyer, Harkins says it all follows a pattern.
The 38-year-old says, “Public service has always been a huge part of my life and I think now that I’ve gone on and gotten my law degree, I’m going to center my practice on just helping normal people as best I can and hopefully do a lot more with public service.”
Harkins actually graduated from Drake Law back in December but is taking part in tonight’s commencement. He’s already passed the Iowa Bar Exam and is setting up his legal practice in Des Moines. His wife, Kaylene, is a native of Nevada, Iowa.
Possible abductions being investigated in Western Iowa
Authorities in two western Iowa counties are investigating three possible abductions attempts that were reported Thursday afternoon. Sheriff’s officials in Shelby and Crawford Counties say three juvenile females were approached by a white male in his 60′s Thursday.
One of the incidents allegedly occurred in Irwin, another in Manilla, and the third in Westside. In each instance, the man in question was driving a blue, full-sized van with dark tinted windows. One of the girls said the van had a mattress in the back. The last three characters on the vehicles’ license plate may read G-R-A.
The man was described as having short, gray hair. He was wearing a baseball cap, large glasses and a gray sweatshirt. Anyone with information about the van, or the man believed to be driving the vehicle is asked to call the Shelby County Sheriff’s office at 712-755-5026.
Case New Holland to lay off 150 in Burlington
The Mayor of Burlington says he’s confirmed the Case New Holland plant in town plans to lay off around one-third of its workforce. Mayor Bill Ell says he inquired about the layoffs after hearing rumors about them.
Ell says he did receive a letter that said the company would be laying off approximately 150 employees on July 2nd. Ell says slowing sales of backhoes and forklifts are the reason for the layoffs.
Ell says the city is not thrilled about the layoffs, but says they understand the company has to do what it can to make ends meet. The mayor says he has talked with some union members and there could be less than 150 layoffs when it all shakes out. Ell says he thinks there may be some negotiations going on with the union on the number of layoffs, but says he can’t confirm that.
Ell says his other concern is for the companies that supply parts to Case New Holland. He says so far no one has indicated there would be any problems, as those companies have other contracts as well. But he says it’s always a concern when there are a large number of layoffs.
Ell says the Burlington plant had employed around 446 people.
Gronstal predicts state gov’t reorganization in 2010
The top Democrat in the Iowa Senate says it’s likely legislators will act to reorganize and downsize state government in 2010.
Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says because of the economy, there will be "continuing challenges" to crafting next year’s state budget.
"We’ve been through tough times before and we’re Iowans. We tighten our belt," Gronstal says. "We deal with the challenges in front of us."
The state budget plan which legislators drafted for the bugdeting year that begins July 1st uses a large share of the federal economic stimulus money Iowa was given for education and health care. Gronstal says by doing that, the state held onto some of the "cash reserves" that have been set aside for emergencies.
"Next year is going to be incredibly challenging. I think folks understand that," Gronstal says. "I would tell you that’s one of the reasons why we did not dip as far into the reserve funds as we could have this year, so we still have $440 million sitting in our economic reserve funds."
In one of the final actions of the 2009 legislative session, Gronstal and other Democrats appointed a panel to examine ideas to reorganize and cut the state budget.
"Let me give you one example: Iowa has 22 data centers inside state government. Do you know how many data centers Google has worldwide? One," Gronstal says. "Does Iowa really need to have 22 data centers for computer services?"
The last major reorganization of state government occured over a quarter of a century ago when the number of state agencies was reduced from 64 to 24. Gronstal says state government isn’t unique in downsizing or reorganizing.
"You can see what’s happening in the auto industry right now. They’re talking about significant cuts in the number of dealerships. I was listening to that on the radio on the way in this morning," Gronstal says. "We’ve got to look at what it is we do. Figure out those things that we should continue to do and ways to do them more efficiently and figure out those things that we’re going to walk away from."
Gronstal made his comments during taping of "Iowa Press" which airs tonight at 7:30 on IPTV.
Republican legislators appear both supportive and skeptical of Gronstal’s government reorganization push.
"If Senator Gronstal and Senate Democrats are truly interested in limiting the size and scope of state government, Senate Republicans are more than willing to offer our suggestions, our experience and our leadership," Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton said in a written statement. "But after three years of out-of-control spending, the creation of record levels of debt and their track record of constantly growing government – not Iowa’s economy, you might say we are a bit skeptical."
House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha says House Republicans offered various cost-cutting ideas that would have saved over $300 million in the spending plan for next year’s state budget. "That was an opportunity lost," Paulsen says.ubli
Triple A expects holiday travel to be up
Gasoline prices in Iowa are down nearly $1.50 a gallon from a year ago and that’s expected to bring a boost in summer vacations. Summer won’t officially arrive until June 21st, but Rose White, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says the holiday at the end of this month will launch of the summer driving season.
"Vacation travel will be up 1.5% this Memorial holiday weekend with approximately 32.4 million travelers taking a trip of 50 miles or more away from home," White says. "Last year’s soaring gas prices and a deteriorating economy impacted holiday travel but this year, lower gasoline prices and plentiful travel bargains have Americans feeling better about taking a trip this summer."
Gasoline prices in Iowa are averaging $2.22 a gallon now, compared to $3.70 a year ago. White says that has families planning now for their trips during the upcoming warm weather months. "What we’re expecting, not only for the Memorial Day travel but even for this summer, is an increase in travel and the reason for that is the summer fuel prices aren’t nearly as high," White says.
"If we look back to last year, we paid record prices for fuel. In addition, weather conditions last summer were terrible for some travelers." The motor club projects most travelers (83%) during the Memorial Day weekend will be driving to their destinations. Gas prices have spiked in Iowa and across the region recently, but White doesn’t think the pump prices will go much higher.
"Just over the last month, we’ve seen big jumps in gasoline prices," White says. "In Iowa, they’re up about 21-cents (per gallon). Although we have seen a substantial increase, they do appear to be tapering off. We do not expect them to climb to the record highs that we had seen last year." She expects gas prices to top off this summer around $2.35 a gallon.
Last year, Iowa gas prices peaked at an all-time record high of $4.02 a gallon during July.
Helmets not worn in majority of fatal motorcycle accidents
Eleven motorcyclists have been killed in crashes in Iowa this year and Scott Falb, with the Department of Transportation, says most of the victims were not wearing a helmet. Nine out of the 11, or 82% of the fatality victims, were not wearing helmets.
A recent survey found only one in four motorcyclists in Iowa say they routinely wear a helmet, despite the fact that most of the people killed in motorcycle crashes die from a head injury.
"Our fatal crashes veer heavily towards the unhelmeted drivers," Falb said. "Not wearing a helmet is just one of the unsafe behaviors that motorcyclists that are killed in crashes engage in." Last year in Iowa, 53 drivers or passengers on motorcycles were killed in crashes. Nearly one-thousand more motorcyclists were injured.
"If riders would just put on that helmet, that would save a number of lives every year," Falb said. Iowa is one of only three states in the country without a law regarding helmet use. Many states require helmets for all riders, regardless of age, while others only require helmets for those 17 and under.
A motorcyclist was killed in a crash early Thursday morning in western Iowa. Authorities say the victim, 40-year-old Christopher Feller of Council Bluffs, had a helmet – but it was strapped to his bike. Police say no other vehicles were involved in the crash, which happened around 2:15 a.m. on Kanesville Boulevard in Council Bluffs.
