The success of the movie "Sugar" could help Iowa land more big-budget, feature films in the future. Doug Miller is a consultant to the Quad Cities Film Coalition and served as field producer for the movie, which was shot in Davenport and Burlington. He says referrals from high quality productions, like "Sugar," are invaluable in attracting others to the area. "Film companies that are looking at the region will ask other film companies, ‘what was it like working there? What was it like getting what you needed?’ Referrals from productions like Sugar, which was low budget but a quality production, those…are great referrals," Miller said. He says a measure passed by the legislature this year will also help the state land more film productions. Miller says 25-percent of the dollars spent in Iowa by a film’s production company are eligible for state tax credits. This session, lawmakers expanded those credits to include costs associated with the actors and directors involved in the film. "When they’re looking at states to shoot on location, it could be anywhere based on the actual physical location. The next question is who has incentives and what are the incentives and do they include the ‘above the line’ costs of directors and actors, star power…and if you’re not in that ball game – they go down to the next person on the list," Miller said. "Sugar" tells the story of a minor league baseball player from the Dominican Republic who comes to play in Iowa. Miller says a small-budget film like "Sugar" will spend 30-to-$50,000 per day while on location in the state. "Sugar" has been drawing critical acclaim and was nominated for best screenplay in the 2008 Spirit Awards. Miller made his comments on the Iowa Public Radio program "Talk at Twelve."
Success of "Sugar" could sweeten film interest in Iowa
Split Supreme Court leaves Des Moines man’s life sentence in place
A split decision by the Iowa Supreme Court upholds a key ruling in a Des Moines kidnapping and rape case. James Effler was arrested in October of 2005 for taking a two-year-old girl into a bathroom at the Des Moines Library and sexually abusing her.
Effler admitted to officers that he sexually assaulted the girl, but tried to get that admission thrown out, saying he was denied a lawyer. The district court ruled Effler’s confession could be used because he asked police for a lawyer, but said he wanted a lawyer "if he was going to jail."
Effler, who is 35, was convicted of first-degree kidnapping and sentenced to life imprison without the possibility of parole. The Iowa Court of Appeals reversed the district court decision and said Effler’s confession to police could not be used in court because he had requested a lawyer.
The Iowa Supreme Court reviewed the decision. Six of 7 justices heard the case, but they were split 3-to-3 over whether Effler’s statement meant that he wanted a lawyer during his questioning. Since the high court justices were split, the appeals court decision is thrown out and the district court judgment to use Effler’s statement stands.
Read the entire Supreme Court ruling in the Effler case. PDF.
Man wanted in Florida rape case found dead in Hamilton County
The body of a former Webster City man who was wanted for the rape of a nine year old girl at gunpoint in Florida was discovered early yesterday morning south of Stratford in southern Hamilton county. Authorities discovered the body of 43-year-old Kevin Carroll Bordwell shortly after three yesterday morning. He died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Bordwel has been the subject of a nationwide manhunt after allegedly assaulting the girl on Tuesday in Englewood, Florida. The Charlotte County, Florida Sheriff’s Department reported that he knew his alleged victim. Bordwell graduated from Webster City High School in 1984. He recently moved to Florida.
Bordwell apparently parked his car at his mother’s home in Stratford, then walked about two miles to the intersection where his body was found by sheriff’s deputies. Bordwell had been wanted on a Florida warrant for charges of Capital Sexual Battery, Burglary with Battery and Armed Burglary.
Iowa Bankers Association says home foreclosures stabilizing
Home foreclosure rates increased in Iowa again in the first quarter, with just over two-percent of Iowa home mortgages in foreclosure in the first three months of the year. That is higher than the last quarter of 2008 and higher than the same period a year ago. But Ben Hildebrandt of the Iowa Bankers Association says the number of homeowners who’re falling behind on their mortgage payments seems to be stabilizing. "Overall, the numbers are encouraging because 30-day and 60-day delinquencies are trending down," Hildebrand says. Foreclosure and delinquency rates in Iowa continue to be well under the national rate. Hildebrandt cites the Obama Administration’s loan modification program and the moratorium on home foreclosures in late 2008 and early 2009 as factors in reducing foreclosure rates on home loans. "The number of 30 days or more past due is declining not only in Iowa but across the entire country, and so we think that hopefully as the economy’s turning, so are situations with 30-day, 60-day, 90-day past due (loans)," Hildebrandt says. New figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association show Iowa’s foreclosure rate was over 2.3% in the first quarter. And more than 5% of Iowa home mortgages were delinquent in the first quarter.
Survey says engineering jobs hardest to fill
A survey of employers shows the hardest jobs to fill in the U.S. are engineering positions. Dave Scott, executive director of the Iowa Engineering Society, says he’s not surprised.
"Every year, we have a roundtable discussion where we bring in the principals of the engineering firms in the state," Scott said. "The number one discussion every year is how do we attract engineers to Iowa?" The survey, released Wednesday by Manpower, also included skilled trades and technicians in the list of top 10 hardest jobs to fill. Like engineering, those positions require a strong knowledge of math and science.
Scott says engineering firms in Iowa aren’t having trouble finding college graduates, but rather professional engineers with several years of experience. "When you come out of college as an engineer, you’re an engineering graduate, you’re not a professional engineer," Scott explained. "You have to first take a fundamental exam, then you have to have four years of experience, then you take a profession exam after that. So, in order to really have somebody to sort of hit the ground running and put their signature on a project, they’re going to (need) about five years of experience."
There are nearly 150 engineering firms in Iowa, some with as few as two or three employees. Scott says the firms located in small towns have an especially hard time finding qualified workers. "I even had one firm tell me that they were contacted by someone who was following their spouse and was moving to their town…they hired him, although they didn’t really need anyone at the time, they knew that they would eventually," Scott said.
"To have somebody walk into small town Iowa looking for an engineering job was such a rarity that they just hired him, knowing they would need him down the road." Scott says many engineering firms in Iowa offer big salaries and signing bonuses to new hires right out of college. According to the Manpower survey, other jobs that are hard to fill include nurses, teachers, sales reps and I-T staff.
