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Des Moines man accused of beating son released from jail

July 24, 2009 By

A Des Moines man, who is accused in the beating of his infant son, was released from the Polk County Jail today. Nineteen-year-old Jonas Neiderbach posted a $50,000 bond after a judge cleared the way for his release earlier this week.

Polk County Judge Douglas Staskal ordered Neiderbach to stay away from all children under the age of 14, including his son, as a condition of his release. Neiderbach and the infant’s mother, Jherica Richardson, were charged last week after their seven-week-old child was rushed to a hospital with head injuries and broken ribs.

Ethan Neiderbach remains at the hospital, but officials are not providing updates on his condition. Richardson is ineligible for pre-trial release because she was on probation for forgery at the time of her arrest. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Group wants to ban bikes on rural roads

July 24, 2009 By

A group that calls itself the "Citizens for Safety Coalition of Iowa" is asking people to sign a petition that asks the legislature to create a ballot initiative for the November 2010 election that would ban bicycles on "farm-to-market" roads. Dan Jones of Van Meter is a spokesperson for the coalition.

Jones says they’re just a small group of people neighbors and friends, who have gotten together after a few accidents on the highways. "We’re tired of it, we think that the bicyclists should be held to the same laws that motorists are. They should have to have their license and insurance, anything that I’ve ever known that’s been on these highways has to have insurance on it," Jones says.

He says the farm-to-market roads are basically most highways other than the interstates. Jones says bicyclists create problems on the roads. He says some of the smaller highways or rural roads don’t have shoulders, and don’t have a place for motorists or cyclists to get out of the way to avoid a problem.

Jones says it is particularly tough for those who drive large farm equipment on the roads and have to deal with the bicycles. Jones says bicyclists are choosing the roads over bike paths because they say the bike paths are crowded with walkers that slow them down.

Jones says: "They think they need to go too fast for the women and children that are walking on their bike paths, well if they turn that into our perspective of it, we’re running 55 miles-an-hour on a pavement in a 3,000 to 5,000 pound vehicle. I don’t think their odds are very good, I think they’d be a lot safer on the bike paths." Jones says the bike paths are paid for through fees on snowmobiles and A-T-V’s and the bikers aren’t even using them.

Jones says they hope this will grow into a statewide movement to ban the bikes from these roads. The petition says the number of bicyclists using these roads over the past 10 years has grown dramatically as have the number of preventable accidents. It says " shared roadways are no longer safe or practical in today’s society."

You can see the petition on-line here .

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

"Fallen Soldier March" to honor Boone native, other Iowans

July 24, 2009 By

A "Fallen Soldier March" is scheduled for Saturday, August 1st in Sioux City. Organizers say the nine-mile walk — which they hope to make an annual event — is designed to highlight the sacrifice of soldiers who’ve lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sergeant Thomas Peck, who serves in an Iowa National Guard Cavalry unit based in Le Mars, says they plan to remember soldiers who are missing in action, too.

"We do have Memorial Day that honors (every soldier who) has passed away," Peck says. "But we wanted a day where people will stop and look at us and say, ‘Wow. What are these guys doing this for?’ and actually make them think a little bit."

A Tennessee man is credited with coming up with the concept. "They had nine fallen soldiers in Tennessee," Peck says. "And he went out one day and just walked one day and walked a mile for each one of them."

Peck’s friend and fellow soldier Daniel Sesker of Boone was killed in Iraq in 2006. Peck and other soldiers in his unit decided a "Fallen Soldier March" along the Missouri River would help honor Sesker’s memory.

"But we’re opening it up for anybody who’s either effected directly or indirectly," Peck says. "If they want to come out and walk — come out and walk."

Registration for the march starts at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 1st at the Anderson Dance Pavillion in Sioux City and the walk itself starts at nine o’clock. For more information, call 712-898-3528.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Human Interest, Military Tagged With:

Supreme Court says "post-affair" agreement unenforceable

July 24, 2009 By

The Iowa Supreme Court says a post-affair agreement signed by an eastern Iowa couple can’t be used in divorce proceedings. Court records show Bernard and Vergestene Cooper of Waterloo had been married for 28 years when Vergestene discovered Bernard was involved in an affair.

Bernard wanted the marriage to continue and in May of 2000 agreed to some promises that were written down and signed by both. Bernard, a school administrator, agreed in the document that if any of his "indiscretions" lead to separation or divorce — he would accept full responsibility. And he agreed to pay $2,600 in expenses in support of his wife and youngest daughter, with increases based on his annual raises.

About five years later, Bernard moved out of their home and admitted that he had continued his prior affair. Vergestene filed for a divorce and included the notarized agreement Bernard had signed after the affair was first discovered. The district court ruling on the divorce settlement closely followed many of the terms of that agreement. Bernard appealed the settlement and distribution of property saying the district court relied to much on the agreement.

The Iowa Supreme Court says the agreement was based on Bernard remaining faithful and says Iowa’s no fault divorce law was designed to keep the courts "out of the complex web of interpersonal relationships and the inevitable he-said-she-said battles that would arise in contracts that can be enforced only through probing of the nature of the marital relationship."

For that reason, the High Court said the post-affair agreement was unenforceable, and sent the divorce case back to the lower court for an equitable dividing of the property without regard to the agreement. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Electric fire causes problems in Cedar Rapids

July 24, 2009 By

Electricity has been restored to businesses in downtown Cedar Rapids after an underground cable fire forced authorities to cut nine power lines last night. Firefighters were called just after 7:30 p.m. to the 200 block of 2nd Street Southeast.

Thick, black smoke was coming from an broken transformer below the sidewalk outside the Granby building. Just over 60 employees in three interconnected buildings were evacuated. The underground fire eventually affected around 150 downtown customers and forced bars in the area to close early. At 10:45 p.m., several explosions sent flames up to three feet in the air.

No one was injured and power was restored to most of downtown during the early morning hours. Alliant crews are working today to replace the power lines that were cut.  

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Supreme Court ruling limits scope of car title loan law

July 24, 2009 By

The state Supreme Court issued a ruling today on the law that limits the scope of Iowa’s cap on car title loans. The law went into effect on July 1, 2007 and said a company could not issue finance charges over 21% per year on the unpaid balance of the amount financed for a loan secured by car title.

Anderson Financial Services which operates the “Loan Max” company asked the Attorney General for an opinion on whether they could still charge higher rates on loan advances made for loan agreements signed before the new law took effect.

The A-G’s opinion said any advances made on car title accounts signed before the July 1, 2007 law would be subject to the new finance-charge limits.  A Polk County district court judge adopted the Attorney General’s opinion and the company appealed.

The Iowa Supreme Court says the new law to limit interest charges was not created as a remedy for a wrongful act — but was prompted by the legislature’s policy decision that limits on such charges were in the public interest.

The High Court says the district court erred in that ruling, as the law does not prevent Loan Max from exercising its contractual right to collect the interest rates specified under agreements entered into prior to the new law. 

Filed Under: Business, Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Nussle says cost-controls key in health care

July 24, 2009 By

Former Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle says the government won’t be able to handle expanded health care coverage for Americans without reducing expenses in the whole health care system. Nussle was a guest host this morning on the "Squawk Box" on CNBC.

"The choices are so tough," Nussle said.

Nussle suggested the hardest decisions may come in Medicare, the government’s health care system for the elderly. According to Nussle, the nation’s 50 million seniors and the rest of the adult population are going to have to become more conscious of what they’re spending.

"I think you probably will see people continue to be concerned about this whole issue of cost control of health care. It’s out of control," Nussle said. "Unless you can bend that growth curve somehow, there’s almost no way the government can have a bigger footprint in this and actually make it work in the long term."

However, Nussle sees Americans in a sort of "what have you done for me lately" mindset and that makes cost-cutting in any level of government difficult.

"They’re not saying, ‘Reduce the costs in my backyard,’" Nussle said. "They’re saying, "Reduce it over across the street in somebody else’s backyard.’ That’s what’s going on."

Nussle has formed a D.C.-based consulting firm called "The Nussle Group." Nussle was the 2006 Republican nominee for governor, then he served as President Bush’s budget director. Nussle served eastern Iowa for 16 years in congress and rose to become chairman of the House Budget Committee.

During this morning’s turn as a guest host on "Squawk Box" on CNBC, Nussle got to ask questions of guests, including financial guru Warren Buffett who was the last guest on this morning’s show.

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