Congressman Steve King says the fate of health care reform is likely being decided in public forums nationwide this month. King, a Republican from Kiron, says the legislation has been heavily debated by congress and it’s now up to the people whether it should pass. “I’m hoping the debate of the century takes place in the town hall meetings all across America in every state,” King says. “I hope the people in America will rise up and go fill those buildings up and demand that they be allowed to keep their health insurance policy and have the freedom to purchase one of their choice and not be shoehorned into a government program.” A heated town hall meeting on Saturday in Des Moines that was led by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin was punctuated by people yelling and interrupting each other. Harkin had to call for quiet many times and uniformed police were called in to maintain order. Meanwhile, King says it’s possible the health care reform bill may die as a result of what representatives hear during the current recess. “If they can do that in August and in the first week in September, then the bill itself won’t come up after Labor Day, so that is the answer, it’s the American people,” King says. “I can go make all kinds of arguments in Washington and I can even have members of congress secretly agree with me and vote against me because the people that changed their mind are their constituents, because they like their jobs so they need to hear from their constituents.” King plans to hold a series of town hall meetings across his western Iowa district over the next two weeks. Sarah Palin, the ex-Alaska governor who was the G-O-P’s nominee for vice president last year, asked Republicans to show restraint over the weekend. In a posting on her Facebook page, Palin said tactics like harassment and intimidation will give health care reform proponents ammunition and a reason to criticize Republicans and others who oppose the bills.
Congressman King says public forums could decide health care debate
Four gang members jailed after attack in Ottumwa
Ottumwa Police say four members of a Latino gang are in jail after an incident Sunday that injured a police officer. Ottumwa Police Chief Jim Clark says Officer Rueben Ross was injured just after 8 a.m. while conducting a follow-up investigation on a car vandalism case.
Ross was attacked by four men who claimed to be members of the Latin Kings gang. Ross used a taser on one of the men and other officers who responded took four people into custody.
Clark says Ross was treated and released from a local hospital for facial and head injuries.
Plane crashes near Harlan airport
A cropdusting plane crashed in a field near the Harlan Airport this morning. The identity of the pilot of the plane has not yet been released, however according to police reports; the pilot received minor injuries and walked away from the crash site.
The plane, which was loaded and contained approximately 170 gallons of fungicide on board, ended up approximately 100 yards past the end of the runway, upside down in a cornfield adjacent to the runway. The Plane crash was reported at approximately 10:45 A.M. The aircraft apparently lost power upon take off from Rueshenberg Airfield which has been closed until further instruction.
Eldora cleaning up from heavy wind and hail
Cleanup continues in the Hardin County town of Eldora today after a Sunday morning storm left the town in tatters. Eldora city administrator Patrick Ian Rigg, says every part of the town was hit.
Ian Rigg says a combination of shear winds and large hail broke out many windows, with most properties sustaining some damage, from siding being ripped off homes and one large chimney on a building fell and took out half of the building.
The storm knocked down numerous trees and power lines leaving most resident without power after the storm. Ian Rigg says some 60 volunteers were working this morning to clean up. "Everywhere you look you see people hauling tree branches and uses chain saws to cut trees down, and it really seems like this whole town is in a clean up mode right now," he says. He says Alliant Energy crews have been trying to get the power lines back up.
Ian Rigg says the crews have worked through the night to get power restored, and some residents do have power, but there are others who still don’t have it. Alliant’s website said there were some 12-hundred people in the state still without power by mid morning. Ian Rigg says the heavy winds and hail did stretch beyond the city limits.
He says there was some "significant" crop damage and some of the properties outside Eldora were damaged too, but he can’t say how far the damage stretches beyond the city. Ian Rigg has been the Eldora city administrator for one year and says this is something that
he never imagined happening. The governor has declared Hardin County at state disaster area, and Ian Rigg says that will allow them to get some state help.
Ian Rigg says they’ve already gotten some help from the Iowa National Guard and right now are trying to get everything cleaned up and secure and then will try to see what they need to do to help residents recover. Other parts of the state also received damage from the storms that rolled through Sunday. Thousands were without power for a time in the Des Moines area.
One dies in accident near Iowa Falls
One person was killed when a car and pickup truck collided in Hardin County on Sunday afternoon. Authorities say a Honda Civic collided with the Ford F-150 pickup on a county road near Iowa Falls. The driver of the Civic was killed. That person’s name hasn’t been released. The pickup driver, 18-year-old Abby Fryslie was injured and taken to the Ellsworth hospital for treatment.
DNR uses garbage to make Iowa State Fair gate
The Iowa State Fair opens in Des Moines this week and fairgoers that visit the D.N.R. building will notice a new gate. Brian Soenen, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says they’ll be surprised to learn how it was made.
"The new gates are made from garbage pulled rivers by volunteers," Soenen said. "Visually, they’re just beautiful pieces of artwork."
Every year, Soenen helps organize a week-long Project AWARE trip. Hundreds of volunteers spend the week plucking tons of trash from Iowa rivers. That trash is often transformed into a piece of art, like the gate.
The metals found in the gate made their way into the Winnebago, Shell Rock and Cedar Rivers. Soenen says the material was part of 47 tons of garbage pulled from the rivers last August. Canoe paddles, often used to remove the trash, are also used in the gate’s design. It’s the first of five new gates to be built around the D.N.R. building on the fairgrounds over the next five years.
Soenen says fairgoers can help create next year’s gate over the next week. On select days, fairgoers will be allowed to melt, hammer and re-shape garbage into art that will be used for next year’s gate. The trash being used was pulled from the Cedar River in the Cedar Rapids area this past June.
Missing man’s body found in Black Hawk Lake
The body of a Carroll man who drowned last week in Black Hawk Lake in Lake View was found by divers on Saturday. According to Lake View Police, 64-year-old Chuck Gifford was reported missing after Gifford went into the water last Thursday afternoon to remove a fishing line that became entangled in a boat propeller. He was boating with his wife and a grandchild when he slipped under the water while trying to remove the line. Carroll County Water Rescue volunteers led the effort to recover Gifford’s body. They received help from five other city and county diving groups.
