Week three is the books for the high school football teams. Dar Danielson and the Football Friday Night crew report scores and highlights from high school football games throughout Iowa. [Read more...]
Congressman Loebsack introduces benefit bill for National Guard soldiers
September 11, 2009 By
Congressman Dave Loebsack has introduced a bill that would extend education benefits to thousands of National Guard soldiers who don’t currently qualify for the program. “Essentially the New G.I. Bill of Rights that we passed last year unintentionally left out about 30,000 members of the National Guard,” Loebsack says. “They are not receiving all of the benefits they have earned.”
Starting last month new education benefits have been extended to Guard soldiers who’ve been on duty overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Loebsack says those who’ve been on extended periods of active duty stateside have been denied those education benefits. “This would extend that to those who, for example, are working on the border with Mexico on Operation JumpStart,” Loebsack says, “so it’s (for) Homeland Security deployments.”
Loebsack, a Democrat from Mount Vernon, says Guard soldiers who did airport security stints or provided airspace security immediately after the 9/11 attacks as well as those who went to the Gulf Coast to help the region recover from Hurricane Katrina were on long-term duty, but a glitch in the new G.I. Bill did not give them the education benefits they deserve according to Loebsack.
“This was really quite unintentional in the original act so we need to incorporate them, obviously, into this,” Loebsack says. “It’s also for those folks in the Guard and Reserve who have been discharged with service-connected disability and they have not been covered up to this point either.”
Loebsack says the move will “help make this generation of veterans part of our nation’s economic recovery” by helping them get a college degree. The bill is headed to the House Veteran’s Affairs Committee where Loebsack expects his “National Guard Education Equality Act” to get approval. The American Legion, the V.F.W, the National Guard Association and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America all support the legislation.
Edgewood water employee accused of not doing his job
September 11, 2009 By
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has found a former employee wasn’t doing his job and it put an eastern Iowa city’s water supply at risk. Scott Harris was responsible for monitoring the city of Edgewood’s water.
D.N.R. records show he only bought enough material for 100 chlorine tests, but he sent in nearly 4,000 test results between January 2006 and July 2009. The D.N.R. started investigating after citizen complaints about the declining quality of the water. Harris resigned a short time later. Edgewood Mayor James Stone says Harris told him that he didn’t have time to monitor the water. That excuse isn’t sitting well with local residents like Camen Payne.
“I especially think of all the kids who are drinking the water, and that’s just not good,” Payne said. “How can you do that? That doesn’t take that much time to check the water.”
Joe Sanfilippo, with the D.N.R.’s Manchester field office, says Harris not only falsified the tests, he also failed to add chemicals to the water to kill bacteria. Fortunately, no one reported getting sick. Sanfilippo says the D.N.R. is already short on staff, so routine tests of city water systems might only happen every four or five years.
“If we had come here to do a routine inspection, without any complaints from the public, we would have caught it,” Sanfilippo said. Currently, the city is working to stabilize the system. Sanfilippo said the water is safe to drink.
The D.N.R. is working with the Attorney General’s office in Des Moines to determine if charges will be filed against Harris.
Contributed by Justin Foss, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids
U.S.D.A. ups the forecast for corn
September 11, 2009 By
The latest forecast for corn production is up. The U.S.D.A.says corn production across the U.S. is estimated at 13-billion bushels — which is 193-million bushels higher than the August forecast due to forecasts of higher than expected yields in Iowa and the rest of the corn belt.
The report says the national average corn yield is projected at nearly 162 bushels an acre. The report says while the amount of production is expected to increase, projections for exports, feed and other uses will actually lead to a lower ending stock of corn overall.
The 2009-2010 marketing-year average farm price is for corn had dropped. It is projected from $3.05 a bushel to $3.65 a bushel. That compares to last month’s prediction of a price of $3.10 a bushel to $3.90 a bushel.
Name of Nevada fire victim released
September 11, 2009 By
The name of the central Iowa woman who was killed in this week’s house fire has been released. She is identified as 49-year-old Theresa Holder of Nevada.
The body of Holder was discovered by Nevada firemen inside the living room of an upstairs apartment at 634 Fourth Street. Nevada firemen received the call shortly before 2:30 Wednesday afternoon with flames and smoke coming from the apartment facility. In a press release released yesterday, Nevada Fire Chief Dana Wipperman and Police Chief Michael Tupper stated that the preliminary findings indicate that the incident was not the result of any criminal activity.
The investigation into the fire at Nevada is continuing by both departments. The State Fire Marshall and State Medical Examiner’s office have been called in to assist.
Submitted by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City
State Health officials say there’s plenty of flu vaccine
September 11, 2009 By
State health officials are squashing rumors about a potential shortage of seasonal flu vaccines. The rumors began to swirl after Dahl’s Foods, a grocery store chain headquartered in Des Moines, postponed its flu-shot clinics. Dahl’s officials said they were unable to receive shipments of the vaccine.
Don Callaghan is the Bureau Chief for the Immunization and Tuberculosis Program at the Iowa Department of Public Health. He says plenty of seasonal vaccines are available. “There is no projection whatsoever that would indicate that we would have a shortage of seasonal influenza vaccine,” Callaghan said.
Des Moines man says get involved to modify mortgage
September 11, 2009 By
A Des Moines man says a state program set up to help people prevent home foreclosures can help — but you have to get involved. Steven Christensen says he called the Iowa Mortgage Hotline to head off a possible foreclosure. His problems started in 2005 when he was off work with an injury. He says he was on workman’s compensation and when he came back the plant closed down.
Christensen says he is in his 60′s and felt that hurt him in finding a new job. Christensen says at the time he had a mortgage payment of just over 1,100. Christensen says that mortgage payment was the bulk of his Social Security payments, and he had to live the rest of the time he lived on a small pension. He says at the end of the day he had very little money left and in the winter the power bills put him into debt.
Christensen says he called the Iowa Mortgage Hotline and got the mediation process going. Christensen says it was a long process that took a lot of work on his part. Christensen says you have to be calling constantly to be sure that everything is done. He says the work will pay off in the modification of his mortgage payment.
He says he doesn’t know the exact modification, but says his payment was $1,147 it will end up being somewhere around $686. Christensen says the extra $400 dollars or so is helpful, especially in the wintertime. Christensen spoke at a news conference Thursday by Iowa’s Attorney General to announce that mortgage foreclosures in Iowa have leveled off. The A.G. says a big hurdle is getting people to call in and seek help, and says Christensen is an important example of what can happen if you do. You can call the toll-free number at 877-622-4866 or visit the Iowa Mortgage Hotline website at:www.iowamortgagehelp.com.
