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Republicans critical of governor’s move

October 8, 2009 By

Republicans were quick to criticize Democratic Governor Chet Culver’s decision to order a 10 percent across-the-board cut in the state budget. 

Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley says Culver and his fellow Democrats had ignored the signs of a looming fiscal crisis and the cut Culver ordered may lead to higher property taxes as schools seek to make up for the cut.  Representative Chris Rants of Sioux City, a Republican candidate for governor, has argued Culver should have called legislators back into special session to make selective cuts.

“I think an across-the-board cut is a dumb and lazy way to do things.  There’s a smarter way to do it,” Rants says. “…You can call the legislature back for a one-day session, make smarter cuts, put the budget back into balance.” 

According to Governor Culver, “immediate action” was necessary, and there was no guarantee 150 legislators could quickly strike an agreement to fix the budget.  

 ”I have ruled out a special session for two reasons,” Culver said earlier today during a statehouse news conference. “First, the outcome of a special session would be uncertain.  Second, the affects of a special session and any action taken could take several weeks to actually be implemented.” 

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City says Culver failed to heed the warning signs and signed a budget that was “exorbitant.” According to Vander Plaats, “state employees are going to pay a high price for (Culver’s) fiscal irresponsibility.”

Read a variety of statements issued in reaction to the govenror’s announcement from other gubernatorial candidtes as well as from leading educators.

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Union chief: layoffs will be “devastating”

October 8, 2009 By

The head of the largest union for state government workers calls looming layoffs “devastating.”  Governor Culver ordered a 10 percent cut in the state budget Thursday, indicating “hundreds” of state workers would lose their jobs as a result. 

“We are preparing for some of the toughest times this union has ever seen,” says Danny Homan, president of AFSCME Council 61.  “A ten percent across-the-board cut will be devastating to state workers and the people they serve, no matter how necessary that cut is.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

State gets first round of H1N1 vaccine

October 8, 2009 By

Iowa has received its first shipment of the vaccine for the H1N1 flu virus. The 18,000 doses of vaccine are being delivered to county public health agencies. Iowa Department of Public Health spokesperson Polly Carver-Kimm says the initial shipment is in the form of a nasal spray.

“There are certain populations that can’t receive the nasal spray, but we do have additional vaccine arriving in the coming weeks on an intermittent basis and we do expect the injectable vaccine next week,” Carver-Kimm said. The vaccine is being divided among the 99 counties in Iowa based on population. Polk County, for example, is receiving about 1,300 doses. Because there’s a limited supply of the vaccine right now, only people in high risk groups will be eligible to receive the spray.

Carver-Kimm says those “high priority” groups include healthy people between two and 49 years of age who live with or care for infants, health care workers under the age of 50 and children between the ages of two and four. The nasal spray version of the H1N1 vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women, people with chronic health problems or children under the age of two. The flu bug has been spreading through many Iowa businesses and schools in recent weeks. Carver-Kimm says it appears nearly all of the cases are associated with H1N1.

“The seasonal influenza season doesn’t really begin for another month of so,” Carver-Kimm said. “The testing that has been done on a surveillance basis has shown that all of the flu that’s circulating now is H1N1. We’re seeing a lot of that in the schools. A lot of schools are reporting more than 10-percent absence of their enrollment.” Four Iowans have died this year from complications associated with the H1N1 virus. Carver-Kimm says people who are interested in getting an H1N1 vaccination should call their county health department for details on distribution.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Breast cancer deaths continue to drop

October 8, 2009 By

The American Cancer Society says deaths rates for women with breast cancer have dropped more than two percent each year since 1990. Chuck Reed, a spokesman for the Iowa Chapter of the American Cancer Society, says that’s a trend that doesn’t have to stop. Reed says if women can continue to stay on top of their physical health and talk to their doctor, along with getting their mammogram, than there’s a good chance the death rates for breast cancer can continue to drop.

Reed says early detection is the key in treatment. He says if breast cancer is caught early, the survival rate is 98-percent. Reed says if breast cancer is caught late, the survival rate drops to 24%. The declines in breast cancer deaths have declined among all groups of women, although African-American women still have a 40% higher death rate than others.

Reed says he does not know if that is because African-Ameircan women aren’t getting as many screenings, or there is some research that shows the breast cancer appears to be more aggressive in African-American women. He says the percentage of African-American women who get screenings tends to be lower, and when the cancer if found, it often is at a more advanced stage. Reed says all women should remember the magic number “40″.

Reed says you should get your first mammogram at age 40 unless there is a family history of cancer or you find a lump. But he says if you are 40 and haven’t had a mammogram, then you should get one as soon as you can. Reed says of the 117,000 Iowa cancer survivors in 2006 — 25,600 were breast cancer survivors. For more information, contact your doctor, or call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345.

 You can also visit www.cancer.org.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Book chronicles Abe Lincoln’s Iowa connection

October 8, 2009 By

A new book tells the story of one of Abraham Lincoln’s sons and his Iowa connection. Robert Todd Lincoln settled in Mount Pleasant, the only one of President Lincoln’s four sons who lived to adulthood. Author Paul Juhl of Iowa City says the book mentions the young Lincoln’s romantic interest and his family.

“Robert Todd Lincoln fell in love with a young woman from Iowa, Mary Harlan, whose father was the first Republican senator to be elected from our state,” Juhl says. “They married and it’s really the story of their three children, Mamie, Abraham Lincoln the Second, who was always known as Jack, and the younger daughter, Jesse.”

Juhl says he did plenty of research for the book, making trips to study in Chicago, in Indiana and at the new Lincoln library in Springfield, Illinois. Juhl says the book covers the life and times of the Harlan and Lincoln families. He says, “It tells the story not only of James Harlan and his wife coming to the Iowa territory, but it moves on through until 1985 and that was the time of the death of the last Lincoln descendant, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, so there are no more descendants of the Lincoln family.”

The 70-page spiral-bound book is called, “The James Harlan and Robert Todd Lincoln Families’ Mount Pleasant Memories.” It costs $20, with proceeds to benefit the restoration of the Harlan Lincoln House in Mount Pleasant.

To order a copy, call Juhl at (319) 354-9356.

Contributed by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Human Interest

Governor orders 10 percent cut in state budget

October 8, 2009 By

Governor Chet Culver today ordered a 10 percent, across-the-board cut in the state budget [Executive Order PDF]. “This is a tough, challenging time. Our backs are against the wall, but we’re not going to run and hide,” Culver says. “We’re going to deal with it head on like every Iowa family is and those are the kinds of values that Iowans expect their political leaders to adhere to.”

Culver’s action cuts the budget [ATB Calculations] by $600 million.  It assures “hundreds” of state workers will be laid off.  “This is a tough decision, but I believe it reflects our Iowa values of common sense and fiscal responsibility,” Culver says. “This is not a challenge we’ve asked for,  but it is one we will meet, as Iowans.”

AUDIO: News Conference 30 min MP3

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

DM police warn of possible impersonators after uniforms stolen

October 8, 2009 By

Authorities in Des Moines are concerned a thief or thieves may try to impersonate a police officer. Des Moines police have issued a warning for residents and motorists passing through the city to be wary of anyone wearing a police uniform without a badge or an officer’s utility belt.

That’s because two uniforms and a handgun were stolen from a police officer’s home on Wednesday. Des Moines police spokesperson Lori Lavorato says people should be aware that officers do not do traffic stops in unmarked cars. If there is an unmarked car involved, a marked car will be there too. The uniforms and gun were stolen from officer Chris Latchman, who was not at home at the time.

Police say whoever stole the items also fired the gun in Latchman’s home. A bullet was discovered lodged in a bedroom nightstand.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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