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Senator says bill would prevent age descrimination

October 8, 2009 By
Jack Gross of Des Moines and Senator Tom Harkin (l-r)

Jack Gross of Des Moines, Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Patrick Leahy. (l-r)

Based on the outcome of a lawsuit that started in central Iowa, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin is introducing a bill today he says will help prevent older Americans from being treated unfairly in their jobs. Harkin, a Democrat, outlines what he says would be accomplished in his “Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act.”

Harkin says, “We would treat age discrimination the same as you would treat discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, all those things under Title Seven of the Civil Rights bill.” He says it’s become clear that the legal process has to change in age discrimination cases and he believes his legislation would accomplish that.

“It would be clear that the burden of proof would shift to the employer as long as the employee could show that age was a factor in that employee being demoted or fired or whatever,” Harkin says. Earlier this week, Jack Gross, of Des Moines, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about how he was discriminated against at his job because of his age.

“Jack worked for nearly a quarter of a century as a claims adjuster for FBL Financial,” Harkin says. “He was a model employee with performance reviews in the top 3% of the company for 13 consecutive years. Then in 2003, his company brazenly demoted him and other employees over the age of 50 and gave his job to a much younger, less qualified person.”

An Iowa jury found in Gross’ favor, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling. Under the proposed legislation, Harkin says the employer would have to clearly demonstrate a reason other than age why the person was demoted or fired.

He says the bill will “restore fundamental fairness in the workplace” and it’s supported by AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Senior Citizens Law Center and the National Women’s Law Center.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

American Farm Bureau survey: food prices down 10%

October 8, 2009 By

The latest food price survey by the American Farm Bureau shows a big drop in food prices compared to one year ago. Iowa Farm Bureau director of research, David Miller, says they conduct a marketbasket survey of 16 food items every quarter. Miller says the overall cost of the marketbasket was $46.03, down 26 cents from the second quarter of this year — but about a $4 or 10% drop from one year ago.

He says the largest drops came in things like cheese, whole milk, ground chuck and potatoes. Miller says the milk cost at the retail level was down 27% from one year ago, cheddar cheese down 23% and potatoes were down 22%. While the prices in stores have dropped, they haven’t dropped in direct correlation to the drop in what farmers and producers are being paid for their raw products. Miller says the foods that require the most processing were slower to drop in price.

Miller says the items that required minimal or no processing like potatoes, showed more of the drop that farmers have seen in what they get for their products. He says milk for example is down almost 50% in the price paid farmers from one year ago, corn and grains are down about 40%, and he says there’s a 25% drop in grocery store on the same items.

Miller says the survey knocks out the argument that the use of grains for ethanol production was causing food prices to go up. He says who in the food versus fuel argument that blamed ethanol, ethanol production is at a record level nationwide and corn prices have dropped 45% from one year ago, beef, potatoes and milk prices have dropped. So he says it was not an “ethanol affect” impacting the food prices, it was a “total world demand affect.” Miller, who is an economist, believes food prices haven’t bottomed out yet.

Miller says: “I think there is some additional room for the marketbasket at the retail level to continue to shrink a little bit relative to the whole commodities. Those prices do tend to come down a little slower and they lag a little bit what’s happening on the farm.” Miller says. He says he doesn’t anticipate an increase in commodity prices unless the dollar weakens.

For a complete list of the 2009 third quarter marketbasket survey results visit the Iowa Farm Bureau website here.

Filed Under: Agriculture Tagged With:

House speaker says film credit could be suspended for a year

October 8, 2009 By

A key legislator says the state’s film production tax credit may be suspended up to a year while policymakers figure out how to deal with questionable spending and accounting procedures. Governor Culver spoke publicly about the state Film Office fiasco Wednesday, saying he was “outraged” movie producers had taken advantage of the program by claiming tax credits for things like luxury vehicles.

House Speaker Pat Murphy says with a criminal investigation underway, reinstating the tax credit program is complicated. “I think it’s possible that we could be looking at a few months,” Murphy says. “It could be six months. It could be a year, but I think we need to make sure we know what’s going on with this program before we start it back up.”

Iowans involved in film and TV productions say the suspension of the program is putting a damper on the industry and ruining the state’s reputation as a place to make movies. Murphy says lawmakers want to give the state auditor and state’s attorney general time to conduct their investigation.

“We don’t want to adversely affect the Iowa economy,” Murphy says. “But I think it’s more important we are a protector of the taxpayers’ money in making sure that it is spent wisely and that (the state) is not being taken advantage of.” Murphy is a Democrat from Dubuque where the movie “F.I.S.T.” starring Sylvestor Stallon was filmed in Dubuque in the late ’70s and the 1981 movie “Pennies From Heaven” starring Steve Martin includes scenes from Dubuque.

The 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” includes a few scenes from Dubuque, but it featured an Iowa corn field as a major part of the plot. The baseball field featured in the film that was carved out of two corn fields near Dyersville is maintained and open to the public from April through November 1st.

Filed Under: Politics & Government, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: ,

Electric vehicle charging stations going up in Elk Horn

October 8, 2009 By

The owner of several companies based in southwest Iowa is counting on more motorists in the midwest buying electric vehicles in years to come. Mike Howard is planning to install eight electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the town of Elk Horn. He says it’s part of an on-going effort to incorporate “green” technologies into his local businesses.

Howard is already in the process of converting his businesses to run primarily on solar energy. “Over the next two years, we’re going solar…we’re looking at getting 80% of our power from the sun,” Howard said. The first four EV charging stations will be unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 12th.

Four more stations will be added in 2010, giving Elk Horn the largest number of charging stations per capita in the world. “Part of the reason we’re doing this…we’ve got to have the infrastructure,” Howard explained. “We the need the infrastructure for fleet evaluations. We’re actually going to be evaluating electrical vehicles for manufacturers from around the world here in Elk Horn.”

Various auto makers plan to release around two dozen different electric vehicles within the next two years. Howard says that’s why his company, Iron Eagle Technologies, will be installing more EV charging stations throughout the Midwest. “We’re going to be putting more of these stations along the Interstate 80 corridor,” Howard said. “So essentially if you have an electric vehicle, it would be set up all the from Madison, Wisconsin or Chicago all the way to Denver.”

Howard says depending on the type of vehicle being charged, the charging process could take anywhere from three to eight hours. Newer technology, currently under development, will reduce that time to as little as 30 minutes.

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Business, Environment & Conservation Tagged With:

Boone man shoots himself while hunting squirrels

October 8, 2009 By

A 19-year-old Boone man was hurt Wednesday afternoon while hunting at the Skillet Creek Public Hunting Area east of Dayton in Webster County. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported Daniel Hartley was hunting squirrels when the 12-gauge shotgun he was using fired as he was trying to dislodge mud that had gotten into the end of the barrel hitting him in his hand.

Hartley was transported to Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge by ambulance for treatment of his injury. Iowa DNR Conservation Officer Matt Bruner said hunters need to exercise caution when handling firearms. He said hunters need to exercise muzzle control at all times to ensure the barrel does not touch the ground and become plugged. Bruner said hunters need to make sure a gun has been unloaded before trying to remove an obstruction from the barrel.

Contributed by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With:

Court upholds murder conviction of Council Bluffs man

October 8, 2009 By

The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of a Council Bluffs man, charged with killing his neighbor and stuffing his naked body into a trash can. A jury convicted 26-year-old Kaine Dye of 1st-degree murder in April 2008, in connection with the bludgeoning and strangling death of 64-year-old William C. Moser.

The men lived in the same apartment complex. A motive for the killing was never established, but a witness testified at Dye’s trail. The man told her he killed Moser because the victim caught him stealing and had threatened to report him to police. In May 2008, Dye was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In his appeal, Dye argued that his insanity defense should not have been rejected. In its ruling, the court said Dye’s defense evidence failed to prove insanity, and the state’s evidence demonstrated Dye possessed the mental ability at the time of the murder, to “know the difference between right-and-wrong, to appreciate the nature and quality of his actions, and to act with premeditation, deliberation, willfulness, and specific intent.”

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Pharmacy Board holds 3rd hearing on medical marijuana

October 8, 2009 By

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy held its third hearing on the possibility of legalizing marijuana for medical uses Wednesday in Iowa City.

Lisa Jackson of Crawfordsville was among several people claiming marijuana is the only thing they can take get pain relief. Jackson suffers from fibromyalgia — a condition that causes pain in the tissue around joints and in muscles.

Jackson says the medication she has to take on a daily basis is more lethal to her and her family than is marijuana. University of Iowa pharmaceutical researcher, Ron Herman, says his studies show marijuana benefits must be weighed against risks.

Jackson says for instance, marijuana will reduce pressure in the eye from glaucoma, but he says it will also increase blood pressure to a level that would probably be to “the detriment of the individual.” There were boos among the some 50 people in the room when Mount Vernon Schools substance abuse coordinator Jennifer Husmann urged the panel to not legalize marijuana use. Husmann said legalizing medical marijuana would make it more available and acceptable for teens.

The Pharmacy Board’s holds a final hearing November 4th in Council Bluffs.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government Tagged With:
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