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Union official tells Regents “furlough” is not in their contract

October 29, 2009 By

The president of the union that represents the majority of university employees, Danny of AFSCME Council 61, was critical in his remarks to the Board of Regents today. “I want to thank you for allowing us to be here today, I also want to say it has been a long time in coming,” Homan said. Homan said as the union representing employees, “it’s a shame it too us so long to get here, this is not the first budget crisis we’ve gone through, since I was elected president, which was July of 2005.”

Homan says the union is ready talk about the budget cutting proposals. Homan says they will sit down and discuss the issue willingly as they believe the most important thing to do is to save jobs. He says it will be a huge challenge this fiscal year and next fiscal as he does not believe the budget crisis is over yet.

Homan says the governor has asked them to reopen contract negotiations. He says they will listen, but told the board “furlough” is not a word of the union uses. “It doesn’t exist anywhere in our contract, I don’t know that it ever will. That’s not a decision I make, it’s a decision the membership of this union will make,” Homan says. Homan says the union has done its share in the past by taking pay cuts and pay freezes. He says the union has lost membership, while other positions at the universities have gained.

“Those are the folks that do the dirty work every day at these universities to make sure that they run effectively, but yet, our bargaining units keep going down,” Homan says. Homan says the union wants to be involved in the discussions so the cuts are made without losing jobs.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: , , ,

Farmers react to lifting of China’s pork ban

October 29, 2009 By

Iowa farmers are reacting with optimism after today’s announcement China is lifting its ban on U.S. pork. Tim Bierman, a pork producer from Larrabee and president of the National Pork Board, says it’s very encouraging. “It’s great news that China does intend to open the U.S. market to pork going into China,” Bierman says.

“It’s a great opportunity for us here in the future when it actually does open up.” He says it’ll mean tremendous financial gains for Iowa’s pork industry, as we’re the nation’s number-one producer of pork.

He says Iowa averaged some $23.7 million in pork products to China in each of the past several years. In all, Bierman says Iowa exports $520 million worth of pork annually to all countries. China cut U.S. pork off earlier this year due to unfounded fears about H1N1 flu, which some refer to as “swine flu.”

Contributed by Dan Skelton, KICD, Spencer

Filed Under: Agriculture Tagged With: ,

Movie called “Cedar Rapids” will be shot in Michigan

October 29, 2009 By

A movie titled “Cedar Rapids” will not be filmed in Cedar Rapids. The production company, blaming the suspension of the Iowa film tax credit program, has decided to move the work to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Tim Boyle says the city will still receive plenty of exposure, but will miss out on a lot of money.

“You know, several hundred thousand dollars certainly just with hotels, caterers, extras and that sort of thing,” Boyle said. “But, I think the real benefit – which is still a benefit for Cedar Rapids – is that’s actually the name of the production. So, it’s that exposure and name recognition that I think would be the greater value to any place like Cedar Rapids.”

The movie’s lead character will be played by Ed Helms who starred in the summer hit “The Hangover” and also appears on the T-V show “The Office.” Boyle admits he’s a little apprehensive about how the city of Cedar Rapids will be portrayed on the big screen. “One always has to be a little concerned with a comedy which, of course, is rooted in parodies and exaggeration,” Boyle said. “But, as near as I can tell – and I’ve seen the script that they’re working from – the city of Cedar Rapids comes off quite well.”

The story centers on a naive Wisconsin man, played by Helms, who travels to Cedar Rapids for an insurance convention and is overwhelmed by the big city experience. Boyle says the Cedar Rapids skyline and various parts of the city should still be part of the final production.

“I think they’re going to start shooting in another week or two in Michigan. The last I heard is they are scheduled to come to Cedar Rapids the week of November 9 to shoot exterior scenes and that sort of thing,” Boyle said. Iowa’s film tax credit program was suspended in September after officials discovered questionable spending and accounting procedures within the Iowa Film Office.

Filed Under: Politics & Government, Recreation & Entertainment

Regents approve surcharge, delay action on tuition

October 29, 2009 By

The board that governs the three state universities approved a $100 surcharged for students in the spring semester to help make up for the 10% budget cut ordered by the governor. The Board of Regents also tabled a proposal to increase the tuition for the next year by six percent. The regents hope to get more financial information in the next few weeks that will better allow them set the level of tuition.

As for the surcharge, regents Robert Downer, Bonnie Campbell, Rose Vasquez, Jack Evans, and David Miles voted in favor, while regents Ruth Harkin, Craig Lang, Michael Garter, and student member Greta Johnson voted against the surcharge. Downer says he decided to vote for the surcharge after talking with several people and one person in particular.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: , ,

Atlantic sees large number of applicants for administrator job

October 29, 2009 By

In what may be an indicator of the nation’s dire unemployment woes, more than six-dozen people have applied for a city administrator job in the southwest Iowa town of Atlantic. Jack Lipovac, the town’s human resources consultant, says he’s been surprised by the number of people who want the job and from how far away.

“We had 76 applicants,” Lipovac says. “Of those, 70 of them were men, there were six women, and kind of unusual, we had 71 from out-of-state and only five from in Iowa.” Lipovac says the Catch 22 is, because of the unsteady economy, many people are reluctant to move.

He says some applicants are concerned about the prospects of buying a house and for selling a home, as well as finding employment for their spouse. Several of the out-of-state applicants, according to Lipovac, are in transition and are looking for a job. The number of applicants he says, doesn’t necessarily reflect the “quality” of those applicants.

Lipovac suggests a panel be assembled to whittle down the number of applicants to five or six. He wants to start the interviews the week of November 9th and the process will include a tour of the town. Atlantic’s current city administrator, Ron Crisp, is retiring at the end of the year.

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

“Marker bandits” gain national attention

October 29, 2009 By
Joey Miller (top), Mathew McNelly

Joey Miller (top), Mathew McNelly

A couple of young men from western Iowa who recently ran into some trouble with the law are gaining national attention for their bizarre mug shots. Twenty-three-year-old Matthew McNelly and 20-year-old Joey Miller are accused of trying to break into an apartment in Carroll last Friday night.

The occupant of the apartment called police and reported the men fled in a vehicle. Carroll Police Chief Jeff Cayler says McNelly and Miller had used a permanent marker to blacken their faces.

“It’s a little weird,” Cayler said. “I’ve been here long enough that I’ve seen a lot of things, but this one’s a little different compared to most. I mean, just the face thing is what sets it apart. The guy saw them get out of the car, so it wasn’t like they were invisible.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

China will reopen markets to U.S. pork

October 29, 2009 By

China is agreeing to reopen its massive markets to U.S. pork products, a major boon for Iowa, the nation’s largest pork producer. U.S. Agriculture Secretary and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is in China and made the announcement this morning. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says the course reversal will mean a huge revenue boost for Iowa hog farmers.

“That is great news,” Harkin says. “It’s something that I’ve been pushing for a long time. I sent a letter earlier this year to the administration telling them to increase their pressure on China.” U.S. pork imports were cut off by China several months ago after the initial scare from H-1-N-1 flu, what some people called “swine flu,” though the influenza has no direct link to pork. Harkin says the World Trade Organization should’ve blasted China over its shaky claims.

“It really was a violation of WTO,” Harkin says. “There’s absolutely no scientific justification for what they did. So this is a big deal and it’s going to be very big for Iowa.” The U.S.D.A. says in 2008, China was the U.S. pork industry’s fastest-growing market, accounting for between 560-million and 700-million dollars in U.S. exports. Iowa pork producers supplied about one-third of those products to China, so the Chinese market reopening could mean more than $230-million in renewed business for Iowa producers. Harkin notes, as many as 16 nations had banned American pork at the start of the flu outbreak.

“There are some but I don’t know how many are left,” Harkin says. “Some of these are very small. China, of course, was the big problem and the big market. The rest of these don’t add up to as much as that.” In a news release, Secretary Vilsack says, “China’s intent to remove its H1N1-related ban on U.S. pork marks an important step forward in cooperation between the countries on agriculture issues.”

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