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Quimby elects all leaders via write in votes

November 4, 2009 By

The northwest Iowa town of Quimby had the unusual distinction of holding a city election with no candidate names on the ballot. Tim Preuss has been Quimby’s mayor for the past four years, but he didn’t collect petition signatures to place his name on Tuesday’s ballot for reelection.

The townsfolk reelected him to another term anyway. Of the 69 people who voted in Quimby, 57 of them wrote his name in for mayor. That’s over 82% of the vote. The town of Quimby had 368 residents when the last Census was taken in 2000. No one from the town stepped forward to run for three seats on the city council, either.

Voters wrote in lots of names — 10 people got more than four votes each. The top three vote-getters were elected to Quimby’s city council, one of whom had been appointed to the city council to serve out the term of someone who had resigned.

Filed Under: Politics & Government

U-I researcher says Iowa’s economy improving

November 4, 2009 By

The Director of the University of Iowa’s Institute for Economic Research says there’s evidence the state’s economy is improving. Charles Whiteman says that the evidence isn’t overwhelming — but it is positive He says the average weekly hours in manufacturing turned up, housing starts turned up, the purchasing managers’ index in September was up, and their income forecasts call for a turn in the fourth quarter of the year.

Whiteman says all those things add up to good news. Whiteman says they are beginning to see evidence in various areas that “the end is in sight.” Whiteman expects depressed state tax revenues to begin rising early next year as personal income increases.

However, Whiteman is predicting Iowa’s unemployment rate will hold steady until late next year as employers extend work hours for their workforce rather than immediately hiring new workers.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

Football Friday Night quarterfinals set for November 6, 2009

November 4, 2009 By
Scott Pierce and Dar Danielson in the INS Football Friday studio.

Scott Pierce and Dar Danielson in the INS Football Friday Night studio.

Radio Iowa  provides complete coverage of the quarterfinals of the state football playoffs Friday night.  Lisen to the INS Football Friday night show live with Dar Danielson and Scott Pierce.

They will have all the scores, plus play-by-play highlights and game reports from affiliates across the state.  You can see the matchups below and the final scores after the games.  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Football Friday Night, Sports Tagged With:

Former state lawmaker wins Cedar Rapids mayor race

November 4, 2009 By

A former state lawmaker will become the mayor of Cedar Rapids, as the city strives to recover from last year’s devastating flood. Ron Corbett overwhelmingly defeated his main challenger, city council member Brian Fagan on Tuesday. Mayor Kay Halloran did not seek re-election. Corbett says this election proves Cedar Rapids residents are dissatisfied with how city government responded to the flood.

“It’s been 17 months, still no buyouts,” Corbett says. “Very little of the local option sales tax is getting into the pockets to help the flood victims, so a lot of frustration.” Corbett got about 62-percent of the vote, which he says reflects that Cedar Rapids residents have had it with what he calls a “culture of delay.”

“This is about people, not about process,” Corbett says. “I put together a flood assistance plan that includes getting the local option sales tax out to the flood victims and starting these buyouts and holding the city government accountable for the buyouts. I’d like to start seeing a weekly buyout report so people can turn the page and get on with their lives.”

Corbett, a Republican, says the election was widely seen as a referendum on the city’s response to last year’s disaster. He says the city council needs to assert a greater leadership role, adding, the city manager has too much power. “We have some daunting tasks in this community to tackle but I’m up to the challenge,” he says. “I hope over the next four years, I make people proud.”

Corbett represented Cedar Rapids in the Iowa House for 13 years, serving five of them as Speaker. He resigned from the legislature in 1999 to become president and C.E.O. of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. He’s currently a vice-president at a Cedar Rapids trucking company.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Leaves vacuumed away in Cedar Rapids

November 4, 2009 By
Cedar Rapids leaf collection truck.

Cedar Rapids leaf collection truck.

An official in Cedar Rapids is predicting other cities in the state will be following his city’s lead when it comes to leaf collection. Mark Jones is the Superintendent of the Cedar Rapids Solid Waste and Recycling Department.

“I suspect that we might be a trendsetter,” Jones said. Cedar Rapids is the only city in Iowa that uses vacuum trucks to suck up tons of leaves left by residents in their driveways or in their yards near the edge of the road.

The city spent $1.3 million this year to purchase 10 trucks that are equipped a vacuum arm manipulated by the driver via a joystick. Jones says the vacuum trucks are much more cost effective than the city’s previous method of leaf collection which involved front-end loaders, street sweepers, water trucks and dump trucks.

“So, if you think of a vacuum truck with a single operator that can haul in nine loads in a day versus all of those other pieces of equipment to get nine loads, there’s definitely going to be savings,” Jones said. The vacuum truck method is also considered safer because the leaves are no longer raked into the street. Cedar Rapids city officials agreed to purchase the trucks after visiting the equipment manufacturing site and a couple of communities in Wisconsin that utilize the trucks.

“We did a lot of leg work over about a two year period and settled on the leaf vacuum trucks,” Jones said. “I must admit myself – and I’ve had numerous compliments from other city staff and citizens alike – that it seems to be a great service we’re providing.” The vacuum trucks visit every Cedar Rapids home once a week. They’ve been running a bit behind schedule at times because heavy rains have been knocking more leaves than usual to the ground. Jones says damp leaves are actually easier to pick up and pack than dry leaves.

“The trucks, on a very dry day, may get anywhere from one-and-a-quarter to two-and-a-quarter tons (of leaves). On a wet day, we can have some load that are up to eight or nine tons per load,” Jones said. The new vacuum trucks are in their fifth week of service in Cedar Rapids. So far, they’ve collected over 2,000 tons of leaves that are delivered to a compost site in Linn County. Cedar Rapids’ loose leaf collection service is scheduled to run through December 11.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Politics & Government

Film festival to discuss problems surrounding tax credit

November 4, 2009 By

The annual film festival being held in central Iowa this weekend is kicking off with a “state of the industry” meeting Thursday, given the turmoil that’s erupted in recent weeks with Iowa’s film industry. Due to problems in the film office, Governor Culver suspended the film tax credit program, which has sparked breach of contract lawsuits from filmmakers.

Kim Busbee, director of the Wild Rose Independent Film Fest, says it’s not just moviemakers who are suffering. Busbee says, “It affects everybody in the state and now, with these lawsuits pending because we have reneged on some contracts and broken our word as Iowans, we’ve really got to get it turned around quickly.”

This week, a Des Moines-based film company filed suit against the Iowa Department of Economic Development, seeking six-and-a-half million dollars. Iowa Eye Entertainment claims the governor’s actions have forced its 20-million dollar movie production to grind to a complete halt. Busbee says blockbuster films like “Field of Dreams” and “Bridges of Madison County” will never be made in Iowa again unless the state rebuilds the bridges that’ve been burned.

“We’re not keeping our word with contracts and that’s big,” Busbee says. “We could lose some of our credit rating as a state. We could have problems with bonding now. It’s affecting all business in Iowa and we’re not keeping our word, which is an ethical dilemma. Even Iowans have been turned away and sent to Michigan to shoot their projects now, and they’re ones that have contracts signed with the state of Iowa.”

The Iowa Motion Picture Association is backing the film fest and Busbee says filmmakers, actors, film crews and anyone interested in the process should attend the State of the Industry meeting at 5 PM Thursday at the State Historical Building in Des Moines. “With the IMPA as one of our sponsors, we’re also making video testimonials for the film industry for reinstating the tax incentives with an oversight committee and some guidelines,” Busbee says. “We’re going to send it around to the world, to YouTube, to the governor, to anybody that can take a look at it.”

The film festival runs through Sunday at the Historical Building, with screenings of 36 films — both from Iowans and from around the globe. They’ll include shorts, documentaries, feature films, animation and more. For more information, visit: “www.ariesworks.com“.

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:
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