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Accident prompts detour on westbound Highway 30, in Ames area

November 25, 2009 By

A head-on collision on Highway 30 in the Ames area has prompted a shut-down of the westbound lanes.

Authorities are diverting traffic off Highway 30 at the University Street exit that takes drivers toward the Cyclone stadium. The detour winds through Ames and drivers reenter Highway 30 on the west side of Ames, at the South Dakota Street exchange.  Commander Mike Brennan of the Ames Police Department says authorities are not sure how long this detour may last. 

Eastbound traffic on Highway 30 through the Ames area is still moving.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With: ,

More information released on fatal accident in Pottawattamie County

November 25, 2009 By

More information is being released about a fatal car-pedestrian accident that happened last night in southwest Iowa. According to Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker, the accident happened at around 9:30 P.M. on the south side of Oakland. Danker says 19-year-old Molly Hummel, of Oakland, was driving a Buick LeSabre northbound on Highway 59, when she noticed a man running alongside the road, headed southbound.

The woman told authorities the man appeared to be having difficulty running, and may have been staggering. When her vehicle approached him, the man veered onto the road and fell in front of the car, which then ran over him. The accident victim died before he could be transported by helicopter to the hospital.

The man did not have any identification on him other than a name on a piece of paper. Authorities are working to identify the man, who was scheduled to undergo an autopsy today at the State Medical Examiner’s lab in Ankeny. Danker says the driver of the car will not face charges in connection with the incident.

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Rubashkin appeals asking to be released prior to sentencing

November 25, 2009 By

A judge is now considering an appeal from convicted former Agriprocessors executive Sholom Rubashkin to be released from jail prior to his sentencing. Rubashkin, who was found guilty of 86 federal bank fraud charges earlier this month, faces 1,000 years in prison.

Seventy-two immigration charges were dismissed to save the expense of another trial next month. Rubashkin’s attorney initially requested that his client be released from jail while he awaits sentencing next month. Judge Linda Reade denied the request last week, saying Rubashkin is a flight risk.

Rubashkin has now filed an appeal asking the judge to reconsider, noting the conditions of release could include a curfew, home detention, an ankle monitoring bracelet and bail. The motion also claimes Rubashkin does not have a diver’s license or passport, and has surrendered his birth certificate.

Meanwhile, some Postville residents are showing support for Rubashkin by displaying yard signs. However, some local veterans are questioning the use of the American flag on the signs. And others are claiming the signs are inappropriate, saying the victims in the case are the former workers at the Agriprocessors plant.

Contributed by Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Crime & Courts

A third GOP candidate emerges in third congressional district

November 25, 2009 By

A Republican state senator from the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale plans to run for the third district congressional seat currently held by Democrat Leonard Boswell.  Brad Zaun has filed the paperwork necessary to begin raising money for his race and will formally announce his candidacy on Monday.

“I just don’t believe that Leonard Boswell listens or acts where the people he represents,” Zaun says. “And I just think that it’s been very frustrating for me and I just can’t stay silent anymore and it’s time for me to stand up and I think that I’m frustrated with most of the elected officials in Washington, D.C. because they don’t listen.” 

Two other Republicans have announced they, too, will run for the seat.  That sets up a three-way primary in June with Zaun, retired pilot Dave Funk of Runnells and former I.S.U. wrestling coach Jim Gibbons competing for the Republican nomination and the chance to challenge Boswell next November.

“I believe with my background of owning a hardware store for several years, as a small businessman, as a council member, as a mayor, as a state senator — I have the best chance of beating Leonard Boswell,” Zaun says.  “And my focus is Leonard Boswell, not the other good people who are in this race already.” 

Zaun says Boswell’s vote for health care reform will be a key campaign issue because Des Moines is a major hub for the insurance industry.

“I don’t know how a congressman who represents the second-largest insurance capitol of the United States could vote which would ultimately, if this is passed, displace thousands of his constituents,” Zaun says. “And they’d be out of work.” 

Boswell was first elected to congress in 1996 and Boswell has indicated he plans to seek an eighth term in 2010.  Boswell was not among the congressional Democrats targeted, nationally, by the G-O-P in 2008, but Zaun says he’s been assured the National Republican Congressional Committee will invest money to defeat Boswell in 2010.

“They’ve told me that this is going to be a priority and this seat is going to be one of the top targeted seats,” Zaun says.

Zaun, who currently works for a commercial real estate company, was elected to a four-year term in the state senate in 2008, which means he does not have to give up his state senate seat to run for congress.  Zaun says Washington is “a mess” and this is a good time to run for congress.  

“Based on the ‘tea parties’ and the town hall meetings, everyone as a citizen is very frustrated about what is going on in Washington, D.C.,” Zaun says.  “I think that of any time to run against an incumbent, this would probably be the most ideal time.”

Another Republican has said he is considering running for Iowa’s third district congressional seat, too.  Mike Mahaffey, an attorney from Monticello, is a former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa who ran against Boswell in 1996 in a race that is the closest any Republican has come to defeating Boswell.  Boswell won that contest 49 to 48 percent.  Former Iowa Congressman Greg Ganske, a Republican from Des Moines, did not seek reelection in 1996, as he ran for the U.S. Senate instead.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Appeals Court overturns Washington County child endangerment sentencing

November 25, 2009 By

The Iowa Court of Appeals has reversed a decision that sentenced a man for both child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter in the death of his daughter. Jarod York was found guilty in Washington County of both crimes in the death of his six-month old daughter Riley. Court records showed the girl was shaken violently and suffered brain injuries that led to her death.

York was sentenced for both the convictions, but appealed saying the sentence for the two crimes should be merged because the more severe involuntary manslaughter could not have happened without the lesser crime of child endangerment. The Iowa Court of Appeals agreed with York and reversed the district court ruling. The appeals court cited the August 2006 Iowa Supreme Court ruling in the Rodney Heemstra murder case, which changed the practice of sentencing someone for both crimes.

The appeals court says under the principle of the Heemstra case, the court cannot impose consecutive sentences for two crimes when the lesser crime leads to the more severe crime. The ruling says common sense and fairness dictates that the two offenses merge and they cannot presume that the legislature intended cumulative punishments. The appeals court sent the case back to the district court for resentencing.

See the complete ruling here: York ruling PDF

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Weather could cause delays in holiday travel

November 25, 2009 By

Winter weather is expected to make an appearance over much of Iowa today, on what’s predicted to be one of the busiest travel days of the year. Chris Hills is a former air traffic controller who now does analysis for an on-line travel agency. Hills says Iowans who are flying today may run into slow-downs, down the line.

“You guys do have flurries and snow forecast for you, however, flights are getting in and out of the airports on time,” Hills says. “If they are traveling to one of the busier hubs that’s expecting bad weather, like Chicago O’Hare, that’s when passengers could start seeing delays.” While the roads may look fine in Davenport, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Omaha, Hills says you need to check on all of your flight connections.

“We’re expecting 60 to 75-minute delays into O’Hare later on this afternoon,” Hills says. “If you’re traveling to the East Coast, we have low clouds and rain showers from New York all the way down into Washington D.C. and there are delays because of this weather.” For Iowans who haven’t flown in a year or two, Hills says they need to bring along extra cash to pay the baggage fees, usually around 25-dollars per bag, each way.

“Almost all airlines are charging for checked bags, but if want to avoid those fees, pack a carry-on,” Hills says. “If you want to avoid extra fees, if you do have to check bags, make sure you pack light because there are weight limits and if you go over those weight limits, the airlines are going to hit you with another fee.” While many Iowans will be enjoying Thanksgiving meals with their far-away families, Hills says if they want to take a taste of that feast home with them, they’ll have to follow the rules.

“One thing people don’t really think about, but it’s important around this time of year is, when you’re traveling back home and you’re bringing leftovers, a lot of those leftovers fall under the 3-1-1 rule, things like gravy and cranberry sauce,” Hills says. “If you are going to bring that home, you’ll have to check that or else try and get that into a three-ounce container.”

That 3-1-1 rule says that all liquids and gels need to be in three-ounce containers, with all the containers in a clear one-quart plastic bag, and only one bag is allowed per passenger. For more information, visit the Transportation Security Administration website at: “www.tsa.gov“.

Filed Under: Weather Tagged With:

Elevated air pollution detected over eastern Iowa

November 25, 2009 By

On Monday, state-owned monitoring equipment detected “elevated” pollution levels in the air over the eastern half of the state.  Sean Fitzsimmons of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says a “hurricane-like” low pressure system sort of sucked in polluted air from urban areas east of Iowa. 

“The area to our east, in the Chicago area, and the area to the southeast, toward the Ohio River Valley, is the most highly-polluted area in the nation and this low pressure system set up some winds that pulled those higher pollutant levels into the state,” he says. 

Department of Natural Resources monitoring sites in Clinton, Davenport, Muscatine, Iowa City and Waterloo recorded air pollution levels on Monday that exceeded federal standards.

“They were levels that folks like asthmatics, the elderly, people with respiratory and heart problems — they are levels that could cause those people issues if they were out doing a lot of physical exertion that increased their respiration rates,” Fitzsimmons says. 

January was the last time pollution levels that surpassed federal standards were reported over a broad area of the state.  According to Fitzsimmons, there’s a complicating factor in Iowa that causes air pollution in the winter.

“Here in Iowa there’s a bunch of extra ammonia because of hog lots and also other natural processes that can produce ammonia, and in the wintertime that ammonia can go into ammonium nitrate particles or at least when it gets colder — as it has been in these nights these days — you can get higher levels of ammonium nitrate in Iowa that you don’t see almost anywhere else because you have the extra ammonia,” Fitzsimmons says.  “And we saw really high values at nighttime during this period.” 

A storm system moved into the state yesterday and Fitzsimmons says it brought in “clean air” that swept the polluted air out of eastern Iowa by Tuesday night.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With:
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