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Legislator wants to edit description of official state seal

January 13, 2010 By
Iowa Seal

The Great Seal of the State of Iowa

A northeast Iowa lawmaker says it’s time to correct an embarrassing phrase that’s been in Iowa law since 1847.  Representative Ray Zirkelbach wants to change the legal description of “The Great Seal of the State of Iowa.” 

 In the middle of the official state seal is a soldier, holding an American flag with a gun at his side.  It’s the plow that’s behind the soldier in the picture that is the issue.  The legal description of the seal mentions the soldier and that there is a  “plow in his rear.”

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Filed Under: Human Interest, Military, Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

AMBER Alert hoaxes outnumber actual alerts

January 13, 2010 By

Law enforcement officers in Iowa issued more messages about hoax AMBER Alerts last year than actual AMBER Alerts. Iowa Department of Public Safety spokesperson Jessica Lown says most of the hoax alerts are spread by email or text messages.

“The biggest thing that we want to communicate to Iowans is to remember, that if they ever get one of these messages, they need to consider whether or not if it’s coming from a credible source,” Lown said. “As far as we’re concerned, a credible source is through your local media or through law enforcement.”

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Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Congressman Braley says his legislation will improve airline security

January 13, 2010 By

Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, says he is introducing legislation designed to improve airport security in the wake of the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt. He says the bill would require the secretary of the Homeland Security Department to report to congress on the use of explosives detection technologies that includes full body imaging technology, explosive trace detection technologies and canine explosive detection teams.

Braley says the report would also include a look at the effectiveness and privacy concerns of the technologies for their use in aviation security. Braley says he would also like a report on swabs used to detect explosives and whether they could be used on people.

Braley says the technology is widely available for checking carry-on baggage, but he has not seen any studies on whether it could be used to swab passengers on a shirtsleeve or hand to look for explosives.

His bill would also require a team that uses dogs to detect explosives at every commercial airport. Braley says he has no preconceived ideas about the types of technologies that would be effective, and wants the Homeland Security Department to make recommendations. He says there are various types of technologies being used and they want to know the most effective technologies to protect air passengers.

Braley was asked about the failure of the intelligence agencies to use available information to keep the so-called underwear bomber from getting on a plane in the first place. He says intelligence sharing or “interoperability” has improved dramatically since 9-11, but he says there was also a problem with sharing intelligence with other countries.

Braley says the whole issue of interoperability is not just one between U.S. intelligence agencies, but how the information is shared with allies around the world in the war against terror.

“So I think that we continue to learn and improve the system, but from this incident, we know we still have a lot of work left to do,” Braley says. Braley says it would take some time for the legislation he is proposing to move forward as congress first has to have hearings to review what happened in the Christmas Day bombing attempt.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Man who escaped in Council Bluffs, caught in Omaha

January 13, 2010 By

A phone call brought an end to a manhunt for a man wanted on weapons and assault charges. Twenty-four-year-old Marvin Baker was caught hiding in an apartment near 22nd and D Streets in Omaha shortly after 8:30 Tuesday night.

U.S. Marshal’s deputies had set up a perimeter that spanned several blocks for over two hours. There was a brief struggle before Baker and his brother were cuffed and led away. Earlier in the day, Omaha police spotted Baker and another man inside a vehicle near a south Omaha park and attempted to stop the car.

The driver took off. The car was later located several blocks away. Authorities went door to door and a canine unit was called in for assistance. Baker was able to elude authorities Monday night in Council Bluffs. Baker was wanted on federal warrants for supervised release violations and he is also suspected of beating a woman in Omaha.

By Karla James

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Race to quality for “Race to the Top” funds

January 13, 2010 By

Debate is scheduled for late this afternoon in the Iowa Senate on a bill that would help Iowa qualify for millions of dollars in federal education funds.  

The federal government’s new “Race to the Top” initiative provides federal grants to states and to schools that try new programs. Governor Chet Culver is urging legislators to take quick action on the bill which supporters say will ensure Iowa’s rules are in line with the federal “Race to the Top” standards.

“Iowa stands to receive up to $175 million.  This will allow us be more innovative in the classroom, build the education infrastructure our students need, turn around underperforming schools and allow more parental choice,” Culver said during his “Condition of the State” message.  “Let’s make sure Iowa doesn’t miss out on this great opportunity for our students.  Let’s make sure Iowa remains on the cutting edge in education reform.”

One of the provisions in the bill that’s set for debate lifts the limit on the number of so-called “charter schools” which are allowed in the state — schools which can ignore some state regulations in order to try new ways of teaching.  But Iowa’s law doesn’t let private companies run charter schools and Republicans like Representative Mike May of Spirit Lake are trying to tack that proposal onto the package.

“Frankly, if the public schools are not been performing well, we ought to give the innovators an opportunity,” May says. 

Democrats aren’t likely to agree to let private companies run charter schools, however. The bill must be on the the governor’s desk by the end of the week to meet a federal deadline.  The bill has cleared committees in both the House and Senate.  The full, 50-member Senate is scheduled to start debating the bill at 4:30 this afternoon.  The bill’s on a fast track in the House, too. 

Iowa schools face a January 19th deadline to submit applications for the federal grants.

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

Court fee increases likely

January 13, 2010 By

A key legislator says another round of court fee increases are likely given the state’s budget situation.  Iowa Supreme Court Justice Marsha Ternus delivered a dire message in her annual address to legislators today, saying the court system’s budget has already been pared so much that justice is being “rationed” in Iowa.  Ternus and other court system administrators are preparing a list for legislators.

“The kinds of fees that we’re looking at would be fees that would be imposed when someone wants the court to take some particular action,” she says.  “Whether it’s the request for an order or it’s the filing of a case or it’s a notice that we send out — imposing a fee for those kind of things.” 

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Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Warming causes ice concerns on Missouri River

January 13, 2010 By

This week’s forecast for slightly warmer weather has officials on high alert for potential ice jams and flooding along the Missouri River in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. Due to the extreme cold the last several weeks, much of the waterway is frozen up-river, all the way to within a few miles of Gavins Point Dam, near Yankton, South Dakota. Paul Johnston, spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, says ice cover is much more prevalent this year.

“Most of the ice in the Bismarck, North Dakota, area and the rest of the river, from about Sioux City and Omaha all the way down to Jefferson City, Missouri, is 50 to 75% covered with floating ice,” Johnston says. “It’s been a pretty tough time.” He says the ice cover has not caused any problems on the Missouri River, not yet, at least.

“When the river freezes, the water will move very efficiently under the ice,” Johnston says. “It’s the transition times when you’re either forming ice or the ice is breaking up that can be an issue. We’re going to have to keep a very sharp eye over conditions over the latter part of this week.”

Temperatures across much of the region are expected to top out in the 30s and 40s, the warmest it’s been in some areas since early December. Johnston says there’s growing concern about possible spring flooding on the river as they’re monitoring the snow pack conditions across the region.

“The mountain snowpack is running about 85% of normal for this time of the year but the snowpack on the plains, obviously, is well above normal for this time of the year,” Johnston says. “We are paying close attention to that and have already opened conversations with some of the state emergency management folks.” The snowpack in parts of northwest Iowa is still as deep as 36 inches. He notes, reservoirs on the Missouri River are at or above their normal levels for this time of year.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

Filed Under: Weather
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