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State approves money to add jobs at Amana refrigerator plant

February 18, 2010 By

The Iowa Department of Economic Development Board today awarded a $6.5 million forgivable loan to the Whirlpool Corporation for a project at its Amana refrigerator plant in Amana. D.E.D. spokesperson Kay Snyder says the Michigan-based company plans to invest $20 million in the eastern Iowa plant and move some production jobs to Iowa from Indiana.

Snyder says employment at the Amana plant will increase by 60 jobs, while the investments in the facility will help retain 1600 jobs. Whirlpool officials say the Amana plant will begin producing ice-makers sometime this summer. The ice-making machines are capable of producing 50 pounds of ice a day.

The D.E.D. Board also approved much smaller awards to businesses located in Boone, Carlisle, Des Moines, Mason City, Sheldon, Sheffield and West Point. Snyder says those awards will help those small-to-medium size businesses introduce new products and expand markets. The awards range from roughly $22,000 up to $150,000.

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With:

Fake e-mail on the Census circulating

February 18, 2010 By

A fake e-mail is being forwarded around that appears to be from the Better Business Bureau, warning Iowans to take precautions with the approach of the U.S. Census. Chris Coleman, president of the Greater Iowa Better Business Bureau, says the e-mail is –not— from his organization and contains both legitimate advice and false claims. Coleman wants to set the record straight.

“In March of 2010, every resident will get a questionnaire with ten simple questions,” Coleman says. “If you fill that out and return it, no one will come visit you.” If you don’t mail the form back, you may be visited by a census worker, who will ask you the same questions that were on the form.

If you don’t fill out the form, Coleman says the Census will not try to e-mail you as nothing is being done over the Internet. He says an official Census worker may come to your door — he or she will have an I-D, a badge, a bag with a logo on it and will be using a hand-held electronic device.

Coleman says the census taker will provide you with supervisor contact information or the local Census office phone number for verification, if asked. He says you’ll only be asked the questions from the form, nothing else. “Even the Census workers will only ask ten simple questions: name, gender, race, ethnicity, relationships, whether you own or rent your house,” Coleman says.

“They will not ask for your Social Security number, bank account number or credit card number. They’ll never solicit donations and they will never tell you that you can pay off debt.” Coleman says the Census Bureau safeguards all census responses to the highest security standards available.

“There’s 1.4-million U.S. Census workers and they’re all obliged to keep this information confidential,” Coleman says. “Don’t be afraid to participate but be careful and verify when you receive something in the mail or when somebody knocks on your door.” Those door-to-door visits will run April through July.

Your answers are protected by law and are not shared with anyone. The census taker who collects your information is sworn for life to protect your data under federal law. Those who violate the oath face criminal penalties, a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both. About $85 million in taxpayer dollars are saved for every one-percent increase in mail response. For more information, visit “www.bbb.com” or “www.2010census.gov“.

Filed Under: Politics & Government

Rants ends his campaign for governor

February 18, 2010 By

Republican Chris Rants of Sioux City has ended his campaign for governor. “It’s time for me to pay more attention to my family and what their future is rather than just continuing to pursue a political future that, inevitably, isn’t going to turn out the way I want it to,” Rants said earlier this afternoon during a telephone interview with Radio Iowa.

When former Governor Terry Branstad entered the race, Rants said his own campaign funding “dried up.”  “But I thought this fall and this winter and up until recently that it was worth hanging in there because in the course of a campaign it’s supposed to be about ideas and issues, that there was an opportunity to try to help shape the public debate,” Rants said.

Rants put more than 54,000 miles on his vehicle traveling the state since he entered the race last June. In December, Rants appeared in six public debates around the state, each 90-minutes-long, featuring Rants and a former Des Moines school board member who has been mulling a bid for governor. 

“But I’ve come to realize in the last few months that the opportunity for a public debate on things like the size and scope of government, what our property tax situation is like, what’s happening in education — that there really isn’t going to be an opportunity to talk about that,” Rants said. 

Rants said he learned on the campaign trail that Iowans are ready to hear from a politician who will confront tough issues like school consolidation or even reducing the number of counties in Iowa.

“I talked with farmers, small business folks, people from rural Iowa. They all know what the future looks like. I mean, they’re scared of it and they’re waiting for somebody to tell them, ‘Here’s how we get from Point A to Point B in a way that doesn’t decimate rural Iowa,’ but politicians are always afraid to confront the future and the real difficult choices that we have in front of us and I learned you don’t have to be afraid to talk about that,” Rants said. “People want to talk about the future.”

Rants was first elected to the Iowa House in 1992 and he served as Speaker of the House from 2003 through November of 2006.  Rants said by ending his gubernatorial campaign, he’ll no longer miss the music recitals, gymnastics tournaments and other events his two daughters are participating in these days.

“It’s time for me to move on and do other things.  I’ve had 18 great years in the General Assembly,” Rants says. “I’ve always said this was up or out. I guess it just looks like it’s going to be out instead of up.” 

As for what’s next, Rants mulled the idea of starting a “think tank” last year but that didn’t “take off.”

“I’ve got a couple of different business ideas.  I’m going to go talk with somebody about one of them tomorrow, but I honestly don’t know what the future holds,” Rants says. “…I’m going to have more time to spend with the family.  That’s the only thing I know for sure and I’m O.K. with that.”

Read more on The Blog.

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

Soldier talks about “Don’t ask Don’t tell” policy at LGBT conference

February 18, 2010 By
Daniel Choi

Daniel Choi

An Army soldier at the forefront of the effort to change the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy gave the keynote speech today at the Governor’s Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenger (LGBT) Youth.

Lieutenant Dan Choi is a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran who first announced he was gay during an appearance on a cable TV show.

Choi, who is now in the New York National Guard, has been traveling the country since his revelation and talking about the policy.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Military, Politics & Government Tagged With:

Mandatory jail time for some first-time domestic abusers

February 18, 2010 By

The Iowa Legislature is moving to crack down on domestic abuse involving unmarried couples.

The Senate voted unanimously this week to classify assault that occurs in an intimate relationship as domestic abuse. Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames says a conviction would then require the batterer to spend 48 hours in jail and force them to go to a batterer’s treatment program. 

“This bill helps to curtail domestic abuse at the earliest stage and thereby may help prevent later suffering and tragedy,” Quirmbach says. “…I believe that violent behavior that arises within a relationship setting should be addressed as early as possible. We have to convey in early stages that such behavior is unacceptable and we must provide intervention to prevent from abusive situations from repeating and escalating. This bill is a significant step toward both these goals.”

Unlike other assault charges, domestic abuse penalties increase for repeat violations.  ”A domestic abuse assault conviction carries a mandatory two-day jail sentence. Second, penalties escalate for repeat domestic assaults and I think domestic situations are more likely to repeat than ordinary assaults. Third, a person convicted of an assault in a dating relationship would under this bill be required to participate in a batter’s treatment program in all cases,” Quirmbach says. “Currently treatment in such cases is left to the discretion of the court.”

State law already allows the courts to issue domestic abuse protective orders against a dating partner or a live-in partner who is not someone’s spouse.

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

Creighton economist says U.S. now a “bail-out” nation

February 18, 2010 By

This week marks one year since passage of the federal economic stimulus package. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss isn’t celebrating the anniversary, as he says the legislation helped to create a “bail-out” nation. 

“Now we’ve got California and New York saying well, it’s our time to step up, it’s our time for a bail-out,” Goss says. 

According to Goss, the bailout mentality has spread to individuals, as some people are waiting for the next “Cash for Clunkers” program before they buy a car. Officials claim the stimulus package put two million people to work. Goss disputes that number yet agrees more people are working, but at a cost. 

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business

Flood insurance changes in Cedar Rapids

February 18, 2010 By

Flood insurance rates may soon change for nearly 2000 property owners in Cedar Rapids, as updated flood plain maps will go into effect in April.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says about half of the properties will be reclassified at a higher risk for flooding while the other half will be in a lower risk category. City civil engineer Sandy Pumphrey says a lot of research went into the new flood plain maps. 

“What has happened with the modification of the maps, better survey equipment and technology equipment is in use so they can better predict what a hundred-year event would look like,” Pumphrey says.

The revisions to Linn County’s flood plain maps began in 2003, well before the historic flooding of 2008 that caused heavy damage in Cedar Rapids — and in many other Iowa communities. FEMA officials say most flood plain maps in Iowa will stay the same. Pumphrey says property owners in Cedar Rapids could save money if they buy flood insurance now. 

“If people are going into a higher-risk zone as a result of the map modifications, FEMA will look at those cases and possibly grandfather their rates,” Pumphrey says.

 Those in the flood plain who receive loans from federally-insured lending institutions will be required to buy flood insurance. The average cost of the insurance nationwide is $540 a year.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Human Interest, Weather Tagged With:
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