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U.S. Attorney General, Ag Secretary hold forum in Ankeny

March 12, 2010 By

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is in Ankeny today along with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for a discussion of competition and regulation in agriculture. Holder opened the discussion today on the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) campus by calling the meeting a “milestone”

Holder says he doesn’t use the word milestone lightly, but he says it’s been 100 years since the Sherman Antitrust Act became law and nearly 90 years since the Pakers and Stockyard Act entered the books. He says in that time the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture have never come together to discuss competition in the ag industry.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Crime & Courts, Politics & Government

Rain and snow make some gravel roads impassable

March 12, 2010 By

The rain and melting snow have turned many of Iowa’s rural roads into a muddy mess. Some secondary roads in western Iowa are impassable. Carroll County Engineer Dave Paulson, who’s in charge of maintaining around 800 miles of gravel roads, says the main problem in his county is with potholes.

“In other places we have some ruts beginning to form. Maybe they were caused by heavier vehicles breaking through what crust there is yet,” Paulson said. “The frost seems to be in the middle of the road and that seems to be saving us right now from the roads rutting.” Shelby County Road Foreman Mike Kienast says there’s not much road crews can do to fix the gravel roads until it stops raining.

“If it keeps staying like this, you tear up roads just to get to a bad spot and then you have more roadway to repair. So, we’re kind of on hold right now,” Kienast said. There are more than 66,000 miles of gravel roads in Iowa. Richard Hansen helps maintain 650 miles of gravel surfaces as the assistant engineer in Cass County. He says there are a few spots that are too muddy for some vehicles.

“We have one or two areas where you definitely need a four-wheel drive vehicle to get through things,” Hansen said. “It’s just muddy and the more traffic that’s out there…it’s just getting worse until we get some sunshine.” Hansen says a little sun and wind will dry the mud and allow crews to blade the road and lay down some new gravel. He says farmers can help out by waiting for drier weather to haul heavy loads of grain or livestock.

Filed Under: Politics & Government, Weather Tagged With:

Cedar Rapids will ask Congress for flood protection money

March 12, 2010 By

Cedar Rapids city leaders say they’ll request Congress fully-fund permanent flood protection regardless of whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommends it. Initial results show the Corps will not back the city’s preferred flood protection plan, which is a series of walls and levees to protect against the level of the historic June 2008 flood. Ron Fournier  is a spokesman for the Corps’ Rock Island district.

“We have not fully developed all the alternatives or the economics of those alternatives,” Fournier says. “We hope to have those available late June or early July when we will have a public meeting here in the city to discuss those findings.” Congress can approve building flood protection without the Corps’ recommendation. Cedar Rapids City Manager Jim Prosser says the community will ask for complete funding regardless of the study’s outcome.

Prosser says, “It might be that the Corps’ project would just provide approval or support for a portion but it is our intention to seek funding for the full plan.” The Corps is completing its study in a shorter timeframe than usual because Congress might consider special legislation to fund flood protection projects throughout the country this year.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Politics & Government

Davenport man in critical condition after beating

March 12, 2010 By

Police say a Davenport man was severely beaten, dumped in a ditch and left for dead. Twenty-year-old Anthony McFarland was discovered Thursday morning in a rural ditch in southwest Davenport. He’s in critical condition in Iowa City. He’s unable to talk; cops used his tattoos to identify him.

Detectives are interviewing people who know McFarland. They also searched a north Davenport house and removed some items, including carpet and furniture. Cops say there was an early morning gathering there that’s related to the case.

By Phil Roberts, Davenport

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Trees coming down for project in Council Bluffs

March 12, 2010 By

The snow is gone and contractors in Council Bluffs are busy clearing space for what city leaders hope will become one of the community’s crowning jewels. Larry Foster, director of Council Bluffs Parks and Recreation, says chainsaw crews have been buzzing all week.

Foster says the crews have been removing trees to create what will become the Great Lawn and the roadway that will provide access to the new Riverfront Park. The park is being constructed at the foot of a towering footbridge that rises over the Missouri River, linking Council Bluffs with Omaha. The 22-million dollar pedestrian bridge opened in the fall of 2008. Foster says the park is beginning to take shape.

“All of the trees that need to be removed are on the ground,” Foster says. “Some of them have been removed from the site. Others will have to be chipped and removed. Now, people from Omaha can look across and get a feel for what this massive park space is going to look like.” Soon enough, he says the park will host many outdoor activities.

The Great Lawn will be a place for people to come together for festivals and celebrations, education space and concerts.

By Karla James

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Ottumwa State Patrol post will close

March 12, 2010 By

The Iowa Department of Public Safety is announcing plans to shut down another district office to save money. Spokesperson Courtney Greene says the district headquarters in Ottumwa will close in mid-April.

“It will save roughly $25,000 in facility costs and an additional $100,000 a year by not filling vacant positions,” Greene told Radio Iowa. “The good thing is it will not affect the number of troopers patrolling Iowa’s highways.” This is the second district office the Iowa State Patrol is consolidating. The office in Cherokee will close next Friday.

That decision was announced December 18. Greene says the timing was right to close the headquarters in Ottumwa because the office secretary is retiring and the lieutenant there can fill a vacant position at the district office in Osceola. In addition, the building in Ottumwa is in need of repair.

“The organization really had outgrown that location and a bypass was built around it so now it’s on a dead end road making it difficult for the public to get there. So, there were a number of reasons,” Greene said. Troopers who currently report to the office in Ottumwa will continue to patrol their assigned counties, but their home office will move to Osceola or Mount Pleasant.

Greene says the headquarters in Osceola will absorb Marion, Monroe and Appanoose counties while the Mount Pleasant office will begin serving Keokuk, Mahaska, Wapello and Davis counties. Once the headquarters are closed in Cherokee and Ottumwa, Iowa’s remaining State Patrol offices will be located in Des Moines, Spencer, Denison, Council Bluffs, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Osceola, Oelwein, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Stockton and Mount Pleasant.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Two die in accident near Davenport

March 12, 2010 By

An accident just north of Davenport last night claimed two lives. The Iowa State Patrol says it happened about midnight Thursday on westbound Interstate 80 at mile marker 303 near LeClaire.

A man and woman were walking away from their vehicle, which was stuck in the median. They were struck and killed by a car driven by 55-year-old Tong Le of Davenport. He wasn’t hurt. The victims’ names have not been released pending notification of relatives. The accident remains under investigation.

By Phil Roberts, Davenport

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters
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