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Lyon County, Ottumwa make their argument for a gambling license

March 23, 2010 By
Lyon County casino supporters.

Lyon County casino supporters.

Supporters of a new casino in Lyon County wore green t-shirts with slogans on them at Tuesday’s meeting of the Racing and Gaming Commission.

Sharon Haselhoff  spoke for Kehl Management, which put together the plan for a $120-million casino project, which she says will be modeled after the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort that the company also owns.

Haselhoff says their plan makes the most sense because it will draw 81% of its revenue from out-of-state customers, most notably Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

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

No reading, writing, sending texts while driving

March 23, 2010 By

It will soon be illegal to read, compose or send electronic text messages while you’re driving on an Iowa road.  The Iowa House and Senate both endorsed the ban on “texting” while driving this afternoon. Governor Culver has said he’ll sign the bill into law. 

The bill is even tougher on teen drivers, as those under the age of 18 will be barred from using any handheld electronic device while they’re behind the wheel, so it would be illegal for a teenager to talk on their cell phone while they’re driving.  Representative Curt Hanson of Fairfield is a retired driver’s ed teacher who was part of the team of House and Senate members who came up with the final version of the bill.

“This is a good bill and it took a great deal of work from both chambers to make it something that all Iowans can be proud of,” Hanson said.

Representative David Tjepkes of Gowrie, a retired state trooper, urged a “yes” vote on the bill. ”Move this very worthwhile public safety effort forward,” Tjepkes said. 

The bill would still let people in an ambulance, as well as truckers, read digital dispatches while they’re driving.  Representative Greg Forristall of Macedonia found that troubling. ”What would be the difference in the kinetic energy possessed by someone driving, say, a Mini Cooper at 70 miles an hour and someone driving a 96,000 pound truck at 70 miles an hour?” Forristall asked.  “…This really isn’t about safety if you’re going to allow a huge truck weighing 96,000 pounds and allow that operator to be reading a text.” 

Representative Scott Raecker of Urbandale suggested it would be difficult for police to know whether a driver involved in an accident was punching in a phone number to make a call or send a text.  “An unenforceable law and a law that does not show a distinction between the same functional activities is a bad law,” Raecker said.

Hanson, the retired driver’s ed teacher, called the bill a good compromise. ”I think it promotes safety in Iowa,” Hanson said. 

And Tjepkes, the retired state trooper, had the final word during House debate. ”We have a great opportunity to make a step forward in addressing the issue of distracted drivers,” Tjepkes said.  “We can go on all day long about ‘What if this?’ and ‘What if that?’ but we have to make that first step. We have to move forward.” 

The compromise passed the House on a 66 to 33 vote and later the Senate endorsed it on a 37 to 12 vote.  The bill goes into effect on July 1, 2010 and for the first year, police and state troopers would only issue warnings for disobeying the ban on texting while driving.  After July 1, 2011, a general ticket for illegal texting would be $30, but texters who’re involved in accidents would face much higher fines and would lose their driving privileges for months.

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

Court rules against Connecticut company’s buying club memberships

March 23, 2010 By

A Polk County District Court judge has ruled a Connecticut company used deceptive and unfair practices to defraud nearly 500,000 Iowans out of $36 million. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller calls it one of the biggest consumer protection cases ever won by his office. Miller says Vertrue, Incorporated marketed “buying club” memberships at a cost of around $10 to $20 a month.

Miller says most consumers didn’t realize they were members and were being charged through their credit card or bank accounts. Mary Grefe of Des Moines was a victim and testified during the trial. The 87-year-old former teacher and school board member signed up for what she thought was a free credit report offer online, but then noticed a charge on her credit card for $9.99 to Privacy Matters.

 ”I inquired what this was and they said it was related to my credit report,” Grefe said. “I ordered a credit report and thought it was free, but maybe I was mistaken so I paid the $9.99.” Grefe believed that would be the end of the matter, but the charges kept coming. “I continued to get bills and they increased to $29 on three credit cards,” Grefe said. “I kept refusing to pay, so they kept saying your credit report is getting worse.”

Miller says Vertrue’s buying club memberships were sold to Iowans through telemarketing, direct mail and the internet over nearly two decades. In most cases, consumers had called their credit card company or ordered a product advertised on T.V. and then agreed to a “risk-free membership” of some kind. If the consumer failed to cancel the membership at the end of the trial period, their credit card was charged.

“If you see anything for free on your computer, believe me, it is not free,” Grefe said at a news conference at the Attorney General’s office. “It’s just a way for them to get ahold of your credit cards.” Miller said his office will seek full restitution of the $36 million and pursue civil penalties against Vertrue and its subsidiary companies.

Filed Under: Business, Crime & Courts

Lawmaker says Wellmark proposal could get forgotten

March 23, 2010 By

A key lawmaker says her proposal to address concerns raised by Wellmark’s recent insurance premium hikes is in danger of dropping off the radar screen in the closing days of the 2010 legislative session. Representative Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says legislative leaders tell her the proposal’s $450,000 price tag is the stumbling block. “We need the public to get behind it to push it over the finish line,” she says.

AARP held a news conference at the statehouse Tuesday to urge legislators to pass Petersen’s proposal. It would require more public disclosure from insurance companies seeking rate increases and consumers would be given more advance notice of premium hikes. Sixty-year-old Don Corrigan of Des Moines has a Wellmark policy and he was recently notified his rates are going up 58%. “I know I’m just one of many people who saw a dramatic increase this year on very short notice,” Corrigan said. “I’m here to ask for a little bit more time, sunshine into the process of raising my rates and the rates of many others insured in Iowa.”

Anthony Carroll, associate state director for advocacy for AARP Iowa, says it’s clear something must be done after Wellmark rates for individual policy holders went up nine percent last year, on average, and the company plans a rate hike of twice that much this year. “This is a very common sense solution,” Carroll says. “It’s not calling for any more regulation. It’s just calling for a little more sunshine into the process.”

Petersen’s proposal would require public hearings on all insurance company rate hike applications. Petersen says she’s unconcerned by the estimated $450,000 price tag when consumers are getting notices of 58% rate hikes. Petersen has offered her proposal as an amendment to a bill dealing with the state insurance commissioner’s division. “If the public doesn’t voice their support of it, I think it will probably die,” Petersen says.

If the bill Petersen wants to pass comes up for debate, a Republican candidate for governor hopes to force legislators to vote on having the state sue to opt out of the national health care reform plan President Obama signed into law Tuesday.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With: ,

Prayer vigil at statehouse

March 23, 2010 By

About 30 people spent two hours praying at the statehouse this morning, praying that key legislators will have a “change of heart” and endorse a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. 

For almost a year the top two Democrats in the Iowa legislature have said they will not allow debate on a resolution  that would set up that statewide vote. A group from Wright County that has been lobbying for the constitutional amendment on gay marriage organized the prayer vigil.  The prayer meeting was held in a small statehouse conference room and concluded with recitation of The Lord’s Prayer and the singing of a hymn that’s featured in Easter Sunday services at many Christian churches. 

Reverend Harvey Opp of the Peace Reformed Church in Garner led the two-hour event. “We wanted to join together in prayer as Christians from different denominations and background and so forth to really unite and seek the mercies of our Lord for our state,” Opp says. 

The group gave thanks, prayed for both guidance and for inspiration. Greg Carlson, a youth pastor at the Goldfield United Methodist Church, was among a handful of pastors who led the group in prayer. “Help us to come before you and seek your Spirit, that your Spirit will give us the words,” Carlson prayed. “Father, I don’t know the answers, but I just seek your word and I seek your face. I seek your direction,”

Carlson prayed for both strength and boldness. ”We’re scared.  We’re nervous.  This great country of ours that we all love so well is under attack and we worry about that,” he prayed.  “We worry that our sons and daughters aren’t going to be raised in the America that we were raised in.”

Opp, the pastor who led the prayer meeting, says Christians are called to be a praying people. ”You know, Christ’s own example, he spent all night at prayer at time, hours until his disciples saw that and said, ‘Teach us to pray,’” Opp says. “We should still have that attitude, of course, Christians should, all our lives.” 

Opp and the rest of the group left the vigil and headed out to the steps of the statehouse to rally with others who support a constitutional amendment that would make gay marriage illegal in Iowa.

Listen to the minute-long Radio Iowa report here: capprayingx

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

Harkin, Braley, Loebsack attend health care bill signing

March 23, 2010 By
Three Iowa Democrats — Senator Tom Harkin and Congressmen Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack — were among those invited to the White House today to watch as President Obama signed the health care reform bill into law.
Senator Tom Harkin stands to Vice President Biden’s right as president signs bill.

Sen. Tom Harkin (far left) looks on as president signs bill.

Braley says it was an honor to be part of such an “historic” occasion. “We fulfilled a dream that we have been pursuing as a country for nearly 100 years to try to provide quality health care coverage to all Americans,” Braley says. “And being there, having campaigned on comprehensive health care reform in 2006 and 2008, and having spent a lot of times talking to my constituents about the problems with our current health care system, it was one of the highlights of my life.”

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Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Tama, Webster counties first to make casino pitch

March 23, 2010 By

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is hearing the proposals from four groups who hope to win a new gambling license. Tama County made the first presentation of the day. John Pavone, president of Signature Management, which is seeking the Tama County casino license, says their proposed Prairie Hills Resort and Casino to be built along the U.S. Highway 30 bypass near Tama-Toledo.

He says it will include 148 acres of land, an 80 room “next generation Holiday Inn Express” hotel, 500 slot machines, 18 table games and regionally themed restaurants.

Tama Mayor Chris Bearden says the casino will bring in needed jobs and economic development. Bearden says they relocated the site from Cherry Lake to the Highway 30 bypass and plan to renovate the lake with casino revenues into a family area. He says the casino revenue would also go to other communities in the state.

He says the he says they would create a disaster relief fund for communities that might suffer a natural disaster such as the tornado that hit Parkersburg. That would include money for rescue, food, housing and clean up for those communities. Bearden says there would also be money for historical preservation grants for many of Tama County’s historic places that are in need of repairs. Bearden says they will spread the money throughout the county.

Tama Mayor Chris Bearden makes presentation on new casino to the Racing and Gaming Commission.

Tama Mayor Chris Bearden speaks to the Racing and Gaming Commission.

Bearden says they will work hand in hand with many of the other organizations to promote Tama County and will commit funds to the seven school districts in the county, which also reach out to four other counties.

 The counties are Grundy, Marshal, Benton and Poweshiek. He says they will also use money for road improvements, emergency equipment, and storm warning sirens for Tama County residents.

Bearden summarized his presentation by asking the commission to give them a license. He says the casino will help Tama to continue to grow and prosper and the casino will allow them to do many things for Tama and the surrounding counties for years to come. Bearden says they will work with the Native American casino that is already in Tama to help both be successful.

Developers of a proposed casino in Webster County told the state Racing and Gaming Commission today that they can improve the community of Fort Dodge with the new casino, while at the same time not hurting the existing casino in Emmetsburg. Daniel Stevens, the C.E.O. of Peninsula gaming, says their past experience with their casino in Dubuque shows how they can make it work in Fort Dodge.

He says Dubuque gave them the opportunity to team up with the local community to create development in the Port of Dubuque with the Diamond Jo Casino of Dubuque at the center of the development. Stevens says they believe a partnership with Webster County to create the Diamond Jo Fort Dodge is the same opportunity they saw a decade ago in Dubuque. Stevens address the issue of hurting the casino in Emmetsburg, saying the non-profit group that will hold the license in Webster County would make sure that does not happen.

He says the Heart of Iowa Foundation has offered to indemnify Palo Alto County for any losses they might sustain from the new casino opening. Stevens says the casino also brings in a 10-million dollar license fee to the state and annual payouts of approximately 12-million dollars per year. And he says it will create 350 new jobs.

Lisa Shimkat of the Heart of Iowa Foundation told the commission the proposed casino has gained more support than when the vote was first taken to approve the license.

She says the 2010 study shows 59% of all citizens in their study favored the casino, and if everyone including the undecided’s, voted in favor, that would give them 67% approval of gaming. Shimkat says the county is in particular need of a boost to the economy.

Shimkat says the region lost nearly one thousand jobs last year due to a large manufacturer closing, plus she says they see other impacts from the economic downturn, with city budgets down, the community college freezing pay, and number of other issues. Shimkat says the new casino in Fort Dodge would be a major boost to the entire region.

Shimkat says they add the casino salaries, at over $12-million, the spending and charitable giving from the casino in the area of over $22.5 million. She says they believe those dollars would multiply by three times as they spread out into the community. The new casino is proposed for the intersection of Highway 20 and 169.

The proposals from both Tama and Webster County also included videos and testimonials from local citizens and leaders on the impact they think the casinos would have on their areas.

Presentations are also scheduled this afternoon for casino proposals from Ottumwa and Lyon County.

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:
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