February 9, 2012

You are here: Home / 2010 / July / Archives for 16th

Texas seafood company back in Iowa after oil spill delay

July 16, 2010 By

A company from Texas that sells seafood in Iowa every summer is back again this year despite all the troubles caused in the Gulf by the oil spill. Justin Gian is a third generation seafood seller from Galveston, Texas, who says despite what some people may think, the entire Gulf has not shut down due to the spill.

 Eastern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and western Florida are all closed for fishing, but western Louisiana and Texas are safe for fishing as oil hasn’t reached them yet.

Speaking from the same corner near downtown Des Moines where his family’s truck has stopped for 20 some years, Gian says it’s believed the oil would only get to Galveston if a hurricane came through. He says the spill though has impacted them, as they off work at the end of May when the Texas season closed and it was too hard to get seafood from western Louisiana.

Shrimp sold by Fabian Seafood.

Shrimp sold by Fabian Seafood.

Gian says businesses in Texas have been able to weather the problems caused by the spill. He says there are not many places in Texas that have been shut down completely, as most places stocked up on seafood before the prices went up. Gian says though, that stockpile only lasts for a time and then they have to buy more. The oil spill is the big topic of conversation when customers stop to make a purchase at his Fabian Seafood Company truck.

Gian’s says almost every customer ask him about the spill and if it has affected them and he says it did hurt them with the shut down in June — normally their busiest time of year It’s not just the seafood businesses that have been hit, Gian says friends of his in the tourism industry in Galveston also have suffered.

Gian says a story came out a few weeks that tar balls had hit Galveston Island, but it was later determined they weren’t tar balls from the Deep Water Horizon oil rig. But he says the story spurred a bunch of cancellations and it has really hit the tourism industry. Gian says the capping of the gushing oil well is welcome news to everyone across the Gulf. He says he got goose bumps when he heard about it as it’s a signal that “the end is in sight now.” Gian’s three week schedule also includes Wisconsin and Illinois.

Listen to Dar Danielson’s report on Fabian Seafood: Danielson report 1:20 MP3

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

Iowa Independent Film Festival underway in Clear Lake

July 16, 2010 By

The Iowa Independent Film Festival is underway this weekend in Clear Lake featuring a sneak preview from an Iowan actress who’s now living in L-A. Mason City native Tanna  Frederick is one of the co-founders of the festival and says she wants to bring a part of Hollywood back to north-central Iowa every year.

She says she wanted an experience where people in Los Angeles could come out to the Midwest and have intelligent people giving them feedback on their work. Frederick also wanted to have a venue to showcase local filmmakers. Frederick says tonight will feature a “rough cut preview” of her newest film.

She says “Queen of the Lot” also stars Noah Wylie of “E-R” fame, and is a sequel to her 2007 film “Hollywood Dreams” about an Iowa girl who now is a semi-star in Hollywood but is under house arrest. Frederick says her film, as well as one from Walter Matthau’s son, Charlie, will be presented in the “rough cut preview” form so people can give their input.

She says it’s one of the “treats” of the festival to ask people for feedback on their works and make them part of the editing process. Director Julie Davis, who is bringing her new film “Finding Bliss” to the festival, says showing “rough cuts” at a film festival is an ingenious idea.

She says the concept of having rough cuts is completely novel, since there’s no other film festival that has allowed the audience be a part of the process before the film is done and give their comments to the film maker so they can utilize the input before finishing the editing. For more about the Iowa Independent Film Festival, visit: “www.iowaindie.org“.

By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Parents didn’t want Pella drowning victims in the pool

July 16, 2010 By

Two boys who drowned in a public swimming pool in Pella Wednesday night should not have been allowed in the pool according to waivers signed by the their parents. The two teens from Kansas City were with a group of 175 boys attending a Fellowship of Christian Athletes sports camp.

FCA spokesperson Tom Rogeberg says the tragedy could’ve been prevented, but camp counselors left behind waivers signed by parents of the campers. “The parents of both of these young children, we discovered, had indicated on the forms that they were non-swimmers,” Rogeberg told Radio Iowa.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Security breach discovered in Buena Vista University’s database

July 16, 2010 By

A data breach on the Buena Vista University campus has allowed unauthorized access to a database of thousands of records.

University officials say a nationally-recognized computer forensics team was hired to conduct an investigation and discovered the breach, which may include names, Social Security numbers, and some driver’s license numbers for B-V-U students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, and some donor records.

The records date back to 1987. Campus officials say there’s no indication any of the personal information has been or is being misused or disclosed to other people. The unauthorized access was confirmed in June, and they began identifying and notifying the 93,000 people involved. The incident has been referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education

Supreme Court says state can collect estate taxes from insurance polices

July 16, 2010 By

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled the state Department of Revenue can collect estate taxes from beneficiaries of life insurance policies. The case involved Phillip Tremil, a Harrison County man who died in 1998 and left a life insurance policy with his wife and two minor children as the beneficiaries.

Tremil’s wife chose not to take her interest in the policy and that left just over $516,000 for his two sons. Tremil’s estate owed the state of Iowa around $50,000 in taxes and interest — but the estate had no assets — and the Iowa Department of Revenue went after the money from the insurance policy that had been put into a trust for the two boys.

Attorneys for the boys fought the Revenue Department’s attempt, but lost in district court. The Iowa Court of Appeals however ruled that the insurance policy money was not part of the estate, and not subject to the tax. The Iowa Supreme Court rule the tax law allows the Department of Revenue to interpret the code and the agency’s interpretation may only be overturned if it is “irrational, illogical, or wholly unjustifiable,” and this case does not fit those definitions.

The high court overturned the appeals court ruling and affirmed the district court ruling, allowing the Department of Revenue to collect from the insurance money left to Tremil’s two sons.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Replicas of Nina and Pinta dock at Burlington

July 16, 2010 By

In their second year sailing together, the Nina and the Pinta docked along the Mississippi River in Burlington Thursday afternoon. The ships are replicas of what Portuguese explorer Christopher Columbus used to sail across the Atlantic Ocean more than 500 years ago.

Captain Kyle Frieauf heads up the Nina, which has been called the most historically accurate replica of a Columbus ship ever built. He’s been with the Columbus Foundation for about six years. Frieauf says he slept through history class as a kid and now that he’s older, especially since he’s captaining a historic ship, his interest in history has been rekindled and he’s learning a lot.

Frieauf is one of six members of the crew on the Nina while the Pinta has a crew of eight. He says they’ve sailed up dozens of rivers while also spending time on both coasts, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. He says it’s a fun adventure and he feels like Columbus as there’s something new around every turn.

The ships will be in Burlington this weekend before setting sail again Monday. After stops in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the ships will return to Iowa with a planned visit to Davenport. For a complete schedule, go online at “www.thenina.com“.

Story & photo by Michael Cation, KBUR, Burlington

Filed Under: Human Interest Tagged With:

Ethanol producers would give up tax credit for infrastructure investment

July 16, 2010 By

A coalition of ethanol producers is pitching a plan to give up federal tax credits for the fuel made from corn, but it wants something in exchange. Growth Energy C.E.O. Tom Buis says his group wants the government to shift support for the ethanol industry.

“What we’re suggesting is take the tax credits that are available, that we hope get extended for…five years and shift some of these funds into building out the infrastructure so we can compete in the marketplace,” Buis said. Growth Energy co-chairman Jeff Broin says he’d like to see 200,000 pumps capable of blending ethanol with gasoline and 120-million flex-fuel vehicles within the next five years.

“I believe it’s time to transition to an open market where consumers can choose their fuel,” Broin said. “With a blender pump in every neighborhood and a flex-fuel vehicle in every garage, ethanol can compete against oil without the tax incentive.” Currently, ethanol producers receive a tax credit of 45-cents for every gallon of ethanol blended into gasoline.

Congress is deciding whether to extend the credit in the next energy bill. Another ethanol group, the Renewable Fuels Association, has joined the National Corn Growers Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation – calling for the credit to be extended in it’s current form.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Politics & Government
« Older Posts