Iowa's Radio News Network
Residents in a number of northeast Iowa communities are cleaning up after weekend flooding, but the town of Manchester is under a bit of a deadline. The Delaware County town is set to host up to 20,000 visitors when RAGBRAI rolls through on Friday.
Timothy Vick is the city manager in Manchester. “We’re looking forward to them coming, but right now we’re scrambling to get things resolved and take care of some of the issues we have from the flooding,” Vick said. [Read more...]
The senior was the winning pitcher in the Hawks victory over Southeast Warren in the opening round of the state tournament. Kockler struck out seven in four innings of work and also helped his own cause with a double and two RBI. Kockler also had a big game in a win over Spalding Catholic in a substate final. He had three hits, including a solo homer, and scored four runs. He also earned the win on the mound by tossing a two hitter with nine strikeouts.
The senior led the Braves to a sixth straight appearance at the state tournament. Ege tossed a complete game one hitter and struck out 12 in a victory over Sheldon. He also doubled and scored three runs.
The junior picked up two wins on the mound as the Panthers earned a trip to the state tournament. Jones gave up one earned run in three innings of work and had a pair of doubles and scored two runs in a win over Centerville. He also gave up no earned runs and struck out eight in six innings of work in a substate final win over Mount Pleasant.
The junior had a big night on the mound and at the plate as the Cougars downed Davenport North to earn a trip to the state tournament. Christensen struck out five and allowed one earned run in four innings of work to get the win and also had a home run, a double and drove in four runs.
A Spirit Lake man is facing an attempted murder charge after an early morning assault on a woman.
Spirit Lake police say they were sent to a home this morning. Dispatchers had gotten a 9-1-1 call during which no one would speak. Officers found a woman at the home who had been violently assaulted with a knife. She was taken to Lakes Regional Healthcare then life flighted to a Sioux Falls hospital.
Dickinson County sheriff’s officers, Okoboji and Arnolds Park police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation helped process evidence.
Detectives say 39-year-old James Michael Naujock is charged with first-degree kidnapping, attempted murder, willful injury, going armed with intent and domestic abuse assault. He also faces counts of interfering with official acts and obstruction of emergency communications.
Naujock is being held in the Dickinson County Jail. More charges are possible and investigators are still working the case.
By Mark Bruggom, KICD, Spencer
State officials are drafting rules to prohibit utility shut-offs in the homes of some Iowa soldiers. The 2010 Iowa Legislature passed a law barring utilities from cutting off the electricity or the natural gas supply to a deployed soldier’s home.
David Lynch, of the Iowa Utilities Board, says if the head of the household has been deployed, a utility can’t cut off electric or gas service because of unpaid or past-due bills. “Disconnection is prohibited until 90 days after the end of the deployment,” Lynch says.
The Iowa Utilities Board is drafting the rules that will govern how utilities deal with households that have unpaid electric or gas bills due to the absence of a soldier who’s been called to active duty. During a “public comment” period, Lynch says representatives of some of the state’s utilities have posed some general questions.
“Questions like: ‘How should the service member notify the utility of their status?…What’s the definition of deployment? What’s the definition of head of household?” Lynch says. “Those are some of the basic issues we’re still working through.”
Iowa utilities must give at least 12 days notice before they shut off electric or gas service to a customer. If the household has qualified for a Low Income Heat and Energy Assistance grant, utilities cannot shut off service from November 1st through April 1st.
This new prohibition on utility shut-offs in the homes of deployed soldiers will be year-round and not restricted to the winter-heating season. Lynch, who is legal counsel for the Iowa Utilities Board, has presented a legislative committee with the first draft of the rules for implementing the new law.
“We hope to have these rules in place prior to the upcoming winter,” Lynch says. The new prohibition on utility shut-offs in the homes of deployed Iowa soldiers is among a series of military-related laws which state legislators adopted this past spring.
O.KayHenderson.com