Iowa's Radio News Network
Governor Branstad has formally presented his state budget plan to legislators today and it calls for a significant increase in the state tax on casinos as well as $360 million in state budget cuts.
“It will not be easy. It will require difficult and painful choices,” Branstad said during a formal address to lawmakers. “But the pain we endure by fixing our budget today will lead to great opportunities for Iowa in the future.”
One of the chief volunteer coordinators for the American Red Cross’ efforts in Haiti is in Iowa this week, thanking Iowans for all they’ve done to help rebuild the island nation after the devastating earthquake just over a year ago. Winnie Romeril says she’s constantly amazed by people’s generosity in the wake of disasters.
“I came to Iowa to talk about Haiti in the one-year commemoration time frame,” Romeril says. “The chapter here raised so much money. Here, in the state of Iowa, there was over $4-million raised for the Haiti relief effort. They wanted me to come and tell people what we’ve done with that money.”
Romeril says the Red Cross is still very active in Haiti after the January 12th, 2010, quake which killed perhaps 316-thousand people, injured another 300-thousand, and left more than a million people homeless. Tens of thousands of homes and buildings collapsed. One of the primary efforts now, Romeril says, is providing shelter materials to Haitians.
“So far, that’s been tarps and building materials so they can repair houses where that’s possible,” Romeril says. “We’ve been building transitional shelters which are storm-resistant and earthquake-resistant. This is until land issues can be sorted out and rubble can be removed so that people can build permanent homes.”
The Red Cross is also providing fresh drinking water to more than a quarter-million people in Haiti every day, while stepping up its medical service, especially after the cholera outbreak. Romeril says it’s heartwarming to see that in Iowa, a state of three-million people, more than four-million dollars could be quickly raised, for Iowans to reach out and support people they don’t know.
“People say to themselves, ‘That could happen to us,’” Romeril says. “Iowans have been affected by catastrophic disasters. You’ve have floods here and there’s single-family housefires every day in this area. People understand what disaster is and they understand how disruptive it is to people’s lives. Americans are generous and they want to help and I think it’s great that Iowans stepped up.”
The effort to rebuild Haiti is far from over, and Romeril encourages people to continue giving and following the progress at “www.redcross.org“.
A western Iowa man, wanted for the murder earlier this month of an Omaha man, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of 1st degree murder. Police in Omaha say 28-year-old Justin Reinders, of Persia in Harrison County, was taken into custody in connection with the January 6th shooting of 54-year old Milton E. Jackson, the assistant manager of an Omaha service station.
Reinders was also charged for using a weapon to commit a felony. Police alleged Reinders entered the business and shot Jackson, before fleeing on foot, and eventually taking off in a red car. A vehicle matching the description was observed driving away from the area at speeds of up to 100-miles an hour.
The same car was later spotted near Neola, but officers were unable to locate it after an extensive search. Omaha police have not said whether the shooting was the result of an attempted robbery or something else. They wouldn’t elaborate on what led them to identify Reinders as a suspect. Jackson’s death was the third by homicide in Omaha, this year.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic
U.N.I. used a 12-3 run in the second half top take command in a 71-66 win over Creighton in Cedar Falls. Kwadzo Ahelegbe poured in a season-high 26 points to lead the Panthers.
U.N.I. coach Ben Jacobson says Ahelegbe came out determined to get them started early and is finding a lot of ways to get himself basket. He says the senior is also finding ways to get the ball to others and that has been big in the last four or five games.
A key stat was turnovers. Creighton had 18 while the Panthers committed only seven. Jacobson says the guards are doing a great job right now, especially with what they are asking them to do.
U.N.I. is now 7-3 in the Valley.
Penn State used a 10-0 run to close the opening half to take the lead then pulled away in the waning moments for a 65-51 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes in Big Ten play. The Hawks started quickly and led 21-10 before the Nittany Lions roared back.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says the executed and competed defensively and then the last 5 or 6 minutes of the first half they let down and went into the half down one when they should not have been down. He says they Hawkeyes did not rebound well enough to win on the road. McCafferey says all five players have to go after the rebounds when they are on the road and in a dog fight and it did not happen.
Taylor Battle led Penn State with 23 points and Jeff Brooks added 22. Jarryd Cole led the Hawks with 11 points as they fall to 1-7 in the Big Ten.
It was an uninspired effort by Iowa State last night as the Cyclones lost at home to Texas Tech 92-83. Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg says it’s the most frustrated he’s been all year as they had a chance to set the tempo and get the crowd into the game and they came out and let Tech punch them in the mouth first and take control. The Red Raiders built a 14 point lead early in the second half and cruised to their first road victory of the season.
Hoiberg says they allowed them to score four of their first five shots to start the second half and that should not have happened. Hoiberg called it a “horrible loss for us.”
Diante Garrett led Iowa State with 27 points as the Cyclones fall to 1-5 in the Big-12.
Efforts to establish a medical marijuana program in Iowa took a step backwards at the statehouse Wednesday. A House subcommittee approved legislation that strengthens language classifying marijuana as a schedule one drug, which is defined as a substance having no proven or acceptable medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Representative Tom Sands, a Republican from Wapello, says the bill also makes it clear that the legislature has authority over the issue. “I do not support medical marijuana. I know there are those individuals out there that believe that it has helped them. I have no personal knowledge whether it has or has not helped them. Maybe it is up to medical professionals and the Board of Pharmacy to change our mind that we’re wrong,” Sands said.
Sands says any decisions about marijuana should be made by the legislature. “It’s quite often a gateway drug, especially for some of our younger people and more vulnerable…that it leads them into more hallucinogenic type drugs that do far more damage,” Sands said.
The Executive Officer of the Iowa Board of Pharmacy says the board agrees that any decisions about marijuana should be made by the legislature. Terry Witkowski says they never intended to establish a medicinal program.
“A pharmacy could not distribute marijuana because it’s an illegal drug federally and that would essentially put the pharmacy out of business,” Witkowski said. But a lobbyist for the Justice Reform Consortium says the Iowa Board of Pharmacy has already spoken on the issue.
Stephanie Fawkes Lee says after a series of public hearings in 2009 the board voted to recommend that marijuana be reclassified as a drug that does have medicinal value. “And the Board of Pharmacy took the time and used resources to go across the state and have people come and say yes we do use this for medical reasons,’” Fawkes Lee said.
”So, to have this bill introduced, it’s like calling those people liars. They were in pain, they have health issues and medical cannabis actually helps them.” Other supporters of medical marijuana are less concerned about the bill. Carl Olsen of Des Moines says it merely upholds existing law, and does not stop the Democratically controlled Senate from considering alternative legislation to reclassify the drug.
The group Environment Iowa Wednesday called on Iowans to push their senators to back a new standard by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would limit mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants. Environment Iowa spokesperson, Jessica Buchberger, says plants in Iowa are releasing mercury and it’s an issue that’s important to the health of Iowans and their kids.
Buchberger says there are 2,735 pounds of mercury emitted each year, and she says to put that in context, a gram size drop of mercury can contaminate an entire 20-acre lake. Buchberger says there is strong opposition from the power industry.
She says congressional lobbyists are working to prevent the E-P-A from doing its job by threatening to block these rules and others that would limit air pollution. “Iowa’s parents do everything they can to protect their children’s health and now it’s time for the E-P-A to do its part,” Buchberger says. Buchberger says they are talking to Iowa lawmakers about the rules.
Buchberger says Senators Grassley and Harkin “should stand up for families and support the E-P-A in this new ruling.” The E-P-A is scheduled to take action on the rules in March.
O.KayHenderson.com