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Audit confirms suspicions about missing funds

June 28, 2011 By

A state audit confirms suspicions that a former eastern Iowa jail administrator may have pocketed thousands of dollars.  

Gwen Wathan was administrator of the Tama County Jail for 11 years, until she was fired last December. A state audit identified almost $47,0o0 of undeposited collections and unbilled room and board fees. 

Here’s the break down:  the audit found over $18,000 in room and board fees weren’t deposited; more than $11,000 from the jail commissary wasn’t deposited and over $5,000 of cash bonds received for individuals with warrants outside of Tama County weren’t deposited either. Finally, almost $12,000 in room and board fees from jail inmates were not billed. 

 The Tama County sheriff and Board of Supervisors asked for the audit after the irregularities came to light. While Wathan worked at the Tama County jail for 11 years, the auditors reviewed records from the last four years of her tenure as jail administrator.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government

Sen. Grassley says to secure border before passing DREAM Act

June 28, 2011 By

Legislation that would grant permanent residency to certain children of illegal immigrants is the subject of a subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill today.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is taking part in the debate on the so-called DREAM Act.

Grassley, a Republican, says he fears the Obama administration “will circumvent Congress and unilaterally execute a back door amnesty plan.”

Grassley says, “I’m concerned that we take care of any immigration issues after we have secured the border and stop the sieve that allows people to come to this country illegally.”

DREAM Act stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. Under the proposal, certain undocumented youth and adults would be eligible for a six-year-long conditional path to citizenship if they earn a college degree or serve two years in the military.

Grassley says that’s taking the nation’s priorities out of order.

“We could have the DREAM Act, we could have immigration reform, but if you don’t secure the border, all you’re doing is making the situation worse,” Grassley says. “We have to secure the border and then deal with things like the DREAM Act and with immigration reform.”

Last year, Grassley says he uncovered information and Omaha administration memos that laid out proposals to grant immigration benefits to illegal immigrants.

The DREAM Act was first introduced in the Senate in 2001 and was re-introduced this spring. It’s been voted down every time it was introduced.

Filed Under: Education, Politics & Government

Mother Nature strikes at statehouse?

June 28, 2011 By

A bit of progress was made at the statehouse on Monday, but legislators and the governor continue to wrangle over details in the state budget and property tax reform. 

Mother nature dealt a bit of a technical set-back to the proceedings in the Iowa Senate according to Senate President Jack Kibbie.

“Rumor has it that lightning struck something up in the attic and it’s in the process of getting fixed,” Kibbie says. 

The electronic voting machine which records senators’ votes was malfunctioning. Kibbie, who has won nine terms in the state legislature, is prepared to go back to writing votes down on paper.

“We could go back to the way it was 30 years ago,” Kibbie says.”There was no voting machine in the senate and you called the roll.” 

The name of each senator was called out by the chief clerk of the senate, and each senator then said aloud whether he or she was a “yea” or a “nay” on each item up for a vote.  Now, senators punch buttons on their desk to vote; a green button for yes and a red button for no; and the votes show up on an electronic scoreboard.

Only two microphones were available for use in the senate for much of its business yesterday.

Filed Under: Politics & Government, Weather Tagged With: , ,

May was a good month for home sales

June 27, 2011 By

The Iowa Association of Realtors reports that home sales increased just over 14% in May and the average sale price for homes was up 6.4%. Association president, Kurt Schade of Des Moines, says it’s good to see the numbers go up.

He says all real estate is local, but they see some positive trends across the state in sales prices and the number of sales. The association reported 2,873 homes sold in May compared to 2,519 in April. The average sale price of homes was 141,942 in May, compared to 133,418 in April. Schade says sales generally start moving up this time of year.

He says they had good weather in May and the pool of buyers was up as people like to move once school is out. Schade says the upward trend could continue if the market conditions don’t change. Schade says if there is not any other action by the federal government that prevents people from getting loans, they believe buyers are looking to buy homes at prices comparable to the early 2000′s with low interest rates.

Schade says the state has been lucky to avoid the major ups and downs that have plagued other states. He says Iowa is a conservative state and that has shown in the housing market with no “significant appreciation” and also haven’t seen the devaluation that other states have seen recently.

 Twenty-three of Iowa’s 44 local boards reported increases in average sale price, while nine boards had increases in the number of sales from May 2010. Nineteen boards showed a decrease in the average number of days on the market.

Filed Under: Business

Hog lot blamed for massive Dubuque County fish kill

June 27, 2011 By

The owner of a hog and cattle operation in northeast Iowa could face fines and be forced to pick up the tab of an expensive fish kill.

Officers with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say more than 104,000 fish were killed in a manure spill that reached Whitewater Creek in Dubuque County.

The value of the fish – including minnows, dace, bluegill and smallmouth bass – is estimated at $96,000. Most of the fish were likely killed along a five mile stretch, but some were found nearly 18 miles downstream. The fish kill was traced back to an operation near Peosta owned by Wayne Demmer.

The D.N.R. reports manure from livestock feedlots was pumped to a reception pit that overflowed in heavy rains, and the manure reached the creek on June 18.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Environment & Conservation, Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With:

Floodwater not expected to impact Nebraska nuke plant

June 27, 2011 By

A 2,000 foot berm collapsed on Sunday that was protecting a nuclear power plant from the flooding Missouri River a matter of yards from the Iowa border. The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station in the eastern Nebraska town of Fort Calhoun is now surrounded by water and several buildings were inundated.

Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, says the water isn’t expected to rise any higher than the plant can handle. Jaczko says, “You can see from the site, they have the ability to deal with a higher water level than the river is currently at so we will continue to monitor.”

He and several other NRC officials toured Nebraska’s other nuclear plant at Brownville on Sunday and they’re visiting Fort Calhoun today, about 20 miles north of Omaha. Jaczko says plant officials are doing everything correctly in protecting the nuclear facilities.

“Right now, they appear to be taking proactive steps to do that,” he says. “We will continue to watch with them as the water level continue to progress.” Inspections of the plants’ flood prevention methods were conducted earlier and Jaczko says everything was done according to the book.

“They’ve put in place systems to deal with high water levels and our folks have inspected those and right now, we think they’re taking the appropriate approach to doing it,” he says. The flooding is expected to be an issue for several months as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing a large amount of water from upstream reservoirs into the Missouri River due to heavy spring rains and melting snowpack.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Paul says he’s “more optimistic” about 2012 compared to ’08

June 27, 2011 By

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says his campaign is going “all out” for the Iowa Republican Party’s Straw Poll in mid-August.

Paul ran for the GOP’s nomination in 2008, finishing with nine percent support in the last Straw Poll back in August of 2007.

“There was a time when I thought when that campaign was over I would go back to my usual obscurity and I would keep trying to plug away, but the momentum kept building and the prodding occurred, ‘Do it again! Do it again!’” Paul says. “I think that everybody’s so much more optimistic this time.”

Paul has had a busier campaign schedule in Iowa this time around.  He’s visited the state weekly since mid-May. Paul is freer to travel now, as he’s flying around on his own private campaign plane rather than buying tickets for seats on domestic flights.

“I was still pinching pennies, but they said, ‘Look, if you get in and out ot there,’” Paul says. “Now, I am less pushed for time and I’ve been here more than I have in the whole other campaign — and I still make my votes.” 

Paul is serving in his 12th term in the U.S. House.

Paul says his repeated warnings about the nation’s financial woes are drawing the attention of more and more potential voters.  

“What I find amazing is that there are one million less full-time jobs in this country than there were 10 years ago and there are 30 million more people,” Paul says. “And then they wonder why people don’t feel good about the economy.”

Paul is predicting a major economic melt-down in the United States before the 2012 election.  Paul made his comments during an interview with Radio Iowa.  

President Obama is due in the Quad Cities Tuesday afternoon to talk about the importance of manufacturing to the nation’s economy.  He’ll visit the Alcoa plant and make remarks in Bettendorf.  Sarah Palin, the Republican Party’s 2008 vice presidential nominee, is due to visit Pella later Tuesday for the premiere of a documentary that focuses on her time as Alaska’s governor.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,
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