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Iowa Supreme Court begins live streaming of oral arguments

August 25, 2011 By

The Iowa Supreme Court is taking another step in its public relations outreach that started after three justices were voted off the bench in the 2010 retention election. The high court plans to start offering live streaming today on-line of the oral arguments portion of the cases it hears.

Court spokesman, Steve Davis, says the first sessions are at nine a.m. and one p.m. Davis says they are hoping to help people understand what the Supreme Court does and give some insight into some of the legal issues of the day and see how the appellant process works.

Davis says the oral arguments are one part of the process used by justices to make a decision. He says it’s an opportunity for attorneys to argue a case as the appeals process does not involve a jury or evidence or testimony from witnesses. But attorneys argue both sides of the case and the justices will ask them questions about the case. Davis says people on-line will see how the arguments unfold.

Davis says there’ll be cameras on the attorneys and cameras on the justices if they ask questions. Davis says they will also make the arguments available later for those who can’t watch them live.

He says they used to offer the oral arguments in an archive prior to 2009, but budget cuts forced them to stop offering the archive of the arguments. Davis says there is a schedule and case description of the oral arguments on-line at the judicial system website, along with the archives of the arguments. That site is: www.iowacourts.gov.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Commission continues hearings on Iowa roads

August 25, 2011 By

A commission established by Governor Branstad is hearing from Iowans who are interested in raising the state’s gas tax to finance improvements to Iowa’s roads and bridges.

Stuart Anderson, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the Governor’s Transportation 2020 Citizens Advisory Commission has held three public input meetings this month in Bettendorf, Mason City and Des Moines. Commissioners have learned many Iowans are concerned about the conditions of the state’s rural roads.

Anderson says farmers have talked about lengthy detours they take because of weight restrictions on bridges. School officials have also raised concerns about the safety of rural roads. Iowa’s motor fuel tax, which has remained unchanged since 1989, raises about $1.2-billion  a year.

Anderson says commissioners have been asking people attending the public meetings about their thoughts on increasing the gas tax. “They’ve heard a lot of feedback that, yeah, they feel that’s a possibility,” Anderson said. “One thing that’s pretty consistent is…if funding is increased, it ought to be from funding sources dedicated to roads and bridge improvements.” He notes the state constitution requires 95% of the money raised by the gas tax must be directed toward road construction.

The commission will hold four more public input meetings, over the next four Wednesday nights, in Storm Lake, Council Bluffs, Waterloo and Mount Pleasant. “This is the mission of the commission to hear from the public, so we really hope a lot of people turn up at these meetings,” Anderson said. The commission is expected to complete a report outlining ideas for improving the state’s roads for consideration by the 2012 Iowa Legislature.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Crop tour sends out scouts to corn and soybean fields

August 25, 2011 By

More than a hundred crop scouts are visiting corn and soybean fields across Iowa and six other states this week. As part of the annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour, the scouts are collecting samples to gauge the potential of the Midwestern corn and soybean crops.

Pioneer agronomist Chris Woerner  says the rain showers that moved through the region this month were very beneficial for the soybean crop. “Anything that’s 3-2 maturity, 3-4 maturity up, these late rains are going to make pretty good beans,” he says.

“We’ve got another three weeks to go yet. We could use another rain or two in the meantime. That’s really going to help us cool down and the rains we’ve had are really helping the bean crop this year.” As he tours the corn and soybean fields, Woerner says most of the crops are maturing at a good rate and harvest this fall will likely be on schedule.

“For some of the areas that went through that five or six weeks of dry weather, some of that dryland corn might be ready to go a little bit ahead of norm, but for the most part, I’d say we’re going to be right on pace for a normal harvest.” The tour began Monday with scouts in South Dakota and Nebraska. They moved into Indiana and Illinois on Tuesday and reached Iowa on Wednesday.

 Learn more at:www.agweb.com/pro_farmer_midwest_crop_tour.aspx

Filed Under: Agriculture Tagged With:

Union, Democratic lawmakers sue Republican governor

August 25, 2011 By

The head of an Iowa union and four Democrats in the state legislature are suing Iowa’s Republican governor over a controversial veto he issued last month.

 Branstad item-vetoed language in a bill that would have kept 37 Workforce Development offices open to provide services to unemployed Iowans, but Branstad didn’t strike out all the money the legislature allocated to run those offices. Danny Homan, president of the Iowa chapter of the AFSCME union for public employees, says the governor is moving money around on his own, against the wishes of legislators.

[Read more...]

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

Braley proposes tax break for businesses that hire vets

August 25, 2011 By

Congressman Bruce Braley is calling for a new tax break for businesses that hire unemployed veterans.

Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, is a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. He says one out of every four veterans deployed since 9/11 is out of work.

“You’ve got a lot of people returning to the workforce,” Braley says. “You’ve got tight employment and you’ve got a slow economy and all of those factors together have created this ‘perfect storm’ of difficulty for veterans trying to find work.”

Braley has introduced a bill in congress that would give a tax break to businesses that hire a veteran who was deployed for more than six months. That business wouldn’t have to submit the payroll taxes it’s required to pay for that employee, taxes that are used for Social Security. 

“It also allows employers to look to this returning pool of veterans who are desperate for work and find ways to give them the chance to come back, find a job, take pride in that job and provide for their families,” Braley says.

If the business keeps that veteran on the payroll for more than a year, the business would receive another $1000 tax break under Braley’s bill.

Braley announced his proposal during a news conference staged in front of the World War II Memorial in Des Moines. The newly-drawn first congressional district which Braley will seek to represent in 2012 does not include Des Moines, but Des Moines-based media outlets reach some of the central Iowa counties in the new first district.

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

Central set for another run at football title

August 24, 2011 By

Expectations are nothing new for the Central College football program and the Dutch expect to make another run at the Iowa Conference title this season. Coach Jeff McMartin’s team has 14 starters back from last year’s team that finished 8-2 overall and third in the league race.

McMartin says the players they’ve recruited have been interested in making a run at the title, so their preparation and focus has been very good and that gives the team a chance for success.

Quarterback Nate Snead returns after rushing for 15 touchdowns last season and passing for 12. McMartin says they are rebuilding the offensive line and they have 3 new defensive linemen too, and so far they’ve all stepped up.

McMartin says there is a fine line between competing for a conference championship and winning one. He says the formula for success has been not making a lot of mistakes and play great defense. While he says that sounds like what every team wants to do, it is proven that if you don’t do them, it is hard to win.

The Dutch open the season September third at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

New Loras coach says team will have to be tough to compete

August 24, 2011 By

New Loras football coach Paul Mierkiewicz says if the Duhawks want to be a contender in the Iowa Conference race they will need to become tougher. The Duhawks have 14 starters back from last year’s team that finished 5-5.

He says you have to be pretty tough mentally to deal with adversity, and there’s a time every Saturday where you face some, so that has been their focus. Mierkiewicz played at Loras and had been the head coach at Hastings of Nebraska. He says the transition has gone well and he says he has been pleased with how they team has worked and bought into working hard to get better.

Six starters return from a defense that ranked third in the Iowa Conference last season. Mierkiewicz believes the defense can be solid as they did not change a lot of things, while they will have more changes on offense to adjust to.

He says they want an offense that uses as many people as possible in a system that the players can understand. Loras opens September 3rd at Elmhurst College.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:
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