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Fort Dodge man charged with sexual abuse of a child

August 30, 2011 By

A Fort Dodge man was arrested Monday night after an incident on Sunday. Fifty-nine-year-old David P. Bailey was charged with lascivious acts with a child, indecent contact with a child and three counts of 3rd degree sexual abuse.

At about 9:10 Sunday night, Fort Dodge officers were dispatched to Trinity Regional Medical Center to investigate the sexual abuse of a mentally-challenged 13-year-old female. During the investigation officers developed sufficient information to indicate a sexual abuse incident had occured at 615 South 15th Street in Fort Dodge with Bailey named as a person of interest.

A follow up investigation was conducted Monday in coordination with the Webster County Attorney’s Office. This developement led officers to obtain an arrest warrant for Bailey. He was being held today in the Webster County Jail in Fort Dodge.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Two Iowa metros see increase in construction jobs

August 30, 2011 By

A survey from the Associated General Contractors of America shows there’s been an increase in construction activity in two of Iowa’s largest metropolitan areas. 

The association found construction employment has increased over the past year in Des Moines and West Des Moines by about five percent.

Construction activity was more robust in the Quad Cities, showing an 11 percent hike in construction work this July compared to July of 2010.  However, on the other side of the state, in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro, there was a four percent decline in construction jobs.

In the Cedar Rapids/Marion metro, the number of construction jobs held steady in the year-to-year comparison.

The Associated General Contractors of America reviewed construction activity in 337 metro areas around the country and found a “mostly stagnant” picture for the U.S. construction industry.  The association’s chief economist says while private sector construction is showing a “modest increase” the decline in government-funded construction activity is a “big worry for construction workers.”

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

Two dozen fake IDs discovered enroute to Cedar Falls

August 30, 2011 By

Two University of Northern Iowa students have been charged and more people are being sought after authorities discovered two dozen fake IDs.  

Cedar Falls Police have made multiple arrests after Homeland Security officials intercepted a package containing a number of fake IDs. According to Cedar Falls Police Captain Jeff Harrenstein, the package was being shipped to a Cedar Falls address from China.

Police have arrested 20-year-olds Anthony Pertzborn and Megan Smock on one count each obtaining or possessing a fradulent driver’s license. That charge is a serious misdemeanor and more arrests are pending. Harrenstein says the phony IDs were realistic enough to skirt some security procedures.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education Tagged With:

Iowa’s drop in goverment employees is less than other states

August 30, 2011 By

Newly-released data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows nearly 150,000 Iowans were employed by state or local governments last year. Nearly 42,000 people were working full-time for the State of Iowa in the spring of 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The payroll for those employees was more than $223.5-million. More than twice as many Iowans, though, were working in local governments — for cities, counties or schools. Nearly 108,000 Iowans were employed full-time by some sort of local government entity in 2010 and the payroll for those local government workers toppped $414-million.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, most states saw a decline in the number of public-sector workers from 2009 to 2010 and Iowa was no different, although the decline here was small. State government shed about 1,200 full-time jobs from 2009 to 2010, while local governments in Iowa laid off or eliminated nearly 1,000 full-timers.

The U.S. Census Bureau released this data today and it shows Rhode Island saw the largest decline in public sector workers, with a drop of 7.7% in state and local government employees from 2009 to 2010.

North Dakota recorded the biggest increase, hiring 7.5% more government workers in 2010 than the year before.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Workforce Development rolls out “access points” to replace closed offices

August 30, 2011 By

Officials in the state’s Workforce Development agency today are touting their work to set up an “access point system” to replace the 37 Workforce Development offices that are closing. On Monday Governor Branstad told reporters he’s confident he’ll beat a lawsuit challenging his decision to close those offices.

The agency at the center of the controversy issued a news release today touting the convenience of having “access points.” Spokesperson Kerry Koonce says the access points are set up in places like libraries, schools and National Guard Armories, and offer more than you can get by just logging in on your own computer.

Koonce says you can do a lot of things by accessing the website, but you can’t do the assessment testing on the website as it can’t be programmed that way. She says they have a live chat setup with staff available from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday on the access points, while the regular offices close at 4:30.

Koonce says the access points have more resources available. She says there are pieces within the labor market information that she says are difficult to pull up in the web, while it is broken down better in the resource room. And she says you can call the 800 number to get access to a workforce professional.

Koonce says the access points don’t take any special equipment, as they can put the information onto a computer that is already open to the public at a location, or bring in a Workforce office computer. She says they will use computers from the offices that’re being closed, so there won’t be any cost involved.

Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds says she and the governor recently visited Denison and saw the value of the new system first-hand.

“The (Denison) superintendent was there and he just opened up the high school with some evening hours,” Reynolds says.

Koonce says you can still apply for a job, or file for unemployment on the Workforce Development website, but the 135 access points will offer the expanded services.

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With:

Women burned in explosion while trying to light water heater

August 30, 2011 By

An eastern Iowa woman is hospitalized after an explosion in her home. The Scott County Sheriff’s Office says 55-year-old Rhonda M. Schnoor is being treated for non-life threatening burns.

She was attempting to relight a pilot light on a water heater in the basement of her home northeast of Eldridge a little before 6 o’clock Monday night, but propane gas fumes that had built up ignited and caused an explosion. Firefighters from Eldridge and Long Grove were able to extinguish two small fires in the basement.

The house sustained minor structural damage. Schnoor was taken to a Davenport hospital, then transferred to University Hospitals in Iowa City.

By Phil Roberts, Davenport

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Cedar Rapids women given prison time for bank fraud

August 30, 2011 By

A Cedar Rapids woman who defrauded her employer was sentenced Monday to more than four years in federal prison. Thirty-three-year-old Sarah Ann Godsey worked for a Japanese technology company located in Cedar Rapids.

Investigators said between October 2005 and January 2007, she forged company checks and made electronic bank transfers for her own benefit. Godsey created over $113,000 in loss to her former employer.

As part of a plea agreement, Godsey pleaded guilty in March to one count of bank fraud, one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

She was sentenced Monday to four years and five months in federal prison and must also pay $120,000 in restitution. Godsey could’ve been sentenced to up to 47 years in prison.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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