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Treasurer says Brazil trip raises questions that Ethics Board should answer

September 26, 2011 By

The state treasurer says the trip state education director Jason Glass took to Brazil earlier this month raises questions about the scope of the state’s gift law.

A foundation with a link to a corporation that does business with the state paid for the Brazil trip. Under the gift law, state officials are not allowed to accept gifts worth more than $2.99, but State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald says state officials can be reimbursed for travel to conferences if they’re speaking at the event and that might be the justification for this Brazil trip.

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

Shelby County supervisor charged with harassment

September 26, 2011 By

A court date has been set for Shelby County elected official charged after an investigation into an alleged incident of harassment.

Sixty-two-year-old Delbert Hull of Kirkman was arrested on a simple misdemeanor charge of third-degree harassment. Hull is a current member of the Shelby County Supervisors and is up for re-election next year.

According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, a mother of a minor male reported to authorities of an intimidating letter sent by Hull. He was taken into custody on Thursday, September 22 and was released the same day. A court date is set for Tuesday, October fourth in the Shelby County Court.

By Joel McCall, KNOD, Harlan

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government

Cause of trooper’s crash may never be known (audio)

September 26, 2011 By

The state’s public safety commissioner says investigators may never determine what caused the accident that killed a state trooper last week.

Witnesses say Trooper Mark Toney’s squad car was moving a high speed on a highway just south of Indianola when it rolled into a ditch and burst into flames. Public Safety Commissioner Larry Noble spoke with reporters this morning.

“We have a crash investigation team and our best investigator on this, but it will take several weeks and we look forward to determining a cause, but we may never know,” Noble said. “In some of these crashes, they’re terrible enough it’s hard to come up with a cause.” Noble is a retired state trooper himself and he said losing Toney “was particularly hard” for the patrol.

“The autopsy did not show any type of health issues,” he told reporters. “The vehicle has been examined and we have not found any defects in the vehicle either.” 

Noble and Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds attended Toney’s funeral in Ankeny on Saturday. Reynolds used the Branstad Administration’s weekly news conference to issue a general note of caution to motorists about dangers on the road.  Reynolds focuses on the seasonal danger of intense sunlight as people drive to and from work, along with the potential hazards slow-moving farm vehicles pose on the roads during harvest. 

“We need to consider the sun’s location,” Reynolds said. “Motorists may have more difficulty navigating around farm equipment when the sun is rising or setting and do not assume that a farm vehicle will be able to move aside to allow cars to pass.”

Last year, there were 208 accidents in Iowa involving farm equipment. Six people died in those crashes and 14 others were seriously injured.

AUDIO: Reynolds, Noble speak with reporters

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With: ,

Lieutenant governor defends education chief’s free trip to Brazil

September 26, 2011 By

Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds is defending a free trip the state’s education director took to a conference in Brazil. 

A foundation that’s linked to a corporation that does millions of dollars worth of business with the State of Iowa paid for the travel.

“I think you need to take into account that this was a trip that was provided by the Council of Chief State School Officers, so it’s not really a gift, but it’s no different than the governor or Iowa attending the (National Governors Association) or the Lieutenant Governors Association,” Reynolds says. “It’s an opportunity for continuing education.”

Glass told The Cedar Rapids Gazette that when presented with this kind of an opportunity, he will always make the choice to visit a “high-performing country” like Brazil to talk about how to improve Iowa’s education system. The state’s gift law forbids legislators and other state officials from accepting gifts that are worth more than three dollars. Reynolds argues this is different.

“I think also the Department of Ethics is reviewing this case, but I think director Glass did everything appropriately and if they decide anything different needs to be done then we’ll address that moving forward,” Reynolds told reporters this morning.  (Audio of news conference here, with questions about Brazil trip starting at 8:30 mark.)

Governor Branstad is out of the country, on a trade mission to the far east.

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

Fall offers some good travel deals

September 26, 2011 By

It’s the first full week of fall and for Iowans who didn’t take a vacation over the summer, now may be the perfect time to make plans and go. Travel agent Chris McGinnis says we’re in the middle of two peak travel seasons and there are plenty of good deals to be found.

“We’re in a valley right now, right after Labor Day to mid-October when people start getting ready to go home for Thanksgiving,” McGinnis says. “It’s a great time to travel. It’s actually my favorite time of year to travel because the weather is great, demand is way down so there are fewer crowds and prices really do tumble.” McGinnis says there are many perks to taking a fall vacation.

“The crowds are fewer,” he says. “The people that work in the big resorts that are packed with people all summer and they’re tired and grumpy are all of a sudden in great moods because they’re dealing with fewer people and it makes the whole travel experience that much better. Everybody’s in a great mood.”

McGinnis says the deals during this in-between season are unbelievable. “Coastal places that are very popular during the summer, Florida amusement parks offer very good deals,” he says. “You can get package deals at hotels near Disney that you normally can’t get. The Rocky Mountain region at this time of year is a very good deal. You have beautiful weather. You’ve got beautiful accommodations at ski resorts that are in their low season so they offer very low rates.”

While you will save money on hotels and resort packages, getting to your destination remains costly. He says gasoline prices remain high, averaging $3.49 a gallon on average in Iowa, the same as the national average.

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

Fire damages buildings in Iowa City

September 26, 2011 By

A weekend fire in downtown Iowa City damaged three buildings and destroyed the personal belongings of several residents living in apartments. Fire officials have not determined a cause for the fire, but believe it started at Bruegger’s Bagels around 2 a.m. Saturday and spread to two nearby buildings.

Everyone made it out safely and Amy Leners says that’s the important thing. But, the University of Iowa Studio Art major says the one thing she needs most as she approaches graduation is now gone. A folder, full of four years of Leners’ artwork, was destroyed.

“It’s a lot of work and a lot of hours. It’s my life. It’s what I do,” Leners said as she sorted through the charred pieces she’d been putting together since her freshman year at the U-I. She planned to submit the works to an art school in Chicago after she graduates this December.

“That’s going to be really hard to do now without having a progression of work to show. I might be taking a couple years off and rebuilding,” Leners said. Her mother, Colleen Adams of Des Moines, says it’s hard to see her daughter lose something so valuable.

“It’s heart wrenching,” Adams said. “A lot of late hours in the studio working until two and three in the morning, now it’s all gone.” Leners said she’s realized an even more valuable portfolio she’s built over the last four years – her friends. She’s received nearly 100 text messages or calls from people offering meals, a place to stay or other help.

Leners is working with a cleaning company that might be able to restore at least a few pieces of her artwork.

By Jillian Petrus, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

One person dead in Hardin County accident

September 26, 2011 By

A two car accident on Highway 20 in Hardin County Saturday morning claimed the life of the driver and injured two people. The Iowa State Patrol identified the name of the victim as 70-year-old Bonnie Biller of Milledgeville, Illinois.

The accident report stated that a 1997 Mercury Mystique driven by 20-year-old Patrick Eason of Battle Creek,Iowa was traveling westbound on Highway 20 when he lost control of his car. The Eason vehicle then crossed the median heading into the path of an eastbound 1999 Lincoln Towncar driven by Bonnie Biller.

Biller was pronounced dead on arrival at Ellsworth Municipal Hospital in Iowa Falls. Biller’s husband, 71-year-old George Biller and Eason were both taken to Ellsworth Hospital for treatment of their injuries. Charges are pending with the accident still under investigation.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters
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