February 9, 2012

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Drop in land-lines means drop in revenue for E911 surcharge

August 31, 2009 By

More and more Iowans have cut the cord and gone to wireless phones which means less money from the E-9-1-1 surcharge for Iowa counties. Counties set the surcharged for land-line phones, while the state sets and collects the money from the cellphone surcharge. Barbara Vos is the E-9-1-1 program coordinator for the state and says the surcharge funds from cellphones are given out based on a formula.

She says they pay 65% of the money to the wireless carriers and telephone companies that are part of the networks that provide the service, and then they pay 25% of the funds to the local entities based on the number of calls the local public safety answering point has handled each quarter. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Restaurant Association has mixed emotions over smoking ban

March 11, 2008 By

Members of the Iowa Restaurant Association have mixed emotions over legislation to ban on smoking in public places. The organization, which represents more than 5,000 bars and restaurants, is opposed to the ban. It also represents some of Iowa’s casinos, which are lobbying hard to be exempted from the ban.

Association president Doni DeNucci says that exemption would create an unlevel playing field for the rest of her members. "That’s why it’s difficult for us," DeNucci explained, "because we wouldn’t want to oppose an exemption that would benefit one segment of the industry, but it could be to the detriment to another segment of the industry."

DeNucci says Iowa business owners should be allowed to decide for themselves if they want to cater to smokers. "At the end of the day, if everybody is exempted out except the small independent restaurant, that is maybe in rural Iowa…trying to accommodate his clientele, that may be smokers – that’s going to impact his business negatively," DeNucci said. She claims that 80% of her members are already smoke-free, so non-smokers have plenty of choices.

Cathy Calloway is president of the Iowa Tobacco Prevention Alliance. She says casinos’ claims that their air ventilation systems protect against second hand smoke are bogus. "We know that the ventilation systems that are out there do not work," Calloway said. "They may clear the smoking haze out of the room, but they are not capable of removing the carcinogens that are in the air.

The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that and The American Society for Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers know that doesn’t work…there’s not a system out there." DeNucci and Calloway were guests on the Iowa Public Radio program "The Exchange."

Filed Under: Business, Miscellaneous Tagged With:

Senate passes bill protecting on-duty soldier’s child custody rights

February 26, 2008 By

The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that forbids courts from altering the child custody agreements of Iowa soldiers while they’re on active duty. Senator Steve Warnstadt, a Democrat from Sioux City who is a member of the Iowa National Guard, says it’s a matter of fairness to those soldiers. "This measure is a tremendous stride in helping ensure that while they are serving us, we are protecting them," Warnstadt says.

The bill must also pass the House and be signed by the governor before it becomes law. It was drafted in response to a case involving Michael Grantham of Clarksville, an Iowa National Guardsman. Grantham had primary physical custody of his two kids when he was called to active duty in 2002. He arranged to have his daughter, who was eight, and his son, who was 13, live with his mother while he was on active duty.

But while Grantham was away, his ex-wife asked a judge to grant her custody of the kids and won. When Grantham returned from active duty, the court’s ruling prevented him from stepping back into his previous role as the primary parent for his children and he lost an appeal of the case. Similar cases across the country have prompted a few states to amend their laws to stipulate that a soldier’s deployment cannot be used against them in a child custody dispute.

 

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

Iowa National Guard soldier laid to rest

August 31, 2007 By

Scott Carney Friends, family and fellow soldiers gathered at a Catholic church in Des Moines today for the funeral of 37-year-old Master Sergeant Scott Carney of Ankeny. Carney died in a vehicle accident in Afghanistan August 24th while serving with the Iowa National Guard.

Father Larry Hoffman of Saint Theresa’s Catholic Church talked about God’s ability to create things, and how he created Carney. Hoffman said God had many ways of continuing to create Carney as he grew.

Hoffman says there was even some creation in reverse, as Carney’s work as a meat cutter let him know it was not what God had in mind for him. The priest says Carney underwent changes physically and as a person after joining the Army. He says Carney worked with all kinds of people and situations and that further refined how God was creating Carney. Hoffman says the refinement took another turn as Carney left the Army and took a full-time job with the Iowa National Guard in December of 2000.

Hoffman says the creation of Carney went on to include, his faith, his family, and work with others during his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Hoffman says even though God was not yet finished with his creating, Scott Carney had a strong influence on the soldiers he served with, his family, friends, as they new of his caring, giving and loving nature.

Hoffman says because of Carney’s strong faith, God with continue his creation as Carney moves into heaven. Carney was a member of the Iowa Army National Guard’s second brigade combat team of the 34th infantry. He leaves behind his wife Jeni, and twin sons Jacob and Justin. 

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With:

House passes gambling measure despite objections during debate

April 17, 2007 By

The Iowa House debated a gambling measure Monday and agreed to allow up to $10,000 in cash prizes for non-profit organizations who hold annual game nights. Current law allows such groups to give away $10,000 in merchandise only, not cash.

Representative Brian Quirk, a Democrat from New Hampton, says local non-profit groups will benefit from the change. Quirk says: “Who is this about? Who is this going to help? Your local firefighters, your EMS, your local Lions club, your Kiwanis, your local church. The restrictions for buy-in is minimal.”

That means there’s a $250 limit on how much a participant can spend, which Quirk called minimal. Also, any one person’s cash winnings would be limited to $5,000. Quirk says, “You don’t have the same problems that you would have at a casino. And the things you can do with the money, the local community building and foundation and spirits.”

Gambling critics were furious and called the bill a significant expansion of gambling. Representative Scott Raecker, a Republican from Urbandale, says there would be $10,000 in cash given out with no real supervision. Raecker says, “We’re opening up an area of social gambling in this state that we’ve never tread upon before. This is a whole bunch of money in unregulated environments.”

Raecker urged lawmakers to consider what this would do to their communities. Raecker says:”There’s not going to be DCI agents at these annual game nights. There’s not going to be people there to make sure you’re under 21. And if you are, they aren’t required by law to self-report as our casinos and racinos are.” Initially, the bill allowed only card tournaments for veterans’ groups.

The Senate called for the new $10,000 cash game nights with little debate. House gambling foes argued against it for several hours. The bill goes back to the Senate for consideration of minor House changes. 

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With:

U-I study looks at stimulant use

March 29, 2007 By

A University of Iowa study that looked at people who go to drug treatment facilities for abuse of stimulants like methamphetamine and prescription drugs showed a much higher use by whites than blacks. Dr. Tracy Gunter is one of the researchers. She says 79-percent were Caucasian, as compared to 59 percent Caucasians among those who were not using stimulants, but used other drugs. Gunter says just three percent of the people who said they used stimulants were African-American, compared to 27 percent who sought treatment for non-stimulant addiction.

Gunter says there are a lot of theories as to why whites are more likely to use stimulants. Gunter says Caucasians may abuse more because of better health care access, and she says there are as many reasons as there are people abusing the substances. Gunter says it could also be a socioeconomic issue that reflects Iowa’s 90-percent white population. The study found stimulant users were between the ages of 21 and 34-years-old.

Gunter says the number of women users raises some questions about the impact on kids and families. Gunter says they found that 43-percent of the people who used stimulants were women, compared to 29-percent women who were being treated but didn’t use the stimulants. Gunter says there are many reasons given for women who use stimulants. She says many of them involve trying to cope with pressures in their life.

Gunter says they may be used to try and stay awake at night after the birth of children, or with changes in job responsibilities. Gunter says stimulant use by women can also be linked to attempts to control their weight. Gunter, who is also an assistant professor of psychiatry, says one thing the study shows her is the need for more screening of people to identify problems with stimulants early on.

Gunter says the study seems to indicate that young Caucasian women of child-bearing age who may be high school graduates or above may be abusing the substances and need to be asked about it. Gunter says it’s a part of the population that had not been screened regularly for substance abuse disorders, particularly stimulants. Gunter says more has been done in screening this group for alcohol and smoking than other types of drug use. Gunter says one of the most alarming things is the reason the people sought treatment.

Gunter says almost half of the people in the survey were coming for treatment because they were in the criminal justice system. She says they sought treatment because they were forced by an arrest. Gunter says the medical community needs to learn how to educate the younger community more about stimulant abuse too as part of the overall education effort. And she says it takes more than a 15-minute talk to screen people 

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With:

Ham operators no longer tested on Morse Code

January 24, 2007 By

Changes in federal law are expected to mean "ham" radio operators will no longer need to pass a test showing their proficiency at Morse code. There are at least 6,000 amateur radio operators in Iowa and some only communicate using the dots and dashes of Morse code. It was created in the 1830s for the then-new telegraph.

Dan Miller, of Des Moines, a member of the American Radio Relay League, says Morse code works when other means fail. Miller says "Right now, we’ve had some geomagnetic storms that interfere with some of the frequencies and Morse code still seems to get through."

Miller says Morse code is still a useful way to communicate over great distances. He says "You can hear that Morse code tone where you can’t discern a voice or if the voice is breaking up real bad and you can’t (understand) it, you can still copy that Morse code." While Morse code may soon not be required for ham licenses, Miller says it’ll still be used on the airwaves — for entertainment and for public service, especially during times when regular communication is wiped out by acts of nature or in a manmade attack.

Miller says "Some people consider it a hobby. I consider it a service. I’m more into the Amateur Radio Emergency Services. We work with (Iowa) Emergency Management at public service events." Those include marathons, large parades and other big events where it might be otherwise difficult to communicate quickly.

Miller says ham radio operators provide critical communications in emergencies world-wide. When tornadoes hit eastern Iowa last April, hams provided communications between the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center and Red Cross shelters until the following day when National Guard soldiers arrived. For information about ham radio, surf to " www.EmergencyRadio.org " or call 1-800-32-NEW-HAM.

 

 


Audio: Matt Kelley report :44 MP3

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Miscellaneous
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