Democratic candidate Roxanne Conlin accuses her opponent, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, of being a “radical” advocate of “privatizing” Social Security. Grassley supported former President Bush’s push to let younger workers invest their contributions to Social Security in the stock market instead. 

“I am fundamentally opposed to Chuck Grassley’s extreme plan to privatize Social Security and throw that safety net for hundreds of thousands of Iowans into the wreckless hands of the Wall Street bankers,” Conlin says. “Could you imagine what would have happened when the market collapsed two years ago if he had succeeded?”

According to Conlin, Grassley has accepted $800,000 this election cycle from Wall Street interests. “The very same interests that stood to make $279 (billion) in fees and in profits if this program were to be privatized,” Conlin says.  “His actions are indefensible.”

Conlin opposes raising the retirement age or decreasing Social Security benefits. Conlin says such changes would erode support for Social Security, and she suggests that’s the ultimate goal. ”The folks who want us to think that we have to cut benefits right now and raise the retirement age right now are the very folks who don’t like the concept of Social Security and have spent time and energy trying to take it away,” Conlin says. “…We must protect this program from those wishing to privatize it.”

Grassley’s senate website has an “issues” section about retirement security. Grassley calls Social Security a “good deal for older Americans” but a “raw deal for America’s youngest generations if reforms aren’t made to fix the funding shortfall.”  According to Grassley, Social Security reform is a “politically sensitive issue” that will take a “bipartisan consensus” to resolve. 

According to the Social Security Administration, it will begin paying out out more than it collects in Social Security taxes in 2017 and will have to dip into the interest from the securities it holds to pay all the Social Security benefits due.  If congress fails to act by 2041, the system will only have enough money to pay 75 percent of the already-promised benefits.

Eric Woolson, a spokesman for Grassley’s campaign, issued a written statement, accusing Conlin of giving conflicting signals on Social Security. “She first said requiring people to pay Social Security tax on all their wages ‘seems to be a reasonable thing to me to do’ and less than an hour later she said the last thing the government should do is raise Social Security taxes,” Woolson said. “She’s using fear-monger tactics to scare older Iowans and, once again, she clearly doesn’t understand the issues.”

Conlin made her comments earlier today during a news conference in Des Moines.  Listen by clicking on the following link: capss

(This story was updated at 12:06 p.m.)

Republican candidate Terry Branstad says if he’s reelected as the state’s governor, he’ll seek “responsible” state regulation of Iowa’s farmers.

“How can we provide a supportive environment and one that respects our responsibility to protect the environment, but also respects the fact that we have people in the industry who need to be given correct and accurate information and be able to rely on what they’re told by the regulators,” Branstad said during a news conference at the Farm Progress Show in Boone.

Earlier this week, Branstad said he’d been on track to put controversial farm operator Jack DeCoster “out of business” at the end of his 16-year tenure as governor and Branstad called DeCoster a “bad egg” who was tarnishing the reputation of an entire industry with the problems at his chicken confinements. But during yesterday’s event Branstad said nothing about how the state might bar DeCoster from operating in Iowa.

Governor Chet Culver’s campaign blasted Branstad’s call for streamlining regulations and permit processes, saying “removing oversight” during the egg recall is unwise. Branstad said the state should aim to double ag production in Iowa by 2050 to help feed the world. Branstad grew up on a farm in north central Iowa and currently lives in a rural area near Boone where some of the surrounding land is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program.

Reporting at the Farm Progress Show by Tom Steever of The Brownfield Network; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson.

Francis Thicke does an interview at the statehouse.

The Democratic candidate for state ag secretary says the Republican who is currently serving as Secretary of Agriculture has had the authority to inspect the feed that’s been cited as a likely cause of the salmonella contamination at two Iowa egg operations.

Francis Thicke of Fairfield, the Democrat running for state ag secretary, says he’s been waiting to see if Ag Secretary Bill Northey, a Republican, would “step up” and take action on the matter. “But so far it appears he’s avoiding the issue and, at best, is making excuses,” Thicke says. “To me, it’s a national embarassment to Iowa and it’s damaging to our reputation as the producer of quality food.” 

The Iowa Department of Agriculture has the authority to license and inspect commercial feed mills. Thicke says he supports the “common sense” exemption Northey’s agency has provided to individual farmers who grind feed on their own farm for their own livestock. “Every tractor with a mixer/grinder shouldn’t have to be inspected,” Thicke says. “However, to exempt a facility that grinds over 12,000 semis per year of feed –  it belies common sense.”

The feed being fed to the chickens on the two Iowa egg facilities at the heart of the recall is produced by Jack DeCoster, and Thicke says DeCoster should not be among the farm operations which are exempt from state inspection of feed. “If I were secretary of agriculture, I would see solutions, not excuses,” Thicke says. “I would step up immediately and exercise the full authority granted by the law to assure Iowans and all Americans that we can and will protect our food supply. If I found regulatory holes that endangered our food supply, I would work with the Iowa legislature to create a stronger regulatory framework, so I think that secretary of agriculture should take action right now.”

Thicke made his comments this morning during a news conference at the statehouse.   Listen: capft

Dustin Vande Hoef, Northey’s campaign spokesman, issued a written statement.  “It is very disconcerting that a candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture would advocate stepping beyond the Department’s legal authority and violating private property rights,” Vande Hoef said. “In Mr. Thicke’s statement, he expresses a desire to target private farmer feed mills based on size, and the definition of what constitutes ‘large’ would rest with him alone and have nothing to do with what the law actually says.”

According to Vande Hoef,  Iowa law allows the state ag department to license and inspect commercial feed mills that sell or distribute feed.  “As a result, it does not apply to private individuals that mix feed for their own animals,” Vande Hoef said. “The law makes no distinction based on size and gives no authority for the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture to pick-and-choose private feed mills to inspect.”

(This story was updated at 11:05 a.m.)

Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley husks sweet corn with Iowa Guard soldiers.

Thousands of ears of sweet corn were delivered to the Army base in Mississippi where Iowa National Guard troops are training before heading off to duty in Afghanistan.

Congressman Bruce Braley of Waterloo arranged to have 400 dozen ears of Iowa sweet corn delivered there yesterday so the Iowa soldiers could have one more taste of Iowa before they deploy.

“I grew up in Iowa loving sweet corn and watching the huge amount that was delivered down here makes me very hungry for dinnertime,” Braley said during a telephone interview with Radio Iowa.

Braley got the idea while visiting Iraq with a congressman from Mississippi this past December. Braley participated in “Operation Gumbo Drop” which involved the two congressmen helping to serve 7500 pounds of gumbo and shrimp to Mississippi National Guard soldiers on duty at a base north of Baghdad.

“That’s when I decided if I ever had the opportunity, I wanted to do something similar for the Iowa National Guard,” Braley said. “My office staff worked with a group of great Iowans to help put this all together.”

Congressman Bruce Braley and Fred Greiner, president & COO of Fareway Stores

Fareway Stores donated a truck and the truck’s driver donated his time to drive the sweet corn south.  The Iowa Farm Bureau, several eastern Iowa veterans organizations as well as individual Iowans contributed corn, some melons and money to the effort.  

“So it’s just a great example of Iowans working together to try to provide a little taste of Iowa for some brave men and women who deserve a little tasty treat,” Braley said.

Braley spoke with Radio Iowa at about a quarter ’til four yesterday afternoon — and he was heading back to the “mess” to help prepare for the evening’s sweet corn feed. “I personally was involved in husking a large amount of sweet corn and there’s still a lot more to be husked before dinner time,” Braley said, with a laugh.

About three dozen Iowa business owners were at the camp, too, part of a delegation flown there by the military.

Iowa Business Council executive director Elliott Smith was among the group that arrived at Camp Shelby on Tuesday.  ”It’s really a remarkable experience,” Smith said during a telephone interview. 

 ”We’ve seen how they handle check-points, how they deal with local Afghans. They actually have native Afghans here speaking the language to really simulate, as closely as possible, the encounters they’ll have with villagers and elders.” 

The Iowa Business Council’s executive director, along with nearly 40 Iowa business owners, made a 36-hour trip, and got back to Iowa yesterday. “We’ve all been hugely impressed with just the rigor and the enthusiasm and the motivation here,” Smith said about an hour before the Iowans left Camp Shelby. “They’re doing a great job.”

Some of the business owners on the trip have workers who are on leave from their job because they’ve been called to active duty.  “Actually some folks came down here with lists of employees or even family members that are down here right now training and we’ve been crossing paths with them periodically,” Smith said. “It’s been fun to watch the reaction when we find people we know.”

Almost 3000 Iowa National Guard soldiers are at Camp Shelby, then they’ll ship out to a base in California before leaving for Afghanistan.

Braley’s office released a list of businesses, organizations and individuals who helped make the shipment of corn and watermelon possible.  It includes:
· Iowa Farm Bureau
· John Chidester
· Ray and Michelle Christenson, Grimes Sweet Corn
· Fred Greiner, Fareway Foods
· Mike Penick
· Greg and Polly Rinehart
· Mark and Cindy Westrum, Westrum Produce
· Capitol City Fruit in Des Moines
· Rock Island Arsenal Chapter of the Association of the US Army
· Dubuque American Legion Post 6
· Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 in the Quad Cities
· Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter in Cherokee, Iowa
· American Legion Post 26 in Davenport, Iowa

Photos courtesy of  Congressman Bruce Braley’s office.

The Iowa Utilities Board unveiled a report today  that shows 95% of Iowans have access to high-speed internet. Krista Tanner, a member of the Utilities Board, is also chair of the Iowa Broadband Deployment Governance Board that was appointed by the governor to develop a plan to promote the adoption of high speed broadband access across the state.

Tanner says this report gives them a lot to work with and they’ll use the data to find gaps in availability and figure out how to fill the gaps. Tanner says they will also try to figure out why people aren’t adopting broadband. Tanner says this report gives a more detailed county-by-county breakdown they can use, and cites one area that raises questions.

Tanner says while 95% of households across the state have broadband available, only 68% of the households in Ringgold County have it available. Tanner says that’s in contrast to Pocahontas County — which has 99.98% availability — and it is also a highly rural county. She says the information in the report can help them analyze what Pocahontas County is doing and use that information to help other similar counties.

Tanner says they do know there’s a strong penetration of fixed wireless platforms in the area, and they need to examine if that high concentration of platforms is the reason why the broadband penetration is so good in the county. Tanner says they also want to find out why people who have access to broadband service are not using it.

Tanner says only about 66% of Iowans subscribe to broadband, so 34% of households aren’t using it. She says 29% have the service available, and don’t subscribe, and they want to find out why. Tanner says they’ll be talking with elected officials, civic leaders, educators, economic developers, and private entrepreneurs to help it better understand Iowa’s broadband challenges.

You can see the entire report titled “Iowa Broadband: Current Market Analysis & Initial Recommendations for Acceleration of Iowa’s Broadband Market” on-line at:www.connectiowa.org.

State tax receipts for the month of August were up compared to the same month a year ago. Jeff Robinson of the Legislative Services Agency has crunched the numbers.

“Generally, things have gotten better, but they aren’t still running as well as they normally do,” Robinson says. “So good news in the short run, but we need more growth before things can be said to have turned around.”

Iowans paid eight percent more in personal income taxes last month compared to August, 2009. ”Personal income tax was definitely up, not only this month but for the two months of the fiscal year so far and that is definitely good news,” Robinson says. “The only bad news would be it’s up over a very bad comparison…Receipts were very down last year.” 

Sales and use taxes paid to the state increased by 1.7 percent in July and August.  “Again, not a particularly high percentage growth, historically, but very good compared to the last 18 months,” Robinson says. 

Robinson estimates there’s been a net increase in overall state tax receipts of 1.8 percent during the first two months of the state fiscal year, which began July 1, 2010.

Nearly a quarter of a million people who have failed to pay Iowa court fines and fees can pay half of what they owe — and the rest will be forgiven, but it’s a limited time offer.

The State of Iowa is sending notices through the mail to about 217,000 people who owe court fines and fees that are more than four years past-due. The letter outlines that debtors can pay half of the overdue fines and fees in one lump sump and the other half of the debt will be erased. It’s part of a new amnesty program that starts today, September 1 and ends November 30, 2010.

Roger Stirler of the Iowa Department of Revenue says state officials don’t quite know what to expect.  “We’ve never done a court fine amnesty before,” Stirler says. “The ones we’ve done before have always been income tax (amnesty), so this is kind of new territory for us.” 

About $300 million worth of Iowa court fines and fees dating back to December 1, 2006 and before that are past due, and eligible for the “amnesty” program.  ”To our knowledge, no other state has done a court debt amnesty,” Stirler says. “A lot of them have done like we have, on the income tax, but not on the court debt.”

Stirler says most long-over-due court fines, penalties, fees and other court costs can be paid under the program.  “But some of those things that aren’t eligible are things like victim restitution. It does not include fines that are payable to cities or counties. Civil penalties and reinstatement fees that are assessed by the Department of Transportation are not eligible,” he says. “It also does not include child support or alimony and if a person has jail fees that they’re required to reimburse the state for, those are not eligible for the program either.”

People who are on probation or parole are not allowed to take advantage of the amnesty program, nor can those who are currently in jail or prison.

The state is mailing notices to the 217,000 people who are eligible to take advantage of the amnesty program, but those letters may not reach all of them. ”We are attempting to contact all of the eligible people by mail, so they should be getting a letter,” Stirler says. “But if they don’t get a letter and think they should have, they need to contact us because we obviously have addresses that are very old and we aren’t going to be able to reach everyone on this.” 

State officials have posted more information about the amnesty program online at www.PayTheFineIowa.gov.

Drained Lake Delhi on August 18th.

The Delaware County Board of Supervisors is pledging to support rebuilding the Lake Delhi Dam — in spirit, but not with cash.

 One supervisor says providing county funds for a privately-owned structure wouldn’t be fair to other residents and places in the county that suffered flood damage. Supervisors chairman Jeff Madlom says the board did agree to search for ways to help find funding.

Madlom says they’re looking for grants and for someone who knows how to write grants. The 92-year-old dam gave way in late July, draining what was a popular nine-mile recreational lake in northeast Iowa, damaging or destroying up to 300 homes. Madlom says Delaware County also intends to take part in the National Flood Insurance Program and an ordinance should go into effect later this month.

The first reading of the ordinance will come during the September 7th meeting, with a second and final reading possible on September 13th. After that, the entire 18-page document will have to be published and then it will be an ordinance by September 22nd, if all goes as planned.

If the supervisors adopt the ordinance, it will allow Lake Delhi flood victims to collect individual recovery assistance from the state or federal governments. It will also allow Delaware County residents to get flood insurance at a reasonable price. Madlom says he’s glad the county and Lake Delhi are able to work together on the issues.

“We’re trying to work so closely with everyone,” he says. “We’re trying to put this county back together. Do we agree on everything? Absolutely not, but we’re working as hard as we can for a common goal.” Meanwhile, the Lake Delhi Task Force Committee plans to hold the first of several public meetings on Friday, September 10th at Maquoketa Valley High School in Delhi.

By Janelle Tucker, KMCH, Manchester

State lawmakers were in Ames Tuesday touring flood damage buildings at Iowa State University and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are also in town to begin their damage assessment. State Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, quizzed I.S.U. vice president Warren Madden about who will end up paying the local match that FEMA requires.

“Does the university have reserves for that or are looking at a state appropriation,?” Quirmbach asked and Madden replied, “We’re not far enough along to know what will be needed.” The current presidential disaster declaration has the federal government paying 75% of the cost. Legislators went inside and stood looking down on the bare concrete floor of Hilton Coliseum.

Dave Miller who heads up facilities management at I.S.U. says restoring the floor is the easy part of getting Hilton ready for basketball. “We could rent a floor if that’s what it took to have the first basketball game. So what will be necessary, the first basketball game what do you have to have? Well, were gonna have at least two out of the six elevators have got to be running,” Miller explained.

Miller showed lawmakers where three feet of drywall has been removed in ground level offices, but reconstruction is some days off, at least until crews make mechanical repairs and restore electricity. “We’re not yet reconstructing the building, but we are in the process of making it clean, dry and safe,” Miller says.

Miller says recovery is moving faster than it did in the last major flood in 1993, and it looks like Hilton will be ready for the opening of the basketball season. Officials say unless there’s more rain, parking should be okay for the season opening football game Thursday, in spite of some still soggy grass parking lots.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad says the state’s attorney general, who is a Democrat, bears some responsibility for the massive egg recall which has created a “black eye” for Iowa’s poultry industry, while Attorney General Tom Miller says Branstad has his facts wrong.

Branstad blasted Miller during an appearance earlier today in Le Mars. “The present attorney general basically let Jack DeCoster off the hook. The whole state of Iowa is getting a black eye for that guy, habitual violator,” Branstad said of DeCoster. “We were on course to have him put out of business before I left office and then they cut a deal with him.”

Miller says his office “aggressively” prosecuted DeCoster, all the way to the Supreme Court. “Former Governor Branstad is totally mistaken about the law in Iowa concerning feedlots and habitual violators,” Miller said during a telephone interview with Radio Iowa. “It’s either a convenient memory, or a misrepresentation.”

In 2000, after the state filed several lawsuits, DeCoster agreed to be labeled an “habitual violator” of state environmental laws and, as such, DeCoster was banned from building any new animal feeding operations in Iowa until October of 2004. DeCoster, however, was able to assume ownership of Wright County Egg. It’s a facility that’s at the heart of the salmonella outbreak.

In 2005, Attorney General Tom Miller received a $10,000 campaign contribution from Peter DeCoster, Jack DeCoster’s son. Miller returned the donation this past Monday after his Republican opponent raised questions about the check.  Branstad today suggested there’s something fishy about the contribution Miller got from DeCoster.

“I can tell you the Democratic Governors Association has gotten big money from this guy as well,” Branstad said in Le Mars.  “And you know, we should not have this in state government. Everybody ought to be treated the same and if we have somebody that has consistently violated the law — there’s no reason why this guy should be in business.”

According to Miller, state law goes only so far as to prevent an “habitual violator” of environmental standards from expanding in Iowa. “Former Governor Branstad could not be more wrong on the facts or on the law,” Miller said.  “There wasn’t the authority to put Jack DeCoster out of business in the hog area, where we were working. There was the authority to make him an habitual violator. We did that.”

Jack DeCoster started building hog facilities in Iowa in the 1980s, during Branstad’s first term as governor. Branstad suggests DeCoster’s reputation is unfairly tarnishing an entire industry. “There’s a lot of good people that are in the business of poultry and egg production in this state — and pork production — and unfortunately they paint ‘em with a broad brush and give everybody a bad name for one really bad egg,” Branstad said in Le Mars. “And he’s the one that should be put out of business.” 

And Branstad is using this episode as a rallying cry for the Republican candidate who is running against Miller, the longtime state attorney general. ”We have got a candidate for attorney general named Brenna Findley who has the guts to go to court and enforce the habitual violator law that our present attorney general won’t,” Branstad told the audience in Le Mars.

According to Miller, Branstad and his staff supported Miller’s prosecution of DeCoster in the 1990s — and DeCoster is the first and only farmer in Iowa to be designed an habitual violator. “But there was no authority to put him out of business and the idea that Branstad thought we could put him out of business is a total figment of his imagination,” Miller said during the interview with Radio Iowa. 

Miller is seeking an eighth term as attorney general and Branstad is seeking a fifth term as governor this November.

(Reporting by KLEM’s Joanne Glamm in Le Mars; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson in Des Moines)