Iowa's Radio News Network
Josephy Mayorga Jr.
The Lee County Sheriff has made an arrest in the death of a man at a roadside park near Wever in February.
State and local officers worked for several months on the case until a suspect was identifed. Deputies charged 35-year-old Joseph Mayorga Jr with first-degree murder in the death of 47-year-old James Nelson. Mayorga was already in jail on an unrelated charge.
An autopsy found that Nelson died from a single gunshot to the head.
Unseasonably warm weather has held off the cool fall days in Iowa and that’s impacting the transition of some trees to their fall leaf colors.
State Forester Jeff Goerndt says dry weather has also had an impact on the changing of leaf colors. “I think the dryness has affected us a great deal — the warm weather sets it back,” Goerndt says. He says the cool fall days are important to the process.
“Usually the colors are best when you have just warm, balmy days and then cool, crisp, clear nights,” according to Goerndt. Goerndt says it is early for central and southern Iowa and the colors should improve as we move deeper into fall. “In the next couple of weeks it’s going to start getting a little better,” Goerndt says. “I just can’t tell right now how brilliant it is going to be. I’ve got a couple of hard maples in my yard that are usually quite brilliant — but they haven’t done anything yet. I think you’re going to see a lot more oranges and browns and yellows this year.”
He lives in Chariton in the south-central part of the state and says northeast Iowa has a larger variety of trees and usually has some of the best leaf color in the state. And northeast Iowa has had more rain this year too, which should help the color. He says the Loess Hills corridor had some good leaf color.
Goerndt says the drought conditions in the southern part of the state could have a longer term impact on trees beyond impacting leaf color.
“They’ll be a little deficient. The thing about drought is you can’t really predict what it’s going to do as far as long term affects, because it can affect a tree for several years afterwards,” Goerndt says. The DNR provides a weekly fall color report each Monday afternoon.
Updates are available by calling the DNR fall color hotline at 515-233-4110 and online at www.iowadnr.gov/fallcolor.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will take a more concentrated look at the deer who roam along the state’s western border with Nebraska this fall to screen for Chronic Wasting Disease.
The move comes after 5 deer harvested in southeast Nebraska in 2016 tested positive for the disease. The CWD coordinator for the DNR, Terry Haindfield, says the effort will be similar to what they’ve done when CWD has been detected in other border states.
“We’ve been obviously watching the eastern border along Wisconsin and Illinois and also Minnesota and Missouri. But now we are watching our some of our border to the west along the Missouri River due to some positives in southeast Nebraska,” Haindfield.
The effort starts with meetings Monday and Tuesday. He says they are going to talk to the public about the increase surveillance from Woodbury down to Fremont counties. Haindfield says they normally take 15 samples in every county. But he says they increase the number of samples in those border counties of states where CWD has been found and that’s what’s going to happen now on the western side of the state.
“We’re doing anywhere from 100 to 150 samples from hunter-collected deer in those areas — that’s our goal anyway for this fall,” Haindfield explains. The western counties have the “Big Muddy” between them and the infected deer in Nebraska, but Haindfield says it’s not an impenetrable border.
“Those border rivers are not immune to crossing from deer — they can obviously swim those — but they still are physical barriers. So that does give us somewhat of a nice hope that they might not have crossed that yet.” While it hasn’t been conclusively proven, it’s believed the infected deer in eastern Iowa may’ve come across the river there based on their location.
“We’ve had 18 positives total, 17 being in Allamakee and one new one in Clayton County northwest of Elkader this last fall,” Haindfield says. Haindfield says he’s been impressed with the way the people in northeast Iowa have stepped up to help collect samples and track the deer there.
He says the support has been “tremendous” after their meetings there and he says that’s why it is important for people in western Iowa to attend the meetings and find out what is going on. “Hunters and landowners have stepped up greatly in helping us get those samples, and also to help stop the spread of chronic wasting disease,” according to Haindfield.
The first meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday (Sept. 25), in the Lewis and Clark State Park Visitor Center, three miles west of Onawa. The second is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 26) at the public library in Missouri Valley.
We are just heading into fall and winter is still weeks away, but cases of the flu are already showing up in Iowa.
Health Department Medical Director Patricia Quinlisk says they’ve seen a handful of cases and it’s a sign to begin preparing. “We’re starting to see people diagnosed with the flu and we’ve actually even had some hospitalizations due to the flu,” Quinlisk says. “So, it’s starting to pick up and we want to remind everybody that it’s time to go get your flu shot.”
Doctor Quinlisk says it takes up to two weeks after vaccination for the body to develop full protection against the flu virus — so it’s a good time to take the precaution before flu cases really get heavy. “It typically really doesn’t get going so that it’s really spreading in our communities usually until November and December — and then it really gets going in January and February,” according to Quinlisk. “But of course you never know when you are going to be exposed, so we want everybody to get their vaccine before they even have a chance of being exposed.”
Quinlisk says it’s too early to say how severe the flu season may be — but one indicator is the flu season in the southern hemisphere. “One of the things that we are seeing from places like Australia and New Zealand is that they had a really bad flu year. A lot of people got sick and a lot of people were hospitalized. And that often will predict that we will also have a bad flu year,” Quinlisk says. She says getting the flu shot is one way to lessen the impact of the flu.Quinlisk says the flu vaccine is meant to prevent people from getting sick and dying — but it doesn’t stop every sniffle and sneeze.
Quinlisk says the flu shot does keep the sniffles and sneezes from becoming more serious. “People can get the flu shot and still get the flu,” she says, “but the thing to remember is they probably would have gotten a lot sicker and perhaps even gotten hospitalized and died if they hadn’t been vaccinated. So, do get your flu shot, especially if you are in one of those high-risk groups.”
The high-risk groups include: pregnant women, children, adults aged 65 years and over, and people who have certain medical conditions like asthma, diabetes and chronic lung disease. Doctor Quinlisk says good hygiene also is important in preventing the flu.
“People don’t realize that you can pick up these viruses on your hands and then you rub your eye or touch your nose and spread it to yourself. So keep your hands clean. Soap and water is good,” Quinlisk says. She says the flu vaccine is plentiful and you shouldn’t have any problem finding a place to get vaccinated.
Danica Arzaga
The woman who prompted an Amber Alert Tuesday was arrested in Sioux City.
Sioux City Police arrested 25-year old Danica Arzaga Wednesday afternoon. Arzaga allegedly abducted her three young daughters Tuesday from the Clay County town of Royal.
The abduction led to an Amber Alert and the girls were safely found Tuesday evening in Sanborn. Arzaga is charged with three counts of third degree kidnapping. She is being held in the Woodbury County Jail on a 30-thousand dollar bond.
Attorney Jim Larew presents his arguments to the Iowa Supreme Court.
The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a couple of cases involving speed camera tickets issued by Cedar Rapids.
Marla Leaf challenged her ticket, saying the city didn’t prove she was speeding. Attorney James Larew of Iowa City represents Leaf and another group of people who had their cases combined. Larew says one of the problems is Cedar Rapids’ Automated Traffic Enforcement ordinance lacks the proper procedure for challenging the tickets.
“That fact that a person challenges a speed camera does not mean that a person is in favor or speeding The two are not the same,” Larew says. “The question is — if you have a speeding ATE ordinance — what method is there to challenge what may be errant decisions made by the state. Beneath that question is, who has the lawful authority to decide where to put these?”
He says the ordinance does not make it clear you can appeal the ticket to district court. Larew also questioned the legality of the ticket based on the DOT rules for camera placement. “Our interpretation of what the DOT did and with the city, was that the evidence gathered to prosecute all of these people was solely with the use of technologies that the DOT said were unlawfully placed,” Larew says.
He says they want two things. “One, a refund of payments made. Two, if they haven’t made a payment, injunctive relief that the city won’t go after them in terms of collections. Those are the remedies that we seek,” according to Larew.
Larew also argued that the ordinance is selective because it lets some drivers go without violations, and they only takes pictures of the rear license plates — which leaves out most trucks. “No semi trucks that go through this passage of highway, and thousands of government, none of them have license plates that show up on the database as a matter of choice,” Larew says. “Whereas if they took front pictures of all of those vehicles everyone would be a part of the database. We feel that is a violation of equal protection.”
Assistant City Attorney Patricia Kropf presented the Cedar Rapids side of the case. “The city’s got at least two very important interests here. Not only protecting our public, but protecting our officers and our first responders,” Kropf says. She says the section of the Interstate 380 where the cameras are located is on an S-Curve and that makes it dangerous to have officers pull over speeders.
The justices questioned Kropf about why they let trucks and government cars go without tickets. “They’re just not in the database that we use and need to use in order to do this in a cost-effective manner,” Kropf says. And Cedar Rapids Assistant City Attorney, Elizabeth Jacobi, also spoke. Jacobi was asked by the justices if not giving tickets to trucks could make it appear the city was trying to appease the trucking industry which is very important economically for the city.
Jacobi says there are several factors involved and show favoritism to the trucking industry is not one of them. “To enforce the speed limit in a cost-effective manner within the city limits. And to do so in an objective, non-invasive way,” Jacobi explains. “Front plates were ruled out for multiple reasons — one of which is that they might be more invasive.” She says motorists do not want the front plate pictures which could show their faces and the faces of passengers in their cars. Jacobi says the way the tickets are issued shows they are focusing on safety.
“No individuals are even brought into this program unless there is an excessive speed,” Jacobi says. “And that also goes to the more tailored mode in which this program has been implemented…there is a 12 miles-an-hour threshold so that it is more narrowly tailored to a more dangerous vehicle.” The speed cameras in Cedar Rapids have been shut off while another case in Polk County challenges the DOT’s authority to regulate the cameras. The high court will issue its ruling at a later date.
Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen.
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen says he’s changed his feeling about the prospect that federal regulators will approve his plan to help thousands of Iowans keep health care coverage next year. Ommen said last week that he was growing “less optimistic” about approval.
“A little over a week or so ago I was starting to be a little bit concerned — but since that time we’ve had some really good communication with the federal government and the Trump Administration. So, we are very, very optimistic we will receive approval,” Ommen says.
His stop-gap plan tries to help 72,000 Iowans by getting a waiver so the Affordable Care Act subsidies can be used to younger, healthier people to help them buy insurance. And the plan would send some of the subsidies directly to insurance companies to cover the costs of treatment for seriously ill customers. Ommen says the state has now received a letter of completeness from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“And what that does is it begins the process of the federal comment period and allows citizens to submit their thoughts and opinions with regards to that measure,” Ommen explains. He hopes Iowans will speak out and let the federal government know they need the plan.
Ommen says it allows 30 days for people to give their opinion. “We had a comment period under state law as well and received a lot of very positive feedback,” Ommen says. “We look forward to moving through that process and getting that approval.” Ommen says the Insurance Division will move ahead with setting up the stopgap plan.
“We’re not going to wait until we get the final approval from the United States because this is really important for Iowa,” Ommen says. “I’ve compared those rates that were submitted under the ACA and I’ve looked at what it is that is available to Iowans under the stopgap — and frankly the right answer for Iowa in 2018 will be the stopgap measure.”
Just one company plans to offer individual policies in 2018 through the Affordable Care Act exchange. Enrollment for 2018 policies on the exchange begins November 1st.
The Iowa Transportation Commission approved grants and loans for three rail development projects at its meeting today.
DOT Rail Development Manager Laura Hutzell says a rail project in north Iowa to bring freight service to Clear Lake was awarded a loan of $655,000.
“It actually goes from Emory, Iowa to Clear Lake, Iowa. There’s a rail line up there that is doing some rehab. There’s a section of track that is currently being used to store empty cars and they are going to strengthen a couple of bridges on the rail line,” Hutzell says. The idea is create a place to unload freight and get it moving along the track.
“Open up some acreage west of Emory, Iowa that hopefully will be developed for some freight transloading and some industrial development there,” she says. There are no promised jobs tied to the Clear Lake project. The Sterilite Corporation in Davenport won a grant of a little more than one million dollars for some rail line access.
“Sterilite, which is the largest manufacturer of household plastics in North America is building an approximately two-and-a-half million square foot manufacturing and distribution center,” Hutzell says. “And they have an industrial park there — know as the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center — and that is where it will be located.” She says the money will pay for some rail improvements to help move the products.
She says they will build a spur track and a few turnouts to help meet the demand. Hutzell says there are around 100 jobs tied to the state funding. The Pattison Sand Company in the eastern Iowa town of Clayton was awarded a $700,000 loan and a $252,000 grant for rail service improvements.
“Pattison sand is Iowa’s only Frack sand producer. They had 21 jobs with this project. They actually applied to us last year as well….so this is phase two,” Hutzell explains. She says they will use the money to help move the sand.
“They are looking to do an addition of 3,300 track feed — adding approximately 75 rail car spots — as well as a rail scale to their site in Clayton,” according to Hutzell. The rail funding works similar to money given for roadway projects. If job creation is tied to the money, the companies have to prove they created the jobs.
Hutzell says they have around three years to fulfill the job requirements and they monitor the companies to see that they follow through. If they don’t create the number of promised jobs, they could have to pay back some of the money.
The Board of Regents will consider a plan to ask the governor and state lawmakers for more funding when they meet next week.
The board will meet next Monday and consider a proposal that asks for 16 million more dollars in state funding for the 2018-19 academic year. That request comes with the promise that a majority of the money — $12 million — will go to increase the amount of financial aid giving to students at Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.
This request comes after the three schools told the board they need to raise tuition by seven percent in the next year. The U-I and ISU want to continue that increase each of the next four years, while UNI would gradually lower the increase.
Here’s background on the proposal the Board of Regents will discuss: Regents appropriation request PDF
The Iowa Department of Education released its new plan Monday to meet the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. Department of Education director, Ryan Wise, says they put a lot of effort into the plan and got input from all across the state.
“We’ve said from the beginning this is about ensuring opportunity for all students and that is really state and locally driven, and that we would carry that through the entire process,” Wise says. The new federal legislation replaces the old No Child Left Behind, and Wise says it does something the old plan didn’t
“That is really a focus on ensuring that state and local districts are going beyond single-point in time measures on just math and English language arts — and really ensuring that schools are providing a well-rounded education for all students,” Wise says. The Department’s chief of the Bureau of School Improvement, Amy Williamson, says the plan sets out goals for districts.
“We wanted to make sure that we set these goals knowing that we wanted a high bar for all students. And we wanted to address the fact that there are achievement gaps between some groups of students and all students,” Williamson says. “And we wanted to make sure that we are aggressive in closing those gaps.”
She says the new plan focuses on helping districts that don’t meet their goals instead of punishing them.”When those criteria aren’t met, we can actually step up the support that we provide for schools,” Williamson explains. “And the way that we would do that is to implement more state approved improvement strategies that are evidenced based. And to direct more of the teacher leadership and compensation resources that districts receive toward implementation of the evidence-based strategies.”
Williamson says they will use assessments to set the goals for the schools and those goals will increase over time. The plan was submitted to the federal government Monday and federal officials have 120 days to look it over and respond.