Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Archives for News

Audio recording tripped up Tipton, the lottery rigging felon

By

Surveillance video helped prosecutors catch Eddie Tipton in Hot Lotto rigging.

Now that the man who rigged lottery jackpots in Iowa and four other states has been sentenced for his crimes, officials are highlighting key details that led to Eddie Tipton’s demise.

Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich said Tipton bought his Hot Lotto ticket at one of the handful of Iowa conveniences stores that — back in December of 2010 — had audio on the video surveillance of purchases.

“It was the audio, when it was released, that actually gave him up, not the video,” Rich told Radio Iowa today. “He was just really unlucky that he went into that particular store and bought the ticket.”

It was a lottery official in Maine who first recognized Tipton’s southern accent because Tipton had been in Maine a couple of days earlier to do a security check at the Maine Lottery. Mary Neubauer, a vice president at the Iowa Lottery, told Radio Iowa that was just one of the “lucky breaks” in the case against the former security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association.

“I think the thing that has puzzled the public is why didn’t people realize sooner that it was Eddie Tipton,” Neubauer said. “In the case of the person from the Maine Lottery, the folks from the Multi-State Lottery and the person here at the Iowa Lottery who all called and said: ‘I think it’s Eddie Tipton,’ they all had had recent contact with Eddie Tipton, like within hours or within days before the video was released.”

The Iowa Lottery’s CEO said another key moment came when investigators mapped out the five tickets Tipton knew were sure-winners.

“It was an easy spot to be able to crack the case,” Rich said.

That’s because the drawings were held during the long Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods when Tipton was driving from Iowa to his home in Texas.

“It appeared that those times of year gave Eddie Tipton an excuse to be on the road and be traveling,” Neubauer said, “and then that gave him the opportunity to buy lottery tickets in lots of different states.”

Over a six-year period, Tipton rigged jackpots in Colorado, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma. Tipton managed to “wipe” the malicious code off the computers that generated the winning jackpot numbers for the lotteries in all but one of those states. Neubauer said investigators found that needle in the haystack.

“There was still a computer in existence up in the state of Wisconsin that he hadn’t been able to get to and that’s where they ultimately found the code,” Neubauer said. “…Some lucky breaks, some technology and some perseverance were all part of the story.”

Iowa Lottery officials never paid the two people who tried to claim the Hot Lotto Jackpot for Tipton. The Canadian lawyer who called first had the security code on the ticket and told Neubauer he was wearing “a blazer and gray flannel dress pants” when he bought the ticket. Neubauer, who took the phone call, knew he was lying because the security camera footage showed a man in jeans and a hoodie making the purchase.

State economic development leaders to consider Apple data center

By

It appears technology giant Apple will join the list of companies with data centers in Iowa.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday morning to review an application for Apple, Inc. It’s believed Apple officials plan to build a data center in the Des Moines suburb of Waukee.

The IEDA board will consider incentives for the project. Details about the incentives and potential jobs are not being released prior to meeting. Other tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft already have data centers in Iowa.

Third Democratic candidate emerges in fourth congressional district

By

Paul Dahl

A third candidate who has run for congress before has announced he’ll seek the Democratic nomination in Iowa’s fourth district.

Fifty-three-year-old Paul Dahl of Webster City is a former United Methodist minister and librarian who’s working now as a bus driver. Dahl says the current political system is unfairly being “ruled by the rich.”

“More middle class members of congress are definitely needed,” Dahl says.

Dahl says the “top one percent” in the country “take more than their share of the wealth.”

“The sad fact that more millionaires are in congress than ever before shows us that the system is skewed and in need of recalibration,” says Dahl, who supports dramatic reform of the campaign finance system.

Dahl also declared himself a candidate for governor in 2013, but withdrew before the 2014 primary. If he remains in the congressional race through June of 2018, Dahl would likely face two other Democrats seeking the chance to challenge Republican Congressman Steve King.

“I abhor politicians that want publicity, no matter if positive or negative in nature, to bring attention to themselves,” Dahl says. “It is high time that the Iowans of the fourth district retire Mr. King from office and replace him with a representative that serves Democrats, independents and Republicans in equal measure.”

In 1994, Dahl ran for congress in Iowa’s old fifth district when then Congressman Fred Grandy did not seek reelection, but Dahl lost in that Democratic Primary to Sheila McGuire.

(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)

Powerball jackpot is second largest ever

By

Powerball ticket sales are expected to be brisk for the big drawing.

The prize in tonight’s Powerball drawing has bumped up to $700 million — making it the second largest lottery prize ever offered in North America.

Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says the big number brings in lots of new players hoping to become rich. She reminds everyone to not get carried away.

“You only have to have one ticket to have a shot at it, so please play responsibly, don’t get in over your head,” Neubauer says. “Just make it something fun that you do — like going out to eat or going to a movie — but don’t spend beyond you means I guess would be the bottom line.” She says big jackpots often lead to groups of people buying tickets together.

“When the jackpot gets big like it is now, we do see the pool play phenomenon, the office pool really kick in. Whether it’s folks playing with their neighbors, or maybe with their family, or with their coworkers,” she says. Buying tickets in a group can be fun if you win, but Neubauer says it can also cause problems if you don’t keep track of everything.

“If you’re the person buying the ticket on behalf of the group, maybe make photocopies of the ticket so that everybody in the group knows exactly what tickets were for the group,” Neubauer says. “Keep very close track of who put in money for the purchase of tickets so there’s no question about that later.”

Neubauer says if you purchase tickets for a group and want to buy some for yourself, you should buy them at a different store and different time so it is very clear that those tickets are yours. She says they have several more tips on their website to help you avoid spending the money you won in a jackpot on lawsuits afterwards.

“It’s a fun thing for everybody to be a part of the collective daydream talking about what you would do with the money if you won — but we just don’t want to see it cause complications later,” Neubauer says. There’s a history of success for pool players in Iowa as the winners of the largest Powerball prize claimed here were members of an office pool.

The group all worked together in the shipping department of the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids when they won a $241 million jackpot in June of 2012. They called themselves the “shipping 20” when they came to collect the jackpot.

Neubauer says strong sales could push the jackpot even higher before the 8:59 p.m. drawing.

Iowa Lottery photo.

Northwest IA firm plans to hire 200-300 new employees by mid-2019

By

A northwest Iowa business recently ranked among the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. plans to “nearly triple” its workforce.

GrapeTree Medical Staffing is based in Milford, in the Iowa Great Lakes region. It’s a temporary staffing agency for about a thousand health care facilities in Iowa and seven other states. The company plans to spend up to $20 million to expand its headquarters in Milford, with a completion date sometime in the summer of 2019.

Company officials say they’ll hire 200-300 new employees once that office space is ready. GrapeTree currently has about 90 staff in its home office. They work with nearly three-thousand nurses and other health care professionals who fill temporary openings in hospitals and other health facilities.

The GrapeTree company was launched in 1999 by a man who was a travelling nurse. GrapeTree now has contracts with half of all the health care facilities in Iowa to fill last-minute or long-term staffing shortages. Inc magazine recently ranked GrapeTree among its list of the 5000 fastest-growing companies in the country.

Adam Gregg accompanies WWII veteran grandpa on Honor Flight

By

Lt. Governor Adam Gregg and his grandfather Glenn.

Acting Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg accompanied his grandfather on an “Honor Flight” to Washington, D.C. yesterday.

Ninety-two-year-old Glenn Gregg of Hawarden joined the Army during World War II. He was shot in the leg in Germany in 1944. Six-and-a-half decades later, he was awarded the Purple Heart for his actions on the battlefield.

Glenn Gregg (middle) with other Sioux County veterans.

Gregg was one of nearly 90 veterans from northwest Iowa, southwest Minnesota and southeast South Dakota who took an “Honor Flight” to Washington, D.C.

They toured memorials to veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. They also witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

Adam Gregg says he was “deeply honored” to make the trip with his grandpa. He posted photos from the trip on Twitter.

 

Illinois police reviewing murder case involving Grinnell College student

By

Tammy Zywicki

Investigators say they’re reexamining evidence in the case of a Grinnell College student who disappeared 25 years ago today.

Twenty-one-year-old Tammy Zywicki was driving from her home in New Jersey to Iowa for her senior year, but she never made it to the Grinnell campus.

On August 23, 1992, Zywicki’s car was found abandoned on Interstate 80 in central Illinois. Nine days later, her body was found wrapped in a blanket in southwestern Missouri. She’d been stabbed and sexually assaulted. There have been no arrests.

In a news release Tuesday, Illinois State Police said they’re examining 200 items of evidence in the case, and “retesting items with modern DNA technology.” The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to any suspects.

 

Man shot at convenience store is the 22nd homicide in Des Moines

By

Noah Campbell

Des Moines Police are investigating the city’s 22nd homicide of 2017.

Nineteen-year-old Noah Campbell of Des Moines died after police say he was shot at a convenience store on the capital city’s east side late Tuesday night. There’s no word of any arrests.

The 22 homicides in Des Moines this year is the most since 1990 – when there were a total of 23.

Insurance commissioner submits plan for individual health insurance to feds

By

Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen has submitted his plan to the federal government that he says will help those who are being left out by the state’s collapsing individual health insurance market.

“If the administration approves the stopgap measure — we believe that we can help save nearly 20-thousand Iowans — middle class, self-employed, early retirees in our market,” Ommen says. The “stopgap” plan he proposes redirects federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act to encourage younger, healthier people to buy insurance.

Iowa is down to one company that plans to offer individual insurance plans and Ommen says some people are facing premium increases that would double. He was asked about the concerns of some have raised about high deductibles under his plan.

“What we’ve done is we’ve actually dramatically reduced the premium in order to reflect that concern,” Ommen says. He says individuals at any income level will have access to the same silver level plan and the premiums for a 28-year-old will be as little as 10 dollars a month, The lower premiums will help with the deductibles.

Ommen says the lower premiums will save them several hundred dollars and give them more money for the copays. Ommen says they’ve been working on the plan as if it will be approved by federal officials, because they have to think that way. But he can’t say if it will get approval.

“I’m not gonna even guess on that. We’ve been meeting with them, we’ve addressed their concerns, we’ve made very effort to address their concerns, and we believe that we are ready to be given the answer ‘yes’,” Ommen says.

Ommen first proposed the stopgap plan in June and the Iowa Insurance Division has been working with federal officials to finalize the proposal.

Senator Ernst agrees it’s not time to withdraw from Afghanistan

By

Senator Joni Ernst. (file photo)

Senator Joni Ernst is praising President Trump for using his prime time address on Monday to call on India and Pakistan to do more in Afghanistan.

“Great intent shown by our president,” Ernst says of the president’s plan.

According to Ernst, 20 different terrorist networks have found refuge in Afghanistan and now is not the time to abandon the fight there. Ernst, a veteran of the Iraq war, said President Obama made a mistake by setting a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq — and Ernst said Trump made the right decision to refrain from signalling an end date for the Afghan war.

“Now it’s up to congress and our military leaders to decide actually what should be happening on the ground,” Ernst said,” and we don’t want to project that out to the American public or any of our adversaries.”

Ernst said Afghanistan is “vulnerable” to the influence of Iran and Russia and she said maintaining U.S. military operations in Afghanistan at “status quo” levels would have been unacceptable.

(Reporting by Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)