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King says farmers want EPA action on ethanol, not $12 billion aide package

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Congressman Steve King.

Republican Congressman Steve King today said the best thing the Trump Administration could do to alleviate farmers’ angst about the trade war would be to allow higher percentages of ethanol to be blended into gasoline year-round.

“Let the market determine what that blend could be It could go E15, E20, E30, all the way up to E85,” King said. “If the administration does that, I will tell you our producers here would be happy and they would be a lot happier than the promise of $12 billion distributed. They want to earn and they want to trade.”

King met privately Monday evening with EPA acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. King said Wheeler is trying to strike a deal that will placate the ethanol and oil industries.

“Administrator Wheeler is cautious. He’s afraid that if he opens up the door for E15 and beyond that there will be litigation,” King said. “The argument I made to him strongly is if you’re trying to get two stakeholders to agree, the one that already holds the advantage is never going to agree, so you have to go ahead and do what’s right.”

King is among those attending an event featuring Vice President Mike Pence this afternoon in Des Moines. King said the 2017 tax bill was an early Christmas present that is still giving and has created confidence and optimism in the business community.

“The cloud that looms over us is the one of “where does trade take us?'” King said. “But many of them say, ‘I’m willing to ride this thing out if we get a better deal on the other side.'”

King spoke with reporters before the event started. King said he’s warned the Trump Administration things “will get pretty tense” in Iowa if there’s no progress on trade deals by the time soybeans are maturing in September.

Former Sioux City senator ends short retirement and is running once again

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Rick Bertrand

A Sioux City businessman’s retirement from Iowa politics lasted about four months.

Rick Bertrand retired in April after finishing his second term in the Iowa Senate — but was nominated Tuesday evening by Sioux City Republicans to run again for the District 7 Senate seat. Bertrand was nominated by Steve Stokes, the former GOP candidate who dropped out of the race earlier this month for family and business reasons.

Bertrand says he decided to run again after several Republicans, including Governor Reynolds and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, started asking him to reconsider his retirement. “When you’re asked it’s a good feeling,” Bertrand says, “and the community asked. And when your governor asks and when the party asks, it’s a good place. It’s a good thing for Sioux City. And I think this is a win-win for Sioux City when we win this.”

Bertrand says if he is re-elected, he will continue to be a champion for Sioux City. “That’s probably the thing that excites me the most — not just going back, that you are wanted and the community supports you — but you are going to walk back with a nice bag of capital and that means leverage, and that is power,” according to Bertrand. “And there are some things that we need to get done around here. With Highway 20 getting completed, we are going to have some infrastructure opportunities.”

Bertrand was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2010. He was re-elected in 2014 by a 20 point margin. Former Woodbury County Supervisor Jackie Smith is the Democratic candidate for the senate seat.

(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)

 

Waterloo man allegedly threatened to set wife’s car on fire

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Patrick McGrane’s Black Hawk County Jail photo.

A Waterloo man was arrested early this morning for pouring gasoline on his wife’s car while she and her sister were inside.

Waterloo Police say 28-year-old Patrick McGrane is charged with first-degree arson after he poured a can of gasoline on the windshield of the car and threatened to light it on fire. McGrane’s wife told police he also struck the back passenger window with a shovel while she and her sister were in the car.

McGrane is being held in the Black Hawk County Jail on a $150,000 bond.

 

Transportation Commission cuts out rules governing traffic cameras

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Speed cameras in Cedar Rapids.

The Department of Transportation rules governing speed cameras that led to a lawsuit against the state are now off the books.

DOT Director of Traffic and Safety Steve Gent says the Transportation Commission took action at its meeting Tuesday. “The commission approved rescinding the automated traffic enforcement rules that the DOT worked with the Iowa Legislature to get in place to provide some oversight on the automated cameras around the state,” Gent says.

TheDOT  had ordered some cameras turned off under the rules issued in 2015. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on April 27th of this year that the doesn’t have the authority to stop cities from using traffic cameras along interstates. Gent says the commission took action to comply with the ruling.

“This is really just the paperwork of trying to rescind those rules once we got that ruling,” he says. The said the traffic cameras rules were designed to ensure the highways were safe — and that goal hasn’t changed.

“Going forward we’ll gladly work with any city or county that wants to put automated enforcement cameras out on the primary highway system,” Gent says. “Certainly they’ll be some minor things…we’ll make sure the roadway is safe, make sure when they are implementing a system putting devices on a system that they are using proper traffic control. Some of those general things to keep everybody safe.”

He says the cameras that hange over the roadway don’t create much concern after they are installed because they don’t move. The moveable cameras raise more safety concerns. “It’s either a vehicle with a camera in it or a trailer. But we’ll accommodate either type of those,” Gent says. Gent says any change in the regulation of the cameras is now up to lawmakers to decide.

“That is totally up to legislators. The Iowa DOT, we are always available to answer questions — but we will absolutely not take any proposals to the legislature,” according to Gent. Iowa Lawmakers have tried for several years to pass a ban or other types of regulation on the traffic cameras without any success.

 

Senator Grassley supports Space Force if it is needed for national defense

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Senator Chuck Grassley. (file photo)

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’ll back a Trump administration plan to create a Space Force as a new branch of the U.S. military.

Last week, Vice President Mike Pence outlined a proposed effort which would be established by 2020 to face “emerging threats on this new battlefield.” Grassley says the way Pence describes it, America is losing ground in the field where we were once the world leader.

“The United States is behind other countries as far as our concern about outer space, both from a military and an educational and a scientific point of view,” Grassley says. “We need to do more to protect our interests in space.” The Space Force would become the sixth branch of the U.S. military, following the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

The administration plan would have the Space Force established as soon as 2020. “I’m a strong believer in a strong national defense and if there’s a need to set up a separate branch of the military, I guess I’m willing to do it,” Grassley says, “just because of my interest in the number-one responsibility of the federal government: to defend our citizens.”

One concern Grassley raises is that there would be no duplication of duties between the new entity and existing divisions within the current military system. Grassley says he has concerns about our future security. “I can tell you, China is looking at all of this stuff in space and using it for defense, besides the scientific advantages you can have or the communications advantages you can have,” Grassley says. “Particularly, if they move ahead, we can’t cede space to any of our adversaries.”

The last time a new branch of the military was created was the Air Force in 1947, shortly after the end of World War Two.

 

Secretary of State Pate says hackers cannot alter votes on paper ballots

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Secretary of State Paul Pate.

Secretary of State Paul Pate — the commisioner of Iowa elections — said Tuesday there is no way for hackers to alter votes in Iowa because every one of the state’s voters cast a paper ballot.

“In Iowa, we don’t vote on the internet…so you can’t be voting from Moscow, Russia. You can’t. The only ones that I would let vote from Moscow are the folks from Moscow, Iowa,” Pate said. “That’s it.”

Pate spoke yesterday on The Des Moines Register’s Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. Pate warned the crowd “bad actors” on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook may try to sow doubt about election results.

“(They) will use propaganda to create that doubt in your minds. They want to undermine so you don’t believe the voting results…We cannot allow them to do that,” Pate said. “We work every day — the (county) auditors, the poll workers, myself…Homeland Security — we’re dealing with all these partners to try and make sure we do the very best to give you that assurance and we’re not going to stop.”

Pate, a Republican, served one term as secretary of state in the 1990s and returned to office in 2015. He is seeking reelection this year to a third term as secretary of state. His Democratic opponent, Deidre DeJear. Last week, DeJear accused Pate of not doing enough to secure voter registration information that is computerized, as recent news from the investigation of Russia’s attempt to influence the 2016 election revealed Russian operatives visited the websites of some Iowa counties.

Pate said new voter ID requirements will address that, as voters show a driver’s license, a military or tribal ID, a passport or voter registration card at their polling place.

“It gives us the crucial information to make sure you’re voting in the right location and you are who you say you are,” Pate said. “Ninety-two of our 99 counties already have E-poll books and this card or one type of ID that we’ve authorized are the key to it.”

The voter ID requirement takes effect in 2019. For the 2018 election, Iowans who do not show an ID at their polling place may sign an oath verifying their identity and will be allowed to cast a ballot.

Teens arrested and charged with sabotaging Wabash Trace Nature Trail, injuring bikers

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Bicyclist shows injury from Wabash Trail sabotage.

Bicyclists are feeling a lot safer on a popular trail in southwest Iowa following the arrests of three teenagers.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s deputies believe the juveniles were trying to injure cyclists on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail. Greg Losh, vice president of the group (Southwest Iowa Nature Trails) that manages the 62-mile long trail between Council Bluffs and Blanchard, says the incidents began in late June.

“There was a log in the trail, some juveniles were throwing large stones…and hit a man in the face right by his eye socket, and we discovered some twine (across) the trail at different times,” Losh said. The debris was often placed on the trail on Thursday nights when up to 2,000 cyclists participate in what’s called the “Taco Ride” from Council Bluffs to Mineola.

Two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old were arrested during last Thursday’s ride.

“So, it’s been a relief and the officers involved have been great with their undercover work on this,” Losh said. According to Losh, the deputies caught the teens preparing something that could’ve critically injured a cyclist.

“They kind of knew what they were looking for and I think they hid and watched the youth starting to put some fishing line across the trail when they made the arrests,” Losh said. The trail is dark in the area where the teens were allegedly placing obstructions. Losh said one cyclist badly skinned his elbow, knee, and hand in early July when he was thrown from his bike after hitting a log placed over the trail.

“They probably thought it was a funny prank, but when people get hurt bad, it’s really not funny,” Losh said. The teens are charged with simple misdemeanors. Their names are not being released.

(Photo courtesy of Greg Losh)

 

Waterloo men accused of illegally hunting deer

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Two Black Hawk County men are facing 14 charges for allegedly taking two deer out of season.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources conservation officer, Dakota Drish, says Waterloo police called him after officers found the men on the east side of the city. “They were on routine patrol and noticed a car that was illegally parked along side the road if you will. And the vehicle was running and they got out to investigate — and that’s when they noticed the illegal activity,” Drish says.

Thirty-one-year-old Paul Lu and 19-year-old Kyaw Wahny, both of Waterloo were found to have two male deer. They are each charged with: shooting firearm over water, highway or railroad right-of-way; hunting deer without a valid license; hunting without a valid hunting license; hunting without paying the habitat fee; taking deer out of season; taking deer with a prohibited rifle. They were also both given a warning for using an automobile and artificial light to hunt deer.

Drish says it was 1:26 in the morning and they believe the two men used flashlights to spot and shoot the deer in the dark. “We run into this quite often as the fall nears. They’ll use flashlights where the deer or raccoon or any other type of animal — their eyes light up and basically glow in the dark — and these subjects are able to harvest these animals illegally after the legal shooting hours and outside the season that way,” according to Drish. He credits the Waterloo officers with seeing the possible violation and calling him.

“It helps us tremendously when you have other agencies that are diligent when they run upon these types of cases and contact us and are able to work with these types of investigations,” Drish says. “So, the Waterloo Police Department did a phenomenal job in this case in particular.”

The antlers on the deer were still in velvet, which means that they had not fully completed their development.  Drish says the DNR is asking each man to pay $4,000 in restitution based on the size of the deer antlers. “On a deer that’s under 150 inches like this — the maximum that the state could be reimbursed is $10,000,” Drish explains. The men face other charges in the case of $2,244 dollars.

The two men are scheduled to appear in court today (Wednesday).

 

Reynolds says electing her will K.I.M. — Keep Iowa Moving

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

Governor Kim Reynolds today said the state’s low unemployment rate and the tax cuts she signed into law this spring show Iowa is on the right track with Republican leadership.

“And I’ve got something to tell you: we we’re just getting started,” Reynolds said. “We are never going to be satisfied with the status quo. There is so much potential and capacity that exists in this state and we’re excited about continuing the momentum.”

Reynolds spoke late this afternoon on The Des Moines Register’s Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. She did not mention her Democratic opponent Fred Hubbell by name, but did blast Democrats in general.

“We have a lot of positive things happening in Iowa and I know the other side wants to think everything’s doom and gloom and Iowa’s going to hell in a handbasket and I’m sorry. It is not,” Reynolds said and, as the crowd cheered, she continued: “No, it’s not!”

Reynolds has been governor for about 14-and-a-half months and emphasized the history made when she took the oath of office.

Governor Kim Reynolds spoke at the Iowa State Fair Tuesday.

“And today serve Iowans at the highest level as the first female governor of the great state of Iowa,” Reynolds said, to applause and cheers.

Reynolds touted the new state law authorizing “health benefit plans” to be sold by the Iowa Farm Bureau as a cheaper alternative to traditional insurance. Reynolds said it’s part of the “bold and ambitious agenda” that cleared the 2018 legislature.

“Keep Iowa Moving — K.I.M. — in the right direction,” Reynolds said near the end of her speech. “If you listen to what my opponent wants to do, he wants to reverse every single positive thing that we’ve done.”

Reynolds told the crowd her husband, Kevin, had an appendectomy at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. He was released from the hospital by Tuesday afternoon.

“I just want to thank the doctors, the surgeons and the nurses who did such a phenomenal job of taking care of Kevin,” Reynold said. “He’s back home already and he’s going hunting in two weeks, so that’s all he’s cared about. He wants to make sure he’s in good shape and can head off and go elk hunting.”

Kevin Reynolds retired a year ago after working as a district conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Federal judge orders Burlington to release video in fatal 2015 police shooting

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The city of Burlington will have to release all video records from the 2015 police shooting death of Autumn Steel.

A federal judge made the ruling that the records should be turned over after a lawsuit was filed by the Hawkeye newspaper and later by the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. The full body cam video, dash cam and all other records will be released. Judge James Gritzner has given the city two weeks to redact personal information from the records before they are released. Last week, the same judge approved the two million dollars settlement between the city and the Steele Family.

Burlington Police Officer Jesse Hill said he was trying to shoot an attacking dog after responding to a report of a domestic fight and inadvertently shot and killed the 34-year-old Steele.

(By Steve Putney, KBUR, Burlington)

Related stories:

City of Burlington paying $2 million to settle 2015 police shooting case

Lawyers present arguments in dispute over Burlington police records