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First IowaStock music festival scheduled for September in Madison County

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Jonathan Narcisse

More than 150 Iowa-based bands and musicians will be featured at a four-day festival scheduled for this fall in Madison County.

The event, called “IowaStock 2017 Music and Art Fair,” will take place September 1st through the 4th at the Avenue of the Saints Amphitheater in Saint Charles, about 30 miles south of Des Moines. Jonathan Narcisse is organizing IowaStock.

“It’s an idea that’s long overdue,” Narcisse said a news conference in Des Moines this morning. “We have not good musical talent in this state, but great musical talent, and it is an honor for me to be a part of this.” Narcisse, a former Des Moines School Board member who ran for governor in 2010 and 2014, said he’s long dreamed of launching a festival to showcase Iowa’s homegrown musical talent.

“The talent in this state is phenomenal,” Narcisse said. At this morning’s news conference, Narcisse revealed sponsors of the event and announced the closing act on September 4th will be The Nadas. Festival attendees can camp on-site and will have the opportunity to enjoy more than just live music.

“We have a carnival now, some fire dancers, a hot air balloon ride…and the carnival rides will be free,” Narcisse said.

The full festival lineup, ticket information, and more details are available online at:iowastock.com.

Minnesota producer says Iowa’s medical marijuana law too restrictive

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Iowa’s new medical marijuana law takes effect Saturday and a Minnesota cannabis producer says it may face some issues as his business is not yet profitable two years into that state’s program.

Andrew Bachman is a medical doctor and CEO of Leafline Labs. He says Minnesota’s law creates a more sustainable business climate, in part because Iowa’s law limits the THC content of medical cannabis.

“Not only does Minnesota have almost twice the size of population, we also do not have limitations in what we can create as medicine here in Minnesota,” Bachman says. “So it ends up being a much broader program in that regard.”

The two states have similar medical cannabis laws, but Iowa’s is more restrictive. Iowa’s new law will allow for 2 medical cannabis manufacturers and 5 dispensaries in the state. Bachman says Iowa may be overestimating how many residents will take part in the expanded program.

Iowa’s Legislative Services Agency estimates 6.000 people will register to use medical cannabis, but Bachman says that’s a very generous guess. “In two years of this program, as of Friday, we now have 6,100 patients in Minnesota,” he says. “So 23-plus months in, that’s when we’ve achieved that number.” Bachman made his comments on Iowa Public Radio’s program, “River to River.”

(Thanks to Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)

Enforcement of new ‘texting while driving’ law complicated

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As of this Saturday, a motorist in Iowa can be pulled over if a police officer suspects the driver is paying attention to a screen inside the vehicle rather than the road.

Many new state laws take effect July 1, including the new crackdown on “texting while driving.” Legislators, though, acknowledge it’ll be difficult for law enforcement to write tickets.

The new law still lets people use an electronic device to talk or to navigate with some sort of GPS app. Representative Gary Worthan of Storm Lake said during House debate this spring that the law specifically prohibits police from seizing the phone without a warrant.

“If the person is stopped, they can say: ‘Well, I was just dialing a phone number,'” Worthan said. “The officer, to prove otherwise, would have to…get a search warrant from a magistrate before they could seize that phone or go to the phone company and get records.”

According to Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City, the new law is just an “incremental” step.

“I think it’s hard to explain what we’re doing here to the average Iowan,” Bolkcom said during senate debate.

Former Governor Branstad and a coalition of safety advocates had urged legislators to pass a “hands-free” law instead. The ticket for motorists who admit to texting, Snapchatting or even playing a game while driving is $30. Court fees will be tacked onto that.

Lawmakers like Worthan cited data indicating “lane departures” are causing more accidents and officials suspect the trend is due to the use of smart phones.

BPI trial has a day off while court works through a legal issue

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The Beef Products Incorporated defamation trial against ABC Broadcasting over the use of the term “pink slime” did not last long today.

Court was only in session for two and a half minutes when Judge Cheryle Gering announced to the jury testimony would be delayed until Wednesday.

Judge Gering told the jury that a “major legal issue” arose last night as she worked with the lawyers and they were not able to resolve the issue, so the jurors would be going home for the day.

The judge did not specify what that legal issue was or give a further explanation.  A member of ABC’s legal team mentioned that this type of thing is common in a trial like this, considering this lawsuit involves nearly $2 billion.

Court is expected to resume Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m.  The trial is being held in Union County District Court in Elk Point, South Dakota.

(Reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)

Lost Nation man given probation for improperly collecting unemployment

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A Clinton County man is sentenced to probation for admitting to working while collecting unemployment benefits.

The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board investigated after 39-year-old Brian Coats of Lost Nation was let go from his job as a trainmaster with the Canadian Pacific Railroad in Maquoketa and he started collecting unemployment. The investigation found Coats was working for the Pattison Sand Company on 23 days when he submitted claims for unemployment.

Coats pleaded guilty to theft of government property and false statements. He was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay back $14,235 in unemployment benefits.

Senator Grassley getting lots of input from Iowans on health care bill

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Senator Chuck Grassley. (file photo)

Iowa’s U.S. Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley are releasing noncommittal statements about the Senate’s version of the health care bill. Neither have expressed whether they’re leaning toward voting for or against the proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act.

Grassley says he’s getting many hundreds of email, calls and letters from Iowans about the legislation. “I’m still continuing to study this 144-page draft bill over the next few days and I hope we make a decision this week,” Grassley says, “but if we don’t, then I’m going to have another couple weeks to study the 144-page bill.”

Grassley, a Republican, says there were many promises made with the ACA that simply were not kept and changes need to be made. “We were promised 25% reductions in premiums in 2009 and they’ve gone up over 100%,” Grassley says. “We were promised if you like your doctor, you can keep it. A lot of people have had to change doctors. If you like your insurance, you can keep it. A lot of people have changed it.”

While many Iowans are pleading with their senators to leave the ACA intact, Grassley says action is needed to correct problems that were created by the earlier health care plan. “Currently, if nothing is passed, 72,000 Iowans on Obamacare will face hardship keeping their insurance this fall,” Grassley says. “You know, 94 or 95 counties only have one, Medica. If it stays in Iowa, they’re going to have increases in premiums of 43-and-a-half percent.”

While Grassley hasn’t said how he’d vote on the Senate version of the bill, he is convinced the ACA needs to be repealed and replaced, he’s just not sure yet if this is the best way to do it. Grassley says, “Even if Hillary Clinton had been elected president, the Democrats are admitting now there would be a lot of changes having to be made to Obamacare.”

Five Republican senators have already said they will vote against the bill. If all Democrats vote no, which is expected, there won’t be enough support to pass it. The U.S. House has already passed its own version of the health care bill.

‘AK-47 Bandit’ who robbed Mason City credit union may be in custody

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The AK-47 Bandit.

A notorious criminal who robbed a Mason City credit union two years ago and committed other crimes in Nebraska and across the western United States may be in custody.

In 2012 and 2014, a man the FBI called the “AK-47 Bandit” robbed several banks, as well as shot and wounded a police officer in Chino, California. 39-year-old Richard Gathercole was arrested last week in Dawson County, Nebraska after allegedly firing shots from an AK-47 rifle at a Kansas state trooper.

FBI Los Angeles spokeswoman Laura Eimiller says numerous agencies are investigating whether evidence found in the search of a Roundup, Montana home is linked to the suspect.

A jailhouse phone call transcript submitted to a judge by federal officials seeking a search warrant for the Montana home shows Gathercole asked his mother a few days after his arrest to clear his home of guns.

Federal agents say homemade bombs were found at the home. Court documents show that Gathercole is accused of stealing $126,000 from the Iowa Heartland Credit Union in Mason City on July 28th, 2015 after informing tellers he had a “pressure bomb.”

(By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City)

Auditors find Harlan official submitted altered, improper travel claims

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State Auditor Mary Mosiman. (file photo)

A special investigation by the state auditor’s office has identified nearly $145,000 in “improper and unsupported” payments to the long-time city administrator in Harlan.

Terry Cox started working for the City of Harlan in 1977 and became city administrator in 1980. He resigned last year after other city officials raised concerns about his travel expenses. Auditors reviewed records for the last dozen years Cox worked for the city. The review concludes Cox got more than $123,000 in improper travel reimbursements.

That includes paying for alcohol, golf outings and excessive mileage claims. Auditors also determined Cox submitted claims for events that actually were not held or which he didn’t attend.

According to State Auditor Mary Mosiman, Cox was overpaid $35,000 for hours he did not work in his last 12 years on the job. Auditors also discovered Cox continued getting a monthly car allowance which had been discontinued.

The auditor’s report indicates Cox was a big tipper. Some of his tabs included tips of more than 20 percent. The review discovered Cox was double-dipping and on 20 occasions had submitted claims for expenses that already had been paid by a professional organization. The state auditor’s report that’s available online includes copies of some of his travel claims, including receipts for travel to Council Bluffs casinos where arrivals and departure times were either “covered with correction fluid or crossed out with different handwritten dates added.” There’s also one instance where he submitted the same hotel bill at Harrah’s three different times.

Auditors reviewed the “player’s card” Cox had at casinos in Council Bluffs, Altoona and Kansas City to connect some of the dots in their investigation. The 121-page report has been forwarded to the Shelby County Attorney, the state attorney general’s office and the Division of Criminal Investigation.

U.S. ag secretary to join Branstad in Beijing to promote U.S. beef

By

Sonny Perdue

The U.S. secretary of agriculture and U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad, the former Iowa governor, will meet in Beijing Friday for a ceremony “to formally mark the return of U.S. beef to the Chinese market.”

According to the U.S.D.A., Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue will arrive in China with a shipment of beef from the Greater Omaha Packing Company. The beef is from cattle that were raised in Nebraska. Perdue and Branstad plan to cut into a piece of prime rib at the ceremony in Beijing.

Thirteen years ago China forbid shipments of U.S. beef after a case of Mad Cow disease was confirmed in Washington state. Secretary Perdue said in a written statement that there’s no doubt in his mind that “when the Chinese people taste our high-quality U.S beef, they’ll want more of it.”

The U.S.D.A.’s Export Verification Program so far has confirmed processing facilities in Nebraska and Kansas are now eligible to ship U.S. beef to China. According to the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, the requirements to export beef to China are “more stringent” than for other countries. Iowa ranks seventh among U.S. states in beef production.

China imported $2.5 billion worth of beef last year, none of it from the United States. On Friday at noon, Perdue and Branstad will host the event promoting U.S. beef at the huge new InterContinental hotel in Beijing. On Saturday, Perdue will be in a Shanghai supermarket for a “cooking demonstration” to promote U.S. beef.

State Patrol handing out phone signal blockers to help prevent accidents

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Studies find one in every four car accidents is caused by texting and driving and it will soon become much easier for Iowa law officers to pull over and ticket texters.

Iowa Highway Patrol Sergeant Scott Bright says the state’s received a donation of 1,000 signal-blocking devices called CELLslips which are being given away at all patrol district offices this week.

“What these CELLslips will do is prevent an incoming text message or having your phone ring,” Bright says. “It’s going to give that person that’s driving the opportunity not to be tempted to answer that phone or if they receive a text, to respond to that text as they’re driving.”

The CELLslips are bright red pockets with special linings that block all incoming and outgoing transmissions, be they phone calls, texts or app notifications.

“They are not cheap to produce,” Bright says. “We only have 1,000 of them. AAA has given us those and we’re going to get them out just to get the message across that texting and driving is a primary offense now. If you get the temptation, put the cell phone in its CELLslip and you won’t have that temptation because you will not receive the text or the phone call.”

The messages aren’t lost, they’ll just be blocked while your phone is inside the pocket. You will receive all voicemails, text messages and app notifications within seconds of removing your phone from the CELLslip. A new state law will go into effect this Saturday making texting a primary offense in Iowa.

“That basically means we can stop you, if a state trooper sees you out there texting while you’re going down the roadway or using social media,” Bright says. “Before, it was a secondary offense which means we had to observe another violation before we could stop you for texting but after July 1st, it’s a primary offense and we can stop you for texting while going down the interstate or highways.”

Being caught texting and driving brings a $30 fine, but when court costs and fees are added, the total reaches $127.50.  Studies find motorists are six times more likely to be in a crash texting while driving than drinking and driving. Also, more than 21 percent of teen drivers who were involved in fatal crashes were distracted by their cell phones.