A judge has posted $5 million bail for a man suspected of killing four people in the small northeastern Nebraska town of Laurel last week.
Jason Jones, 42, would have to pay 10% or $500,000 to get out of prison while awaiting trial on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of arson and four counts of possession of firearms.
Police say Jones set fire to two houses and was badly burned. He remains hospitalized in a Lincoln Burn Unit.
A Norfolk woman is facing five criminal charges, including three felonies, for allegedly helping her teenage daughter abort, burn and bury her fetus earlier this year.
The Sioux City Journal reports that 41-year-old Jessica Burgess has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in Madison County Circuit Court. Her then 17-year-old daughter Celeste Burgess, who is on trial as an adult, also pleaded not guilty to three counts, including one felony.
And a 22-year-old man accused of helping the two bury the fetus pleaded no plea to a misdemeanor and will be sentenced later this month.
Both US Senators from Iowa, along with their Republican counterparts, voted against the Democrats’ climate and health care package.
Senator Joni Ernst is among Republicans who have unsuccessfully offered amendments to the bill. She offered an additional cap on the $75-hundred-dollar EV purchase subsidy.
Ernst said the critical minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries are mined in areas of Africa where some companies have used child labor in the past
Senator Chuck Grassley offered an amendment to change the federal tax deduction Americans can claim in high-tax states. Grassley unsuccessfully proposed increasing the deduction for student loan interest and the child and dependent care tax credit.
Grassley has also blasted the Senate Democratic leader for scheduling votes this weekend after hinting months ago that the Senate would be on recess, forcing Grassley to miss a family reunion he had scheduled. Grassley’s opponent, Democrat Mike Franken, said Grassley should try to station for a year like Franken did in the Navy.
Iowa Attorney General is asking President Joe Biden to waive fertilizer tariffs. Tom Miller joins the Farm Bureau, the American Soybean Association and National Corn Growers in asking the President to lift import tariffs on phosphate fertilizer products from Morocco.
Miller says while crop prices have roughly doubled in recent years, fertilizer prices are two to four times what they were in September 2020, according to research from Iowa State University.
A new report ranked Iowa ninth nationally for child welfare.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kids Count report ranks states based on 12 factors grouped into four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community.
But Iowa’s high ranking can be misleading. So says Anne Discher, the executive director of Common Good Iowa, which is a partner of the foundation.
For example, Discher says that Iowa ranks first nationwide when it comes to graduating high school on time, but falls behind in other areas.
“We are 21st in terms of the percentage of young children attending preschool. We rank 22nd for the percentage of fourth graders who are not good at reading and 25th for the percentage of eighth graders who are not good at math.”
According to Discher, these rankings should alert state legislators to better fund education and other initiatives for children.
The Iowa Department of Education has received a federal grant to get more local foods into schools and daycares.
This is the second time the department has received a two-year scholarship to the Iowa Farm to School program. The Iowa Department of Agriculture contributes appropriate funds.
Brenda Windmuller is with the Iowa Department of Education. She says the department will hold more training for school staff on food safety and how local foods could be incorporated into school lunches.
“Our big thing is we want to make sure the public knows what’s going on. We want to increase the number of schools participating in farm-to-school initiatives and maybe eliminate some of that hesitation.”
The USDA awarded the Iowa Department of Education a $67,000 grant to support its Farm-to-School program. The state’s Department of Agriculture will also contribute $25,000.
The 2022 Iowa State Fair begins Thursday. The organization is still recovering financially from the cancellation of the 2020 show due to the pandemic, according to CEO and general manager Gary Slater.
The State Fair lost $13 million when the event was canceled in 2020, but qualified for a $11 million “closed venues” grant from the federal government.
Events are held at the fairgrounds every month of the year and the fair has nearly 60 full-time employees year-round. Attendance was down a bit during last year’s Iowa State Fair, but the 11-day run of the 2021 State Fair brought in $36 million in profit.
* For more State Fair history, see: https://www.radioiowa.com/2022/08/08/iowa-state-fair-still-in-recovery-after-hit-of-2020-cancellation/
The Iowa DNR is seeking help with its annual wild turkey census.
Officials tell Radio Iowa people can go to the Iowa DNR website and look for the turkey tab to report sightings. So far the population has been pretty strong.
Every year, 50,000 wild turkey licenses are purchased from the DNR – but most hunters never take a bird. The success rate is 22%. The turkey survey lasts until August.
After a nearly ten-year world tour that included a stop in Sioux City, Jackson Pollock’s oil painting, known simply as “Mural,” is back in Iowa City and will be on public display again later this month.
The director of the University of Iowa’s Stanley Museum of Art says if Mural were a person, its passport would show at least 14 new venues and it would have earned more than 20,000 frequent flyer miles.
Besides Sioux City, the painting was in Berlin, London, Venice and Barcelona, in addition to many places in the United States.
The oil painting was made in 1943 and measures 8 feet high and 20 feet long. Pollock was commissioned to create “Mural” by legendary art collector Peggy Guggenheim, who donated the piece to the University of Iowa in 1951.
The painting was seen by more than 2.7 million people after it left Iowa City on a planned world tour immediately after a 2008 flood. During his tour, Mural was insured for $144 million, although that number is abstract as the painting is irreplaceable.
The Stanley Museum of Art will reopen on August 26th.
The Pollock is among around 700 artworks in all media by more than 600 artists on display.
*For more information on the “Mural” story, see: https://www.radioiowa.com/2022/08/08/jackson-pollock-painting-back-at-ui-after-long-road-trip/
Press release from Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller:
Miller urges Biden to waive fertilizer tariffs
“Farmers and the consumers who depend on them cannot afford delay”
DES MOINES — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller issued the following statement:
“I join the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association in calling on President Biden to waive import tariffs on phosphate fertilizer products from Morocco.
“I’ve spoken to many farmers and agribusinesses in Iowa about the impact of high fertilizer prices. It’s critical that the President act as soon as possible as growers begin buying fertilizers in preparation for the 2023 growing season. These farmers have suffered enough already: While crop prices have roughly doubled in recent years, fertilizer prices are two to four times what they were in September 2020, according to an Iowa State University study I requested.
“There is mounting evidence that these tariffs are unnecessary to protect domestic fertilizer producers. These tariffs are the result of intense lobbying by Mosaic Co. and led to greater concentration of the phosphate fertilizer market, in which Mosaic already had a near-monopoly. The ISU study shows that Mosaic’s net income increased by 418% from 2018-19 to 2020-21.
“I am grateful that in July the US International Trade Commission voted unanimously to reject anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of urea ammonium nitrate, another critical fertilizer for farmers.
“The Trade Commission should also reverse its decision to allow tariffs on phosphate fertilizer products. In the meantime, however, President Biden should use his powers to waive the tariffs. Farmers and the consumers who depend on them cannot afford to delay.
“I remain concerned that producers are using higher crop prices to increase yields. My office will continue to investigate the factors that led to the high prices and I will continue to work with US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who has urged fertilizer manufacturers not to take advantage of the situation.”
The following are previous statements and actions by Attorney General Miller regarding fertilizer prices this year:
