ALERT :
- The Waldorf College Theatre Company's performance of The Tempest at Lund Pond on the Waldorf campus has been postponed to Tuesday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m. due to pending weather conditions. In case of rain on Tuesday, the performance will take place in the Atrium.:
- 5/21/13-Varsity game first Lake Mills High School baseball at Lake Mills will be played tonight-Varsity first at 5:45 pm; LMJV to follow.:
Iowa News
VOTER FRAUD-ARRESTS 3 noncitizens in Iowa charged with voter fraud DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says three Council Bluffs residents have been charged with election misconduct. Two Canadian nationals and a Mexican national were booked into the Pottawattamie County jail. The felony charges allege they registered to vote in Iowa and voted in at least one election. The arrests followed an investigations by an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent who was assigned to work with Secretary of State Matt Schultz to root out voter fraud Charged are 52-year-old Albert Harte-Maxwell, 49-year-old Linda Harte-Maxwell, and 40-year-old Maria Ayon-Fernandez, all of Council Bluffs. A criminal complaint says Albert Harte-Maxwell voted in the 2010 general election and 2011 city election and Linda Harte-Maxwell voted in the 2011 city election. Maria Ayon-Fernandez voted in the 2010 general election.
URBANDALE WEDDING-OBAMA Couple pleased campaign event didn’t ruin wedding (Information in the following story is from: KCCI-TV, http://www.kcci.com) URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) – An Urbandale couple booked the barn at Living History Farms in Urbandale for their Sept. 1 wedding six months ago, but a week before the ceremony were told a special guest also was coming. Sayli Gibbs tells KCCI-TV she guessed it was the president, and she feared it would ruin their plans. It was Barack Obama, but his event ended on time and Jon and Sayli Gibbs were married. They had nearly forgotten their concerns when they were handed a card and two gifts – a mint julep cup and silver tray with the presidential seal and Obama’s signature. The handwritten card said, “Michelle and I wish you a great life together. Barack Obama.” Despite the stress, the Gibbs say they’re happy to have a story for their grandchildren.
DEATH INVESTIGATION-CEDAR RAPIDS Cedar Rapids police investigating man’s death CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A Cedar Rapids police spokeswoman says no obvious signs of trauma have been found on the body of a man that was found between two houses. Officers were sent to the scene on the southwest side of the city after a neighbor reported seeing the body a little after 7 a.m. Thursday. Police identified the man as 25-yaer-old James Tamayo. Police spokeswoman Cristy Hamblin says the cause of Tamayo’s death is unclear and that officers so far are treating the case as an unattended death.
BANKERS SURVEY Drought hurts rural economy in 10 states OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The economy in rural parts of 10 Midwest and Western states continued to look weak in September as the drought weighed down agricultural businesses. A new survey of bankers in the region released Thursday showed that the overall economic index remained in negative territory at 48.3 in September. That was slightly better than August’s 47.1 and July’s 47.9, but any score below 50 on the 1-to-100 index suggests that the economy will contract in months ahead. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss in Omaha says the drought is already hurting businesses linked to agriculture like ethanol and farm equipment dealers. The survey covers rural areas of the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Minnesota. The confidence index was also weak at 43 in September, up from August’s 39.6.
VILSACK-DROUGHT MEETINGS US Ag Secretary Vilsack to visit Omaha Oct. 9th DENVER (AP) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans regional meetings with local officials to learn more about impacts from this year’s drought and to discuss how to leverage existing resources to speed recovery efforts. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday said the four regional meetings will be held in Nebraska, Ohio, Colorado and Arkansas to address existing and emerging drought recovery issues. Details will be announced later, but the first meeting is already scheduled for October 9th in Omaha, Nebraska. Vilsack is a former Iowa governor. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows about one-fifth of the contiguous U.S. remains in extreme or exceptional drought, representing the report’s two worst categories of dry conditions.
DEVELOPER FRAUD-IOWA Des Moines area developer guilty of bank fraud DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines area developer has pleaded guilty to bank fraud in connection with a loan to develop a condominium project. U.S. Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt announced that Randal Walters of Polk County pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of bank fraud related to the Meadow Cove project. The 55-year-old Walters acknowledged during court proceedings that he borrowed money from First Bank of West Des Moines intended for the condominium project and diverted it to other uses. U.S. District Court Judge James E. Gritzner is scheduled to sentence Walters on January 3rd, 2012. Walters, who remains free pending the sentence, could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay a $1 million fine.
HOMICIDE SUSPECT-ARREST Suspect in Illinois homicide found in Des Moines DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have arrested a man in Des Moines who is a suspect in a 2004 slaying in Illinois. Des Moines police announced Thursday that their officers and federal authorities arrested 29-year-old Durando Eskridge at a home on Tuesday. Eskridge is wanted in the shooting death of 26-year-old Herbert Brown in Joliet, Illinois. He’s charged with first-degree murder. Police say officers found crack cocaine at the home where Eskridge was located, and added charges of possession with intent to deliver and two other felony drug charges. Des Moines investigators say they developed information as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation that pointed to Eskridge in the death and passed it on to Joliet officers, who obtained an arrest warrant. Eskridge is being held at the Polk County jail.
OIL SPILL-IOWA Cleanup continues on North Raccoon River oil spill DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Cleanup of an oil spill along 10 to 15 miles of the North Raccoon River south of Jefferson continues as environmental officials warn people to avoid canoeing, fishing, or even hiking in the area. Pools of thick black smelly oil are apparent in the area after a valve on a storage tank containing used oil malfunctioned September 13th at Krieger’s Greenhouse in Jefferson. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies on the cleanup. Some waterfowl have been seen tainted with oil. Bamboo poles with plastic sheeting have been placed over pools water with oil to scare waterfowl away. The DNR says it’s not yet clear how much oil from the 20,000-gallon tank leaked.