Iowa News

CRASH DEATH-HOMICIDE        Iowa man pleads guilty to vehicular homicide        (Information in the following story is from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com)        ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in connection with a fatal crash.        The Sioux City Journal reports Lenley Schofield Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to vehicular homicide and operating while intoxicated. The plea agreement includes an 11-year prison sentence.        Prosecutors say the 28-year-old Schofield was driving on Iowa Highway 141 near Mapleton in November 2011 when his car veered into an oncoming truck. His passenger, Robert Palmer, later died.

FRAC SAND MINING        Allamakee County approves hold on frac sand mining        (Information in the following story is from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/)        WAUKON, Iowa (AP) – County officials in northeast Iowa have approved a temporary moratorium on frac sand mining.        The Gazette reports supervisors in Allamakee (AL’-uh-muh-KEE’) County voted unanimously Monday on the moratorium for at least 18 months. The move gives a planning and zoning commission time to study the potential ill effects of the practice.        Frac sand mining involves extracting specialized sand used in hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting water, silica sand and chemicals under high pressure into underground shale deposits to release inaccessible oil and natural gas.        The commission will make recommendations to county supervisors by July 2014.        A spokesman for a group that opposes frac sand mining says he hopes the moratorium will at least give them time to form rules that protect the environment.        SCHOOL DISTRICT-ABUSE LAWSUIT        Student sues W. Iowa district, alleges abuse

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former elementary student in the small western Iowa community of Anita has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the school’s principal and superintendent knew a former teacher abused girls and failed to report it. The girl and her mother, who are not named, claim she also was abused.        The girl was a student until 2011 at Anita Elementary, one of the schools in the consolidated CAM School District.        Last October, 66-year-old former teacher William Foulkes pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor. He received a suspended prison sentence and probation.        The lawsuit filed Monday claims Principal Larry Hunt and Superintendent Steve Pelzer knew about Foulkes’ behavior but allowed him to resign in 2010. Foulkes wasn’t charged until last March.        Pelzer, Hunt, and Foulkes did not return calls.

IOWA LAWNMOWER SLAYING        Ex-Iowa official sentenced to 50 years in prison        (Information in the following story is from: KCRG-TV, http://www.kcrg.com)        WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) – A retired public official has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatally shooting his longtime girlfriend while she rode a lawn mower behind their eastern Iowa home.        Television station KCRG reports 72-year-old Thomas Hansen was sentenced Friday. The former Iowa City Fire Department official and Johnson County emergency management director will serve at least 35 years before he is eligible for parole.        Jurors convicted Hansen in November of second-degree murder in the May 2011 death of Sharon Gerot. Hansen said the couple had been arguing and the bullet that struck her in the head was only meant to scare her.        Hansen’s sentence includes an order to pay $150,000 to Gerot’s estate.        The newspaper reports Hansen’s attorneys plan to appeal the verdict.

TOUGHER TAX VOTES        GOP plan would make it harder to pass tax hikes        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican lawmakers want to require a three-fifths majority vote for any state tax increase.        Legislation discussed Monday by a subcommittee in the state House would change the Iowa Constitution to require a three-fifths majority to approve any tax hike or new tax. Rep. Mark Lofgren, one of the sponsors, says he wants to make it difficult to raise taxes in Iowa.        Lofgren argued that Iowa needs low taxes to compete with other states. But Democratic Rep. Tyler Olson says he was concerned that changing the voting rules could make it harder for future legislators to respond to budget matters, such as a drop in revenue during the 2008 recession.

POLICE STATION-ADULT STORE        Iowa police: Pair mistakes station for strip club        (Information in the following story is from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com)        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities in Des Moines say a woman was arrested after she and another person accidentally drove to a police station looking for a strip club.        The female passenger was arrested early Friday for possession of a controlled substance after officers stopped her and the male driver. The pair had driven their vehicle into a private area of the police station after looking for a strip club in West Des Moines.        The Des Moines Register says officers reported the pair had bloodshot, watery eyes. They also say the vehicle smelled of marijuana. Officers did not find anything illegal in the car.        The newspaper says the passenger was arrested after she reportedly admitted to having prescription painkillers in her purse.

 

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