State budget experts say they expect state revenues to be about $1.9 million less than last year, revising their estimate to $7.91 billion. The forecasters also estimated yesterday that the state will bring in about $319 million more for next year despite economic challenges from the coronavirus pandemic and a sagging farm economy. The estimate by the Revenue Estimating Conference for the upcoming year would equate to 4% revenue growth, giving the state about $8.23 billion to spend in the fiscal year that begins in July. The group by law must meet again in December and provide an estimate that Gov. Kim Reynolds must use to draft a budget before the legislature convenes in January.
Strong broadband service is on its way to rural Iowans in Johnson and Iowa Counties.The Trump Administration yesterday announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $5.4 million for underserved areas in Iowa as part of the USDA ReConnect Program, which gives federal funding options like loans and grants to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America. USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation and former Iowa ag secretary Bill Northey made the announcement in his home state, saying broadband plays a crucial role to farms and other businesses.
Final numbers are in, and thanks to you, some 440 t-shirts were purchased in the past month as part of our effort, with our companion station KOKZ, to provide relief to rural areas affected by the derecho. That means at least $44-hundred that we’ll be giving to deserving projects.
Firefighters were called to a storm debris fire near Nixon Drive and Northwood Drive, just south of Nixon Elementary in Cedar Rapids, just after 5:15 yesterday morning. Fire crews said the storm debris included construction materials. They’re calling the fire suspicious.
The Marion Independent School District will change its mascot following a 5-2 decision made during Monday’s Board of Education meeting. The Marion school’s teams are known as the Indians. The change will be made despite nearly two-thirds of those surveyed saying the name should stay the same. A new mascot will be in place no later than the end of July 2021.
In partnership with the City of Waterloo, Main Street Waterloo is introducing more than two dozen “Grab-n-Go” parking spaces throughout downtown, meant to provide easy access to downtown businesses. Customers can use these spaces for curbside pick-up services, when running in for a carry out order, dropping off a payment or paperwork, or any similar errand of 15 minutes or less.
The Waterloo city yard waste/compost site on Independence Avenue has reopened to city residents, this after being closed following a Saturday night fire there. The layout has changed temporarily in order for staff to segregate the bad material. You’re asked to stop at the building to ask for instructions regarding unloading material.
Des Moines Police are investigating a shooting that injured three teenage boys, leaving one of them hospitalized. Police say the shooting happened just after midnight early Tuesday morning in a residential area several blocks south of Prospect Park. One teen was hospitalized in critical but stable condition, while the two other teens suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Police have not released the victims’ names. No arrests have been made, but police say the shooting was not random.
The trial for a man accused of murdering his wife in Iowa City in 2019 has been delayed until 2021. Roy Browning Jr. is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife JoEllen Browning on April 5, 2019. The trial is now scheduled to start on March 16, 2021. The trial was originally scheduled to start in March of this year and then was delayed until this week, before being pushed back to March 2021. Browning’s lawyers asked to change the trial date because restrictions implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made it harder for them to meet and prepare for the trial. JoEllen Browning was found stabbed to death on the same day she and her husband were to meet with a financial adviser after she confronted her husband about discrepancies in their finances.
A donation box meant to hold money for veterans at the original Freedom Rock was stolen for the third time over the weekend, leaving the muralist questioning why someone would steal money meant for a good cause. Ray “Bubba” Sorensen is the muralist who has been painting the rocks since 1999. He tours the entire state painting rocks like the original Freedom Rock. His goal is to have one in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. He’s already working on the 94th rock in Clinton County. Sorensen never intended to take donations, but once people started leaving cash in the guest book, he decided to set up the donation box. He recently started the Freedom Rock Foundation to help him maintain his murals across the state.
