Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a proclamation to suspend rules for those hauling motor and heating fuels…this, as a deep freeze across the Midwest sent demand for those fuels soaring. The proclamation temporarily suspends Iowa regulations that limit the hours allowed to haul propane, diesel, natural gas and other fuels used for residential, commercial and agricultural heating. It also temporarily suspends some provisions limiting the movement of oversize and overweight loads of fuel. The governor’s office says the high demand for the fuels has created challenges to accessing them. The proclamation is in effect through March 17.
An election watchdog group has filed a federal lawsuit in Washington claiming the Iowa-based nonprofit organization Iowa Values violated election laws by failing to register as a political committee…while at the same time, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the reelection of Sen. Joni Ernst. Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based nonprofit campaign finance watchdog group, filed the lawsuit, which asks a federal judge to declare that Iowa Values became a political committee as of June 2019, and order the group to register, file documents and provide information on fundraising and expenditures. The lawsuit also seeks a civil penalty against Iowa Values along with court costs and attorney fees.
Years of corruption and mismanagement apparently preceded the arrests of a northwest Iowa town’s mayor, police chief and now three current and former city clerks, who are all charged with theft and fraud. Officials in the city of Armstrong are accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in public funds, falsifying public records to conceal the wrongdoing, and using city property for personal gain. Prosecutors say in a court document that some of the wrongdoing dates back to 2013 and continued until last year. The arrests last weekend stunned the city of 900 people, which is located near Iowa’s border with Minnesota and about 40 miles from the popular Lake Okoboji.
Prosecutors have upgraded charges against an Iowa man who led a crowd in taunting a police officer up several flights of stairs inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 disturbance. Douglas Jensen has been seen frequently in video wearing a QAnon shirt and leading an angry mob toward an officer protecting the Capitol. An updated indictment filed in federal court in Washington D.C. now includes dangerous weapons charges to reflect that Jensen carried a knife in his pocket during the attack. Jensen remains in custody and has a court hearing next Tuesday.
Iowa City police have identified a 19-year-old who was fatally shot last week. Police say Quincy Russom was found after he was shot Friday night at an apartment. Witnesses told police three men entered the apartment, shot Russom, and then ran. An autopsy calls the death a homicide. Police have not released information on possible suspects. Iowa City Area CrimeStoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect or suspects.
Iowa continued to see thousands of people vaccinated this week, despite a weather system that brought snow and frigid temperatures. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported that by midday yesterday, more than 245,800 people had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The state’s online virus-tracking dashboard showed nearly 330,000 people have had a confirmed coronavirus positive test in the state since the pandemic began.
One person was killed and another person was in custody after a stabbing at a northern Iowa pork processing plant. The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation says Wright County deputies were called just after 5:30 yesterday morning to the Prestage Foods plant near Eagle Grove for a report of a stabbing. Deputies found a dead person in an employee locker room and then identified a suspect, who was taken into custody. An investigation found the victim and suspect knew each other.
