Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says it’s likely Iowa taxpayers will pay the cost of sending 28 Iowa Department of Public Safety officers to assist Texas officials at the U.S./Mexico border from July 10 through 20. Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens estimated yesterday the additional cost to Iowa of the mission at $200,000. Reynolds justified the expense, saying problems at the border have contributed to issues in other states and Iowa, which she said has seen an increase in illegal drug trafficking including fentanyl. She called it an investment well spent and says she will continue to evaluate the needs on the border and whether Iowa law enforcement might be useful again there.
With coronavirus cases rising around the nation, some are expressing concern about next month’s Iowa State Fair, which will bring more than 1 million people to Des Moines over an 11-day period. Officials have encouraged people to get vaccinated, but there will be no limits on who can attend the fair that starts Aug. 12. Iowa’s biggest annual event comes amid giant gatherings throughout the nation, including in states that are experiencing more virus infections due to low vaccination rates and the Delta variant.
A Moline police officer won’t face charges in the May death of a 13-year-old boy struck by her squad car as she was responding to an emergency call. The Rock Island County State’s Attorney’s Office says in a report there’s no indication Officer Katherine Pennacchio violated any laws in the May 4 accident that killed Charles Hubbard. The officer was responding to an emergency call about several people attacking each other when her squad car struck the Moline boy as he was riding a bicycle. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
For the second time in four years, a nationwide pork dealer has been sanctioned by regulators for illegal buying practices that have cheated hog sellers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Lynch Livestock, based in Waucoma, has been ordered to stop recording false weights for hogs delivered to its buying stations, to stop altering classifications of hogs delivered, and to stop creating false scale tickets. In a consent order signed this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also ordered Lynch Livestock to pay a civil penalty of $445,626. The USDA had ordered the company to cease and desist from the same improper practices in 2017 and to pay a $15,000 fine and restitution.
Deliberations will resume at 9 o’clock this morning in the trial of Drew Blahnik in Linn County. A jury there began deliberations just after 4 p.m. Monday…they’ve deliberated each of the last two full days, but so far, no verdict has been reached. Blahnik is charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and obstructing prosecution in connection with the 2018 stabbing death of Chris Bagley. Blahnik has claimed a form of self-defense.
The man who prosecutors say killed three of his family members in June has entered a written plea of not guilty. 20-year-old Alexander Jackson faces three charges of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his parents and his sister in the family home in Cedar Rapids on June 15. He denied that allegation and said a masked intruder entered the home, shot and killed the family members, and shot and injured him. Investigators say they found no signs of a forced entry or burglary at the home. Jackson also waived his right to a speedy trial in the filing. His trial is scheduled to begin on January 25, 2022, at 9:00 a.m.
While a residence hall has borne his name for decades, now the field at the University of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium will be named for Duke Slater. He was the trailblazing black football player who was an All-American tackle a century ago. The university’s Board of Regents approved the naming of the field during its meeting in Cedar Falls this week. Slater went to high school in Clinton and played for the Hawkeyes from 1918 to 1921. He helped the 1921 Hawkeyes finish 7-0. He played 10 seasons in the NFL and went on to become a judge in Chicago. He will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month.
Cedar Rapids will soon have a new official city flag, and residents can help choose the design. The city is asking residents to go to its website and rank the four available designs from now through August 31. A flag unveiling will be held at 10 a.m. on September 18 in the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library. The city said it began asking residents to submit design ideas, colors, shapes and symbols for the new flag in 2019 with the goal of creating a flag that reflects the city and incorporates citizen input and ideas. The project was put on hold last year due to the pandemic and the derecho.
