From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal watchdog says the Trump administration overpaid corn farmers by about $3 billion in federal aid in 2019 and that farmers in the South were paid more for the same crops than elsewhere in the country. The Government Accountability Office said in a report released Monday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s methodology for computing damage for 2019 was flawed. The USDA chief economist says the analysis was based on a widely accepted trade model and methodologies, and that USDA economists offered options to policymakers who chose which methods to use to decide how to pay farmers.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man charged earlier for his participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was arraigned on a new federal indictment that includes a felony count that could carry up to 20 years in prison. Leo Christopher Kelly has been free on pretrial release. The 36-year-old appeared via video for his arraignment Tuesday. His attorney, Kira West, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The most serious charge Kelly faces is obstruction of an official proceeding. Two other charges carry up to 10 years in prison. The remaining charges are misdemeanors carrying up to six months in prison. A status update on his case was set for Feb. 25.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Terry Branstad, Iowa’s former governor and the former U.S. ambassador to China, has formed a company to consult with business leaders and investors on how to conduct business between the U.S. and China. Branstad will form the Branstad Churchill Group with Steve Churchill, his chief of staff in China when he was ambassador. Branstad said in a statement posted on the firm’s website that the company will offer planning, government and regulatory analysis, political insight, data security and privacy analysis, market entry strategy and other services to clients. Branstad was appointed ambassador by former President Donald Trump and left the position last year, returning to Iowa.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines woman is accused of playing a role in a fraud scheme that targeted immigrants. Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of the 46-year-old woman on suspicion of first-degree theft, conspiracy and ongoing criminal conduct. It wasn’t immediately clear if she has been charged. Police say an investigation was launched in August when detectives learned that someone in Texas was claiming to be an immigration attorney and taking cash payment while promising to expedite residency and citizenship. The investigation later revealed that a co-conspirator was operating in Des Moines. The person is Texas was not a real lawyer, and no services were rendered.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A longtime Iowa business owner convicted of using his diner in sex trafficking and drug crimes has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Hershal James Ratliff of Council Bluffs was sentenced Thursday after being found guilty in July of six counts of human trafficking and one count of distribution of a controlled substance to a minor. Federal prosecutors say that from 2012 through 2019, Ratliff used his Jimmy’s All-American Diner and rental properties to groom and recruit victims. A news release on Monday said Ratliff “convinced them to engage in various sex acts with him and his friends for money, alcohol, or drugs.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man has been found guilty of killing a woman and her two children, months after another jury failed to reach a verdict. KCCI-TV reports that Marvin Esquivel Lopez on Monday was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in the 2019 deaths of 29-year-old Rossibeth Flores-Rodriguez, her 11-year-old daughter, Grecia Daniela Alvarado-Flores, and 5-year-old son, Ever Jose Mejia-Flores. The April trial for Lopez ended in a mistrial after the jury said they were able to reach a verdict on the killing of Flores-Rodriguez, but not for the children. Flores-Rodriguez and her children had arrived in Iowa from Honduras about five months before their deaths and lived with Lopez and his family.
