The economic recovery appears to be stalling as companies cut back last month on their investments in equipment and machines and Americans bought new homes at the weakest pace in decades.

World stock markets fell further Wednesday as worries over the global economic recovery depressed investor sentiment and another batch of U.S. economic reports disappointed expectations.

The executive editor of The Washington Times says the owner of the financially-troubled newspaper has reached a preliminary agreement to sell the paper to a company affiliated with the Unification Church.

Target is known for being cheap and chic. But now the retailer is making a big push to become known as a destination for electronics.

Credit card holders are pushing to pay off balances in the uncertain economy.

Iowans dealing with summer storms and flooding can now receive emergency food assistance in disaster areas.

A federal agency says 380,000 pounds of possibly tainted deli meat products sold in sandwiches at Wal-Mart stores have been recalled by a food company in Buffalo.

More Gulf waters are reopening to fishermen, and government officials say seafood cleared for sale has been thoroughly vetted. Whether consumers are buying those assurances - and the fish - remains to be seen.

Sales of previously occupied homes fell to the lowest level in 15 years last month as the economy weakened.

Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it is developing technology for a 3-D television that won't require special glasses.

PepsiCo Inc. is hoping to revive its Quaker division with new types of cereal, a reformulation of its instant oatmeal and a new marketing campaign.

The Atlantic Community School Board met last night and offered the public an opportunity to make comments about the recent alleged strip-search of five Atlantic High School students. Members of the media, by far, outnumbered those in attendance. Only a few residents cameto speak, or listen.

Shelly Pottebaum, whose 18-year-old daughter attends A.H.S., was the only one to step forward and address the board. Pottebaum says she doesn't think enough facts pertaining to the case have come out entirely and that it's too early for the public to make a judgment based on what's been said or written. She asked the school board to act quickly to resolve the matter.

The school district's administration and Board of Education have received intense criticism since the Des Moines Register first reported Saturday five girls were striped-searched by the school guidance counselor in a locker room over the matter of a matter of $100 reported missing by another student. The money was never found.

Some have commented that the incident -- which some experts say was illegal -- amounted to nothing more than sex abuse and the school administration should be placed on the sex-offender registry. Others have called for board members, those in the district's administration, and recently-appointed interim Superintendent Dan Crozier, to resign.

It's been reported that at least three of the girls' families have hired an attorney to deal with the matter, and a fourth was considering it. On Monday, Crozier confirmed a school administrator was placed on leave pending the results of an internal investigation. Board President Phil Hascall appeared to choke up as he read a statement toward the end of the public comment period regarding the decisions they've made with regard to students' welfare at the school.

Hascall said the board "has always tried to do what's best for the students and children put in our care. This is going to be solved. It's going to be a long investigation, but they're going to take their time to they do it right, by policy and by law." He went on to say he appreciates the public's patience and support. At the conclusion of regular business, the board went into a closed session to discuss a personnel matter.

Board member Jody Lorence, who earlier this summer announced she was not running for re-election, and who was attending her last meeting as a part of the Board of Education, made the motion to adjourn into closed session. Her statement left little doubt as to what the session would be dealing with.

She said it was to discuss strategy with legal counsel in matters where "litigation is imminent, and where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the school district in that litigation."

The man who heads up the program that provides heating assistance to low-income Iowans is reluctant to get overly excited about predictions of lower heating bills this winter. Jerry McKim leads the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or "LIHEAP", and says he's skeptical that natural gas prices will stay low.

McKim says he'll believe it when he sees it, and it's not so much the natural gas prices, but the heating bill. McKim says lower natural gas prices don't always translate into lower heating bills. "If the bill is actually lower this winter than last winter, of course that'll be welcome relief to a large segment of our population here that simply cannot afford what's become a basic necessity," McKim says.

McKim says the impact of last year's high prices continue to linger and there was a 14-percent increase in utility disconnections. McKim says,"That's nearly 23,000 households who have been disconnected between April and July -- so folks are still struggling to pay off last winter's bills and a lot them will some significant debt into this winter even if there are lower bills."

Iowa received around 76-million dollars last year form the federal government for LIHEAP, and McKim says just over 95,000 Iowans sought and were provided help with their bills. This year's heating assistance allocation has not been announced, but McKim believes it will be the about the same as last year.

MidAmerican energy estimated bills could be 40% lower this winter, while Alliant Energy estimated they could be 20% lower. 

A retired school teacher from Iowa will be sitting in First Lady Michelle Obama's "box" tonight as President Obama addresses congress and urges action on health care reform. An official from the White House called 75-year-old Darlyne Neff of Iowa City on Friday and invited her to D.C. for the event.

"I think that I'm just a representative of hundreds of people around the country who are interested in health care and want to see that more people get health care coverage," she says, "and especially that children are taken care of as we go forward."

Neff says she's alive today because of an operation for breast cancer and another that removed a brain tumor. This past December Obama's "Transition Team" asked Neff to host a "neighborhood discussion" about health care reform.

"So I invited the people who live in Oaknoll, the retirement complex where I live in Iowa City and about 20 people showed up," Neff said. "There were heated debate and discussions about health care and what should be done. There were a number of doctors here, so we really had a good chance to exchange ideas."

Now, nine months later, Neff says people have gotten "pretty riled up" about health care reform and she's hoping President Obama gives a "clear idea" of what he wants congress to pass.

"Everybody's focused on health care," Neff says. "It seems now is the time for us to do something about it."

Neff favors a so-called "public option" which would have a government-run plan compete with private insurance. During a public hearing in March , Neff said retirees "know who good (they) have it" because they're covered by goverment-run Medicare, and she said "basic health care should be available to everyone today."

Neff taught kindergarten and first grade, then moved on to be a substitute teacher in middle schools before spending six years as a Kirkwood Community College instructor.   She spoke by phone with Radio Iowa late yesterday afternoon.

The Effigy Mounds National Monument on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in northeast Iowa has been chosen for the U.S. Mint's "Beautiful Quarters" program. Effigy Mounds director, Phyllis Ewing, says they applied immediately upon learning the mint would honor national monuments on quarters, and were excited to learn they've been chosen.

"I think my first comment was, 'this is really cool,' but we are terribly excited by it. When the idea came we were really hopeful that we would be included in it. And Effigy Mounds happens to be the first national park in Iowa," Ewing said. Ewing says the park tells the story of early American history through the burial mounds of Native Americans.

She says there are a lot of conical or linear mounds, but there are also mounds in the shape of birds and bears, and that's where the name effigy comes from, as they are in the shape of something that was living. The Beautiful Quarters program follows the success of the state quarters program, and will feature the national parks on the backs of quarters beginning in 2010. The parks will be featured based on the year they became a park.

Effigy Mounds was named a national monument in 1949 by President Harry Truman. Iowa's state quarter featured a Grant Wood painting of a school house, but Ewing isn't sure exactly how Effigy Mounds will be portrayed. Ewing says they have not been told yet what will be on the quarter, but they anticipated receiving a drawing that they will be able to review and see if it is what the park represents.

Ewing says the burial mounds are the main feature of the area, but says it's location along the river is something that is also an important part of the park that visitors appreciated.

Ewing says visitors all visualize Iowa as flat cornfields and they are taken by the bluffs and the beauty, and she says many say it is as pretty as any other national park they've visited.

Ewing says the park is entering it's busy time of the year. The park is open year round and only closes for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's and is open from eight until 4:30 and in the summer and fall they extend the hours until six p.m.

Ewing says October is the busiest month of the year as people come to see the fall foliage. The complete list of monuments chosen for the quarter program will be released Wednesday on the U.S. Mint's website . Find out more about Effigy Mounds at the park's website here .

 

Republican candidate Bob Vander Plaats says it's too early to say who he might pick as a lieutenant governor running mate if he wins the G.O.P.'s 2010 gubernatorial nomination. But Vander Plaats is making his objectives clear and in the process is taking a shot at former Governor Terry Branstad, the four-term Republican governor who is mulling the idea of leaving his job as president of Des Moines University and running for a fifth term.

Branstad picked Joy Corning, a supporter of abortion rights, as his running mate in 1990 and '94. Vander Plaats says he supports a "culture of life" and you won't see him picking someone who doesn't share that philosophy.

"I'm not looking to balance the ticket with somebody who is moderate or liberal or who doesn't believe in those core values like I do," Vander Plaats says. "Hopefully they will bring different assets to the ticket, but they will believe in those core values."

Vander Plaats voted for Branstad in 1990 and 1994, despite Joy Corning's presence on the ticket as Branstad's lieutenant governor running mate.

"I did not withhold my vote from Governor Branstad because of his choice of Lieutenant Governor Corning," Vander Plaats says. "And to be quite frank with you when I voted for Governor Branstad both those times, I don't think I knew who Joy Corning was, you know, that well."

Vander Plaats has no plan to announce his running mate this far in advance of the June primary, but Vander Plaats says they must share his opinion on core issues like gun rights, immigration and gay marriage as well as on abortion.

"The people that are voting for you, the people that you're serving as their leader -- they need to trust you first," Vander Plaats says. "And if you can't be trusted on where do you stand on life; where do you stand on marriage; where do you stand on immigration; where do you stand on the second amendment; where do you stand on on state sovereignty; where do you stand on those core values, those core principles -- why would they ever give you an opportunity to lead this state?"

Vander Plaats ran for governor in 2002 and lost in the Republican primary. Vander Plaats ran again in 2006, but ended his own campaign before the primary and signed on as Jim Nussle's running mate. On Tuesday, Vander Plaats officially declared himself a competitor for the G.O.P.'s 2010 nomination for governor.

 

 

 

AUDIO: Vander Plaats news conf...23 min MP3

Iowa homeowners are getting very encouraging news about the anticipated heating costs of the upcoming winter. Natural gas prices are down considerably from a year ago and Iowa's largest utility predicts our heating bills could be down significantly as well. Mark Reinders, spokesman for MidAmerican Energy, says they're planning for the cold weather with a solid supply of natural gas.

"The supply is plentiful out there and that's helped driving down the price of natural gas," Reinders says. "A lot of companies put natural gas product into storage last year and didn't use it all so that carried over into this upcoming winter season." He says customers in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota could see bills drop 40-percent compared to last year, if we end up with a normal winter. Reinders says MidAmerican already has most of its winter supply of natural gas locked up.

He says the Des Moines-based utility goes into the season with 75-percent of its overall needs for the season ahead either in underground storage or contracted under fixed prices. "The price of natural gas has remained low," Reinders says. "Normally, as we're going into September and October, the price of natural gas goes up because they're getting ready for the winter season but we haven't seen a lot of that yet. The huge factors are the actual weather conditions. If the weather turns real cold late in the fall and early winter, that obviously drives the price of natural gas up."

Reinders says the low prices may allow the utility to begin working on its supplies for the following winter. "If the price continues to stay low as the winter goes on, then obviously they'll start buying more on contract for the next winter season," Reinders says. "We hate to think too far out, but 2010-2011. As we deplete our underground storage and our contracting, we'll then go out and buy some during this upcoming winter for next year."

Officials with Alliant Energy estimate the low natural gas prices will translate to a drop of 20-percent on winter heating bills for its customers, compared to last year.

 

Authorities say a southwest Iowa man abused two bobcat kittens. Fifty-nine-year-old Richard Muff, Senior, of Clarinda was charged with a variety of offenses according to Deb Smith, the state conservation officer for Montgomery and Page Counties.

"He took two bobcat kittens out of the wild and filed their teeth and their claws down," Smith says.

The bobcats had baby teeth, but officials say filing those teeth damaged nerves and the bobcats are having problems eating. The wild kittens are now with a "wildlife rehabilitator" and the Clarinda man has gone before a judge.

"I charged him with two counts of unlawful possesion, transportation of the bobcat kittens and then, also, animal neglect," Smith says. "He paid fines totalling $700 plus (court) costs. He paid $400 in liquidated damaged to the state and then he also is ordered is ordered to pay restitution to the wildlife rehabilitator because the bobcat kittens will be with the wildlife rehabilitator until minimum November. If they're not able to be released by November, she'll have them until next spring."

Bobcats have a stubby or "bobbed" tail and grow up to be about twice as large as the common household cat. They are considered predators and generally live in woody or swampy areas.

"I want to reiterate to people: do not take wild animals out of the wild," Smith says.

The conservation officer says Muff told authorities he took what he thought were abandoned kittens into his care. "Just because they're there by themselves doesn't mean the mother is too far away," Smith says.

Conservation officers found the bobcats in Muff's home in August. Muff was charged with hunting violations in the fall of 2007 and again in 2008. His hunting and fur harvesting privileges are now suspended until 2012 and he is not go along with anyone else who is hunting or who is checking traps.

The Senate Ethics Committee has dismissed a complaint against a lobbying group that was five months late in filing a disclosure report about its pricey party for legislators.  The group's tardiness came to light as the Iowa Pharmacy Association's legislative reception was the same February night that State Representative Kerry Burt of Waterloo was arrested and charged with drunken driving.

The Senate Ethics Committee today voted five-to-zero to dismiss the complaint about the tardy report since the Pharmacy Association had finally filed its report about their $7000 party in February. Senate President Jack Kibbie, a Democrat from Emmetsburg, says lawmakers will consider streamlining the process for disclosing the details of such legislative receptions next year when the 2010 legislative session convenes.

"This would mean that we could move to a paperless system with more transparency and accountability," Kibbie says.

If the committee had found the Iowa Pharmacy Board in the wrong, there is no fine, but the ethics panel could have issued a letter of reprimand. Kibbie says legislators will consider changes that would provide "greater sanctions" for failing to follow the rules.

"We want 100 percent transparency on any dealings with the legislature as far as the lobby is concerned," Kibbie says.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement filed the complaint. The group's Adam Mason says they expected today's action, but are hoping they've gotten lawmakers' attention about the larger issue: giving the Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board authority to oversee the reports lobbying groups must file about the receptions they throw for legislators.

"What we've seen in the years since the legislature moved to retain that authority solely is that they have been unable or unwilling to file up if reports are filed late, or even if reports are not filed," Mason says.

Before 2005, the Iowa Ethics Board could issue letters of reprimand or even fines against lobbying groups that failed to file the proper paperwork after legislative receptions. The state's "Gift Law" forbids lobbyists from buying an individual legislator food and drink that's worth $3 or more. But groups often invite all 150 legislators to a reception, meaning the party budget expands.  Since 2005, legislators -- through the House and Senate Ethics Committees -- have had sole oversight of such spending.

"The larger concern to Iowans should be why special interest groups are wining and dining our legislators," Mason says. "CCI members and other Iowans across the state are sick and tired of special-interest big-time lobbyists buying and gaining influence to lawmakers and when this is happening we need to be assured we know how much is being spent, when this is happening, where it's happening and who has been there."

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement wants the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to regain oversight authority. Mason says in 2009 alone, at least 26 of the 90 reports lobbying groups filed to disclose legislative receptions were filed late -- and Mason says that's because many legislators aren't interested in getting tough with lobbying groups.

"Our members have known it for a long time -- it's like the fox guarding the hen house," Mason says. "...The issue is larger than just the Pharmacy Association filing a late report."

Mason says "full transparency" of what lobbying groups are spending to influence legislators is just the "first step" to remove "special interest influence from our political system."

Click on the audio link below to listen to today's Senate Ethics Committee meeting.  Senator Kibbie was in the room along with Senator Jerry Behn (R-Boone), Senator Dick Dearden (D-Des Moines) and Senator Paul McKinley (R-Chariton).  Senator Steve Kettering (R-Lake View) joined the meeting by telephone.

AUDIO: Senate Ethics mtg...5 min MP3

Heavy fog is getting part of the blame for an accident this morning in central Iowa that involved a school bus and a semi-truck. Greene County Sheriff Tom Heater says the crash happened about 7:15 AM near Grand Junction at the intersection of County Road E-53 and Highway 30.

There were no children on board the bus. The bus driver and the semi driver were both injured. The bus driver was taken to the Greene County Medical Center and then transferred to a Des Moines hospital. The semi driver refused treatment at the scene. No names have been released. Sheriff Heater says weather conditions were definitely a factor in the crash.

Heater says, "Due to the fog, the semi was westbound on 30 and the school bus was stopped at a stop sign and was trying to proceed eastbound onto 30 at the time of the accident but due to the fog, she pulled out and didn't see the semi coming." He says charges are pending but the investigation is still incomplete.