JULIA LOUISE RUPPENKAMP
Riverside

Julia Louise Ruppenkamp, 85, of Riverside, died unexpectedly early Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at Mercy in Iowa City.
According to the wishes of Julia and her family, she will be cremated and a
memorial service will be planned for this fall. Burial will be in St. Stanislaus Cemetery in rural Hills. Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service in Iowa City is handling arrangements.
She was born Aug. 10, 1934, in Red Oak, Iowa, the daughter of John and Mary "Catherine" (Pfeiffer) Ruth. Julia grew up in Cosgrove.
She graduated from Cosgrove High School and graduated from Iowa City Commercial College.
She met Earl Ruppenkamp at a Junior Farm Bureau dance. They were married Sept. 20, 1955, in Cosgrove, and the couple moved to the Riverside area in 1959. Julia provided for her family as both a farmwife and mother to their children. She was constantly baking and her pies were enjoyed by many. Julia loved flowers and grew them in her garden to share with others, especially the residents at Atrium Village.
She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and St. Joseph's Altar & Rosary Society in Hills.
Julia is survived by her husband, Earl; children, Mark, Ann and Jane; and a brother, John Ruth.
Her parents preceded her in death.
www.lensingfuneral.com

TIPTON
Ann E. Hinkhouse, 74, died Tuesday May 5, 2020. Henderson-Barker Funeral Home, West Liberty.

VERYL ARDIS HANSEN
Cedar Rapids


Veryl Ardis Hansen passed away Wednesday morning, May 6, 2020. A private family service will be held for Veryl at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids. She will be buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City beside her mother and father.
Arrangements are being handled by Cedar Memorial
of Cedar Rapids.
She is survived by her husband, Richard Hansen;
her four children, Daniel, Andrew, Jane and Jill; and a granddaughter, Christine.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Viola Sorensen; father, Harry Sorensen; and brother, Charles Sorensen.
Born Veryl Ardis Sorensen on April 27, 1928, she grew up on a farm between Thornton and Swaledale, Iowa. She graduated from Swaledale High School in 1945. She attended Wartburg College in 1945-46 and graduated from St. Mary's School of Nursing, Rochester, Minn., in 1949. She worked for St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, later in her career she worked as a visiting nurse. While dedicating her life to nursing, she raised four children and pursued numerous interests. She had a lifelong passion for music which she passed on to her children. She also loved the outdoors and wilderness areas. The family regularly took camping trips to parks in the western states, canoed Iowa rivers, and visited the Boundary Waters wilderness area in Minnesota many times. Later, Veryl and Richard continued their travels including a tent trip to Alaska. They also visited Germany, Korea, Japan and China.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.cedarmemorial.com.

STANLEY N. HAUSER
Marengo


Stanley N. Hauser, 87, of Marengo, passed away Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at Rose Haven Nursing Home. A graveside service will be held at noon Tuesday, May 12, at Calvary Cemetery in Marengo, with Father David Wilkening officiating. Military honors will be conducted at a later date. A memorial fund has been established in Stanley's
name. Kloster Funeral Home in Marengo is assisting the family with arrangements.

INDEPENDENCE
Georgia Lauridsen Gray, 89, died Thursday, May 7, 2020. White Funeral Home, Independence.

STANLEY N. HAUSER
Marengo



Stanley N. Hauser, 87, of Marengo, passed away Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at Rose Haven Nursing Home. A graveside service will be held at noon Tuesday, May 12, at Calvary Cemetery in Marengo, with Father David Wilkening officiating. Military honors will be conducted at a later date. A memorial fund has been established in Stanley's
name. Kloster Funeral Home in Marengo is assisting the family with arrangements.
He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and his children, Paul and Anita Hauser of Rochester, N.Y., Sheila and David Sherman of Marengo, Jeff and Gayle Hauser of Royal Oak, Mich., Scott and Mindy Hauser of Rochester, N.Y., Karen Hauser Richards of Grinnell and David and Debbie Hauser of Ankeny; he also leaves 16 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and three of his siblings, Ruth Hauser Serck, and her husband, Ronald of Rock Valley, Kenneth Hauser, and his wife, Dorcas of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Carol Hauser Williams, and her husband, Billy of East Bend, N.C.
He was preceded in death by three of his siblings, Anna Marie Hauser Gardner of Minneapolis, Ralph Hauser of Rock Valley and Edward Hauser of Rock Valley; and a sister-in-law, Sharon Hellwig Leinen of Yankton, S.D.
Better yet, toast his memory with a Black Velvet and 7-Up. Stan would like to know you're enjoying life.
Online condolences: www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

MARGY E. SEIFERT
Homestead


Margy E. Seifert, 90, of Homestead, passed away Thursday, May 7, 2020, at Wesley Acres in Des Moines. A private graveside service will be held Monday May 11, at Homestead Cemetery in Homestead, with Pastor Lisa Crow officiating. Memorials may be contributed to the Safe Haven of Iowa County. Kloster Funeral Home in Marengo is assisting the family with arrangements.
She is survived by her children, Randy Seifert of Marion, Timothy Seifert (Rodi) of Chicago and Karen Seifert (Melodie) of Urbandale; a granddaughter, Angelique Kramer (Tim) of Cedar Rapids; two great-grandchildren, Mya and Noah Hummel; siblings, Helen Zimpleman of Marengo, Roy Gerard of North Chesterfield, Va., Lorrin Gerard (Carol) of Nevada and Evan Gerard (Judy) of Campbell, Calif.; along with many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, and husband, Henry, in 2009.
Margy Elaine Gerard was born March 30, 1930, in Millersburg, Iowa, the daughter of Glen and Leona Charlotte Jones Gerard. She graduated from the Marengo High School in 1948, where she was a member of the Honor Society. Margy and Henry were united in marriage June 27, 1948, at First United Methodist Church in Marengo. Margy worked as a dental assistant for Dr. Louis Clemens for many years, and then as a hostess at Zuber's Restaurant in Homestead. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Marengo for more than 70 years, a member of the Eastern Star, the Homestead Welfare Club and the Amana Heritage Society. Margy enjoyed bird watching and was an avid Chicago Cubs fan. She was a recipe queen, always trying out a new recipe on Henry. She enjoyed spending time with her family and her beloved cat, Spice.
Online condolences: www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

ANN E. HINKHOUSE
Tipton

Ann E. Hinkhouse, 74, passed away Tuesday May 5, 2020, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.
Graveside services will be held 11 a.m. Monday, May 11, at the Sharon Cemetery in rural Wilton. Visitation will be held from
9 to 10 a.m. Monday at the Henderson-Barker Funeral Home in West Liberty. Memorials may be made to Cedar County Friends of the Animals and Iowa City Hospice.
Ann Elaine Hinkhouse was born Sept. 25, 1945, in Iowa City, Iowa, the daughter of Nevin and Belle (Walton) Hinkhouse. She was a graduated from Lutheran Hospital Nursing School, received her B.A. from Cornell College and M.B.A. from St. Ambrose University. She was active in nursing all her life, working at Genesis Hospital in Davenport, University of Iowa, Crestview Care Center in West Branch, Cedar Manor Nursing Home in Tipton, Simpson Memorial Home in West Liberty and, most recently, at the Wilton Care Center. She enjoyed the family farm where she spent most of her life up until the sale in 2017, moving to Tipton. Ann worked as parish nurse for Zion Lutheran Church in Wilton for many years. She enjoyed raising sheep, gardening and embroidery work. She was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Chapel in Iowa City, Tipton Rotary Club and Cedar County Historical Society Board.
Ann is survived by many cousins.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and brother, Steve, in 2017.

It’s simple—I don’t like recurring payments. And I don’t know about you, but with most recurring payments, I feel anxiety around this need to “get my money’s worth.” In other words, I often feel like I under-utilize the product and thus overpay to some extent. So why do I sell my software under a recurring […]

While all of us would love to resume face-to-face classes in the Fall at the three Regent Institutions, the reality of our situation is making that highly unlikely. Let us assume you resume face-to-face classes using the 6-feet social distancing rule. That means classrooms can hold a lot less people. How much less? Suppose you have a lecture auditorium with an area of 8,783 square feet, which has a maximum seating capacity of 760 students under normal conditions. Implementing a social distancing rule would reduce the allowable number of students to 311 students. Size limitations effectively reduces student capacity by more than half. How many students can safely walk down a hallway and use the same exits to leave the building? Is each classroom disinfected between classes?

Social distancing practice dictates that no student could share a dorm room. Are universities expected to run these facilities at a financial loss? How long is that sustainable? Will each student get their own shower?

In a time when political pressures seem to be fighting against science and facts, it is incumbent upon our institutions of higher learning to stay levelheaded. In absence of widespread testing and immunization, it is simply irresponsible for the Board of Regents, the governor or university presidents to pretend that we’ll go back to a face-to-face learning environment in the fall. It is better to simply make the decision now about continuing with an online curriculum until it is safe for everyone.

David Johnson

West Branch

We all know elections matter. Local elections matter in particular because these elected officials have significant impacts on our daily lives. Government here in our community impacts us through our schools, in our streets, and on our property.

Electing a sheriff is unique because it’s a direct link between the voting public and a law enforcement official; we all have a stake in the sheriff election. The public should take a critical look at each candidate, examine the candidates’ goals, and their plans for attaining them. Look at the substance and nature of their campaign. Scrutinize their grasp of the office.

I’m running because I see where the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office can improve our services and have specific plans to achieve these goals. My campaign has focused on engaging people and groups across the county to listen to what is important to people when selecting a sheriff and sharing tangible, achievable goals to keep the Sheriff’s Office moving forward.

Perhaps most important, though, the next sheriff must also understand the role the office holds in county government. It is vital to understand the scope of the office as well as the legal and ethical boundaries that the sheriff is held to and must operate within.

I’m confident that my experience within the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office — and appreciation of the responsibility — provide voters with an additional measure of comfort when casting your ballot.

When electing a sheriff, voters should examine the career, character and commitment to the community displayed by the candidate. As a lifelong resident of this community and a career public servant to Johnson County, I’ve grown with this community and have a deep understanding of where we’ve come from and where we’re going. A sheriff’s office is a complex organization, and my experience as a deputy sheriff is invaluable to understanding the dynamics of the different divisions within the office. I also have important budget and personnel experience through service on the Solon City Council and on nonprofit boards. The sheriff is also a department head and it’s important to have a strong grasp of finance and management skills.

I’m proud of my proven record of service to public safety, public office and our nonprofit partners in Johnson County, and I will continue my commitment to service as the next Johnson County sheriff.

Brad Kunkel is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Johnson County sheriff. kunkelforsheriff.com

I am a longtime resident of Johnson County, currently in my 25th year of law enforcement. I worked for the Coralville Police Department in the late 1990’s and transferred to the Cedar Rapids Police Department in 1999 where I am a sergeant of the patrol division. I have degrees in criminal justice and organizational leadership and have advanced leadership training from Northwestern University in the School of Police Staff and Command.

Working in the second-largest city in the state has offered me many opportunities to lead. I have taught in the police academy and defensive tactics and as a field training instructor. I was the director of the Eastern Iowa Heroin Initiative, where I founded CRUSH of Iowa (Community Resources United to Stop Heroin). CRUSH is a community-based, grassroots organization helping all those affected by substance abuse disorder.

My passion has been community outreach. Currently I am a member of the Johnson County Human Trafficking Coalition and the Johnson County Prevention Partnership. Through these partnerships I will create a criminal interdiction team to fight the trafficking of humans, weapons and narcotics.

As sheriff, my top three concerns are substance abuse, mental health and human trafficking. I believe in creating long-lasting relationships with the community. I believe in common sense solutions without the haze of political bias. I believe that every citizen has a voice and should be heard. I believe in building a proactive and progressive law enforcement agency that serves with professionalism, compassion and dedication to the citizens. I believe we need to place the community back into community policing.

I am ready to be sheriff of Johnson County. I am a proven leader who is determined to build bridges with the citizens of the county and lead with accountability, trust and transparency. I will fight for all of Johnson County as sheriff because I have done so all of my life. This election is not just about me, it is about us. We, together, will make a positive impact on Johnson County. The status quo is not working. It’s time for change!

I would love to have your vote on June 2. We work better when we work together. People before politics!

Al Fear is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Johnson County sheriff. alfearforsheriff.com

In response to the coronavirus, Americans were told by their federal and state governments to shut down their businesses, stop going to church, work, school or out to eat, travel only when necessary and hunker down at home. Originally, Americans were led to believe this was for a two- or three-week period, in order to flatten the curve and not overwhelm our health care system.

At seven weeks and counting, with staggering economic loss that will leave families and thousands of small businesses and farmers with profound devastation, the question must be asked, are we trying to flatten the curve or flatten our country?

The initial models that pointed to staggering loss of life from the coronavirus have proved wildly inaccurate. As of May 2, the CDC placed the number of deaths in the U.S. from the virus at 66,746. While all loss of life is deeply regrettable, these numbers cannot be considered in a vacuum. For perspective, deaths from pneumonia in the U.S. during the same period were 64,382, with average yearly deaths from influenza in the same range.

The original goal of closing much of the U.S. economy and staying at home was to flatten the curve of new coronavirus cases so that our hospital systems would not be overwhelmed. Hospitals built by the Army Corps of Engineers to handle the increased volume have mostly been taken down. Except for a few spots in the U.S. the health care system was not overwhelmed. As the medical models of casualties from the coronavirus continue to be adjusted down, it is clear the curve has been flattened, so why do we continue to stay closed and worsen the economic devastation that tunnel vision has thus far kept many of our leaders from acknowledging?

Many health experts say 80 percent of Americans will get the coronavirus and experience only mild symptoms. The curve has been flattened. Our health care system is not overwhelmed. Why is our economy, for the most part, still closed?

A University of Washington study recently revised the projected number of deaths from the coronavirus in Iowa from 1,367 to a much lower estimate of 365. While all loss of life is horrific, we must also consider the devastation being done to our economy, our families and our way of life by actions taken to combat the coronavirus.

It must be noted that 578 Iowans died from the flu and pneumonia in 2017, a greater number than are likely to pass away from the coronavirus. We also know that many who die from the virus are elderly with underlying health conditions, increasing the likelihood that any serious illness could result in their death. Are draconian government restrictions in response to the coronavirus still needed and economically sustainable? The data shows that the answers to both questions is no. We are no longer flattening the curve; we are flattening our state and nation.

We have seen the medical data. What has been less visible in news conferences and in the overall reporting of the coronavirus and our response to it, are the economic and human costs of what we are doing:

• 30 million Americans are out of work and the number grows daily.

• Dairy farmers are pouring out milk they have no market for.

• Pork producers are euthanizing hogs they have no market for.

• According to a study by Iowa State University, the losses to Iowa Agriculture are at a staggering $6.7 billion and growing, with the largest losses in pork production and ethanol.

• In Iowa, the economic loss for corn is estimated to be $788 million, $213 million for soybean and $34 million for cattle.

• The Iowa Restaurant Association estimates that between 10 & 25% of Iowa’s restaurants will not reopen.

• Iowa’s public universities are predicting a $187 million loss.

• Iowa is spending $200 million or more per month on unemployment claims, with over 171,000 Iowans unemployed.

• 29 percent of the U.S. economy is frozen as a result of government action, with U.S. economic output down 29 percent.

• U.S. unemployment could soon hit 47 million.

• Losses to U.S. tourism are predicted to top $910 billion.

• Retirement plans for millions of Americans are being decimated, with recent reports projecting the average 401(k) loss at 19 percent.

• Drug and alcohol addiction and relapse are increasing.

• Testing for chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease are being delayed, which could lead to increasing health problems and life-threatening illnesses in the future.

• Economic damage to rural hospitals could lead to hospital closures and less access to health care in some areas.

• Warnings of a possible meat shortage in the U.S. have been issued by executives of Farmland and Tyson, with reports that the food supply chain is under stress. Several grocery store chains are now limiting meat purchases and some national restaurant chains are no longer offering certain meat products on their menus. Higher meat prices are almost certain in the months to come.

• Huge U.S. debt increases unlike anything seen since World War II, to the tune of over $3 trillion and counting, are adding to the already monstrous $22 trillion in U.S. debt. This does not bode well for our children or future economic stability.

The list of consequences goes on and on, and behind each of the statistics is a family struggling to survive, a father and mother fearful of how they will care for their children, a small-business owner seeing their dreams and hard work destroyed overnight by draconian government mandates, a restaurant owner deciding never to reopen, a dairy farmer throwing in the towel and a business owner postponing indefinitely plans for expanding.

Behind these numbers is an economy greatly impacted by the government response to the coronavirus, with implications for our economic well-being profound and long lasting. Expansion projects delayed, business closures, layoffs and contraction for many businesses will likely keep unemployment numbers high and depress economic expansion for an unknown amount of time.

Let us be clear, it grows worse every day we remain closed.

Steve Holt represents District 18 in the Iowa House.

Growing up on the Greenfield family farm outside a little town of 500, we worked hard and learned to look out for one another.

I’ve visited with folks in every corner of Iowa during my U.S. Senate campaign. The people I hear from want the dignity of providing for their families, and to know they can get a hand up when they need it. Now, as the coronavirus threatens our communities and Washington seems more focused on pointing fingers than getting results, Iowans want to know that we can get through this and come out stronger in the end. I’ve been through tough times, and I know from my own life that the only way we get through is by pulling together.

I was 24 when my first husband, an electrical worker, was killed in a workplace accident. Social Security and hard-earned union benefits helped me get back on my feet and pursue a career where I could support my two young sons. I’ll fight to protect and strengthen Social Security so every Iowan can get that same hand up.

So, I know what it’s like to have a loved one not come home from work. When I hear about workers having to choose between staying home safely or earning a paycheck, I say no way. Since March, I’ve put out two plans calling for more testing, personal protective equipment, paid sick leave, premium pay, and stronger protections for our front-line workers.

I also believe health care is a right — not a privilege. This shouldn’t be partisan.

As a businesswoman and a mom, I know the tough decisions our small businesses and families are making right now. That’s why I’ve called for more urgent economic aid and faster help for our small businesses and workers — not more bailouts for corporate CEOs. We also need a robust infrastructure plan and to invest in more skills training to create opportunity in all of our hometowns.

None of this will happen unless we make Washington work more like we do by ending political corruption. I’m not taking a dime of corporate PAC money and I will work to overturn Citizens United, and ban dark money and corporate PACs.

Sen. Joni Ernst broke her promise to be different. Instead, she’s voted with Mitch McConnell and her corporate PAC donors for tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest — while hardworking Iowans fall further behind.

Iowans deserve a senator who shares their grit and their resolve, who will carry the fight for our small towns and our working families in her heart. It’s how we get through this pandemic and how we create more opportunity for our state. In the Senate, I’ll never forget where I’m from or who I’m fighting for, and I’ll always put Iowa first.

Theresa Greenfield is a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

After more than a decade in the making, the Tea Party moment has finally arrived.

The movement originated in 2009 as a challenge to runaway taxes, spending and regulation. Organizers sought to restore the constitutional balance of power between the states and the federal government.

Eventually, the Tea Party devolved into a catchall for right-wing populism, and a magnet for xenophobes and culture warriors. In 2016, its early adherents overwhelmingly fell in line with President Donald Trump, choosing protectionism over freedom.

But that original Tea Party spirit — the charge to buck the national government in favor of local control — was on full display recently from two unlikely sources.

Trump decided early on in the coronavirus pandemic that the federal government would not centrally coordinate the purchase and distribution of medical supplies. That might have worked fine, except the Trump administration actively undermined state governments’ efforts. The federal government has outbid state buyers and even seized products from states.

After 3 million masks ordered by the Massachusetts governor were confiscated in New York, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker decided to sidestep the usual procurement process. He sent a New England Patriots’ private airplane to bring supplies back from China.

In Maryland, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan coordinated a large COVID-19 test order from South Korea. The delivery was facilitated by the National Guard and state police, and the tests were put in a secure location with armed security.

“We guarded that cargo from whoever might interfere with us getting that to our folks that needed it,” Hogan said last week in an interview with Washington Post Live.

Hogan and Baker don’t fit the common perception of the Tea Party mold. They both have harshly criticized President Donald Trump and supported the impeachment inquiry. Hogan openly considered challenging Trump for the GOP presidential nomination.

They are among the last vestiges of moderate conservatism in American executive office, and yet they are the ones waging a battle over federalism and states’ rights.

The political minds built for this moment — the ones who have long fantasized about escalating the state-federal power struggle — are not up to the task. The conservative firebrands who should be taking up this fight instead are beholden to Trump and whatever cockamamie plans he comes up with.

At a news conference last month, Trump made a striking claim about his powers in managing the public health crisis: “When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that’s the way it’s got to be. It’s total.”

That should have been a flashpoint for conservatives, the beginning of a revitalized Tea Party that recognizes the enormous threat Trumpism poses to our values.

But it wasn’t. Loyalists brushed it off, again, as Trump misspeaking.

The small-government philosophy is founded on the likelihood that the levers of government power will eventually be grabbed by some menace, an incompetent or malicious figure. But when that menace is your friend, your fundraiser and your public relations manager, it proves hard to slap his hand away.

adam.sullivan@thegazette.com; (319) 339-3156

I have been a Johnson County resident since 1977. I grew up in Clear Lake, a small farming community in North Central Iowa. I came to Iowa City after being recruited by Dan Gable to wrestle for the University of Iowa Hawkeye wrestling team and placed 3rd place in the 1980 NCAA Division I.

I met my wife Teresa and we settled in Iowa City. I have two children, Melissa, 36, and Anthony, 25; and grandchildren Emma, 9, Ellie and Emilia, 4-month-old twin girls, and Jack, who passed two just before his 2nd birthday. I am a cancer survivor and support cancer research and patient support.

I was a maintenance supervisor at the old Cantebury Inn, I owned and operated Advance Property Management for 23 years and drove a school bus for First Student, Inc. While working at First Student I was one of the driving forces in the campaign for the workers to unionize with the Teamsters. I was asked to join the Teamsters as a full-time organizer after the campaign, which I did for 13 years. I found my calling as an organizer because I was able to help others stand up for themselves and really change their lives.

I made the decision to run for Johnson County supervisor because we need to bring some common sense back to Johnson County government, and run a smarter government that works for all. The supervisors need to oversee the county departments better to stop wasting county funds paying settlements to individuals because of illegal action by department employees. Rules are for everyone and if you work outside the rules there will be costs and consequences.

I want to bring new blood to the board as well as new ideas. County supervisor is a public service position of honor and trust. Being a supervisor is about following through on jobs you were elected to do for the people. The supervisors need to finish jobs that they started but never completed. You should never leave a job half done!

I hope the voters agree the Johnson County Board of Supervisors need to answer to the public for their actions and their employees. We can no long just “sweep issues under the rug.”

Dean Phinney is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Johnson County Board of Supervisors.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors consists of five at-large members. Recently some people in the rural community have advocated for a board elected from districts within the county. A House Study Bill a few years ago would have required counties with a population greater than 150,000 to elect supervisors from districts, though a similar bill had failed earlier.

While districting a board of supervisors may appear to provide more representation to rural residents, the opposite would result. Currently, any resident anywhere in the county has five supervisors to whom they can communicate their needs. With districts, residents would have only one supervisor representing them.

There are many reasons electing supervisors from districts is not a good idea for Johnson County. But here is why, in fact, it’s a bad idea.

In Johnson County, our current practice for funding projects is determined using a needs assessment approach. This can be seen in our Five-Year Road Plan and works quite well. It is a triage of sorts, with the greatest need addressed first. With districts, it would become necessary to rotate projects based on the district in which it is located rather than the greatest need.

Imagine what might have happened in the 2016 emergency situation on the Highway 965 bridge over the Iowa River! During routine bridge inspections, county engineers determined repairs to that bridge to be our county’s greatest road need. It was an issue of public safety. Our at-large Board of Supervisors approved that project for immediate repairs.

Had we had districts, that project would land within my district and might have been put on hold, waiting for my district to have its turn at a big roads project. Just a couple years later, Swan Lake Road bridge over I-380, also in “my district” was deemed in need of immediate repair. While there is not a lot of traffic on that bridge, it is an essential route for farmers in the area. The closure was inconvenient during one farming season, but is now open and in good repair.

With districts, that bridge, in particular, would still be closed because it would be unfair for one district to have two big bridge repair jobs done before other districts had one done.

There are many other reasons why Johnson County’s Board of Supervisors should continue as an at-large body. Each county should be allowed to determine its own board of supervisors structure.

Lisa Green-Douglass is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Johnson County Board of Supervisors.

COVID-19 is a brutal villain, infecting millions and taking more than 185,000 lives worldwide, just over 100 of which were Iowans at the time of this writing. In the face of this, Iowans are showing the strength of their character. Individual acts of courage have become everyday occurrences. Nowhere is this truer than in our state’s long-term care centers.

The threat facing those in long-term care is unprecedented. Because many who are infected remain asymptomatic, efforts to prevent the virus from being introduced into facilities has proved difficult. Once the virus is introduced, it is hard to impede its spread — and virtually impossible without enhanced testing capabilities and more personal protective equipment (PPE) than we have access to today.

Long-term care providers have taken unprecedented steps to protect their residents, including prohibiting non-essential visitors in early March. Unfortunately, even with these measures and following guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health officials, more than 3,600 long-term care facilities nationwide have been impacted by the virus, including 13 in Iowa.

Yet, in the face of this challenge, our long-term care workers are performing with a valor we have not seen during peacetime in a generation; maybe two.

While many of us are hunkered down in our homes teleworking and spending time with our families, these caregivers are leaving their families to provide care for the loved ones of others. What these caregivers are doing and what they are sacrificing is remarkable. We owe them our gratitude, and we owe them our best efforts to address their critical needs.

Adequate PPE and routine testing for long-term care are paramount. While there has been significant attention paid to providing hospitals with PPE, it is imperative we not overlook those working in long-term care.

More than 70% of long-term care facilities nationwide report they lack enough PPE. This not only puts our caregivers at risk, it also puts the people they care for at greater risk. Preventing the introduction of the virus and containing its spread in nursing homes and assisted living facilities is one of the most important things we must do to relieve pressure on hospitals now.

Testing is a critical area where more support is needed. There are protocols in place to limit the spread of the virus once it is in a facility, including establishing isolation wings where those who have the virus are kept apart from the rest of the residents and are cared for by staff who do not interact with those in the rest of the building. But the virus leaves many of those infected without symptoms, these steps cannot be effectively implemented without broader testing.

We applaud Gov. Kim Reynolds’ recent action to broaden testing for some of Iowa’s long-term care staff. Equally important is the plan to address potential staff shortages which may result from expanded testing. Since a test result only captures an individual’s infection status for a fixed period of time, long-term care staff and residents must be prioritized at the highest level to receive ongoing testing to effectively identify infections and respond as early as possible.

Those one the front lines of this fight need the tools to confront, contain and ultimately defeat the virus. There is reason to be hopeful. Even though residents of long-term care are particularly at risk, most recover from the virus. Caregivers can do even more amazing work if we get them the tools they need: protective equipment, testing and staffing.

It is time to rally around our long-term care residents and staff, and give them the support they need and deserve.

Brent Willett is president and CEO of the Iowa Health Care Association.

The upcoming primary election is a pivotal moment for Iowa City. For the past several months, I have talked to people throughout the district who are ready for change. They believe their Democratic representative should show up for people throughout the community, especially those in need. They expect a legislator from Iowa’s bluest district to be a leader in the party, raising money to support Democratic candidates up and down the ticket and making the strongest possible case for progressive legislation. They are ready to start now in building the future of the Democratic Party and state government in Iowa. And I am honored that they are putting their trust in me.

There is a lot at stake in this election. The coronavirus has laid bare and magnified preexisting inequities — inequities brought about by the Legislature’s disinvestment in education, health care, and worker rights and safety. Small businesses are now struggling to survive, when for years the state has been giving large corporations hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits. Water quality, climate change and gun violence still need our attention, even as we continue to invest in keeping people safe from COVID-19. We have never needed strong leadership more than we do now.

I will be a champion for progressive values because I have lived them. I know how hard it can be for people to get by even when they work hard. I grew up in a trailer in rural Florida. Neither of my parents graduated high school. My dad was a construction worker who suffered for years with emphysema. When his health insurance was canceled, my family had to choose between paying for his medicine and everything else. Fortunately, public education gave me the opportunity for a better life. My teachers taught me well and helped me to apply to college. Public university tuition was affordable then, and I was able to work my way through engineering school and law school.

Today, I am a law professor, an environmental engineer and a mother. I believe I have the skills, energy and passion that Iowa City needs at this critical point in time. I will show up for every member of our community and fight for a better future for all of Iowa.

It’s time for change in Iowa City. Please vote for me in House District 85 and help to build the future that Iowa deserves.

Christina Bohannan is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Iowa House District 85.

Right now, there are so many things that are hard to believe. It’s hard to believe we’re in the midst of a global pandemic. It’s hard to believe how much things have changed how incredibly quickly. It’s hard to believe I’ve only been the Iowa Department of Human Services director for six months. What is not hard to believe is how our team at DHS has stepped up during this public health emergency. In my short time in the great state of Iowa, I have seen our team do incredible things. In honor of Public Service Recognition Week, I want to take a moment to talk about #TeamDHS and their unwavering dedication to those we serve.

The DHS mission is to help Iowans achieve healthy, safe, stable, and self-sufficient lives through the programs and services we provide. To accomplish this mission in typical times, our team wakes up every day to do difficult work. Our front-line staff often work holidays, evenings and weekends, sacrificing time with their own families to serve others. Our team members hear difficult stories, make tough decisions and assist families when they are at their most vulnerable. Their jobs are tough under normal circumstances — navigating a global pandemic has challenged everything we do, but the work has not stopped, because the work cannot stop. Iowans need us now more than ever.

COVID-19 impacts the way social workers support families. It impacts the way facilities support and protect the individuals we serve. It impacts the mental health of countless Iowans. It impacts the needs of Medicaid members and Iowans receiving other assistance.

As an agency impacted from top to bottom, I’m proud to share our collective response effort. The Medicaid and Adult, Children and Family Services (ACFS) teams kicked into high gear and set forth waivers that will truly help those most in need; ensuring access to medical care, food and economic assistance. Our income maintenance workers stand ready to assist those families who have questions or find themselves now in need of supports.

DHS went from an agency with no telecommute policy, to deploying more than 2,000 people to work from home. Our IT team stepped in to help disassemble and lift computers for those team members who couldn’t. Our fiscal team shifted paper approval processes to electronic streamlined processes to assist our new telecommute capabilities and continues to source supplies to meet our entire system’s personal protective equipment (PPE) need. We’ve even been able to help some of our partners out in the community obtain PPE. And many, many team members have stepped into new roles when asked because there was a need.

If this isn’t teamwork, I don’t know what is.

Many of our staff continue their work on the front line every day, despite these uncertain and unprecedented times. I know for many of them it is challenging, and our work and our lives are changing in ways we would never have imagined just weeks ago. We know there is more to come, and our response effort must pivot on a dime. So, to my team, thank you for stepping up and leaning in. And to my fellow Iowans, I ask you join me in thanking them, and all of our public servants and essential workforce during Public Service Recognition Week.

Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) is May 3-9, celebrated the first week of May since 1985 (beginning on the first Sunday of the month) to honor the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county and local government employees.

We’re asking individuals whose lives have been positively impacted by one of our team members, to reach out to them directly with an email or video message to thank them. Whether it’s a case worker, social worker, income maintenance worker or direct care staff, now more than ever they deserve to hear how they’re improving the lives of Iowans.

We’re hoping we can count on you to get the word out and support our public servants. Notes directly to DHS team members are a really impactful way to personally show gratitude. This week we’ll also be encouraging people to thank those in public service using the hashtags #PSRW and #TeamDHS. Stay tuned to our social media to see how you can help celebrate our public servants.

The bravery, grace, and sacrifice our team shows every day is what true public service looks like. From one very proud DHS team member to her more than 4,100 colleagues — thank you. Public service is indeed a noble calling.

Kelly Garcia is the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services.

As most of us have spent the past two months in quarantine to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize this unexpected crisis has dramatically changed our lives, country, economy and even our freedoms.

Just as the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the twin towers reframed and reshaped our national approach to security, this pandemic will have long-reaching effects on the way we interact with others at work, play and even how we worship from here on.

Make no mistake, COVID-19 is not finished with us. Even as it subsides in many states, we are being warned that it will resurge in the fall and winter months. Many lives and our economic stability will depend on elected officials’ ability to set aside the politics-as-usual, I-win-you-lose attitude.

These new times call not only for a Congress with a no-nonsense, solution-driven mind-set but members with the right experience and expertise. Among all of the candidates running to succeed Rep. David Loebsack, my life has uniquely prepared me for the challenges ahead to effectively protect us while minimizing the inevitable financial burden and social disruption.

I understand what it means to grow up in a working-class family and to work hard to achieve goals. I grew up as one of eight children of a father who was a U.S. Air Force enlisted man and a mother who had a general education degree. After being badly burned in an accident, I decided I would become a doctor.

I left home at 16 to attend community college, enlisted in the Army, eventually completing nursing school and then medical school. In all, I served 24 years on active duty and in the reserves. That experience taught me a great deal about discipline, organization and service to country.

Peers and former Gov. Terry Branstad have entrusted me in key leadership roles, electing me as president of the Iowa Medical Society and appointing me as director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, respectively.

In 2018, voters in southeast Iowa elected me in a Senate district that tilts Democratic. I believe it was because they see in me what they know to be true of themselves: the tenacity and perseverance to never quit fighting to better themselves and their communities and create a better future for their children and grandchildren.

The next session of Congress will require leaders with the knowledge and toughness to make difficult but necessary decisions based on facts, not emotion or partisanship. That’s why I’m running for Congress.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks is a candidate in the Republican primary for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

We invited Admiral Mike Franken to a gathering of voters to explain why he was qualified to run for the U.S. Senate. We were impressed with his friendliness, his openness, and especially his range of experience as a leader. One of those in attendance at our home was a woman who had served under his command on the U.S.S. Barry; it was a happy reunion for the sailor and the admiral. She had no hesitation in endorsing him and supporting him in his campaign. Admiral Franken also visited our son’s home in another city. Again, those gathered were impressed with Admiral Franken’s experiences and priorities But the person most impressed was our eight-year-old grandson. When Charlie walked into the room, Admiral Franken interrupted himself, introduced himself to Charlie and engaged him in genuine conversation. Charlie’s summation of politicians. “I like him. He was talking about boring stuff, but he was nice to me. People shouldn’t talk about boring stuff; they should just be nice to everyone.”

Mike doesn’t talk about boring stuff — to us, anyway. He talks about the actions we want our United States Senate to take: pass legislation to address climate change, health care and the economy.

Because Mike has experience as a leader and as a staff member on Capitol Hill, he has an advantage over newcomers to Washington.

We, one Democrat and one Republican, encourage you to vote for Admiral Mike Franken to be our Senator.

Dianne and Bim Prichard

DeWitt

The next ten years will prove to be one of the most challenging eras in Iowa history.

Whether we meet those challenges with Iowa-smart, progressive responses will depend largely on the quality of legislators we elect to office.

Christina Bohannan, Democratic candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives, would be a remarkably talented and hardworking legislator, if given the opportunity to serve.

The daughter of blue-collar parents.

Trained as an environmental engineer.

A professor of law at the University of Iowa College of Law.

The former president of the Iowa Faculty Senate.

A mother.

These life experiences inform Christina Bohannan’s pragmatic progressivism.

If elected, she has the skill set to get good things done for Iowa.

Please join me in supporting Democrat Christina Bohannan for the House District 85 seat in the June 2 primary election.

Jim Larew

Iowa City

Coronavirus provides a chilling lesson about crowding. The disease originated in a densely packed Chinese City. As it moved worldwide it struck most heavily in crowded places where people live and work in proximity.

Medical experts advise us to stay home and keep fellow humans at a distance. Isolation works. If a pathogen can’t reach us it can’t cause harm.

The same holds true for food. Years ago farmers planted diverse crops in relatively small fields, and raised modest numbers of chickens, pigs, and cattle. One cornfield or chicken coop was, essentially, isolated from the next closest counterpart, making it hard for a disease to jump from one farm to the next.

Modern Agriculture, in contrast, raises hundreds of thousands of chickens and turkeys crowded together in single buildings. Hogs and cattle are also crammed together, as are crops. Essentially the Midwest is one continuous cornfield stretching from Ohio to Nebraska. Once a pathogen mutates a new disease can easily sweep across vast fields or through crowded growing buildings, leaving a path of death and food shortages in its wake.

Modern mass agriculture is efficient, providing consumers with inexpensive eggs, milk, vegetables and meat, but it is vulnerable. Today’s farmers recognize disease potential and practice scrupulous biosecurity to keep pathogens away from their crops and animals. Still, all it takes is one mutation or introduction of a foreign microbe and a high percentage of American food is lost.

Families can reduce their vulnerability to mass food production by growing some at home. During The Second World War the government encouraged families to plant victory gardens and keep one to two hens per family member. Many households were able to grow up to 40% of their annual dietary needs, even in small yards. It freed commercially produced food for the military. Yards remain capable of growing significant quantities of nutritious food using three techniques.

Gardening: An amazing quantity of nutritious food can be grown in even a small sunny backyard, especially when intensive gardening techniques are used.

Foraging: Delicious wild foods grow in unsprayed yards and are free for the picking. Our family, for example, enjoys nettles, lambsquarters, purslane, acorns and dandelions. Learning to identify, harvest, and process them is not difficult. Ironically spraying a yard kills plants people can eat to favor inedible grass.

Chickens: A six hen backyard flock will produce two dozen eggs a week. They need some commercial feed but recycle kitchen scraps and garden weeds into eggs. Cedar Rapids and other towns allow families to keep chickens with a few restrictions.

Families unable or unwilling to grow backyard food can boost food security by buying vegetables, meat and eggs from small local producers.

Coronavirus has taught us about contagion and helps clarify the threat that mass production poses. Raising backyard food enhances resilience. It’s satisfying and helps ensure there will be something to eat.

Rich Patterson of Cedar Rapids is a writer, former nature center director and ecological consultant who co-owns Winding Pathways LLC with his wife, Marion.

When Andrea Wilson approached me five years ago with her idea of creating a space for writers in our community separate from any offered by the University of Iowa, I must admit I was a bit skeptical, if not defensive. Over a long coffee discussion, I shared with her a detailed look at the literary landscape of Iowa City and all of the things my organization, the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature was doing to make those assets more visible and accessible.

• Coronavirus closes the Iowa Writers’ House - for now

Despite this, Andrea mentioned the need for an “on ramp,” a way for people who don’t feel a part of that community to find their path, to access those riches. It was there, I thought to myself. She just hadn’t looked in the right place.

Then she built that ramp in the form of the Iowa Writers’ House. As she and her team defined what that ramp should look like, what role it should play, the Writers’ House evolved from being an idea with promise to a vital part of our literary infrastructure. She showed that people were hungry for further instruction. They desired more and different ways to connect with one another. These were things beyond the scope and mission of the UI and the City of Literature. She had found her niche, and filled it, nicely complementing what was offered by my organization and others.

But those services do not come without cost. Andrea and her team scrambled, using the house as a literary bed-and-breakfast that was used by many visiting writers. They scheduled workshops. They held fundraisers. But that thin margin disappeared with the onset of COVID-19. Unable to hold those workshops, to serve as a bed-and-breakfast, to provide meaningful in-person connections, the Writers’ House was unable to carry on in its current configuration.

We have every hope and expectation that the Iowa Writers’ House and Andrea will continue to be a part of our literary landscape in the future. This will come perhaps in another form, another space. Conversations have been underway for months about the needs of the literary community beyond the UI. Andrea has been a key part of those discussions, and the work that she and her team has done offer vital information about where those conversations need to go. Gaps have been identified, and while they won’t be filled in the same way, they will be filled.

These conversations join those that have been taking place in our community for decades about the need for space and support for writers and artists. As we all have realized over these past few weeks of isolation just how much we miss when we are not able to gather to create and to celebrate those creations, perhaps those conversations will accelerate and gain focus once we reconvene. The newly formed Iowa City Downtown Arts Alliance, of which we are proud to be a part, is an additional voice in that conversation.

In the meantime, we want to thank Andrea, Associate Director Alisha Jeddeloh, and the team at the Iowa Writers’ House, not just for identifying a need, but for taking the rare and valuable step of actually rolling up their sleeves and doing something to meet it.

John Kenyon is executive director of the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature.

There are several essential tools development teams can utilize to optimize their website design. Web design can be a complex, challenging process. However, it is vital to obtaining adequate performance results. Luckily, there are dozens of digital resources available that help navigate you through your website design process. The best web design tools improve your […] More

How does a single plugin become the basis of a thriving technology ecosystem? Partly by leveraging the extensibilitythat WordPress’s event-driven Hooks system makes possible.

Are you seeing a 503 service unavailable error in WordPress? The problem with the 503 error is that it gives no clues about what’s causing it which makes it extremely frustrating for beginners. In this article, we will show you how to fix the 503…

Do you want to duplicate your WordPress database using phpMyAdmin? WordPress stores all your website data in a MySQL database. Sometimes you may need to quickly clone a WordPress database to transfer a website or to create manual backups.

f there is one thing you should include in your WordPress website’s strategy, it’s search engine optimization. Because when you do it right, you’ll be rewarded. Hugely rewarded. With tons of high quality visitors.

Installing an SSL certificate on your domain is an essential step you should take to secure your WordPress site and now with Let’s Encrypt you can get one for free.

The post PressedWords.com appeared first on WPCult.

Here is a really neat trick! Access your PHP5 while running PHP4. If you haven’t created a .htaccess file, you may want to check out the WordPress Codex on permalink structure. Anyway, open any text editing document and paste in this code: AddType x-mapp-php5 .php That’ it! Save your text document as .htaccess and your […]

The post Run PHP5 on your PHP4 Server appeared first on WPCult.

A good idea when trying to get the most out of your blog is usging the meta tag to tell the web bots to search & index your site. But for good SEO you should apply this code in your header.php file of your WordPress blog. <?php if(is_search()) { ?> <meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow" /> […]

The post Disable search engine on search pages appeared first on WPCult.

Most all WordPress theme’s use a a simple search form to search your site. But what it you wanted to search your whole site and not just your posts. Search Unleashed comes into the picture. Search Unleashed performs searches across all data, including that added by plugins. Some features of this plugin are: Full text […]

The post Search Unleased: A custom WordPress plugin appeared first on WPCult.

Darren Rowse from Pro Blogger wrote a great article of a collection of different article to get the beginning blogger of his/her feet. Head over and check this one out!

The post Useful articles for beginers to start a blog right appeared first on WPCult.

Just like in Mac OS X, you can change the DNS servers on your iPhone. This can significantly speed up Safari and other iPhone apps that use the Internet. For a general introduction to DNS, and to learn why you would want to change the DNS servers on your iPhone, see How to Change Your Mac's DNS Servers.

Before we start, you should know a couple things about how iOS handles DNS. First, these instructions only work for Wi-Fi connections - iOS does not allow you to change the DNS servers when connected to cellular networks. Also, the changes are network specific, so you'll need to change the DNS servers every time you connect to a new wireless network. The good news is that iOS remembers the settings, so you won't have to do anything the second time you connect to a network.

Here's how to change your iPhone's DNS servers:

1. From the iPhone's home screen, tap Settings.
   
   
2. Tap Wi-Fi. The screen shown below appears. The available wireless networks in range of your iPhone appear, as shown below.
   
   
3. Find your wireless network in the list, and then click the arrow. The screen shown below appears.
   
   
4. Tap the DNS field.
   
   
5. Delete the current DNS servers, and enter the new DNS servers. (If you enter more than one DNS server, be sure sure to separate the servers with commas.)
   • To use OpenDNS, enter 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
   • To use Google DNS, enter 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
6. Test your new DNS servers to make sure they're working.
   • If you're using OpenDNS, visit the OpenDNS test page.
   • If you're using Google Public DNS, follow these testing instructions.

That's it! You've updated your iPhone's DNS servers!

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Meet Your Macinstructor

Matt Cone, the author of Master Your Mac, has been a Mac user for over 20 years. A former ghost writer for some of Apple's most notable instructors, Cone founded Macinstruct in 1999, a site with OS X tutorials that boasts hundreds of thousands of unique visitors per month. You can email him at: matt@macinstruct.com.

WPsetup is a minimal, clean blog that aims to help people get their WordPress websites installed and setup.

The post WPsetup appeared first on WeLoveWP.

Background

CEDAR RAPIDS — After a bitter battle between residents and one of the city’s major employers — Cargill — with the city of Cedar Rapids in the middle, in December, the Cedar Rapids City Council approved a $6.5 million, 12-track, 200-car rail yard located between the Rompot neighborhood and Prairie Park Fishery.

Cargill wanted to buy and put the rail yard on a 28-acre city-owned site on Stewart Road SE. Construction required rezoning the land to industrial use and a change to the city’s future land use map — putting city officials in the spotlight.

The rail yard was needed for more supply chain stability and to protect jobs at the corn-milling plant, at 1710 16th St. SE and not far from the rail yard site, company officials said. Cargill officials planned to submit final paperwork within a month of the vote, begin construction in early spring and have the rail yard operating by the end of the year.

A lot and nothing.

Before construction was to begin, the city required Cargill to provide a third-party appraisal of the land. The city had provided an initial value of $83,200, which Cargill agreed to match. However, the value of the land has been in question as nearby properties ranged from $20,000 to $30,000 an acre, which was far greater than the $3,000 per acre value the city used.

City officials say the appraisal has not been submitted, nor has Cargill sought the required permits before construction can begin.

This delay began well before disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic and after lawsuits were filed to block the rail yard.

Rompot resident and state Sen. Rob Hogg, who is a lawyer, filed two lawsuits against the City Council — one each challenging the rezoning vote and the vote to change the future land use map. Numerous neighbors and others in opposition to the rail yard have joined the lawsuit, which Hogg supported.

Meanwhile, Cargill intervened on behalf of the city. At this point, sides still are arguing whether to expand the record to include additional evidence. Dates for a hearing have not been set.

So, the status of the contentious rail yard and a timeline for construction remains in limbo.

“We don’t have anything new to share at this point regarding work and timelines specific to the development of the rail yard,” Kelly Sheehan, a spokeswoman for Cargill, said in late April.

The Iowa Supreme Court approved a pilot program in the 4th Judicial District — Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Pottawattamie, Page and Shelby counties — to develop procedures for the use of electronic search warrants.

Electronic search warrants will reduce the time required to obtain warrants, reduce travel time by law enforcement and make more effective use of judges’ time, according to the order. Paper warrants require law enforcement to fill out application forms and then leave the scene of the potential search and drive to find a judge, either at a courthouse during business hours or their home after hours. If the judge grants the warrant, then the officer has to drive back to the scene to execute it.

The electronic warrants can be submitted to a judge from a squad car computer, which is more efficient for law enforcement and the judges.

The pilot program will be evaluated by the court annually and will continue until further notice.

Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge Jeff Larson, who was on the advisory committee to develop recommendations for the new process, talked about the project, which will start in the next few weeks.

Page County Chief Deputy Charles McCalla, 6th Judicial Associate District Judge Nicholas Scott, Linn County Sheriff Capt. Greg McGivern and Marion police Lt. Scott Elam also provided their thoughts about electronic search warrants.

Q: Iowa courts started going paperless in 2010, so why did it take so long to get a pilot program for electronic search warrants?

A: Larson: It had been discussed at various levels since (the electronic document management system) started. We should take advantage of the electronic process because it will save us money. Most law enforcement agencies are now used to filing electronic citations from their patrol cars and offices. There may have been some pushback a few years ago because some counties or offices didn’t have computer scanners and needed technology. Now, the rural offices have that technology.

Q: As a task force member working on this program, what were the hurdles?

A: Larson: It was just working through the procedural issues to make sure there would be a safeguard throughout the process. When a search warrant is needed, law enforcement has to fill out the search warrant package, including the application with all the pertinent information, and submit it to a magistrate judge, associate or district judge in their judicial district. Then the officer or deputy can just call the judge to alert him/her to the warrant and the judge can ask for any additional information needed. The judge then administers the oath of office over the phone and signs off or denies the warrant. Law enforcement doesn’t have to leave the crime scene and can print off the warrant from their squad car computer.

The process of going to electronic warrants started in 2017, when the lawmakers amended the law to allow those to be submitted electronically, and then in 2018, the state court administrator’s office set up an advisory committee to develop recommendations.

Q: What has been the process to get a search warrant?

A: Larson: Law enforcement would have to leave the scene, fill out paperwork and then, many times, travel miles to go to the courthouse to have the judge sign it or if it’s after hours, go to a judge’s home. The officer may not be in the same county as the courthouse where the judge works or where the judge lives. (It) can take a lot of time. The process is way overdue.

Q: Page County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Charles McCalla, what do you see as the biggest advantage for filing them electronically?

A: McCalla: The smaller counties have limited manpower, and some of the judges, like in Mills County, may be 60 to 70 miles away if a search warrant is needed after hours. Just traveling across the county can take time, depending where you are. At a minimum, we probably have to drive 30 minutes and up to an hour to get to a judge. This will save us time, money for travel and provide safety because we can stay at the scene to ensure the evidence hasn’t been tampered with.

Q: Is there a recent incident where an electronic search warrant may have helped?

A: McCalla: A few weeks ago, there was a theft report for a stolen chain saw and deputies went to the home and saw guns all over the house and they knew the guy who lived there had been convicted. They didn’t want to tip him off, so they just left the scene and went to get a search warrant. Luckily, the evidence was still there when they came back. They found about 90 guns.

Q: How do you feel about being the “guinea pigs” for the process?

A: McCalla: Happy to be. As law enforcement, we’re natural fixers. We find solutions. And this is an idea time to use the process during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep everyone safe. We won’t have to have any face-to-face contact with the judges.

Q: Is Linn County excited about the program, once it’s tested and used across the state?

A: Scott: I think many of us in the criminal justice system are eagerly awaiting the results of the pilot. They have the potential to make the system more efficient. It is in the interest of the police and the suspect, who is often detained pending a warrant, to get the search warrant application reviewed by a judge as soon as possible. A potential benefit is that officers could also use those more often, which protects citizens from unlawful search and seizures if a judge first reviews the evidence.

A: McGivern: I believe the implementation will be a much faster and efficient process for deputies. Like any new process, there may need to be some revisions that will have to be worked out, but I look forward to it.

A: Elam: We’ve done it this way for a long time, and it can be a bit of a haul for us, depending who’s on call (among the judges) — after hours. It’s nice to see there’s a pilot. The concern would be if something goes wrong in the process. If the internet is down or something else. Now, we have to go from Marion to the Linn County Courthouse. Then we go to the county attorney’s office to get a prosecutor to review the warrant and then find a judge (in courthouse during business hours). That takes some time. If you can type out the application from your car right at the scene, it would help with details on the warrant — describing the structure or property needing be searched. I just hope they work out all the bugs first.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

Four Republican senators closely allied with President Donald Trump are urging him to suspend all new guest worker visas for 60 days, and to suspend other types of worker visas including those for advanced skills sought by the technology industry, until unemployment in the United States “has returned to normal levels.”

The senators, who include Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, said that Trump’s April 22 order suspending most immigrant visas for 60 days doesn’t go far enough.

While Trump suspended the issuing of new green cards for would-be U.S. permanent residents, they want visas affecting skilled workers, agriculture workers and others to face curbs.

“Given the extreme lack of available jobs for American job-seekers as portions of our economy begin to reopen, it defies common sense to admit additional foreign guest workers to compete for such limited employment,” wrote the senators, who also include Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri.

The letter was reported earlier by Politico.

The letter from some of the Senate’s most prominent immigration hard-liners could put new pressure on the president to expand his executive order, which drew criticism from business, civil rights and immigrant rights groups who said it would keep companies from hiring critical workers and could prevent family reunification.

The president said at the time there would be carve-outs for migrant agricultural workers, and promised to make it even easier for farmers rebounding from the coronavirus crisis to hire labor from other countries.

The order exempts individuals seeking to permanently enter the country as a medical professional or researcher, as well as members of the armed forces, those seeking asylum or refugee status, and children being adopted by American parents.

In their letter, the senators said Trump should go much further by suspending all new guest worker visas for 60 days.

“Exceptions to this suspension should be rare, limited to time-sensitive industries such as agriculture, and issued only on a case-by-case basis when the employer can demonstrate that they have been unable to find Americans to take the jobs,” they wrote.

After the 60 days, they said, Trump should continue to suspend new non-immigrant guest workers for one year or until U.S. unemployment returns to “normal levels.”

That should include H-1B visas for highly skilled workers in the technology and other industries, H-2B visas for non-agricultural seasonal workers and those in the Optional Practical Training Program that extends visas of foreign students after they graduate.

About three-quarters of H-1B visas go to people working in the technology industry, though the exact levels vary year by year.

They also called on Trump to suspend the EB-5 immigrant visa program “effective immediately,” calling it “plagued by scandal and fraud” and in need of change.

EB-5 visas allow immigrant investors to qualify for a green card by investing at least $900,000 in a business that will employ at least 10 Americans.

IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa on Thursday unveiled new sustainability goals for the next decade that — if accomplished — would cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half from a decade ago and transform the campus into a “living laboratory for sustainability education and exploration.”

But the goals fall short of what a collective of Iowa City “climate strikers” have demanded for more than a year — that the UI end coal burning immediately at its power plant, commit to using only renewable energy by 2030 and unite with the city of Iowa City in a “town-gown” climate accord.

“It’s ridiculous for the UI to announce a 2030 climate plan as it continues to burn coal for years and burn methane-spewing natural gas for decades at its power plant,” said Massimo Paciotto-Biggers, 14, a student at Iowa City High and member of the Iowa City Climate Strike group.

The university’s new 2030 goals piggyback off its 2020 goals, which former UI President Sally Mason announced in 2010 in hopes of integrating sustainability into the campus’ mission.

Her goals included consuming less energy on campus in 2020 than in 2010, despite projected growth; diversifying the campus’ energy portfolio by using biomass, solar, wind and the like to achieve 40 percent renewable energy consumption by 2020; diverting 60 percent of solid waste; reducing the campus transportation carbon footprint with a 10 percent cut in per capita transportation and travel; and increasing learning and research opportunities.

The university, according to a new report made public Thursday, met or surpassed many of those goals — including, among other things, a slight dip in total energy use, despite 15 new buildings and major additions across campus.

The campus also reported 40 percent of its energy consumption comes via renewable energy sources, and it reduced annual coal consumption 75 percent.

As for waste production, the university diverted 43 percent from the landfill and reported diverting 70 percent more waste than in 2010.

In just the first phase, the new 2030 goals — a result of collaboration across campus involving a 2030 UI Sustainability Goal Setting Task Force — involve fewer numbers and hard percentages. Aside from the aim to cut greenhouse emissions by 50 percent compared to a 2010 baseline, the phase one goals aim to:

• Institutionalize and embed sustainability into campus culture, allowing individual units across campus to develop plans to meeting campus sustainability goals.

• Expand sustainability research, scholarship and other opportunities.

• Use the campus as a “living laboratory” capable of improving campus sustainability and ecosystems.

• Prepare students to live and work in the 21st century through sustainability education.

• Facilitate knowledge exchange among the campus community and with the state, nation, and world.

PHASE 2 EXPANDS ON GOALS

As the campus moves into phase two of its 2030 plan, it will expand on first-phase goals by identifying specific and measurable tasks and metrics.

Leadership plans to finalize that second phase later in the fall semester.

“This approach has meant including units engaged in activities such as academics, research, operations, planning, engagement, athletics, and student life,” Stratis Giannakouros, director of the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, said in a statement.

‘Ambitious and forward-looking’

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, who serves as outreach and community education director for the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, told The Gazette the new goals are “ambitious and forward-looking.”

“The new goals will engage students and research faculty to help build a sustainable path for the campus and broader community,” he said.

The university recently made big news on the utilities front by entering a $1.165 billion deal with a private French company to operate its utility system for 50 years. The deal nets the university a massive upfront lump sum it can invest and pull from annually. It gives the private operator decades of reliable income.

And the university, in making the deal, mandated its new provider pursue ambitious sustainability goals — promising to impose penalties if it failed to do so.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com

Nearly 327,000 Iowans have taken an assessment to see if they are eligible to be checked for COVID-19 under the Test Iowa Initiative.

Another free drive-though site for those who have taken the assessment and been scheduled for an appointment opened Thursday in Cedar Rapids — the fourth site in the state so far.

About 1 on 46 Iowans have been tested so far, health officials said.

State data release Thursday for the first time reveals big gaps in who has — and who has not — taken the assessment at TestIowa.om:

• Less than 35 percent of those who have been assessed for tests are men. Yet men are more apt to die from the disease than women. Of the 231 Iowa deaths so far, 51 percent are of men.

• Only 2 percent of those who have been assessed for testing are age 80 or over. But 46 percent of the Iowa deaths from the virus reported so far are in that age group.

• There are gaps in the rates at which urban and rural residents are completing the assessment. Nearly 9 percent of Linn County residents have been assessed, but only about 7.6 percent of Allamakee County residents have. Yet when looking at the rate of known infection per capita, Allamakee is far worse.

An Iowa judge has ruled unconstitutional a state law that would have blocked Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from receiving federal money to provide sex education programs to Iowa youth.

Fifth Judicial District Judge Paul Scott on Wednesday ruled the law “has no valid, ‘realistically conceivable’ purpose that serves a legitimate government interest as it is both irrationally overinclusive and under-inclusive.”

“The act violates (Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s) right to equal protection under the law and is therefore unconstitutional,” Scott ruled in issuing a permanent injunction to prevent the law’s implementation.

House File 766, passed in 2019 by the Republican-controlled Iowa House and Senate, excluded any Iowa organization that “provides or promotes abortion” from receiving federal dollars that support sex education and related services to Iowa youth.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and ACLU of Iowa challenged the law, filing a lawsuit shortly after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law.

Polk County District Court issued a temporary injunction blocking the law, which was to go into effect July 1, allowing Planned Parenthood to continue providing sex education programming throughout the past year.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.

In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood and ACLU argued that by blocking the abortion provider from the two federal grants — the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) and the Community Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (CAPP) — the law violated protections of free speech, due process and equal protection.

“The decision recognizes that the law blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving grants to provide this programming violated the constitutional requirement of equal protection,” ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen said in a statement Thursday.

Though Planned Parenthood would be excluded, the law did allow “nonprofit health care delivery systems” to remain eligible for the federal funding, even if they are contracted with or are affiliated with an entity that performs abortions or maintains a facility where abortions are performed.

By doing so, the law effectively singles out Planned Parenthood, but allows other possible grant recipients to provide an array of abortion-related services, according to the court documents.

“The carved-out exception for the ‘nonprofit health care delivery system’ facilities undermines any rationale the State produces of not wanting to be affiliated with or provide funds to organizations that partake in any abortion-related activity,” Scott ruled. .

In fiscal year 2019, Planned Parenthood received about $265,000 through the federal grants, including $85,000 to offer PREP curriculum in Polk, Pottawattamie and Woodbury counties.

It was awarded $182,000 this year to offer CAPP curriculum in Linn County, as well as in Dallas, Des Moines, Jasper, Lee, Polk, Plymouth and Woodbury counties.

The grants are administered by the Iowa Department of Human Services and the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Planned Parenthood has provided sex education to students in 31 schools and 12 community-based youth organizations in Iowa using state-approved curriculum since 2005, according to a new release.

The focus has remained “on areas with the highest rates of unintended pregnancies and sexually-transmitted infections,” the news release said.

“Today’s decision ensures that teens and young adults across Iowa will continue to have access to medically accurate sex education programs, despite the narrow and reckless policies of anti-abortion lawmakers,” said Erin Davison-Rippey, executive director of Planned Parenthood North Central States.

Comments: (319) 368-8536; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Linn County Fair has canceled grounds and grandstand entertainment at this year because of the novel coronavirus and is looking at ways youths could exhibit their work.

“After consulting with Linn County Public Health, the Linn County Board of Supervisors, and other stakeholders, it was determined this was the best decision due to the uncertainty of what the public health situation may look like at the end of June,” Albert Martin, Linn County Fair Board president, said Thursday in a statement.

The fair was scheduled June 24-28.

The Linn County Fair Association said it is working with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach of Linn County and Linn County 4-H to determine how 4-H and FFA members and other youths will exhibit their work. Those details — which could include in-person or virtual exhibiting — are expected to be finalized and announced in mid-May.

Tom Barnes, executive director of the Association of Iowa Fairs, told The Gazette on Thursday that the Benton County Fair also was canceled for 2020.

Organizers for the Wapello County Fair in south-central Iowa previously announced they would not host the fair this year.

Comments: (319) 339-3155; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com

IOWA CITY — Once upon a time, there was a house in a city that loved literature.

It was a quaint, two-story home in the heart of the historic district with brick stairs, pale yellow siding, a hipped red roof and a rich history: Its original owner was Emma J. Harvat, who in 1922 became the nation’s first female mayor for a city of more than 10,000.

Nearly a century later, in 2014, Andrea Wilson was working in advertising in Florida and pined for a more “altruistic purpose” for her life. So she planned a return to Iowa, where she grew up in Columbus Junction.

But this time Wilson would live in Iowa City, known for — among other things — pioneering academic creative writing pursuits at the University of Iowa’s famed Writers’ Workshop.

Wilson wanted to write and found the idea of the historic Harvat house so charming she bought it “sight unseen” from down in Miami, aiming to run it as a bed-and-breakfast. But when she arrived, Wilson discovered a need in her new community she aimed to fill. It had a surprising dearth of literary resources for those outside the university.

“There wasn’t any place for the public to take a class or meet other writers or really be part of a writing community where people could just express their humanity through words,” she said. “It became my passion project — to try to create that for this community. I thought if anywhere should have a place like that, it would be America’s only UNESCO City of Literature at the time.”

So in March 2015, Wilson debuted Iowa City’s first community-based literary center for writers — or those aspiring. She had hoped to open a communal writing space closer to downtown but didn’t have the funding. So she gave her home a third identity: the Iowa Writers’ House.

She continued to live there and maintain her bed-and-breakfast business, which funded the writing endeavor and kept its cozy corridors bustling with interesting characters.

Famed visiting writers included Leslie Jamison, American novelist and essayist with works on the New York Times bestseller list; Hope Edelman, whose six non-fiction books have published in 17 countries and translated in 11 languages; Alison Bechdel, an American cartoonist and MacArthur fellow; and Piedad Bonnett Velez, Colombian poet, playwright and novelist of international acclaim.

And over the years, the Iowa Writers’ House connected, served and motivated thousands with its workshops, seminars, readings and summer camps. It offered editing services, founded a Bicultural Iowa Writers’ Fellowship, and — among other things — inspired a growing network of friends and creatives to value their own stories and the stories of others.

“I said yes to everything anyone ever asked of me,” Wilson said. “We gave tours. I received visiting scholars. We hosted dinners for visiting poets and writers for the university. And a lot of that was all volunteer. We never had a steady funding stream like most literary centers do.”

So when the coronavirus in March reached Iowa City, later shuttering storefronts, canceling events, curtailing travel plans and crippling the economy, the Iowa Writers’ House momentum stopped, too.

“Once COVID hit, because all of our programming is live and people come to the house, we had to cancel it,” Wilson said.

She dropped most of the organization’s spring season. She lost all her projected bed-and-breakfast business. And in a message posted to the Iowa Writers’ House website last month, Wilson announced her hard but unavoidable news.

“As the situation pushes on, and with no programming in the foreseeable future, we must make drastic changes,” she wrote. “Organizations must weather the storm or adapt, and in the case of this little organization with a big heart, evolution is the only option.”

And so after five years of intimate conversations, communal meals, singing, laughing, crying and lots and lots of writing and reading — all done in the shadow of Harvat — the organization is leaving the historic space and “taking a break to assess our mission and consider our best options for the future.”

Wilson said she plans to focus on her own writing. And the Bicultural Iowa Writers’ Fellowship program will continue — allowing for the release later this year of a third volume of “We the Interwoven: An Anthology of Bicultural Iowa,” including six new authors with multilingual stories of living in Iowa.

News of the goodbye — at least for now — has been met with an outpouring of support and testimonials of the impact the Iowa Writers’ House has had,

“I grew up without a writing community, and it was a very lonely experience,” Erin Casey wrote to Wilson after learning of its pause.

Casey — on the Iowa Writers’ House team and director of The Writers’ Rooms, an offshoot of the house — said her involvement in the project shaped not only her career but her personal growth.

“You, and the Iowa Writers’ House, helped me become a stronger person who felt deserving of companionship, respect, and love,” she wrote. “Watching the house grow, the workshops fill, and the stories come in about how much the IWH touched people’s lives added to the joy. I finally found a place to call home.”

Casey said that while the future is unknown, its legacy is not.

“The IWH will live on in the hearts of the people you touched,” she wrote. “Writers have found friends, support, guidance …”

Although the project isn’t getting a fairy-tale ending, Wilson said the story isn’t over.

“The organization is leaving the space. I’m leaving the space. We’re going on an organizational break so we can determine what a sustainable future might be,” she said. “But it’s really the end of a chapter. And we don’t know what the next chapter will be.”

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com

Vice President Mike Pence owes Iowans more than a photo-op when he visits Des Moines today, according to Joe Biden’s campaign.

“Iowans are seeing up close the most consequential failure of government in modern American history,” said Kate Bedingfeld, spokeswoman for the former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

“With nearly 300,000 Iowans filing for unemployment, rural hospitals on life support, Latino communities disproportionately suffering and workers on the job without sufficient protection, Mike Pence owes Iowans more than a photo-op — he owes them answers,” she said.

Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, is scheduled to meet with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, all Republicans, as well as with faith, farm and food production leaders.

Pence will talk to faith leaders about how they are using federal and state guidelines to open their houses of worship in a safe and responsible manner.

Later, he will go to Hy-Vee’s headquarters in West Des Moines for a roundtable discussion with agriculture and food supply leaders to discuss steps being taken to ensure the food supply remains secure.

Pence has called Iowa a “success story” in its response to the COVID-19, but Bedingfeld said the Trump administration failed to protect Iowa families from the virus that has claimed the lives of 231 Iowans.

“From devastating losses across the state, at meatpacking plants to rural communities, one thing is clear — it’s Iowans and the American people who are paying the price for the Trump administration’s denials and delays in response to this pandemic,” she said.

“Instead of listening to our own intelligence agencies and public health experts, Donald Trump was fed dangerous propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party — and he bought it,” she said. “Iowans deserve better — they deserve Joe Biden.”

For his part, Grassley said he welcomes the discussion with Pence.

“There’s much work to be done, and the pandemic is disrupting all of our communities,” Grassley said. “It’s important to hear directly from those who help feed the nation and the world.”

Ernst also is looking forward to the discussion of how Iowa is working to protect the health and safety of Iowa’s families and communities while reopening the state’s economy.

“We continue to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to tackling this pandemic,” she said. “Together, we will get through this.”

Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Dubuque woman who helped her boyfriend and another person buy heroin that later led to a fatal overdose was convicted Thursday in federal court.

Jacqueline M. Birch, 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of a controlled substance.

During the plea hearing, Birch admitted she knew that another person was going to illegally distribute a drug last May, and she aided in that distribution.

Evidence at a previous hearing showed that Birch drove her boyfriend, Mateusz Syryjczyk, 29, of Rockford, Ill., and another person, not identified in court documents, to a residence in Dubuque on May 27. Birch and the other person went into the residence and bought heroin from a dealer. The three drove to a hotel in Dubuque and all used the heroin.

The other person began to overdose in the room, but Birch and Syryjczyk didn’t immediately call 911, according to evidence. Over many hours, Birch occasionally would perform CPR on the person to restore some breathing function, though the person never regained consciousness.

Eventually, Birch and Syryjczyk decided to call 911, and Syryjczyk took the remaining drug paraphernalia from the room to prevent law enforcement from finding it, according to court documents. Birch and Syryjczyk also made false statements to police about the cause of the person’s condition.

Court documents showed the overdose victim died at the scene. An autopsy later determined the cause of death was use of heroin, fentanyl and valeryl fentanyl.

Syryjczyk previously pleaded to misprision of a felony and remains free on bond pending sentencing.

Birch faces up to 20 years in federal prison, a $1 million fine and supervised release for life following her prison term.

Sentencing will be set after a presentencing report is prepared.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Chatham.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

An Eastern Iowa furniture manufacturer will permanently close two plants, laying off about 370 employees as it drops two lines of business.

Flexsteel Industries will close a factory in Dubuque with 200 employees that manufactures products for the recreational vehicle industry.

The publicly traded company also will close a plant in Starkville, Miss., that produces products for the RV and hospitality industries and employs about 170 people.

In a news release, Flexsteel said its decision to stop manufacturing RV and hospitality furniture was due to rapidly declining customer demand and changing market conditions resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Flexsteel said the two markets already had entered a cyclical decline before the effects of the pandemic occurred.

“It has become clear that what was thought to be a short-term hit to these two already challenged businesses will now extend well into the future and will likely not return to pre-pandemic levels for some time,” said Jerry Dittmer, Flexsteel president and CEO. “This pandemic has been unforgiving to many companies, including ours. We find ourselves making these hard decisions as we attempt to navigate these uncharted business conditions.”

The Dubuque and Starkville plants temporarily were shut down in late March due to sudden drops in demand as many of Flexsteel’s customers shut down in the wake of the pandemic.

Dittmer said the company will be working with its work force, customers and suppliers to determine a feasible ramp-down plan. While it is anticipated that both facilities could close as early as June, the date may fluctuate sooner or later based on business conditions.

Dittmer said the company will increase its focus on home furnishings, e-commerce and workspace solutions.

CEDAR RAPIDS — A 32-year-old Cedar Rapids man, who received probation for a high-speed chase that he bragged about as “fun” and attempted to elude again in March, is heading to prison.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Lars Anderson on Friday revoked probation for Travis McDermott on the eluding charge from June 9, 2019, and sentenced him to five years in prison.

McDermott was convicted Tuesday for attempting to elude in March and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, which was run concurrently to the five-year prison sentence.

First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks told the judge that McDermott has a “significant violent history,” including assaults, assault on a peace officer, domestic assault, interference with official acts and child endangerment with bodily injury.

He continues to assault others and “show blatant disregard for authority figures,” the prosecutor noted.

In the eluding incident from last June, McDermott “risked lives” in a southwest neighborhood leading police on chase that began on when police saw his vehicle speeding on Rockford Road SW and run a stop sign at Eighth Avenue SW, Maybanks said Friday. McDermott drove 107 mph in a 30 mph zone and drove the wrong way on a one-way street at Third Street and Wilson Avenue SW.

McDermott ran into a pile of dirt at a dead end, jumped out of his car and led officers on a foot chase, Maybanks said. He wouldn’t stop, and officers used a Taser to subdue him.

McDermott was laughing when police arrested him, saying “how much fun” he had and appearing to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Maybanks said.

McDermott demanded a speedy trial, but the officer who conducted the sobriety test wasn’t available for trial. A plea was offered, and the drunken driving charge was dropped.

Maybanks also pointed out McDermott wouldn’t cooperate with the probation office on a presentencing report, which was ordered by a judge. He picked up an assault charge last November and was convicted before his eluding sentencing in January.

Maybanks said after McDermott received probation, he didn’t show up at the probation office for his appointment, didn’t get a substance abuse test as ordered and reported an invalid address to community corrections.

McDermott also has a pending charge in Dubuque County for driving while barred March 3, according to court documents.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com