SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, has been fatally stabbed in downtown San Francisco. The San Francisco Police Department has disclosed little about the stabbing. The department says officers responding to a stabbing in Rincon Hill neighborhood at 2:35 a.m. Tuesday found 43-year-old Robert Lee wounded and he died at a hospital. MobileCoin CEO Josh Goldbard says Lee made large contributions to Android at Google and was the first chief technology officer of Square before coming to MobileCoin.
U-I joins national network to create pathways for rural students to higher education
By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)
The University of Iowa is joining 15 of the nation’s most prominent universities in a new effort to help students from rural areas enroll and succeed in college.
Brent Gage, in the U-I’s enrollment management office, says the STARS College Network, STARS for Small-Town And Rural Students, will strive to create new pathways to higher education for students who might not otherwise recognize the full range of opportunities available to them.
Gage says, “It brings some of the nation’s top universities together to provide a place for students from rural communities to learn, how does the admissions process work and how can I dream a big dream about maybe going to an institution that has a very complex and intricate admissions process?” The network includes Brown University, Cal Tech, USC, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Columbia, Yale and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gage says the nationwide program is designed to empower students to find the best institution for them, whether or not they ultimately choose to enroll at Iowa. “This effort is really to provide a free resource to say, ‘Hey, we’re here to help. What questions do you have and how can we help guide you through that process?’” Gage says. “So, not only can a student from California work with the network to come and study at the University of Iowa, but if a student from a small town in Iowa always dreamed of going to MIT, this network can help explain how to get there.”
The U-I will be working with guidance counselors, principals and other administrators in high schools across Iowa to get the word out. Gage says it’s the university’s mission to open new doors for students throughout the state. “For a lot of students, they just don’t have the resources to be able to crack the code on how this works,” Gage says. “This is a benefit for us because Iowa is going to be exposed to students from all over the country that maybe didn’t know a lot about our great institution, while learning about all of these other places that are providing these resources and support.”
One element of the program will bring students from rural communities to campus over summer break to help them prepare academically and for college life. All programming is free to students who register with STARS. Learn more at: starscollegenetwork.org.
Pella City Council Approves Maximum Property Tax Levy for FY24
By Sam Parsons
The Pella City Council met earlier this week and held a public hearing on their maximum property tax dollars for FY24. The maximum levy was set at $10.70 per $1,000 of valuation, an increase of $0.50 over the current fiscal year; however, the real levy will be considered at the next council meeting when they discuss their budget for FY24. City administrator Mike Nardini said that the actual levy that will be presented as part of the budget will be $10.20, which is the same rate that the city has had for the last 21 years.
The council also chose an architecture and engineering firm for the Community Center Renovation Project. The city has allocated $5.5 million for the project, which will include improving ADA accessibility, replacement of HVAC systems, replacement of windows, roofing repairs, building tuck pointing, and upgrades to plumbing and electrical systems as needed; and they officially awarded a contract to Schemmer, who has said they will provide services in the schematic design phase and the design development phase of the project, as well as cost estimates, construction documents, and construction administration. Their service fees are expected to total about $375,000 for this part of the project.
The next regular council meeting for the city of Pella will be held on April 18.
Shooting Suspect Wanted by Osky PD, State Agencies
OSKALOOSA, IA — A shooting that took place in Oskaloosa Monday night has the Oskaloosa Police Department asking for public help in locating a suspect.
On Monday night, officers with the Oskaloosa Police Department were dispatched to a location on D Avenue West following the report of a shooting. Responding officers found an adult male with a gunshot wound, and Officers and EMS rendered aid at the scene. The man, who was not identified, was transported to a Des Moines area hospital, where he remains.
As a result of the ensuing overnight investigation, officers with the Oskaloosa Police Department and agents with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are seeking help from the public to locate 22-year-old Gavin Jones. He is a white male, 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds, with brown hair. Jones is currently wanted on the charge of Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury for his involvement in this shooting. Jones may be traveling in a stolen silver 2019 Toyota Corolla with Iowa license plate KYP677.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety says that this incident appears to be isolated, and there is no known ongoing threat to the public; however, Jones should be considered armed and dangerous.
Oskaloosa Police Chief Ben Boeke told the No Coast Network, “We appreciate the assistance that community members have already provided and wish to bring closure to this incident as swiftly as possible.”
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jones is asked to call 911 or the Oskaloosa Police Department at 641.672.2557.
Trump charged with 34 felony counts in hush money scheme
NEW YORK (AP) — A stone-faced Donald Trump made a momentous courtroom appearance Tuesday when he was confronted with a 34-count felony indictment charging him in a scheme to bury allegations of extramarital affairs that arose during his first White House campaign.
The arraignment in a Manhattan courtroom was a stunning — and humbling — spectacle for the first ex-president to ever face criminal charges. With Trump watching in silence, prosecutors bluntly accused him of criminal conduct and set the stage for a possible criminal trial in the city where he became a celebrity decades ago.
The indictment centers on allegations that Trump falsified internal business records at his private company while trying to cover up an effort to illegally influence the 2016 election by arranging payments that silenced claims potentially harmful to his candidacy. It includes 34 counts of fudging records related to checks Trump sent to his personal lawyer and problem-solver to reimburse him for his role in paying off a porn actor who said she had an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.
“The defendant, Donald J. Trump, falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws,” said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy.
Trump, somber and silent as he entered and exited the Manhattan courtroom, said “not guilty” in a firm voice while facing a judge who warned him to refrain from rhetoric that could inflame or cause civil unrest. All told, the ever-verbose Trump, who for weeks before Tuesday’s arraignment had assailed the case against him as political persecution, uttered only 10 words in the courtroom. He appeared to glare for a period at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor who brought the case.
As he returned to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, where he delivered a primetime address to hundreds of supporters, Trump again protested his innocence and asserted on his Truth Social platform that the “hearing was shocking to many in that they had no ‘surprises,’ and therefore, no case.”
In his speech, Trump lashed out anew at the prosecution and attacked in bitter terms the prosecutor and the judge presiding over the case despite being admonished hours earlier about incendiary rhetoric. In a sign of that other probes are weighing on him, Trump also steered his speech into a broadside against a separate Justice Department investigation into the mishandling of classified documents.
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” Trump said of the New York indictment. “This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately.”
The crowd at Mar-a-Lago included supporters like failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and longtime ally Roger Stone. Trump’s wife, Melania, was absent from his side and was also not seen with him in New York.
Even so, the indictment amounts to a remarkable reckoning for Trump after years of investigations into his personal, business and political dealings. It shows how even as Trump is looking to reclaim the White House in 2024, he is shadowed by investigations related to his behavior in the two prior elections, with prosecutors in Atlanta and Washington scrutinizing efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the 2020 presidential election — probes that could produce even more charges.
In the New York case, each count of falsifying business records, a felony, is punishable by up to four years in prison — though it’s not clear if a judge would impose any prison time if Trump is convicted. The next court date is Dec. 4 — two months before Republicans begin their nominating process in earnest — and Trump will again be expected to appear.
A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
The arraignment also delved into Trump’s rhetoric on the case, with prosecutors at one point handing printouts of his social media posts to the judge and defense lawyers as Trump looked on. Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan did not impose a gag order but told Trump’s lawyers to urge him to refrain from posts that could encourage unrest.
The broad contours of the case have long been known, focusing on a scheme that prosecutors say began months into his candidacy in 2015, as his celebrity past collided with his presidential ambitions.
Though prosecutors expressed confidence in the case, a conviction is no sure thing given the legal complexities of the allegations, the application of state election laws to a federal election and prosecutors’ likely reliance on a key witness, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to false statements.
It centers on payoffs to two women, porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said they had extramarital sexual encounters with Trump years earlier, as well as to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child he alleged the former president had out of wedlock.
“It’s not just about one payment. It is 34 false statements and business records that were concealing criminal conduct,” Bragg told reporters, when asked how the three separate cases were connected.
All 34 counts against Trump are linked to a series of checks that were written to Cohen to reimburse him for his role in paying off Daniels. Those payments, made over 12 months, were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal retainer that prosecutors say didn’t exist. Cohen testified before the grand jury and is expected to be a star prosecution witness.
Nine of those monthly checks were paid out of Trump’s personal accounts, but records related to them were maintained in the Trump Organization’s data system.
Prosecutors allege that the first instance of Trump directing hush money payments came in the fall of 2015, when a former Trump Tower doorman was trying to sell information about an alleged out-of-wedlock child fathered by Trump.
David Pecker, a Trump friend and the publisher of the National Enquirer, made a $30,000 payment to the doorman to acquire the exclusive rights to the story, pursuant to an agreement to protect Trump during his presidential campaign, according to the indictment. Pecker’s company later determined the doorman’s story was false, but is alleged to have enforced the doorman’s confidentiality at Cohen’s urging until after Election Day.
Trump denies having sexual liaisons with both Daniels and McDougal and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.
Tuesday’s schedule, with its striking blend of legal and political calendar items, represents the new split-screen reality for Trump as he submits to the dour demands of the American criminal justice system while projecting an aura of defiance and victimhood at celebratory campaign events.
Wearing his signature dark suit and red tie, Trump turned and waved to crowds outside the building before heading inside to be fingerprinted and processed. He arrived at court in an eight-car motorcade from Trump Tower, communicating in real time his anger at the process.
“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse,” he posted on his Truth Social platform. “Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”
Afterward, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told reporters that it was a “sad day for the country.”
“You don’t expect this to happen to somebody who was president of the United States,” he said.
Survey shows Iowa farmers are optimistic about 2023 and the ag economy
By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)
One of the state’s largest independent agricultural banks is releasing the results of its annual survey of thousands of farmers, gauging their opinions on a range of topics. Bank Iowa president and CEO Jim Plagge says 67% of farmers surveyed said they believed the ag economy would be the same or stronger in 2023, while more than 70% felt they were in the same shape or better off financially as the prior year.
“The national sentiment wasn’t nearly as optimistic as the sentiment among Iowa producers,” Plagge says. “I think we’re blessed with wonderful natural resources, good marketing opportunities, especially for our grain and livestock. I think that probably causes a bit more optimism among Iowa farmers than among Midwest farmers as a whole.” While finding people to work on an Iowa farm remains a challenge, the survey also shows farmers are mainly concerned about finding the -right- people to work on the farm.
“Last year when we did the survey, just finding labor was the number-one concern,” Plagge says. “This year, that was the number-three concern, but perhaps getting more precise, the #1 concern was ‘qualified labor’ and I think that reflects what pretty much every industry is seeing across Iowa.” The #2 concern on the survey was labor expenses. Plagge says farmers can’t be complacent about qualified labor. He suggests Iowa farmers may need to “become their own universities, training the next generation with hands-on-the-farm apprenticeships.”
“With agriculture, perhaps one of the reasons for that is because it’s just becoming more and more technologically driven,” Plagge says. “You can’t just pluck somebody off the street and put them in a tractor anymore. Finding qualified labor that can run that equipment, knows how to use the technology, it’s becoming more and more of a challenge.” The survey finds technology is leading the way in terms of investment decisions. In the past two years, the percentage of farmers who say they’re considering investing in ag-tech jumped from 22% to 36%. Plagge notes, it’s the larger farms that are willing to invest more than smaller ones.
“Economically, it’s more difficult for them to justify the expenditure and many of them are content to run with their equipment that is not as technologically driven,” Plagge says. “But I think we’re going to continue to see growth in the usage of technology, precision ag, autonomous tractors are coming, the way it looks, and of course auto-steer has been with us for quite a few years.” The survey found nearly every farmer reported implementing some type of ag-tech into their operations, with automation technology being number-one, followed by livestock tech and artificial intelligence. West Des Moines-based Bank Iowa is the state’s second-largest family-owned bank, with locations in 23 communities. See the full report at: bankiowa.bank/AgIndex.
Roadway closure across Red Rock Dam to begin April 17
KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Due to work delays, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, announces the full road closure of Highway T15 across Red Rock Dam will now begin April 17 instead of April 5 as previously announced. The closure, which is necessary for preventive maintenance to the Red Rock Dam, is expected to last through June 12 and a detour will be in place.
Additional partial road closures may be needed through 2024 for rehabilitation projects on the dam. For more information, please contact the US Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Red Rock at 641-828-7522 or via email at lakeredrock@usace.army.mil.
Ottumwa City Council Awards Contracts for Sewer Improvements
By Sam Parsons
The Ottumwa City Council met last night and awarded contracts for the Green Street Sewer Improvements Project. Public Works Director Larry Seals said that this project originated last year, but at the time, the city postponed it in the hopes that supply chain issues would be resolved. The contract was split into two parts with the more substantial part ($1.655 million) awarded to J&K Contracting, LLC, and the smaller portion (~$186,000) awarded to DC Concrete and Construction, LLC.
The council also passed a resolution establishing new fees for services from the city’s Planning Department. The city’s fence permit fee was raised from $35 to $50; community development director Zach Simonson pointed out that this is a flat fee and not based on the valuation of the fence. The city also established a fee for certificates of zoning compliance and set it at $35, which Simonson said is in line with similar fees charged by other cities.
North Mahaska Appoints Interim Superintendent
NEW SHARON – The North Mahaska School Board met Monday to interview an internal candidate for the interim superintendent’s position. The board previously accepted the resignation of school superintendent Angela Livezey effective June 30, 2023 at its March 27 meeting.
The board approved an offer to Tim Veiseth as Interim Superintendent effective July 1, 2023 to replace Livezey and Veiseth accepted. Livezey announced the appointment of Amber Goemaat as NM Elementary Principal beginning July 1.
Livezey has accepted a position a Director of Professional Learning and Leadership with the Great Prairie Area Education Agency. This is a new position with the Area Education Association and begins in July.
Livezey has been at North Mahaska for 15 years and served as elementary principal prior to becoming superintendent in 2015. She currently serves as superintendent and elementary principal.
Livezey said she was looking forward to this new opportunity to lead others.
“It has been a pleasure to serve the North Mahaska CSD for the past 15 years,” said Livezey in her resignation letter. “Together, with the leadership across the district, the teachers, support staff, and community we have accomplished a great deal. Continuous school improvement and preparing our students to go out into the world prepared to be positive productive citizens has been the focus of our work together. She can look back and be grateful for the success and progress towards the future.
“While it is extremely difficult to leave my home of North Mahaska, I know the move is a chance to lead in a greater capacity is a good move for our family.”
Veiseth currently serves the district as the dean of students and behavior interventionist. Goemaat is the current high school principal.
Board of directors has moved to seek candidates for the high school principal’s position through Teach Iowa. The board, after some discussion, felt to go through the process of selecting a search firm and interviewing candidates could take a couple months and would be too close to the beginning of the next school fiscal year. Therefore, since they had an internal candidate they felt good about, decided to appoint Veiseth with the interim title.
According to the unofficial board minutes, the board voted “To approve the process for administrative hire as posting the superintendent position on Teach Iowa for a 1 year interim position and conducting a review of performance in December 2023 before a permanent hire decision is made. The internal candidate will be interviewed by the board if an application is submitted on Teach Iowa and if they are deemed a high quality candidate based on qualifications.”
Veiseth is in his fourth year at North Mahaska. The University of Northern Iowa grad had served eight years as a principal at Oskaloosa Elementary and another four years of teaching in the Oskaloosa schools before becoming the dean of students at North Mahaska.
“I am super excited,” said Veiseth from his office Tuesday. “We have some awesome things going on and I look forward to moving those forward. We have great people, great kids and a great community. I want to continue that great tradition we have at North Mahaska.
“Collaboration and working as team is what I want to continue to build on. I think it will be an easy transition because we already work well together.”
Goemaat has been at North Mahaska for 18 years and has been junior-senior high principal for the past four years. Prior to that she taught elementary, Title 1 Reading, 7-12 Technology Coach and K-12 Instructional Coach.
Selection of junior-senior high principal candidates will be done through Teach Iowa, a website utilized by schools to advertise teaching and some administrative positions.
Sunday’s NCAA women’s title game draws record TV audience
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — LSU’s 102-85 victory over Iowa in Sunday’s national championship game was the most-viewed NCAA women’s basketball game on record. There were 9.9 million viewers on ABC and ESPN2 according to fast national numbers by Nielsen. The total audience is a 103% jump over last year, when South Carolina defeated UConn and averaged 4.85 million on ESPN and ESPN2. The audience on Sunday at one point peaked at 12.6 million. The record ratings come as the NCAA is deciding whether to separate the women’s tournament or keep it as part of the championships TV package that includes at least 24 sports.