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KXEL Morning News for Tue. Oct. 20, 2020

By Tim Martin Oct 20, 2020 | 5:55 AM

Iowa’s auditor is warning that the governor’s decision to spend $21 million in federal pandemic relief funds on a new executive branch software system would not be allowed and should be abandoned. State Auditor Rob Sand said using the federal money to pay for Workday, a cloud-based program for the executive branch’s human resources and finances, is an inappropriate use under the law. He says that if the money is not redeployed for a different purpose, Iowa taxpayers could be on the hook to repay the federal government $21 million later on. Sand said his conclusion was shared by the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, which is responsible for overseeing the appropriate use of those funds.   

We now know the identity of a woman who died in the Linn County Jail Saturday afternoon just hours after being booked into the facility. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said in a news release yesterday that the exact cause of death of 59-year-old Jacqueline Marie Bridges will be determined through an autopsy to be conducted by the state medical examiner. Bridges, of Cedar Rapids, was found dead in her cell Saturday afternoon after her family posted bond to have her released. Gardner says she had been arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of theft, money laundering and financial exploitation of a dependent adult.

An early-season snowfall caused headaches near Iowa’s capital city yesterday. The National Weather Service office in Johnston issued a Snow Squall Warning for parts of Polk, Jasper, and Dallas counties around the noon hour as a band of heavy snowfall moved through the area. Visibility was reduced, at times, below one-quarter of a mile, according to public reports near the Ankeny area. Northern Polk County got as much as 9 inches of snow. The heavy rate of snowfall was enough to overcome warm ground temperatures to accumulate rapidly, causing poor road conditions. Some areas in Linn County received 5 inches.

The Iowa Farm Bureau issued a statement Sunday to counteract a fake e-mail news release that supposedly was sent by them. The fake said that the group no longer endorsed U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst for re-election. The Farm Bureau statement said, “This email is fake, and any news reports that speak to its validity are false…Iowa farmers know Senator Joni Ernst understands agriculture and works tirelessly to increase the economic opportunities for Iowa farmers and rural America, and that is why the Iowa Farm Bureau was proud to designate her as a Friend of Agriculture.” 

A Waterloo man has been accused of trying to meet a teenage girl for sex over the weekend. 42-year-old Marcel Rose was arrested Sunday and charged with misdemeanor attempt to entice a minor, third-degree theft and carrying weapons. Officers say they were called to a Waterloo address regarding allegations Rose had stolen a cell phone. During the investigation, officers found text messages between Rose and a 14-year-old girl that talked of plans for him to come over to her home. Court records indicate when officers arrested Rose, they found a knife with a blade longer than 5 inches.

Fire crews responded to a call of a structure fire in Cedar Falls around 8:30 yesterday morning, along the back alley between the 1300 block of Clay and Franklin Streets. A car had caught fire, which spread to a detached garage nearby. Authorities say the home near the fire did not sustain any damage, and no injuries were reported. 

Police say a Dubuque man was arrested this past weekend after biting off the nose of another man during a fight. 24-year-old Blayre Ward was arrested early Sunday morning on suspicion of willful injury, assault causing injury, harassment and other counts. Police say Ward and another man fought with 44-year-old Scott Plumley and that Ward bit Plumley’s nose, in their words, “biting the majority of it off.” Plumley was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and later transported to an Iowa City hospital for specialized surgery to reconstruct his nose.