A DAYLONG SERIES OF INCIDENTS LED TO TWO ARRESTS IN MARION TUESDAY AFTERNOON. A BREAK-IN – APPARENTLY INCLUDING SHOTS FIRED – IN NORTHEAST CEDAR RAPIDS YESTERDAY MORNING CONCLUDED WITH A WOMAN ALLEGEDLY BEING KIDNAPPED BY A FORMER BOYFRIEND. SHE WAS ABLE TO RETURN HOME WITH INJURIES HOURS LATER, ALTHOUGH THE DETAILS OF HOW SHE GOT FREE ARE NOT CLEAR. LATER IN THE DAY, THE SUSPECT AND ANOTHER MAN WERE INVOLVED IN A CAR CHASE, ENDING IN A CRASH. MARION AND CEDAR RAPIDS POLICE WERE INVOLVED IN THE ARREST OF NICHOLAS HALLMAN, WHO NOW FACES SEVERAL CRIMINAL COUNTS FROM THE MORNING INCIDENT, AS WELL AS THE DRIVER OF THE VEHICLE – CHANDRIQUE DAY – WHO IS IN CUSTODY ON VEHICLE AND DRUG CHARGES.
BOTH CANDIDATES IN IOWA’S U.S. SENATE RACE HAVE CRITICIZED EACH OTHER FOR SOURCES OF CAMPAIGN FINANCING. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH KXEL’S JEFF STEIN, SENATOR JONI ERSNT LEVELED THESE CHARGES ABOUT CHALLENGER TERESA GREENFIELD, WHO HAS DISTANCED HER SELF FROM CORPORATE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES. THE ERNST-GREENFIELD RACE HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE IN THE NATION DURING 2020, WITH AN ESTIMATE OF OVER 200 MILLION DOLLARS POURED INTO THE CONTEST BY THE CAMPAIGNS AND OUTSIDE GROUPS.
THERE’S A NEW SCAM THAT MAY IMPACT GRIEVING FAMILIES. THE PROCESS IS CALLED GHOSTING. ACCORDING TO IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL TOM MILLER, CRIMINALS SWIPE FINANCIAL AND PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE RECENTLY DIED, THEN USE THAT INFORMATION FRAUDULENTLY. OFFICIALS RECOMMEND MINIMIZING DETAILS ABOUT THE PASSING OF LOVED ONES AND PROMPTLY NOTIFYING FINANCIAL INSTITUTION ABOUT A RELATIVE’S DEATH.
IOWA HOUSE SPEAKER PAT GRASSLEY SAYS THE STATE IS IN A BETTER FINANCIAL POSITION THAN MANY OF ITS PEERS SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. GRASSLEY TOLD KXEL’S JEFF STEIN THAT IOWA IS NOT A STATE IN NEED OF A FEDERAL BAILOUT. DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL THIS MORNING, GRASSLEY SAID IOWA’S BUDGET SITUATION IS THE TOP ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF NEXT WEEK’S ELECTION. HEAR ALL OF PAT GRASSLEY’S COMMENTS AT KXEL.COM.
THERE’S GOOD NEWS FOR REPUBLICANS FROM ONE MEASURE OF THE ELECTORAL CLIMATE IN IOWA. THE PARTY DID WELL IN THE IOWA YOUTH STRAW POLL, CONDUCTED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE. THE ELECTION EDUCATION EVENT GIVES STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A MOCK ELECTION AND MORE THAN 27 THOUSAND DID YESTERDAY. REPUBLICAN HOUSE AND SENATE CANDIDATES SWEPT THE YOUTH STRAW POLL, WITH DONALD TRUMP TOPPING JOE BIDEN 57 PERCENT TO 31 PERCENT. OF COURSE, RAPPER KANYE WEST RECEIVED OVER EIGHT PERCENT OF THE YOUTH VOTE.
THE FIRST SIGNS OF A NEW SOLAR FARM WILL BEGIN TO APPEAR ON WATERLOO’S EASTSIDE NEXT SPRING. THE PLAN FOR THE MIDAMERICAN ENERGY PROJECT WAS APPROVED BY THE CITY’S BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT YESTERDAY. THE SOLAR FARM WILL BE BUILT NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF AIRLINE HIGHWAY AND BURTON AVENUE. DEVELOPERS SAY THEY EXPECT IT TO BEGIN GENERATING ENERGY BEFORE 2021 IS OUT. AT FULL CAPACITY, THE NEW WATERLOO SOLAR FARM WILL PRODUCE ENOUGH POWER FOR MORE THAN 600 RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
PROFITS AND SALES ARE BOTH DOWN AT COLLINS AEROSPACE. THE COMPANY WITH A SUBSTANTIAL EASTERN IOWA PRESENCE IS A SUBSIDIARY OF RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH REPORTED YESTERDAY THAT THE COLLINS DIVISION MOVED 4.2 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PRODUCT IN THE MOST RECENT QUARTER. THAT SALES FIGURE IS OFF BY APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR. RAYTHEON SAYS COLLINS’ ADJUSTED OPERATING PROFIT WAS 73 MILLION DOLLARS, A 94 PERCENT REDUCTION FROM 2019. REDUCED COMMERCIAL SALES LED TO THE WEAKENED NUMBERS, WHILE MILITARY REVENUE WAS UP SLIGHTLY.
RECENT COVID-19 CASES IN THE BLACK HAWK COUNTY JAIL HAVE LED THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT TO TALK ABOUT ITS CORONAVIRUS PROCEDURES. OFFICIALS SAY MASKS ARE NOW REQUIRED AT ALL TIMES AFTER PREVIOUSLY ONLY BEING MANDATORY WHEN SOCIAL DISTANCING WAS NOT POSSIBLE. ALL STAFF AND INMATES IN THE JAIL ARE PROVIDED WITH MASKS, AND QUARANTINES ARE IN PLACE FOR NEW INMATES DURING THEIR FIRST 14 DAYS ON SITE. BLACK HAWK COUNTY JAIL OFFICIALS SAY FOUR RECENT POSITIVE TESTS ARE THE ONLY ONES REPORTED AMONG OVER THREE THOUSAND PRISONERS WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE JAIL DURING THE PANDEMIC.
THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, YOU HEARD FROM IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST LESS THAN A WEEK AHEAD OF THE NOVEMBER ELECTION. ERNST CRITICIZED CHALLENGER TERESA GREENFIELD’S BUSINESS CREDENTIALS. HEAR MORE OF JEFF STEIN’S INTERVIEW WITH ERNST DURING NEXT HOUR’S KXEL NEWSCAST OR ON DEMAND ANYTIME AT KXEL.COM.
