SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS IS THE AMOUNT. LARGER FEDERAL STIMULUS PAYMENTS ARE OFF THE TABLE…AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING. IF A NEW ROUND OF COVID CHECKS FOR AMERICANS COMES UP AGAIN, IOWA FIRST DISTRICT CONGRESSWOMAN-ELECT ASHLEY HINSON IS OPEN TO THE IDEA, ALTHOUGH YESTERDAY SHE SUGGESTED THAT THERE SHOULD BE MORE NUANCE TO FUTURE DISTRIBUTIONS. SOME IOWANS HAVE STARTED TO RECEIVE DIRECT DEPOSIT OF THE LATEST ROUND OF FEDERAL PAYMENTS. ADULTS WHO MADE LESS THAN 75 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN 2019 WILL RECEIVE THE FULL $600.
CEDAR RAPIDS MAYOR BRAD HART WILL BE CUTTING BACK DURING 2021. OUTSIDE HIS DUTIES AS A CEDAR RAPIDS CITY OFFICIAL, HART HAS BEEN A LAWYER IN PRIVATE PRACTICE. HE SAYS HE IS RETIRING FROM THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES WITH THE FIRM BRADLEY & RILEY. HART HAS BEEN THE MAYOR OF CEDAR RAPIDS SINCE 2017. HE COULD SEEK A SECOND TERM OF OFFICE DURING AN ELECTION NEXT NOVEMBER, AND EXPECTS TO ANNOUNCE WHETHER HE WILL RUN AGAIN DURING THE WEEKS AHEAD.
THE WATERLOO BLACK HAWKS HAVE PLAYED AT HOME EACH NEW YEAR’S EVE SINCE 1998. TONIGHT IS NO EXCEPTION. THE HAWKS MEET THE DES MOINES BUCCANEERS IN A REMATCH OF A WEDNESDAY GAME IN DES MOINES. THE BUCS WON LAST NIGHT’S GAME, 3-2. TONIGHT’S AFFAIR AT YOUNG ARENA STARTS JUST AFTER 6 O’CLOCK.
WATERLOO MADE NATIONAL NEWS IN SEPTEMBER WHEN TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND SEVERAL OTHERS WERE INJURED IN A LARGE CROWD CONGREGATED AT AN UNLICENSED, AFTER-HOURS CLUB. NOW SEVERAL CITY DEPARTMENTS ARE POOLING RESOURCES TO SHUTDOWN OTHER SIMILAR ESTABLISHMENTS. POLICE, FIRE, AND CODE ENFORCEMENT WILL JOINTLY MONITOR COMMERCIAL AREA WHERE GROUPS ARE GATHERING AFTER LEGAL BAR HOURS. WATERLOO OFFICIALS SAY A VARIETY OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES ARE COMMON IN THOSE SITUATIONS.
22-YEAR-OLD JACKSON YOUNG OF KALONA WILL SPEND 25 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR CREATING AND STORING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. THE SENTENCE WAS FINALIZED THIS WEEK. INVESTIGATORS FOUND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON YOUNG’S PHONE AND EVIDENCE THAT HE HAD COERCED SEVERAL MINORS INTO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT. YOUNG IS A REPEAT OFFENDER. IN 2017, HE ENTERED A PLEA OF GUILTY TO THIRD-DEGREE SEXUAL ABUSE FOR HAVING SEX WITH A CHILD. HE HAD VIOLATED PROBATION FROM THAT INCIDENT IN 2018.
DEPARTING FOURTH DISTRICT IOWA CONGRESSMAN STEVE KING SAYS HIS DISPUTE WITH REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP IS UNPRECIDENTED. KING WAS A RECENT GUEST ON KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. EARLIER THIS MONTH, HE FILED AN ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST REPUBLICAN MINORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY. KING IS LEAVING THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AFTER RANDY FEENSTRA WON LAST SUMMER’S FOURTH DISTRICT REPUBLICAN PRIMARY; FEENSTRA THEN CLAIMED THE SEAT DURING THE NOVEMBER ELECTION.
AS STEVE KING PREPARES TO LEAVE CONGRESS, HE IS TALKING ABOUT HOW HE BELIEVES REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM. RECENTLY DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL KING SPOKE ABOUT THE FORMAL COMPLAINT HE HAS FILED AGAINST HOUSE MINORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY. A HISTORY OF CONTROVERSIAL REMARKS BROUGHT IOWA’S FOURTH DISTRICT CONGRESSMAN INTO THE SPOTLIGHT. KING WAS REMOVED FROM HIS HOUSE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS IN 2019.
FROM ONE IOWAN DEPARTING CONGRESS TO ANOTHER WHO WILL SOON BE SWORN IN. SECOND DISTRICT CONGRESSWOMAN-ELECT MARIANETTE MILLER-MEEKS WAS A GUEST THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. SHE WILL BE PROVISIONALLY SEATED AFTER WINNING HER RACE BY SIX VOTES LAST MONTH. MILLER-MEEKS EDGED DEMOCRAT RITA HART WHO IS SEEKING A CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW. HEAR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MILLER-MEEKS AT KXEL.COM.
EASTERN IOWA FIRE FIGHTERS HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY IN DECEMBER. ONE OF THE LATEST INCIDENTS HAPPENED IN WATERLOO WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE FIRE WAS IN THE 800 BLOCK OF DAWSON STREET. OCCUPANTS AND SEVERAL PETS MADE THEIR WAY TO SAFETY. BURNING INCENSE MAY HAVE SPARKED THE INCIDENT.
