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KXEL Midday News for Wed. Feb. 03, 2021

By Tim Martin Feb 3, 2021 | 10:17 PM

DUBUQUE AUTHORITIES IDENTIFIED A BODY DISCOVERED ON MONDAY. AN
ARREST HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE AND MURDER CHARGES HAVE BEEN FILED
AGAINST AN ILLINOIS MAN. YESTERDAY, POLICE SAID THE VICTIM WAS 20-
YEAR-OLD JENNIFER LOPEZ, OF GALENA; HER BODY WAS LOCATED AT THE
DUBUQUE ARBORETUM & BOTANICAL GARDENS AFTER WINTER SPORTS
ENTHUSIASTS FOUND EVIDENCE OF A CRIME. RICHARD FORSYTHE – ALSO OF
GALENA – IS THE WOMAN’S EX-BOYFRIEND HE CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE
MURDER AND IS BEING HELD ON $1 MILLION BOND IN ILLINOIS.

FIRST DISTRICT CONGRESSWOMAN ASHLEY HINSON BROUGHT LEGISLATION TO
WASHINGTON WHICH ECHOS WHAT IOWA LAWMAKERS HAVE DONE IN DES
MOINES. HER “REOPEN SCHOOLS ACT” DID NOT MAKE ANY PROGRESS IN THE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THE BILL WOULD HAVE MADE FEDERAL
SCHOOL FUNDING CONTINGENT ON SCHOOLS REOPENING FROM COVID-19
CLOSURES. LAST WEEK, THE IOWA HOUSE AND SENATE AND GOVERNOR KIM
REYNOLDS COMPLETED A LEGISLATIVE EFFORT REQUIRING IOWA SCHOOLS TO
OPEN THIS MONTH. IN HER CONGRESSIONAL REMARKS, HINSON SAID “THE
COSTS OF AT HOME LEARNING ARE FAR GREATER THAN WE COULD HAVE EVER
IMAGINED.”

THIS MORNING, THE IOWA BUSINESS COUNCIL RELEASED THE LATEST EDITION
OF ITS IOWA COMPETITIVE DASHBOARD REPORT. JOE MURPHY IS THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE IOWA BUSINESS COUNCIL AND SPOKE ABOUT
STATE GDP. MURPHY SAYS HE SEES CHALLENGES CREATED BY A
GROWING NUMBER OF PEOPLE MOVING OUT OF THE STATE.

IT TOOK WELL OVER A YEAR, BUT THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES SAYS IT HAS CAUGHT UP WITH FOUR PEOPLE FROM LINN AND BUCHANAN COUNTIES FOR POACHING AND OTHER WILDLIFE VIOLATIONS. THE DNR BROUGHT CHARGES AGAINST JASON WEBSTER FOR MORE THAN 20 CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS INVOLVING DEER, FURBEARING ANIMALS, AND FRAUDULENT USE OF LICENSES. JEREMIAH PILLARD, KELLY MCCARDLE, AND SHELIA KISNER WERE ALSO CONNECTED TO THE CASE AND HAVE EACH PLED GUILTY TO A VARIETY OF CHARGES. THE D-N-R SAYS THEIR INVESTIGATION STARTED IN JANUARY OF 2020 WITH ILLEGAL ACTIVITY BEGINNING AT LEAST AS EARLY AS OCTOBER OF 2019. A TAXIDERMY INSPECTION LED WILDLIFE OFFICERS TO THE GROUP.

MAIN STREET WATERLOO’S “TASTE OF LOO” EVENT IS BACK WITH A NEW FORMAT. IN PRIOR YEARS, MANY OF THE COMMUNITY’S RESTAURANTS WERE FEATURED ON ONE DAY IN ONE LOCATION. DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS, THIS YEAR “TASTE OF LOO” WILL HAPPEN THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY, WITH MANY FOOD-LOVERS TRYING NEW FLAVORS WITH CARRY-OUT ORDERS. JESSICA RUCKER IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MAIN STREET WATERLOO AND TALKED ABOUT HER HOPES FOR THIS ITERATION OF TASTE OF LOO. A DOZEN WATERLOO RESTAURANTS ARE PARTICIPATING IN TASTE OF LOO. MORE DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE AT MAINSTREETWATERLOO.ORG.

THE UNI PANTHER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMES AGAINST EVANSVILLE ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY HAVE BEEN POSTPONED. THE SCHEDULE CHANGE WAS MADE DUE TO COVID-19 CASES AMONG THE EVANSVILLE PROGRAM. MEANWHILE, TONIGHT THE IOWA STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SQUAD VISITS WEST VIRGINIA AT 6 P-M.

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN IOWA IS SLIDING. JOE MURPHY IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE IOWA BUSINESS COUNCIL. HE SAYS THE ORGANIZATION’S MOST RECENT COMPETITIVE DASHBOARD REPORT FOR THE STATE IDENTIFIES THAT TREND. DURING THIS MORNING’S EDITION OF KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, MURPHY SAID IOWA’S SHRINKING POPULATION COMES AT A TIME WHEN THE STATE’S GDP IS GROWING. HEAR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH JOE MURPHY ON DEMAND IN THE PODCAST SECTION AT KXEL.COM.

27-YEAR-OLD RANDY ABELS OF LOWDEN IN CEDAR COUNTY HAS PLED GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES. AUTHORITIES SAY ABELS ENCOURAGED A 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM MINNESOTA TO SEND HIM EXPLICIT PHOTOS AND VIDEOS. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GIRL INCLUDED BRINGING HER ACROSS STATE LINES TO IOWA. ABELS COULD BE SENT TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR FIVE TO 20 YEARS. AN ARRAY OF LOCAL CHARGES ARE ALSO PENDING THE CONCLUSION OF THE FEDERAL CASE AGAINST HIM AND COULD ADD TO HIS TIME IN CUSTODY.

THE CITY OF WAVERLY WILL KEEP ITS MASK REQUIREMENTS AS THEY ARE. FACE COVERINGS ARE REQUIRED IN MUNICIPAL FACILITIES. THE DECISION TO EXTEND THE RULE WAS MADE BY A 6-1 COUNCIL VOTE. RECENTLY, BREMER COUNTY WAS IDENTIFIED AS AN AREA WHERE A VARIANT FORM OF THE CORONAVIRUS HAD BEEN DISCOVERED. THAT STRAIN IS BELIEVED TO BE MORE CONTAGEOUS.