WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama called for higher taxes on wealthy Americans and new initiatives to boost the middle class as he urged Americans to turn the page on years of economic woes and hard-fought wars in his sixth State of the Union address before Congress. Some highlights from Obama’s proposals:
TAX HIKES: Raise the top capital gains rate on couples with incomes above $500,000 to 28 percent, the ...
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State of the Union: Highlights from Obama’s address
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Police
The Fairfield Police Department reports the following calls and incidents logged into dispatch:
Monday
A Fairfield Hy-Vee Food and Drug Store employee advised that she found two syringes on the pet aisle shelf. One syringe had a substance inside.
A non-injury accident occurred in the Fairfield Hy-Vee Food and Drug Store parking lot. Robert Centner, 72, and Charles Wilkinson, 74, both backed out of their parking ...
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Officers don’t find homicide suspect after surrounding his house
MARSHALLTOWN (AP) — Authorities say officers didn’t find a homicide suspect in a house they’d surrounded in Marshalltown.
A SWAT team was sent Tuesday after police received a tip that 19-year-old Jose Morales was hiding in the house. Morales is suspected of shooting to death 20-year-old Dedrikk Fisher on Saturday.
Marshalltown Police Chief Michael Tupper says officers had obtained a warrant for their search of ...
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Trial delayed for ex-Iowa lawmaker
DES MOINES (AP) — Trial has been delayed for a former Iowa lawmaker accused of sexually abusing his wife at a care center.
Court records show the jury trial of former state Rep. Henry Rayhons is set to start on April 8. A pre-trial conference is scheduled at the end of March.
Rayhons’ trial on a third-degree sexual abuse charge was scheduled to start Jan. 28. He has pleaded not guilty.
Rayhons, of Garner, is ...
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Postal worker expected to plead guilty to thefts from mail
FOREST CITY (AP) — A northern Iowa postal worker accused of stealing prescription pain medications from the mail is expected to change his plea to guilty.
Mason City television station KIMT reports that Danny Miller is scheduled to have a plea hearing on Friday. His trial had been scheduled to begin Feb. 2
Miller was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on a charge of theft of mail by a postal service ...
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Iowa public safety head warns workers about off-duty actions
IOWA CITY (AP) — The acting commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety is telling employees they must behave professionally while off-duty or face consequences.
Roxann Ryan told troopers and agents in an email Tuesday that missteps in their private lives can reflect poorly on their credibility and undermine the public’s trust.
The note comes after two high-profile incidents involving supervisors who ...
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Branstad wants private care companies to help run Medicaid
DES MOINES (AP) — A privately managed care company or set of companies will help run Iowa’s Medicaid program under a plan introduced by Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration.
More coordinated care would better serve Medicaid patients and lower costs, Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers said. The system could be implemented by the start of 2016, The Des Moines Register reported.
“The growth of Medicaid spending in ...
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Newly elected Sen. Ernst promises GOP focus on Americans’ concerns
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new Republican Congress understands Americans’ suffering from the economy, health care system and Washington gridlock and will steer the country away from President Barack Obama’s failed policies, a newly minted GOP senator is promising.
Making calls for bipartisanship with a flexing of GOP muscle, freshman Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called on Obama Tuesday night to cooperate with Republicans ...
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Renovations on schedule
Renovations at Fairfield High School are going according to plan. The science addition, seen here, is scheduled for completion in late spring along with the school’s new fitness center. “We’re holding schedule pretty well,” said Pebbles Schneider of Carl A. Nelson Construction. Students returned from winter break to a completed auto shop and wrestling room. The new wrestling room is being used as a temporary ...
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School district approves new calendar
The Fairfield Community School board rolled out a brand new calendar for 2015-2016 school term after Superintendent Laurie Noll presented several calendar options for school board members to vote on during a public hearing Monday night.
Noll said the state requires the district to have at least 1,080 instruction hours per school year.
At 1,090 instruction hours, the current 2014-2015 calendar has 10 more hours ...
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Pioneers lose to New London
The Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment boys’ basketball team was in action at home Tuesday night against New London.
The Pioneers’ first victory continues to elude them as they lost to a tough New London team, 69-28.
New London started the game out with a full-court press. The Pioneers weren’t able to handle it, and they fell behind early. New London blitzed the Pioneers and led after the first quarter, ...
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Cardinal girls blow past Van Buren
After a four-game losing streak, the Cardinal girls’ basketball team entered Friday’s game against Van Buren on a two-game win streak, looking to make it three.
The Comets did just that, as they routed the Warriors, 56-32.
The teams played a tightly contested first quarter. At the end of the first, the Comets had a slim lead, 11-9. The Comets started to put some distance between themselves and the Warriors in the ...
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Lady Panthers use defense to stifle Columbus 58-32
PACKWOOD – The Lady Panthers came into Tuesday’s game on a three-game winning streak, and were looking to make it four against the Columbus Community Wildcats.
It took Pekin two quarters to get its offense chugging, but once it started to move, Columbus couldn’t stop it. The Lady Panthers cruised to a 58-32 victory.
The game was a struggle for the 11-2 Lady Panthers in the first half. Some of that struggle was ...
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Big second quarter propels Panthers to victory
PACKWOOD – The Panthers were looking for their third win in a row Tuesday night when they hosted Columbus Junction.
Thanks to a huge second quarter and a season-high point total, the Panthers were able to rout Columbus Community High School, 77-50.
The Panthers built a four-point lead in the first quarter, 17-13, to set up the stage for the big second quarter. The Panthers blew open the doors with a 23-point ...
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Trojan wrestlers earn split in triangular meet
The mat at Fairfield High School was busy Tuesday night as the Trojans participated in a triangular meet with Wapello High School and Pekin High School. The Trojans earned a split, beating Pekin and narrowly losing to Wapello in an exciting finish..
Fairfield’s Simon Spalla was the star of the night as he earned two victories. In his first match against Wapello’s Ryan Schaeffer, Spalla won by a 7-1 decision. He ...
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Cookie rally set for Girl Scouts
Fairfield area Girl Scouts will be getting a jumpstart on the upcoming cookie season during the 2015 Girl Scout Cookie Rally set from 1-2:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Fairfield Friends Church.
The cookie sales kick-off event will feature a photo booth, facepainting, a game show, cookie sampling and more, all to show Girl Scouts how to be successful in the cookie program.
The Girl Scout Cookie sale teaches girls how to take ...
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Raffle raising funds for after-prom
The Fairfield High School After-Prom Committee is holding a quilt raffle to raise funds and offset the cost of activities and prizes for students who attend the 2015 after-prom party.
Raffle tickets for the orange and black quilt featuring the fronts of old Trojan T-shirts will be available at area banks, basketball and wrestling events. Tickets will be sold for $1 each.
The quilt will be on display at several ...
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Coast Guard steps up patrols off Florida
HAVANA (AP) — The United States said Wednesday it dispatched additional ships to the Florida Straits to halt Cuban rafters but rebuffed demands for broader changes to U.S. migration rules that dominated the first day of talks between Cuban officials and the highest-ranking U.S. delegation to the island in more than three decades.
Cuba urged the U.S. to end immigration privileges that grant virtually automatic ...
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Workers crafting ice playground in Alaska
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Workers are building an ice playground in a city in Alaska’s interior, including a pirate ship slide made from 65 refrigerator-sized blocks of ice.
The work began Monday at the George Horner Ice Park in Fairbanks ahead of the annual world ice sculpture championships, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported
A giant ice lens also is planned for the park, according to ice championships ...
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House GOP abruptly drops plans to debate abortion bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an embarrassing setback, House Republicans abruptly decided Wednesday to drop planned debate of a bill criminalizing virtually all late-term abortions after objections from GOP women and other lawmakers left them short of votes.
The decision came on the eve of the annual March for Life, when thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators stream to Washington to mark the anniversary of the 1973 ...
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