Wednesday June 22nd Morning Report ? KGLO News, Sports & Weather

• Weaver, Hickey get into verbal tussle at Mason City council meeting, separated by policeman
• Jury hears evidence against Minnesota man in Humboldt convenience store killing
• Iowa Senate approves six spending measures, continue budget negotiations
• Cerro Gordo supervisors approve revised bid for arena improvements
• Rebuild Iowa office to close

Click here to listen to the KGLO Morning Report

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MASON CITY ? Two members of the Mason City City Council had to be separated by police after the business portion of last night?s meeting. Max Weaver and Travis Hickey got into it during the council?s discussion about whether or not to pay property owner Dennis Ridder after city workers had to destroy his work shed that sat on a city easement in order to repair a water main break. City Administrator Brent Trout recommended that Ridder be paid $500 from the city?s Water Fund, but Weaver made a motion to approve $1-thousand payment. Hickey told the council about a visit he made with Weaver to Ridder?s house, and implied that Weaver was lobbying for Ridder?s vote if he could get the reimbursement passed. He says when he was at Ridder?s place, he said Weaver told Ridder he only wanted one thing if he could get him the $1-thousand, and that was a political yard sign in his front yard on Cerro Gordo Way in November. Weaver says he had no ill intent in what he said, saying that Ridder acknowledged that statement was made in jest. He says Ridder had seven or eight yard signs in his front yard at the time, and it was clearly a joke. Weaver then said, ?Travis, we?re all seeing what you really are and who you are working hard for. Why don?t you leave that stuff off the council table and out of the citizens? business. As much as you hang out at the bars and drink and joke?you don?t know the difference between a joke and someone that?s making a threat?? Hickey also mentioned a conversation he had with Weaver, with Weaver saying that if the city didn?t do something that Ridder might take the matter into his own hands. He says Weaver told him that the situation was bothering Ridder, and that if something didn?t happen, ?one of us may get a bullet in the head.? Hickey says he found that disturbing and took it very seriously. He says he went to Mayor Eric Bookmeyer, City Administrator Brent Trout and Police Chief Mike Lashbrook, ?and I think some statements were took (sic).? After the business meeting, Hickey attempted to approach Weaver to discuss the matter with him, but Weaver shouted for Hickey to ?get out of his face?, with a police officer then stepping in to separate the two. The tussle spilled over into the ?listening post? session after the business meeting, with Weaver saying it was all part of an election year plot. He says, ?this whole thing of plotting and planning and wanting to get your guys on the council and run for re-election and get our team in place has nothing to do with taking care of the citizens of Mason City?time and time again you prove it up here that you aren?t on top of your game. He says, ?it?s election year and we are going to start cannibalizing each other?quit worrying about Mr. Weaver and worry about yourself and the good things you do. Hickey responded that he?s tired of Weaver?s constant games with city staff and the public. He says talking to people in the public, people don?t realize what goes on behind the scenes, and then they say, ?well it?s only Max?. Hickey says, ?everybody knows at City Hall, and he?s right, you back him into a corner and watch out. I?m tired of it, I think pretty much staff is tired of it, I think our council is tired of it, and hopefully the citizens are tired of it as well. The council did unanimously approve giving Ridder $1-thousand.

You can listen back to last night?s council meeting and listening post by clicking here

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???? CARROLL, Iowa (AP) ? A Minnesota police officer says Michael Swanson?s father, an avid hunter, told the officer they kept their guns locked up because they feared their own son.
???? Matt Reilly of the St. Louis Park, Minn., police department testified Tuesday in the first-degree murder trial of Michael Swanson, also of St. Louis Park. Swanson was 17 when he was charged with killing Sheila Myers, a convenience store clerk in Humboldt in northern Iowa on Nov. 15.
???? Reilly told the jury that Robert Swanson kept all his guns locked up because he and his wife ?were afraid of their son.?
???? Earlier Tuesday, the prosecution showed a crime scene photo and called witnesses who re-traced Swanson?s steps the day of the killing.
???? Swanson is also charged with killing another store clerk in Algona.

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???? DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Majority Democrats in the Iowa Senate have approved six spending measures in an effort to reach a deal with House Republicans and GOP Gov. Terry Branstad.
???? With little debate Tuesday, Democrats approved spending measures paying for programs ranging from transportation to economic development. Most bills passed with the bare minimum of 26 votes and with no debate. Democrats hold a 26-24 majority in the Senate.
???? Late in the day, Senate leaders broke off debate and left for a private bargaining session with Branstad.
???? Earlier, Branstad told reporters the Democrats? spending plan wasn?t acceptable but he appreciated that they was moving closer to his proposals. Branstad is seeking deeper cuts in business property taxes and wants changes in how Democrats want to fund Medicaid.
???? Democrats will take up more budgets Wednesday.

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DES MOINES ? Governor Terry Branstad said Tuesday he will ensure the government won?t shut down if the legislature does not reach an agreement on a new budget before the end of the fiscal year on June 30th. Branstad, a Republican, said at his weekly meeting with reporters, he will use the powers of his office to keep vital government services running if legislators don?t meet the deadline. ?What people need to know is, this governor has dealt with a lot of emergencies and I don?t like to deal with emergencies, but if you have one, I?ve never been afraid to act and do what?s necessary to protect the safety and the well being of the citizens of this state,? Branstad said, ?and we will do it on a short term basis until the legislature fulfills its responsibility.? Branstad said talk of the shut down is still premature.? He says we have not reached the end of the year and the legislature ?has the time and the ability to fulfill its responsibilities, and I?m confident they will.? Branstad was peppered with questions by reporters about the details of how he would handle a shut down and how he would keep the government running. He said he was not going to talk about the details. Branstad says ?there?s not gonna be a shut down? and he says the point if the legislature fails to act they will focus on providing the services the public needs using ?emergency powers? to keep the government running. He says instead of focusing on the negative, he is focusing on the positive and is confident that legislators are going to get the budget done. ?And I know it is not easy.? Branstad?s staff said last week that there is not a written plan for the potential shut down, and Branstad reiterated that again today. ?There is no written plan,? Branstad says, ?I do in my own mind understand that in times of emergency the governor can and will act, and I always have, and I will if that happens, and you?ll see that on the 30th.? Branstad says until that time they are focusing on getting a budget passed that is sustainable and will focus on the long term. Branstad says he is pleased Democrats presented a new budget proposal Monday. He says he does not like the fact they do not fully fund Medicaid and says property tax relief has to be addressed.

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MASON CITY ? The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors has approved a revised bid for heating and cooling improvements to the arena at the North Iowa Fairgrounds. At last week?s meeting, the supervisors decided to table awarding a contract to the lowest bidder, Mechanical Air of Mason City, since the bid was about $46-thousand over the estimated cost of the project. Project architect Ed Wineinger went back to Mechanical Air to see if he could get the bid down to an acceptable level. He told the supervisors today that he had reduced the bid by $33-thousand-795 to a total of $173-thousand-205. Wineinger says one of the key things that reduced the amount was an error in the original bid for the sprinkler system. He says the subcontractor working with Mechanical Air thought they were replacing the entire sprinkler system in the building?s east side, when it was only in the area of the mechanical room. That revision dropped $21-thousand-975 off of the original bid. Wineinger pointed out several other things that would save money but not reduce the quality of the project. He says the project was bid with a number of options on the boiler. The original plans called for a storage tank for the boiler, but the boiler to be installed doesn?t need one, reducing the price by $31-hundred. Piping was also downsized from two-and-a-half inch to two-inch, which is acceptable under the project?s specifications, saving $25-hundred-80. Installation of temperature controls would be done by Mechanical Air instead of a sub-contractor, also realizing a savings of $61-hundred-40. The cost of the project is being covered by a $191-thousand-600 energy efficiency block grant from the U-S Department of Energy.

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WASHINGTON ? Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has meetings this week with the top leaders of two federal entities which have been heavily criticized for their involvement in various natural disasters, FEMA and the U-S Army Corp of Engineers. Grassley is scheduled to sit down Wednesday with Craig Fugate, chief administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Grassley says his meeting with Fugate will focus on the availability of FEMA funds for those affected by the Missouri River flooding. ?FEMA treats Mississippi River floods the same as Missouri River floods, the floods the same as earthquakes and hurricanes and tornadoes,? Grassley says. ?It?s just a question of will the money be available and how will it be administered?? While FEMA has been blasted for its Gulf Coast response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Grassley says significant changes have been made in the agency?s playbook since then. ?Every natural disaster, you?re going to have some people that aren?t treated exactly right,? Grassley says. ?It?s not because of the basic law or it?s not from the money, it?s probably some sort of bureaucratic bungling, but since Katrina, I have not seen a pattern of bungling, more bungling when it comes to an individual here and there.? The Corps of Engineers is also being singled out by some who say more should have been done to prevent the Missouri River?s current flooding. The Corps was tasked with setting up flood control systems on the river, including five dams, under the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, created by the Flood Control Act of 1944. In the decades since that time, Grassley says the focus has shifted and the Corps is now only involved in flood control 16-percent of the time. The new emphasis is more on things like recreational boating, environmental preservation and saving endangered species. ?So we?ve got to get back to the original purpose of Pick-Sloan, the original purpose of the dams,? Grassley says. ?There?s no reason we would have to have all of this flooding that we have if the dams had been handled right.? Grassley will be meeting Wednesday with Brigadier General John McMahon, the Army Corps of Engineers Commander for the Northwest Division, which covers western Iowa. Grassley says he and McMahon will discuss the current flooding in western Iowa and the Corps? performance in anticipating and reacting to that flooding. ?Maybe the Corps is being called upon to do too much,? he says. Grassley notes, the flooding may have been beyond the Corps? control, due to heavy snowpack in the Rockies and some areas of Montana getting an entire year?s worth of rain in just a month?s time this spring.

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???? DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? A state office opened by former Gov. Chet Culver to help Iowa recover from historic flooding and damaging storms in 2008 is closing its doors.
???? The Rebuild Iowa Office will close on Thursday after lawmakers declined to extend the office?s June 2011 sunset date. Culver created the office by executive order in the aftermath of floods, storms and tornadoes that impacted 40,000 Iowans, and lawmakers formally established the office in 2009.
???? The office says it has helped address long-term recovery needs in areas such as housing, infrastructure and emergency management and secure more than $4.3 billion in disaster relief funding. Its role was to coordinate statewide recovery efforts.
???? The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division will take on some of its functions.

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WASHINGTON ? Two former heads of state will share the 2011 World Food Prize. This year marks the 25th anniversary for the Iowa-based award which recognizes individuals for their efforts to fight worldwide hunger. Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize, took part in today?s announcement of this year?s recipients in Washington, D.C. ?The World Food Prize is for the first time ever going to be presented to two individuals who have demonstrated presidential leadership in transforming the situation in each of their countries by reducing hunger by more than half, which is in line with the U.N. millennium development goals,? Quinn said. The $250,000 World Food Prize will be awarded this fall, in Des Moines, to former Ghana president John Kufuor and former president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Quinn says both men have set a ?powerful example? for other leaders in the world. Kufuor was president of the Republic of Ghana from 2001 to 2009. Lula da Silva led Brazil from 2003 through 2010. ?In each country, they set out a number of policies?but it was first and foremost their own emphasis on reducing hunger,? Quinn said. During Kufuor?s two terms as president, he implemented a nationwide school feeding program and other policies that increased the quality and quantity of food to Ghanaians. ?As a result, this cut in half their country?s poverty rate and reduced hunger from one-third of Ghana?s population to single digits,? Quinn said. In Brazil, before taking office, Lula da Silva announced fighting hunger and poverty would be his administration?s top priority. He implemented a ?Zero Hunger? program.? ?This involved reaching out through school feeding programs and increasing income levels of people at the very bottom of society so they could purchase food,? Quinn said. ?As a result, 93-percent of children in Brazil are now eating three meals a day.? Child malnutrition in Brazil fell nearly 62-percent during Lula da Silva?s eight years as president. Quinn was joined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack in making Tuesday?s announcement. The World Food Prize award will be formally presented on October 13 at the Iowa State Capitol.

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???? DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Iowa officials are busy preparing for new limits placed on drunken boaters as the busy July 4th holiday approaches.
???? The state?s new blood alcohol limit for boating of .08 percent goes into effect July 1. The limit, which was signed into law this spring, had been .10 percent but lawmakers wanted to make it the same as it is for the state?s roads and? highways.
???? Susan Stocker, the boating law administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the lower limit will hopefully result in fewer boating crashes and deaths.
???? Of five boating deaths in Iowa in 2010, three were alcohol related.

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???? DECORAH, Iowa (AP) ? Now that the young birds have taken wing, the wildly popular Decorah eagle cam soon will shut down.
???? Three bald eagle chicks that hatched in early April have left the nest.
???? Bob Anderson is director of the Raptor Resource project, which sponsored the eagle cam. He told The Gazette that fans logged more than 160 million Internet views this spring.
???? Anderson says the wall posting on the nest?s Facebook page will be shut down Friday and the cameras likely will be turned off by the end of the week.
???? Anderson says he?s proud that the nest cam showed so many people the wonders of nature.
???? He says that next year there will be more and better cameras and faster uploads, plus live video and audio from other bird nests.

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