Week in Iowa, Oct. 13, 2024: Recap of news from across the state

Congresswoman's apartment linked to donor: The Davenport apartment that Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks claims as her voting address — and which is the subject of a congressional ethics complaint — is partly owned by a prominent campaign donor and member of the Iowa Board of Regents.

Miller-Meeks, who has a home in Ottumwa, outside of the district she represents, lists a Davenport apartment as her primary residence on her voter registration and affidavit of candidacy filed with the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. The apartment is part of a large complex called Indian Ridge Apartment Homes managed by Barker Apartments.

Regent David Barker is a partner in the group, Barker Financial, that owns the complex. Barker has contributed $52,900 to Miller-Meeks' campaigns since 2020, Federal Election Commission filings show.

  Buy Photo

Emerald ash borer in all 99 counties: The tree-killing emerald ash borer has been confirmed in every one of Iowa's 99 counties, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced Thursday. Insect samples were taken from a failing tree in Armstrong this month, and an emerald ash borer infestation was confirmed. Emmet County was the last in the state where emerald ash borer had not been detected. The metallic green insect, which threatens all ash trees, was first discovered in Michigan in 2002. It was detected in Iowa in 2010.

John Deere plans more layoffs: Deere & Co. said Wednesday that roughly 287 employees across three facilities in the Quad Cities, including 80 in Davenport, would be without jobs as of Jan. 3.

"It is important to note these layoffs are due to reduced demand for the products produced at these facilities. They are not related to production moves," a spokesperson for the company said. "As we have repeatedly stated, layoffs this fiscal year are due to the weakening farm economy and a reduction in customer orders for our equipment."

Deere in 2022 decided to move production of cabs for its large farm tractors from Waterloo to an existing plant in Mexico, the Wall Street Journal reported, to free up space to manufacture other lines in Iowa. The company pushed back on the idea the shift was to blame for layoffs in late September after former President Donald Trump threatened the company with a 200 percent tariff should he win the election and it opted to send manufacturing to Mexico.

The newspaper reported that Deere has not backed off its plans, even though Trump claimed his threat made it change its mind.

Iowa Falls WWII casualty: The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Cpl. Melvin L. Huff, 19, of Iowa Falls, killed during World War II, were accounted for earlier this summer, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced.

Near the end of the war, in January 1945, Huff was assigned to 360th Service Group, Combat Replacement Training Center, Far East Air Force, and deployed in present-day Papua New Guinea. As part of an attempt to neutralize the Japanese threat near Wewak, Territory of New Guinea, Huff’s unit attacked enemy defensive positions on nearby Cape Wom. Huff, an aerial gunner, was reported as missing in action on Jan. 20, 1945, when friendly forces lost contact with the A-20G Havoc bomber he was aboard, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release.

They said …

"Each one of us, you and I, everyone, are created for a purpose and a reason in life. And I always stand by that. That, to me, is the most important thing. That we're here for a purpose." — U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, on whether he supports Iowa's law that generally prohibits a doctor from performing an abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo or fetus

“We only have 5,700 requests right now to vote by mail. That's a result of people being fearful of voting by mail. We have had mail that's taken a week to get here." — Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill, on the beginning of early voting in Iowa.

Odd and ends

Budget shortfall: State revenues will fall below current spending in the next state budget year, which starts July 1, according to the latest projections from the state’s nonpartisan Revenue Estimating Conference. The shortfall is estimated at $200 million.

Muscatine to appeal traffic camera ruling: The city of Muscatine will appeal an Iowa Department of Transportation ruling that denied the city’s application to continue using its automatic traffic enforcement program.

On Sept. 30, the Iowa DOT announced it had denied applications for most cameras in fixed locations in the state that issue speeding tickets. A new law in Iowa requires local governments using traffic cameras to apply for a permit to continue operating those systems. Muscatine's applications for fixed locations were denied.

Water cooler

Attorney general warns of fake: Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on Thursday said that a scammer attempted to defraud a couple by calling from what appeared to be a phone number for the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

The scammer called a woman in Oregon and left a voicemail claiming to be a special agent with the Department of Justice, the Attorney General's Office said in a news release. The woman forwarded a transcript of the voicemail to her husband. He called the scammer and asked for proof of identification or government affiliation. The scammer refused and insisted on calling back from a “main line” to prove the affiliation.

The scammer subsequently called back from a different phone number, and the husband found online that the number on the caller ID was associated with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. The husband then confronted the scammer, but the scammer evaded questions and ended the call, the AG said.