Fairfield News

DES MOINES (AP) ? MidAmerican Energy has decided against building a second nuclear power plant in Iowa and against building any major power plant for now.The Des Moines Register reports that MidAmerican says there is no approved design for the nuclear plant it wanted to build and there are too many questions about limits on carbon emissions from a natural gas plant.Iowa has one nuclear power plant, the Duane ...

CORALVILLE (AP) ? The Department of Corrections says a 38-year-old inmate in a mental health unit in Coralville has killed himself.Officials say in a news release that Alex James Mabe was found early Monday, hanged with a bed sheet attached to a wall vent.Staff tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead.Mabe was assigned to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center.He was serving a 10-year-sentence for ...

Jefferson County Sheriff?s Office arrested three young adults from Ottumwa in Batavia at 7:57 p.m. Friday on drug charges. Michael James Conlin, 27, Britny Nicole Jackson, 23, and Michael Paul Bibby, 27, were each charged with conspiracy to manufacture more than 5 grams of methamphetamine. Jackson also was charged with driving while suspended, revoked, canceled or denied.Austin Wayne Countryman, 20, of Hillsboro,...

DES MOINES (AP) ? A former staffer for the Iowa Senate Republican Caucus has filed a civil rights complaint alleging that she was fired after reporting sexual harassment.Kirsten Anderson filed the complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission last week. She says she was fired several weeks ago from her job as communications director for the caucus, hours after complaining about harassment from lawmakers and ...

Fairfield Police Department investigated at 4:44 p.m. Sunday in the 100 block of South B Street the report of $300 wire fraud committed using a debit card without authorization on walmart.com.Thaddeus Nolan, 23, of Fairfield, was arrested at 1:51 p.m. Saturday at Sixth Street and West Kirkwood Avenue, charged with public intoxication.Police investigated at 11:18 a.m. Saturday a report of criminal mischief at ...

A judge today accepted James Holmes? plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, setting the stage for a lengthy mental evaluation of the Colorado theater shooting suspect.The court clerk placed a written advisory of the ground rules of the plea before Holmes so he could follow it as Judge Carlos Samour Jr. read through all 18 points.When Samour asked if he had any questions, Holmes answered ?no? in a clear, firm ...

A judge says she won?t decide whether to delay the Fort Hood shooting suspect?s trial until he provides evidence to support his defense strategy ? and she might not accept it.Maj. Nidal Hasan said today his defense will explain that he killed 13 people in the 2009 shooting rampage because soldiers were about to deploy to Afghanistan. He says he was trying to prevent the imminent death of Taliban fighters.A ...

Military leaders said today that sexual assault in the ranks is ?like a cancer? that could destroy the force, but they rejected far-reaching congressional efforts to strip commanders of some authority in meting out justice.Seated side-by-side at a long witness table, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of each branch of the military and Pentagon lawyers testified on what is ...

The Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce presented a $25,000 check toward the Outdoor Aquatic Center and the Public Gymnasium and Recreation Center project being led by the Fairfield Recreational Facilities Task Force.?The Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to offer our financial support for such a highly anticipated community pool and recreation center,? said Chamber Executive Director Nancy Morrissey. ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? Gov. Terry Branstad has issued another disaster proclamation for Iowa counties hit by recent storms and flooding.The proclamation is the fourth made by Branstad in recent days to support counties hurt by the storms.Under the latest proclamation, an additional 17 counties will get access to state resources to help respond to the storm. Aid could include help removing debris and wreckage.In ...

Jefferson County Board of Supervisors turned down a request of $1,500 in additional funding for 10-15 Transit today after a discussion about federal and state funding cuts to the public transit service in Jefferson and nine other regional counties.Supervisor chairman Lee Dimmitt also serves as chairman of the 10-15 Transit System Board, and said the transit system asked its 10 counties each for an additional ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? The Iowa Department of Public Health is offering free help during June to people trying to stop smoking.The agency will provide nicotine replacement patches and gum to Iowa smokers who try to stop smoking by using Quitline Iowa, which offers tobacco cessation coaching by phone and the Internet.Agency director Mariannette Miller-Meeks says in a news release that data suggests most smokers want ...