Fairfield News

DES MOINES (AP) ? Is the tea party getting its groove back? Shouts of vindication from around the country suggest the movement's leaders certainly think so.They say the IRS acknowledgement that it had targeted their groups for extra scrutiny ? a claim that tea party activists had made for years ? is helping pump new energy into the coalition. And they are trying to use that development, along with the ongoing ...

Fairfield Fire Department responded to a call at 10:38 p.m. Sunday for a sparking wire and tree on fire in 900 block of East Jackson Avenue.The fire department responded to an automatic alarm at 1:12 p.m. Sunday at Parkview Care Center.The fire department responded to an automatic alarm at 10:51 a.m. Sunday at Parkview Care Center. Alarm went off due to low air pressure in system. Firefighters reset compressor ...

Fairfield Police Department arrested Rachael Lorenza Austin, 38, of 606 W. Monroe Ave., No. 13, at 2:49 p.m. Sunday at home. Austin is charged with contempt of court, violation of restraining order.Jeffrey Duane Schneider, 57, of 204 E. Hempstead Ave., Apt. 1, was arrested at home and charged with junk or abandoned vehicle.Police investigated a case file at 12:30 a.m. Friday at Green Acres beside Lot 31 about a ...

Jefferson County Sheriff?s Office is participating in the sTEP Wave Enforcement for the Memorial Day holiday and beyond, with heightened patrols to spot intoxicated drivers, enforce seat belt use, detect suspended drivers, conduct narcotic searches and find other traffic violations. Patrols also will be available to assist motorists.Heightened patrols began today and continue through June 2.

OTTUMWA ? The Indian Hills Community College Board of Trustees has tapped Marlene Sprouse to be the next president of the college.She will take over when current president Jim Lindenmayer retires in the fall.Board president John Pothoven said it was a unanimous decision to offer Sprouse the job to become the fourth president at IHCC.?I truly feel proud to serve this institution and all of the communities in ...

DES MOINES ? Iowa?s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent in April from 4.9 percent in March, and was well below the year ago rate of 5.2 percent.The U.S. unemployment rate for April eased down to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent in March.?The state?s unemployment rate continued to show improvement in April, falling to its lowest level since December 2008,? said Teresa Wahlert, director of ...

Jefferson County Sheriff?s Office responded to an accident at 7:54 p.m. Thursday. Claire Marie Slechta of 407 E. Madison Ave., was driving a 2005 Dodge Neon south on Pleasant Plain Road approximately a half-mile south of 175th Street. Her dog was in the backseat and she said he must have seen something that caused him to jump to the front seat, startling her, causing her to strike the cable barrier guard and ...

Krause recognized for providing outstanding customer serviceScott Krause, an American Family Insurance agent in Fairfield, has been recognized for providing outstanding customer experience under the American Star Excellence in Customer Experience Certification.Krause joins other American Family agents who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to outstanding customer service.Krause has been an agent ...

NEW YORK (AP) ? Columbia University is seeking to change the terms of a 93-year-old trust earmarked for white students from Iowa.The Lydia C. Roberts Graduate Fellowship stipulates that money be given only to "a person of the Caucasian race" from Iowa.Roberts left Columbia most of her $509,000 estate when she died in 1920 and created the highly restrictive fellowship. It also stipulates that students must not ...

Dr. Pam Ewell was named Van Buren Community School District?s Superintendent at a special meeting last week May 7.Ewell is currently Mount Vernon Superintendent, a position she has held since 2009. Ewell graduated from Iowa State in 1982 and received her doctorate from Iowa State in 2004. She has held the following positions: teacher at Pella, teacher at Newton, Central College professor, principal at Twin ...

AMES (AP) ? Engineers at Iowa State University are working on a way to make wind turbine towers taller by building them from concrete instead of the steel currently used.Increasing tower height to about 328 feet from the current 260 feet would mean steadier less turbulent wind conditions and longer turbine blades. ISU Professor Sri Sritharan says those changes could increase energy production by 15 percent.He ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? Iowa legislators have approved a compromise budget plan for the state justice system.On Wednesday, lawmakers in the state House and Senate approved $547 million in spending that largely goes to prisons and public safety.The budget plan is an increase over the spending in the current fiscal year. It is more than the $534 million proposed by the House and less than the $560 million pushed by the ...