Fairfield News

BOSTON ? A Fairfield photographer witnessed the bombings at the Boston Marathon Monday that left three dead and more than 180 injured.Jim Davis, vice president of the Fairfield-based company Marathon Foto, was in the crowd snapping photographs of the runners as they approached the finish line. He was about 50 feet from one of the blasts.?I felt it,? he said. ?My ears are still ringing from it.?Pieces of debris ...

Heavy rains produced flash flooding in and around Fairfield Thursday. A section of Highway 34 south and west of Fairfield was closed that afternoon when the water level crept over the road.

DES MOINES (AP) ? Gov. Terry Branstad says he'll release his income tax returns to reporters, continuing his annual practice.Reporters will be briefed by Jeff Boeyink, the governor's chief of staff, and his accountant, Jamie Ward, at a Friday afternoon briefing where Branstad's returns will be made available.Last year, Branstad's returns showed a sharp drop in earnings since being elected governor in 2010. He ...

LIBERTYVILLE ? Libertyville experienced a water main break Thursday.High water levels and road conditions have made locating the break challenging.At this time repairs are being made that would assure all water customers have water. Residents may experience low water pressure until the problem is resolved.The city asks residents to conserve water as much as possible.A boil order also is in place and will ...

FORT DODGE (AP) ? Authorities say a 74-year-old woman has died after her car was hit by a locomotive at a railroad crossing in north-central Iowa.The Iowa State Patrol says the accident occurred around 8 p.m. Thursday as Sheryl Parks was driving north on a county road about seven miles west-southwest of Fort Dodge.The patrol says Parks didn't stop at the crossing and was hit by the Union Pacific engine. The ...

The newest dispatcher at Jefferson County Law Center, Shannon Price, was hired in December, trained on the job and has been working her own rotating shifts after the first nine weeks.Dispatchers, the people who answer 9-1-1 emergency calls, work 12-hour shifts in Jefferson County.As the newest hire, Price fills in among the other shifts, sometimes working 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. or 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.?It doesn?t matter ...

The city of Fairfield experienced several sanitary sewer overflows from Wednesday and Thursday as a result of the flooding.The city estimates 3.7 million gallons of sanitary sewer waste overflowed. The torrential rains that deposited more than 5 inches of rain from Tuesday through Thursday night, accompanied by moist soil, infiltrated the sanitary sewer and overloaded the system.The city is preparing to upgrade ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? A second campaign adviser to former Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has come forward with allegations that the Minnesota congresswoman improperly paid an Iowa state senator to work on her campaign just months before last year?s Iowa caucuses.Andy Parrish, who was Bachmann?s chief of staff and later served on her Iowa campaign, is supporting claims made by another former ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? Senate Democrats and House Republicans rapidly traded education proposals Thursday, suggesting that a compromise deal might not be far off.Early in the day, Democrats said they would accept an offer Republicans made last week to increase general school funding, but stressed that they still want to implement a Democratic proposal to boost teacher pay and offer leadership incentives to educators....

IOWA CITY (AP) ? A lawsuit filed Thursday seeks a court order that would stop police from enforcing Iowa laws that make it a crime to disrespect the American flag.The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa brought the lawsuit on behalf of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., whose members are known for protesting outside funerals with anti-gay messages.Police chiefs in Council Bluffs and Red Oak threatened ...

The Fairfield Community School District will change the way it orders food in school year 2013-14 as well as change the consequences for student lunch accounts that have a negative balance, beginning next month.The school board approved Auxiliary Services Director Fred McElwee?s recommendation for Fairfield schools to be part of a food-purchasing cooperative with Cardinal, Davis County and Van Buren schools at ...

Firefighter gear and suits will need a lot of drying time after 17 Fairfield firefighters battled a blaze at Immanuel Lutheran Church throughout the stormy night, from 11:23 p.m. Wednesday to just before 5 a.m. today. The Fairfield Police Department log noted receiving several calls about the fire Wednesday night.