Fairfield News

CUMMING, Iowa (AP) ? U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said Saturday he will not seek a sixth term in 2014, a decision that eases some of the burden the national Republican Party faces in retaking the Senate.Harkin, chairman of an influential Senate committee, announced his decision during an interview with The Associated Press, saying the move could surprise some.The 73-year-old cited his age ? he would be 81 at the end of ...

Fairfield has been chosen as the final overnight stop on RAGBRAI this summer. The announcement was made Saturday night at the RAGBRAI Route Announcement Party in Des Moines. RAGBRAI will come to Fairfield on Friday, July 26. Terry Baker, assistant director of the Fairfield Iowa Convention and Visitors Bureau, attended the Route Announcement Party. She said she was very pleased upon hearing the news, which did ...

It will cost a penny more to send a first-class letter through the United States Postal Service beginning Monday.Highlights of the new single-piece first-class mail pricing beginning Monday include:? Letters (1 ounce) ? 1-cent increase to 46 cents;? Letters additional ounces ? unchanged at 20 cents;? Letters to all international destinations (1 ounce) ? $1.10; and? Postcards ? 1-cent increase to 33 cents.New...

Fairfield school district will purchase diesel fuel through a bid process instead of the previous practice of spot purchasing 3,500 to 3,900 gallons at a time about every three months.Monday, the school board approved a recommendation to accept a proposal from Cobb Oil Co. Inc. for the remainder of this fiscal year, with an option to renew for the 2013-14 school year.The purchase will be based on Iowa Department...

The city of Fairfield is using an insurance reimbursement of $17,500 to help kick off a number of city endeavors such as establishing an annual safety fair for city departments, a tree replacement program along city streets and a partnership with Fairfield schools to replace Chautauqua Park oaks.City administrator Kevin Flanagan said the city?s liability insurance, Iowa Community Assurance Pool, sent dividends ...

Fairfield Police Department arrested two people at 2710 W. Burlington Ave. at 5:07 p.m. Thursday. Terri Lynn Camelin, 48, of Mount Pleasant, and Angel Irene Clemons, 33, of 700 North B St., are each charged with third degree theft and conspiracy.

The fate of gay marriage legislation in Rhode Island could hinge on the exemptions it affords religious groups that oppose it, the state Senate president said Friday, a day after the House overwhelmingly passed the bill.Teresa Paiva Weed said she remains opposed to the bill and has heard that the sticking point for many senators is on how broad of a religious exemption is included in the only New England state ...

WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) ?An appeals court has upheld the second-degree murder conviction of an eastern Iowa man who smothered his wife during an argument.The Iowa Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected James Blum?s claim that his attorney should?ve argued he didn?t act with malice when he killed Patricia Blum at their Washington home in 2010.The court says that argument would?ve been ?meritless? because the ...

DES MOINES (AP ? Republican lawmakers and Gov. Terry Branstad have very different ideas on how to use state budget surplus dollars.Branstad has proposed spending much of Iowa?s nearly $1 billion surplus on property tax cuts and education reforms over the next five years. But Republican leaders in the Legislature announced Thursday they would back proposals to credit extra money back to taxpayers. The state first ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? Senate Republicans said Thursday they would introduce legislation requiring that Iowans present photo identification in order to vote.Senate Minority Leader Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, said the law would protect the integrity of the voting system.Existing Iowa law doesn?t require voters to show photo identification. Although Democrats note Iowa has little history of voter fraud, Republicans argue ...

A letter containing a check for $304,715.14 arrived in the mail Jan. 17 at the Fairfield Water Department, signifying closure to a decade-old national class action lawsuit against Syngenta, the largest manufacturer of the weed killer atrazine.Before Fairfield switched to well water in 2000, the water department detected atrazine in its three reservoirs dating back as far as the late 1980s. While levels were well ...

Fairfield Fire Department investigated a call at 11:49 p.m. Thursday about smoke in a house at 501 W. Adams Ave. The fire originated in a wastebasket from cooking on a stove.