Fairfield News

Second presidential terms are never easy ? even for George Washington.More often, they?re fraught with peril, frequently marred by scandal, failure, hubris, and burnout, and souring relations with Congress.President Barack Obama acknowledges the dangers of overreach but vows to steer cautiously. The odds are against him.He?s the 20th U.S. president to serve all or parts of two terms. Most of the others have ...

Attorneys for the city of Council Bluffs and two former police detectives have asked a judge to reconsider declaring a mistrial in a wrongful conviction case and find that a jury decided in their favor.Two Omaha, Neb., men sued the city and the retired officers in 2005, claiming the officers coerced witnesses into lying and hid evidence from their attorneys during their 1978 trials. Terry Harrington sought more ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? Gov. Terry Branstad unveiled a budget proposal Tuesday that includes plans to substantially cut Iowa?s commercial property taxes, a step he contends is necessary to compete with neighboring states.Branstad?s roughly $6.5 billion financial plan also limits property tax increases for residents, allocates new spending for education and establishes incentives to keep more medical school graduates ...

DES MOINES ? The 2013 Legislature opened Monday and State Rep. Curt Hanson of Fairfield was officially sworn in to office in the Iowa House of Representatives.?It is a great honor to serve the people of Jefferson, Davis and Van Buren counties in the Iowa House. I?m going to listen and work hard this year to make progress strengthening our economy and the middle class. If we can put the politics aside and work ...

Being chained as a 10-year-old for more than two weeks in a coffin-size box in a suburban New York dungeon was, Katie Beers says 20 years later, ?the best thing that happened to me? because it allowed her to escape a life of abuse.On the 20th anniversary of her ordeal, Beers has co-written a book with a television reporter who covered her kidnapping. ?Buried Memories: Katie Beers? Story? (Title Town Publishing) ...

Fairfield Fire Department responded to a vehicle accident at Main Street and Washington Avenue at 6:30 p.m. Monday for cleanup.Firefighters responded to a call at 2:58 p.m. Sunday at 207 North C St. A tree had fallen on a gas meter beside a house. The gas was shut-off and tree removed. Firefighters stood by until Alliant Energy arrived.Firefighters responded to a call about a dryer fire at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at ...

The Fairfield Little League will have more room for expansion and improvements in the upcoming season thanks to a land donation from Maharishi University of Management to the city.The parcel of land, assessed roughly at $18,000, is adjacent to the baseball diamond on the southeast side of Fairfield along Glasgow Road. Little League board member Mark Myers said the site will be perfect for new batting cages and a ...

A new Iowa law began today, allowing military veterans to have a ?veteran? designation put on their driver?s license or nonoperator identification card.The Iowa Department of Transportation is implementing the law nearly six months earlier than is required, to demonstrate the state?s support for its veterans.To get the designation, an honorably discharged veteran must present a copy of their DD 214 or applicable...

Iowa Department of Transportation is announcing office closures in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday.All Iowa D.O.T. business locations will be closed Monday.All Iowa D.O.T. driver?s license stations, normally open Tuesday through Saturday, will be closed Saturday, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.Normal business hours will resume at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.The Iowa D.O.T.?s ...

Jefferson County roads department worked on maintenance issues last week, clearing some trees along county road 187th Boulevard in Locust Grove Township, northeast of Batavia, which upset property owner Paul Miller.County engineer Scott Cline told the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors today that his crew was clearing overgrown brush and removing trees that overhang the roadway, and all the clearing was ...

Jefferson County Sheriff ?s Office responded to a deer ? vehicle accident at 5:36 p.m. Sunday. Zachary Ryan William Cole of Douds was driving a 2002 Grand Prix east on Libertyville Road and struck a deer near Juniper Avenue. The car has an estimated $2,000 in damages.

MOUNT PLEASANT (GTNS) ? According to Regional Utility Service Systems officials, the city of Mount. Union is $19,600 past due on its residential billing accounts, and RUSS has decided it is time to do something about it.According to RUSS Executive Director Bruce Hudson, the organization?s attorney filed paperwork Dec. 26 at the Henry County Courthouse for legal action against Mount Union.RUSS has filed a ...