Fairfield News

CEDAR RAPIDS (AP) ? Farmers could stand to lose as much as any segment of the economy if political leaders don?t avert the fast-approaching ?fiscal cliff.?The impact on farmers of potential changes to the estate tax is ?extremely dramatic,? compared with other fiscal cliff effects, which include income and payroll tax rate increases, said Dave Miller, director of research for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.If ...

In a dizzyingly short time span, Republicans have converted Michigan from a seemingly impregnable fortress of organized labor into a right-to-work state, leaving outgunned Democrats and union activists with little recourse but to shake their fists and seek retribution at the ballot box.The state House swiftly approved two bills reducing unions? strength Tuesday, one dealing with private-sector workers and the ...

Jefferson County Board of Supervisors will have an extra meeting at 1 p.m. Monday in the Jefferson County Courthouse first-floor meeting room to prepare next year?s budget.?We?ll only be doing our own, board of supervisors budget at this time,? said board chairman Steve Burgmeier. ?The auditor sent out budgetary timelines and some things need to be done prior to the end of this [calendar] year. All county ...

It was 4 p.m. Dec. 3 when Deb Smith of of West Broadway Avenue heard a knock at her front door.When she went to see who it was, she found her paper carrier, a slight teenager standing in the cold. While it was the same hour on any given weekday Brayden Wald usually brought her The Fairfield Ledger, Smith said she could tell something was wrong.?He looked very concerned,? she said. ?He doesn?t usually knock with ...

American fourth-graders are performing better than they were four years ago in math and reading, but students four years older show no such progress, a global study released Tuesday revealed.Although the U.S. remains in the top dozen or so countries in all subjects tested, the gap between the U.S. and the top-performing nations is much wider at the eighth-grade level, especially in math.?When you start looking ...

The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Dec. 26 in the county courthouse about Ryan Robertson?s construction permit application for a confinement feeding operation that would add 1,476 swine to his 2,200-head operation north of Pleasant Plain.The supervisors plan to score the Master Matrix at next week?s regular board meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. Dec. 17, in the first ...

Fairfield Police Department arrested Michael Small, 27, of Fairfield at 1:55 a.m. today at 701 W. Kirkwood Ave., on a warrant for violation of a no contact order.Scotimay Small, 18, of Fairfield was arrested at 3:02 a.m. today at Leisure Living, Lot 57, on a warrant for aiding and abetting a violation of a no contact order.

Fear and frustration course through the lunch crowd at Robie?s Country Store and Deli, a popular outpost 500 miles from where Washington is again locked in tense negotiations over taxes and spending as a critical deadline looms.?I?m worried,? Lorraine Cadren of nearby Manchester says between bites of her chicken sandwich. Her doubt in the nation?s elected leaders is palpable: ?I?m not sure what?s going to come ...

Many factors contribute to an individual?s overall health, according to Fairfield?s Blue Zones initiative organizer Ken Daley, and thanks to the community?s Blue Zone designation from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Fairfield is ready to address its many facets.?We are trying to create a vibrant community that is healthy and long-lived,? said Daley. ?That is a very complex undertaking; it?s not just about exercise ...

Fairfield Police Department arrested Roan Douglas Bachar, 17, of 1005 S. Second St., at 3:47 p.m. Sunday in the 300 block of West Monroe Avenue and charged him with delivery of a controlled substance, less than a half-ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.Daniel Law Tudor, 23, of 1000 N. Fourth St., was cited for driving the wrong way on a one-way street at Second Street and Briggs Avenue at ...

While it IS Dec. 10 in Iowa, and we are accustomed to vagaries in the weather, many are shivering today with the sudden downturn in temperatures accompanied by gusty winds. Those who work out of doors had to bundle up this morning, including mail carrier Doug Poole who donned gloves and layers, including a hooded sweatshirt, against the chill in the air.

The decaying carcass of a whale that washed onto a California beach was towed out to sea Saturday, five days after it washed ashore and created a stench near the Malibu homes of movie stars and millionaires.A tugboat hired by a homeowners? association towed the carcass of the huge fin whale about 20 miles from shore, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Brian Riley said.The 40-foot-long, 40,000-pound juvenile male ...