Fairfield News

A northern Iowa lawmaker has introduced a measure to overturn a ban on guns at the state?s public university campuses, but the proposal came too late to be considered during this session.Rep. Tom Shaw, a Republican from Laurens, introduced the bill Thursday. It was sent to the House Public Safety Committee, which won?t meet again before a deadline for bills to win approval in order to remain eligible for ...

Friends of Lake Darling is planning several events in the coming months to celebrate the improvements that have been made to Lake Darling State Park while turning an eye to the future.Friends president Fay Vittetoe anticipates opening a short camping season in the late spring. During the summer, she said, the park will be closed for work on the road systems.Friends meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at ...

Officers of the Jefferson County Health Center Auxiliary gather Wednesday morning to observe the removal of the old Bargain Box sign and the installation of the newer updated version. The Bargain Box, which accepts and re-sells used items, is the primary source of funding for the auxiliary, which uses those funds for health center items, such as patient lifts, new testing equipment and other needs. The new sign ...

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The battle of the bulge has been a big, fat failure for U.S. drugmakers. But that hasn?t stopped them from trying.For nearly a century, scientists have struggled to make a diet pill that helps people lose weight without side effects that range from embarrassing digestive issues to dangerous heart problems.But this week, federal health advisers endorsed the weight loss pill Qnexa even though ...

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) ? Fed up with mounting legal bills and rattled by intense scrutiny of her family and work, Sarah Palin was ready to step down as Alaska?s governor months before she left office in July 2009.Emails released Thursday, most from the last 10 months of her time in office, show she told her husband in April, ?I can?t take it anymore? and complained to spokeswoman Sharon Leighow and aide Kris Perry ...

The Jefferson County Health Center Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2013 fiscal year budget at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the health center?s conference room.The health center board is proposing a tax rate of 1.89685 per $1,000 valuation.The taxation rate is decreasing from the current $1,94323 per $1,000 taxable valuation, but because the total property value in Jefferson County is up, the ...

DISTRICT COURTBobby Oris Hanen, 47, 1582 Olive Ave., violated his probation. The terms of his probation were continued, and he was ordered to complete treatment at the Iowa Residential Treatment Center in Mount Pleasant. Hanen also pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and was ordered to pay a $315 fine, $10 drug abuse resistance education surcharge and $125 law enforcement initiative surcharge. A 30-day ...

Roger Simpson said he looked down the road and saw a little girl running outside her home but didn?t give it another thought. Police, however, said the man witnessed a murder in progress.Authorities say 9-year-old Savannah Hardin died after being forced to run for three hours as punishment for having lied to her grandmother about eating candy bars. Severely dehydrated, the girl had a seizure and died days later. ...

Fairfield Middle School fifth-grader Nicole Singer slides replica tobacco chew cans back to contestants in a ?Through with Chew? game during lunchtime Wednesday in the Commons. The event was part of FMS?s observance of ?Through with Chew Week.? Students competed for prizes by sliding the chew cans onto ?Through with Chew? squares, taking care to avoid the consequences of chewing tobacco: rotten teeth, mouth ...

Area school districts currently are observing Engineers Week, but are promoting their engineering programs throughout the year.Engineers Week is the public culmination of a year-round portfolio of programs, according to the Engineers Week Foundation website, www.eweek.org.Area school districts are doing their part to promote interest and understanding of math, science and the basics of engineering.Fairfield ...

Hanson sponsors bill to keep local tax money in Iowa DES MOINES ? State Rep. Curt Hanson of Fairfield has sponsored a bill in the Iowa House to give Iowa businesses first preference to win state and local contracts.The bill is designed to give local businesses a boost and prevent the tax dollars of Iowans from going out of the state or country.?When the tax dollars of Iowans are at stake, we should take every ...

Short-staffed since November, the Fairfield Police Department will soon be returning to full force.Monday, the Fairfield City Council will be asked to approve two new hires, bringing the 14-person department back up to 13. A third new officer is in line for employment as soon as one of the first two hires completes field training.?We can only handle two at a time to keep the program consistent,? explained chief ...