Fairfield News

Marilyn Nance takes advantage of unseasonably warm temperatures this morning to give her mini van a thorough cleaning. Temperatures crept close to the 60-degree mark by midday, and the warm spell is forecasted to hang around until early next week. Snow isn?t mentioned until Jan. 14.

RICHLAND ? The identity of an individual killed in a farming accident this morning is not being released until all the family has been notified.The Richland Fire Department and Richland First Responders responded to the accident just outside of Richland around 7 a.m.An individual became trapped in the grain while emptying a grain bin.The Sigourney Fire Department and Keokuk County Ambulance Service also ...

Legislators will be returning to Des Moines Monday for the start of the 2012 legislative session.Hot topics will likely include the state budget, commercial property tax reform and education reform.After last year?s extended session, Sen. Sandy Greiner expects an agreement between the chambers to move the funnel up one week will keep the session on track. The number of ?really caustic ? really contentious ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? A debate over increasing Iowa?s gas tax is looming at the Legislature.The Gazette in Cedar Rapids says lawmakers who see a need to raise revenue to fix the state?s aging roads system predict there will be support for a phased increase of up to 10 cents a gallon.Sen. Tim Kapucian, a Keystone Republican, is the ranking member of the Senate Transportation Committee. He says the plan is loosely ...

Art student Andrzej Sobiepan didn?t want to wait decades for his work to appear in museums. So he took matters in his own hands, covertly hanging one of his paintings in a major Polish gallery.By Wednesday, the young artist was getting plenty of attention after a nationwide TV channel reported on his stunt at the National Museum in the southwestern city of Wroclaw. He told reporters he hoped galleries would give ...

These traffic charges were filed with the Jefferson County Clerk of Court:Ashley Lois Clark, Des Moines, speeding.Eric Lynn Dodson, Ottumwa, speeding.Shelby Lauren Mauck, Batavia, possession of alcohol under the legal age.Jerod Daniel Koelling, Union, Mo., failure to maintain control.Sultan Sami Salah, 702 Orchard Drive, failure to wear a seat belt.Edwin Alan Fox, Ottumwa, speeding.Pamela Lynn Ledger, ...

IOWA CITY (AP) ? A New York lawyer representing a trust that turned in a lottery ticket hours before the one-year deadline for a $14.3 million jackpot said Wednesday he will come to Iowa to explain the mysterious circumstances, including who will get the money and why they waited to claim it.In his first comments on one of the nation?s biggest lottery mysteries, Crawford Shaw of Bedford, N.Y., told The Associated...

CPA Associates PC, Certified Public Accountants, has released an audit report on Southeast Iowa Multi-County Solid Waste Management Agency in Richland.CPA Associates PC reported SEMCO had operating receipts of $1,487,205 for the year ended June 30, 2011.SEMCO had operating disbursements totaling $921,097 and new cell development disbursements totaling $409,068.A copy of the report is available for review in ...

DES MOINES ? Iowa?s continued economic recovery has led to a decrease in the state?s unemployment rate. As such, the three month average rate has fallen below the required 6 percent for Iowa to qualify for the Extended Unemployment Compensation Tier 3 federal benefits program.This will decrease the additional weeks available to Iowans from 47 to 34 after Jan. 14.?While Iowa is fortunate to have one of the ...

Iowa has approved a 9.3 percent rate increase by Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield for individual health insurance premiums.The Gazette says Iowa Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss approved the request last week. The decision means rate increases of up to $45 a month beginning April 1 for 86,000 individual Wellmark policyholders ages 65 and under.Wellmark insures about 1.8 million Iowa residents, most through ...

A squeaker of an Iowa victory behind him, a smiling Mitt Romney jetted to New Hampshire insisting that his staying power sets him apart from caucus runners-up Rick Santorum and Ron Paul and the rest of the GOP presidential field. Michele Bachmann underscored his point by quitting the race, and Rick Perry wavered.The withdrawal of Bachmann, who called herself the true conservative of the bunch, left her supporters...

The lack of chemicals used in organic production has created a challenge for farmers in caring for their animals: Few veterinarians are trained to treat livestock without antibiotics or other modern drugs.The shortage of veterinarians trained in organic practices has become more noticeable as the industry has boomed.There were about 3,350 organic livestock farms in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of ...