Fairfield News

A panel of budget experts added $25 million on Thursday to its projection of how much the state will collect in taxes this year because the economy is slowly recovering. The Revenue Estimating Conference also increased next year?s projection by $41.7 million.?On the bright side, the economy has not slid back into recession,? said Holly Lyons, a member of the conference from the Legislative Services Agency.Th...

Postal carrier Janet Pilcher got into the Christmas spirit by wearing a Santa hat as she delivered the mail to her uptown customers Thursday morning.

Only a few weeks before the first Republican presidential contest, some Iowans are on the attack like never before.They?re writing angry blog posts, doing research to discredit their opponent and railing against elites, but this vitriol isn?t aimed at Republican candidates. It?s focused on University of Iowa journalism professor Stephen Bloom, whose article for The Atlantic magazine?s website painted Iowans as ...

MILAN, Italy (AP) ? No murder weapon. Faulty DNA. No motive. Even the time of death was wrong by nearly an hour.The Italian appeals court that cleared Amanda Knox in the killing of her roommate explained its ruling on Thursday: The evidence just didn?t hold up.In a 143-page document that criticized nearly every stage of the investigation that led to the conviction of Knox and her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele ...

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled prosecutors cannot use a victim?s deposition as testimony at trial, saying it would violate the defendant?s right to confront his accuser.The court also ruled Friday the deposition would have been hearsay if admitted at trial.Daniel Rainsong was charged in Story County with theft and dependent adult abuse. Prosecutors say he stole $15,000 each from his mother, who died in ...

A priority for the Fairfield Public Library continues to be weeding its collection to reduce the median age of available literature.?The gold standard for a public library?s collection is to have a median age of five years,? library director Rebecca Huggins told the Fairfield City Council during her annual report Monday. ?You can achieve that five year median age two ways: you can add material that?s irresistib...

National Guard soldiers compete for honors to be the best at their job, the best in physical fitness and in military knowledge in the Guard?s Best Warrior Competition.In January, 10 soldiers will compete against one another, using the Jefferson County Loop Trail for part of the contest. Two will move up and represent their battalion at the troop command level.?We?d like to conduct a road march in January on ...

The old adage that ?Many hands make light work? is certainly proven each year when hundreds of volunteers give of themselves to provide grocery boxes for those in need of assistance.Tonight at 5:30, many of those volunteers will gather at the Nazarene Family Center at the corner of Briggs Avenue and Sixth Street to fill 469 boxes.Coordinator of the event Jane McMahon said while it only takes about an hour ...

These traffic charges were filed with the Jefferson County Clerk of Court:Tiffany Dawn Stansbeary, Batavia, following too close.Levenia Lucky McCray, Orlando, Fla., speeding.Benjamin Scott Cooper, Seymour, speeding.Martin Gonzalez-Andrade, Ottumwa, no valid driver?s license.Erin Elizabeth Schneider, Des Moines, speeding.Richard Michael Guinn, Union, Mo., speeding.Dorthe Kristiane Noergaard, ...

DISTRICT COURTPatricia Ann Buffington, 43, 806 E. Burlington Ave., pleaded guilty to public intoxication-third offense and assault on persons engaged in certain occupations. Two 180-day jail sentences were suspended in favor of two years probation. Buffington also must pay $940 in fines.Miguel Angel Martinez-Marron, 30, 2709 W. Briggs Ave., pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated-first offense and was ...

Shifting from confrontation to cooperation, congressional leaders expressed optimism Thursday that agreement was near on extending this year?s payroll tax cut, renewing unemployment benefits and averting a federal shutdown.?We can extend payroll tax relief for American workers and create new jobs and keep the government running and, frankly, we can do it in a bipartisan way,? House Speaker John Boehner, ...

A cable TV repairman got quite a surprise when he walked into the basement of a New Jersey home.There was a 500-pound bear sound asleep on the floor.The bear had been spotted wandering in the neighborhood in Hopatcong earlier Wednesday. It?s not clear how it got into the home.The bear ambled out of the house before state Fish and Game officials arrived.WNBC-TV in New York reports the officials fired a ...