Opinion

DUBUQUE (AP) ? A John Deere plant in Dubuque has laid off 65 employees in its manufacturing section.Waterloo television station KWWL reports the employees at John Deere Dubuque Works were notified Thursday. The layoffs are effective June 24.John Deere spokesman Ken Golden says despite recent strong earnings, the decision is based on sales and demand in its construction and forestry division. That equipment is ...

Fairfield Fire Department responded at 1:48 p.m. Thursday to a report of smoke in the gym at Fairfield Area Career Academy Lincoln Center (former Lincoln Elementary School). Firefighters used a positive pressure fan to clear the gym. Students had discharged a fire extinguisher and there was no fire. Firefighters returned to the station at 1:59 p.m.

Fairfield Police Department investigated a third-degree burglary at 4 p.m. Thursday in the 400 block of East Kirkwood Avenue.Police received a report at 1:13 p.m. Thursday of two vehicles broken into in the 300 block of East Kirkwood Avenue. An estimated $5 in change was stolen.Police received a report at 9:57 a.m. Thursday of a pink Nintendo DSL, valued at $150, was stolen from a vehicle at an unknown location ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? Gov. Terry Branstad says he'll release his income tax returns to reporters, continuing his annual practice.Reporters will be briefed by Jeff Boeyink, the governor's chief of staff, and his accountant, Jamie Ward, at a Friday afternoon briefing where Branstad's returns will be made available.Last year, Branstad's returns showed a sharp drop in earnings since being elected governor in 2010. He ...

FORT DODGE (AP) ? Authorities say a 74-year-old woman has died after her car was hit by a locomotive at a railroad crossing in north-central Iowa.The Iowa State Patrol says the accident occurred around 8 p.m. Thursday as Sheryl Parks was driving north on a county road about seven miles west-southwest of Fort Dodge.The patrol says Parks didn't stop at the crossing and was hit by the Union Pacific engine. The ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? A second campaign adviser to former Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has come forward with allegations that the Minnesota congresswoman improperly paid an Iowa state senator to work on her campaign just months before last year?s Iowa caucuses.Andy Parrish, who was Bachmann?s chief of staff and later served on her Iowa campaign, is supporting claims made by another former ...

DES MOINES (AP) ? Senate Democrats and House Republicans rapidly traded education proposals Thursday, suggesting that a compromise deal might not be far off.Early in the day, Democrats said they would accept an offer Republicans made last week to increase general school funding, but stressed that they still want to implement a Democratic proposal to boost teacher pay and offer leadership incentives to educators....

Dalton Rippey plays bass for the Fairfield Middle School sixth-grade jazz band rehearsal this morning before school. The sixth-grade jazz band and the combined seventh- and eighth-grade jazz band will be in concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the FMS cafetorium. The concert will include refreshments in a casual jazz club style atmosphere. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for students. Activity passes will be honored.

DES MOINES (AP) ? State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald waded Thursday into the partisan debate over whether to expand Medicaid in Iowa, attacking Gov. Terry Branstad's alternative proposal as a "bad financial deal."The Democratic treasurer said that Branstad's Healthy Iowa proposal would cost the state $163 million in the 2014-15 fiscal year, compared with a $4.7 million price tag for expanding Medicaid under the ...

The first witness for the defense in the murder trial of Tyler Webster in Jefferson County was an ex-wife of Buddy Frisbie, who was killed Aug. 25, shot by Webster.Carissa Godwin testified Thursday morning, but before she or the jury entered the courtroom after a morning recess, the Honorable Myron Gookin denied the defense and sided with the state about limiting the extent of her testimony.?Mr. Adams [defense ...

The Fairfield Dog Park in O.B. Nelson Park will be closed next week so it can be reseeded.Fairfield Park and Recreation Department park superintendent Pam Craff said the park might remain closed depending on how muddy it is. She said park and rec will post signs on the gate if it is closed so residents can see it from the parking lot.

OKOBOJI (AP) ? Another sign of spring: The fundraising car has fallen through the ice at West Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa.The Spirit Lake Sunrise Kiwanis Club and American Red Cross sell tickets as a fundraiser each year. Buyers record their best guesses for when a car placed on ice in Smith Bay will fall through. The car engine and all fluids are removed from the car so it won't pollute the lake.Last year ...