Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad announced Friday he has commuted the life prison sentence of Rasberry Williams, a 67-year-old who has served 38 years in prison after a 1974 shooting outside a Waterloo pool hall. “Mr. Williams’ record while incarcerated has been extraordinary,” Branstad stated in an April 26 letter to the Iowa Board of Parole. [...]
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Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has denied commutations for 10 inmates serving life sentences for murder, kidnapping and robbery. Branstad is still considering commuting the life prison term of Rasberry Williams, a 66-year-old who has served 38 years in prison for a 1974 shooting outside a Waterloo pool hall. “The Williams’ application is still under consideration [...]
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Learn About Tableau Iowa inmates serving life prison terms during the last 30 years are more than ten times less likely to see their sentences commuted than in the previous 38 years. From 1945 to 1983, Iowa governors commuted the sentences of an average 5.5 inmates a year, according to data provided by the Iowa [...]
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The Iowa City school district likely will lower the tax rate it collects on property owners, but by how much remains a mystery. A budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts July 1 was released by the district Thursday and says the tax rate could decrease by anywhere between 24 cents to 40 cents [...]
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The chairman of the Iowa Business Council called for “transformation” of Iowa’s educational system Monday after reporting “no significant change” in the education and workforce readiness category of his organization’s annual Iowa Competitiveness Index. “We’re asking the members of the Iowa Legislature to move forward with education transformation,” said Stan A. Askren, chairman, president and CEO of HNI in Muscatine, [...]
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DES MOINES — Iowa schools may be forced to lay off teachers, postpone purchases, eliminate support positions and reduce curriculum offerings if Gov. Terry Branstad and state lawmakers fail to decide by March the level of increased state aid that K-12 districts will receive for next school year, according to superintendent survey responses released [...]
continue »Iowa’s first chief information officer, hired in April, was paid $11,250 in relocation expenses, according to records obtained by The Gazette. Robert von Wolffradt served as CIO for the state of Wyoming before moving to Iowa last spring. The Gazette started examining relocation expenses of state officials last summer after we learned the state’s revenue [...]
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Gov. Terry Branstad said Friday that it is “up to the people to decide” whether Iowa should expand its gambling opportunities. Branstad, a gambling opponent who previously signed legislation establishing a state lottery and high-stakes casino gaming at state-licensed parimutuel tracks and riverboats due to strong public support, deferred the question of whether Iowa should [...]
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Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad announced Monday he will give the state’s civil rights commission director a $5,000 bonus for reducing an investigative backlog. The bonus pushes Beth Townsend past the $79,000 annual salary limit set for her position. “Beth’s impressive leadership and management has resulted in more efficient case work, reduced backlog, streamlined intake and [...]
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Iowa labor leaders criticized Gov. Terry Branstad Friday for giving bonuses to directors while asking many state workers to accept a wage freeze and start paying health insurance premiums. “I don’t know what we did to the governor,” said Marty Hathaway, a correctional officer at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville and a [...]
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