DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) – A federal judge Sunday ruled that he will not block Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s challenge to the ballots of roughly 2,200 potential noncitizens. The ACLU of Iowa filed a lawsuit on behalf of four naturalized citizens who had their registrations challenged. In court Friday, attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that Pate’s directive treated naturalized citizens and people who were born here differently. Pate required any potential noncitizen on his list to vote via a provisional ballot and return to the county auditor’s office with proof of their citizenship for their vote to count. In Sunday‘s ruling, Judge Stephen Locher disagreed with the plaintiffs’ argument that Pate was discriminating against people based on their nation of origin. In a news release after the ruling, Pate continued to push the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to hand over names of potential noncitizens on the voter rolls. Friday, the federal government confirmed 250 names on Iowa’s voter registry appeared to be non-citizens. But it is not sharing that list with Iowa officials yet. In court, attorneys for Pate said they hoped that list would arrive by Election Day on Tuesday.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC/KCRG) – A Davenport man faces kidnapping and assault charges for an incident near Centennial Park in Davenport Friday morning. Yonas Seyoum, 45, is charged with first-degree kidnapping, assault while participating in a felony, and willful injury causing serious injury. According to the affidavit, police responded to the area of 315 S Marquette Street Friday morning where they found a man bleeding with several bruises and a burn mark on the back of his hand. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. According to police, a witness said they saw Seyoum dragging the victim off a gravel road to the west of 315 South Marquette Street and preventing the victim from getting away. Police say the witness saw Seyoum in possession of a walking stick, an axe and a burning jacket or blanket that he had allegedly put on the victim. According to the affidavit, the witness told police he offered Seyoum $1,000 to stop assaulting the victim. Seyoum allegedly accepted the money, returned $60 back to the witness and walked away. The witness told police the victim said he had been “tortured for two and a half hours.” Seyoum is being held in Scott County Jail on a $1 million bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12 at 3 p.m.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Cedar Rapids Water Pollution Control Facility is getting some much needed upgrades. The city held a groundbreaking for the project improvements at the plant. The project will replace the almost 50-year-old plant because the equipment that helps hold and process the water has worn down. The City of Cedar Rapids approved the almost $350 million project back in August. The city received a loan from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to fund the improvements in September. The state revolving loan is the largest DNR has ever awarded in the whole state of Iowa. The upgrades to the plant will help it treat wastewater in a new cost-effective and more environmentally sustainable way, in addition to cleaner water. The Water Pollution Control Facility also treats the wastewater of Marion, Hiawatha, Palo, Robbins, and other parts of Linn County. The improvement project is slated to be completed by 2029…