(Radio Iowa) – Top state officials have hired a Washington, D.C. law firm to investigate TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media giant. The state’s Executive Council has approved a contract with Cooper and Kirk, a law firm that worked on the state of Indiana’s lawsuits against TikTok. Indiana filed two lawsuits against TikTok in December, accusing the company of violating child safety and data security laws. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird recommended that firm represent the State of Iowa in possible litigation against TikTok as well an investigation of the company.

In late 2022, Governor Kim Reynolds issued an executive order that bans TikTok from all devices owned by state government. It also prohibits state agencies from having TikTok accounts.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office has released information with regard to three accidents that took place between July 27th and August 6th. At around 8:45-a.m. Sunday (Aug. 6), a 2010 Chevy pickup driven by 15-year-old Lucy Rose Knutter, of Adair, was traveling west on White Pole Road, when the teen failed to negotiate a left curve. The pickup continued straight and went onto the right shoulder and veered left. The teen over-corrected, sending the pickup into the westbound ditch, where it flipped over onto the driver’s side. No injuries were reported. Knutter was cited for Failure to provide proof of financial liability-accident related. The Chevy K1500 Silverado pickup sustained $10,000 damage, and was declared a total loss.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says at around 6:30-p.m. on August 1st, a runaway vehicle caused a total of $9,500 damage, but no one was injured. Authorities say Marvin Meyer was operating a Bobcat ski-steer loader and attempting to drive it up onto a trailer near 7157 Andrew’s Terrace at Lake Panorama. The Ford F-350 pickup truck and trailer were parked at the top of a hill, in a parked position. Once the Bobcat got onto the trailer, the vehicle and trailer began to move forward, downhill. The truck, trailer and skid steer loader – with Marvin Meyer inside – went down the hill and struck a parked 2012 Honda Accord in the driveway at 7157 Andrew’s Terrace. No citations were issued.

And, on July 27th, a 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SUV driven by 22-year-old Erika Marie Martell, of Jefferson, was traveling south on Highway 25 at 180th Street, when the vehicle struck a deer. The accident happened at around 4:48-a.m. Martell was not injured. Her SUV sustained $3,000 damage.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – a Man from Texas escaped injury, but faces charges, following a fiery crash late Thursday night, in Guthrie County. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports 26-year-old Owen Douglas Carpenter, of Tuscola, TX, was charged with OWI/1st offense, and Dominion/control of a firearm/offensive weapon by a Felon, following an investigation into the crash that happened at around 11:47-p.m., at Fig Avenue and 140th Street, in Guthrie County.

Authorities say Coon Rapids Fire was dispatched a little after 1-a.m. Friday to a fire near the Whiterock Conservancy, after a citizen reported seeing something on fire in the area, with lots of black smoke. Fire crews arrived and were able to locate the source of the fire in a ravine on the west end of a field, north of 140th Street, between Fig and Dogwood Avenue. When fire crews arrived, no one was around the vehicle, a 2019 Nissan Frontier. The vehicle was a total loss.

Photo courtesy the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office.

A Guthrie County Deputy arrived on the scene at around 2:16-a.m., Friday, and was informed fire crews located a man about 100-yards west of the vehicle in a fence row. The man was laying on his back, unresponsive, but breathing, and appeared to be intoxicated. The man was identified as Owen Carpenter. While surveying the scene, the Deputy located what appeared to be a magazine to a weapon, with a burned handgun sitting in what was the center console of the vehicle. The gun turned out to be a Glock 17.

Carpenter’s breath alcohol content tested at 0.221%. Carpenter was prohibited from possessing a weapon, following his plea of guilty to a Felony in Texas, for Possession of a Controlled Substance.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors received a weekly update from County Engineer Karen Albert, during their meeting this (Tuesday) morning, in Red Oak.

She said applications for a truck driver’s position are open until the end of the day Monday, August 21^st. Applications are available on the County’s website and at the Engineer’s Office, and may be dropped-off at the Engineer’s Office or e-mail to them. A CDL is required . If you don’t have one, you will have 60 days from the beginning of employment with the County to obtain it.

Karen Albert said also….

And, the contractor working on the Montgomery-Page road south of Villisca, has started placing rock on the road to stabilize the road prior to seal-coating the road.

The Montgomery County Board received a County Information Technology update from IT Director Sonia Morrison.

In other business, the Montgomery County Supervisors approved reports for Sheriff’s and Recorder’s Fees, and claims payable for August 10^th. They tabled discussion and/or action on Tuckpointing, because one of the bids won’t be available until sometime on Wednesday.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Cass County (IA) met this (Tuesday) morning at the courthouse, in Atlantic. During their session, the Board discussed consenting to the issuance of a Solid Waste Facilities Revenue Capital Loan Note by the Cass County Environmental Control Agency Board (Landfill). Board Chair Steve Baier..

Supervisor Steve Green explained the loan will be capped at (Authorized up to…) $1.5-million, but is expected to come-in much less than that.

Basically, it involves putting a permanent cap over the current landfill area. A public hearing on the matter will be held at the Cass County Courthouse beginning at 6-p.m., on August 22^nd. It was noted also, that the County is not coming after tax dollars, because it is a loan, and not a bond. The pre-approved loan is through the State Revolving Loan Fund – which has a low interest rate. It will be paid back through revenues generated from the Transfer Station. The term of the loan is 20-years.

The Board also discussed the County use of local banks that contribute to the community for the checking account. Supervisor Bernard Pettinger commented the County currently gets Zero-percent interest on its investment account at Wells Fargo Bank, here in Atlantic.

Supervisor Wendy Richter said the information from County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall shows the rates at Wells Fargo are not that low.

Pettinger and Supervisor Mark O’Brien recommended the County switch its checking account from Wells Fargo to another, local bank. A specific bank was not mentioned. Ultimately, Tracey Marshall has the final say in whether or not the accounts remain with Wells Fargo. The Board agreed to recommend the County use local banks in its financial transactions.

With regard to the County Employee Credit Card Policy, Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns said she’s been in contact with the County’ accounting firm, who recommended one card each, per county office.

Steve Green said he thinks the County needs to downgrade the amount of credit cards in circulation. After lengthy discussion, the Board agreed to adopt the policy as revised.

The Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, agreed to send a letter of communication to the tenant at 707 Poplar Street (The Cambridge Law Firm), with regard to their share of the utilities on the leased part of the building. The tenant has been paying a flat fee of $420 per month for the past eight-years, for utilities, pro-rated for the square footage of their part of the building, or 60%. Current rates would make that $639 per month. The letter asks the Firm for the amount of utilities they owe according to the lease. That amounts to $17,324.

In his weekly report to the Board, County Engineer Trent Wolken updated the Supervisors on bridge projects. He said they’ve also been adding spot road rock where needed.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – An Iowa City man was sentenced yesterday (Monday) to 15 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography. According to public court documents, and evidence presented at sentencing, 23-year-old William Robert Adams, was identified through a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after suspected child pornography was found on the social media platform Snapchat. During the execution of a search warrant on Adams and his residence, law enforcement located numerous pictures and videos of children ranging in age from toddler to age 16. Law enforcement also found evidence that Adams was buying and selling child pornography online. Some of the images were determined to be sadistic or masochistic. In total, Adams was attributed with possessing over 5,000 child pornographic images.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Adams will be required to serve 5 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Adams was also ordered to pay restitution pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2259. This section requires restitution be paid to victims in an amount determined by the court, but no less than $3,000 per victim.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children.

Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.

(Radio Iowa) – A Pew Research Center study finds this is the oldest-ever U-S Senate, with a median age of 65 years, versus the average age of the U-S population at 39. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is 89 and is the second-oldest member of the chamber. A Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial on Monday refers to the U-S Senate as a “senior living community,” but Grassley says he feels he’s doing a good job of staying in touch with 20-somethings and teens, as well as everyday Iowans. “Well, it’s not hard for me to do it because I’ve been doing it for 43 years in a row now, and that is visiting each of the 99 counties every year to have a Q-and-A with constituents,” Grassley says. “In other words, it’s not like just driving through the county and stopping to get a cup of coffee. It’s actually having a meeting with Iowans and I do that to keep in touch.”

The Republican from New Hartford says he meets with “a few thousand people face to face every year,” but stays in contact with thousands more through email, the U-S mail and phone conversations. Grassley, who’s about five months younger than the oldest serving senator, Dianne Feinstein, says he’s working to stay in shape with a daily exercise regimen and he meets frequently with young people. “Some of my county meetings are with high school students. I try to educate people about the judiciary branch of government by holding a meeting with district judges for high school kids,” he says. “It’s kind of a special seminar.”

The editorial bemoans a potential presidential matchup next year between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump who, by then, will be 81 and 78. Grassley says he’s dedicated to listening to — and serving — Iowans. “Age has nothing to do with it,” Grassley says. “Age is a number and don’t forget, the voters didn’t have an issue with my age last election. I was reelected by something like a 12 or 13% margin.”

Grassley chuckled as he recalled the comment then-73-year-old President Ronald Reagan made during a debate in 1984 after being questioned about his age: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit — for political purposes – my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Insurance Division has announced that investors that purchased retail precious metals from Los Angeles-based Lear Capital will receive compensation as a part of Lear Capital’s bankruptcy plan. State securities regulators had been investigating Lear for deceptive securities and commodities activities and misleading marketing at the time of the company’s bankruptcy.

“Lear Capital urged investors to liquidate their traditional retirement savings and buy precious metals without proper fee disclosures, and as a result of those deceptive practices, the company racked up millions of dollars at investors’ expense,” Deputy Commissioner Andrew Hartnett said. “The Iowa Insurance Division is always looking out for Iowans to protect them from harmful and deceptive business practices. I encourage any Iowan that may have been affected to get in contact with our office.”

Under the terms of the bankruptcy plan, Lear Capital will provide $5.5 million to be distributed to investors in Lear Capital’s precious metals. Lear Capital investors that filed a timely bankruptcy claim will receive refunds based on calculations determined by Lear Capital’s bankruptcy plan. In addition, Lear Capital will provide a pro rata distribution of the remaining funds to investors who did not file claims. The pro rata distribution applies to investors that bought precious metals from Lear Capital between January 1, 2016 and March 3, 2022.

Iowans that purchased precious metals from Lear Capital during that timeframe should contact the Iowa Insurance Division at amanda.robinson@iid.iowa.gov or at 515-654-6475.

Various regulators had alleged that Lear Capital, which sells and buys back metals through both direct-to-consumer transactions and self-directed IRA transactions, used deceptive business practices, and violated investor protection laws. These actions were resolved as part of the $5.5 million bankruptcy settlement.

As a part of Lear Capital’s bankruptcy plan, the company has also agreed to improve its sales practices and disclosures, including agreeing not to misrepresent its fee, not to offer portfolio assessments of securities holdings, not to hold itself out as an investment adviser in any way, and not to provide investment advice or commit securities or commodities fraud.