(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa rail line has been sold. The Canadian National Railroad announced it has reached an agreement to acquire the Waterloo-based Iowa Northern Railway. Iowa Northern has some 275 miles of track that runs from Manly to Cedar Rapids, with branch lines from Waterloo to Oelwein, and Forest City to Belmond.

Iowa Northern Railway map of its line.

The Iowa Northern website says it has 110 employees and serves 20 grain elevators, two ethanol plants, and two mineral processing facilities. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it must be approved by federal regulators, which is expected in 2024

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have joined their G-O-P colleagues in a procedural vote that has blocked a bill to provide U-S aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The bill also would provide funding for U-S border security measures, but Ernst says that’s not sufficient.  “We actually need to change the border policy,” Ernst says. “The policies that are in place right now are actually not addressing the migrant flow that is coming in.”

Ernst says the bill is an acknowledgement by the Biden Administration that there’s a border crisis. “They are the ones that wrote the package and it addresses funding for the border, it addresses funding for Ukraine, for Israel and the Indo-Pacific,” Ernst says. “They tied all four of those things together.”

Biden says he’s willing to make significant compromises on border security if that’s what it takes to get the 110 billion dollar package through congress. U-S military aid for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year and Biden warns that if Russia takes Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t stop there.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Guthrie County say no injuries were reported following two separate collisions involving vehicles and deer. At around 5:15-p.m., a 2023 Chevy pickup driven by 36-year-old Jacob Matthews, of Audubon, struck a deer on Highway 44, west of 215th Street. The impact caused front-end and passenger fender damage to the vehicle. The damage was estimated at $7,500.

And, at around 7:36-p.m. Wednesday, a 2017 KIA passenger van driven by 28-year-old Aubre Sloan, of Philmath, OR, struck a deer on Highway 25 in Guthrie County, between 190th and Nice Avenue. The vehicle sustained about $6,000 damage.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports two women were injured during an accident early Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say a passenger in a 2011 Ford Focus, 90-year-old Marilyn Stephenson, of Adair, was injured when the vehicle, driven by 81-year-old Helen Ernst, of Adair, sideswiped a 2014 Chevy pickup, driven by 57-year-old James Klemish, of Adair. Stephenson was transported by Adair EMS to Des Moines Methodist Hospital in downtown Des Moines. Ernst was transported to the Guthrie County Hospital by Stuart EMS.  Klemish wasn’t hurt.

The accident happened at around 12:15-p.m., as Klemish was traveling eastbound on White Pole Road near Stuart, and attempted to turn north, into a driveway.

Klemish told Deputies he was distracted by a railroad crew working on the tracks, and saw a road work sign, but failed to see the Ford until it was too late. Authorities noted the railroad crew was far enough away from the scene of the collision to not be a distraction. Furthermore, they said, a Guthrie County Roads crew was clearing ditch debris and DID have road work signs posted, but none of the signs were at or near the scene of the collision.

Damage from the collision amounted to $19,000. Klemish was cited for Failure to Yield upon left turn.

(Radio Iowa) – A Republican in the Iowa legislature says she’ll continue to push for an idea to boost state payments to Iowa child care centers. Representative Megan Jones of Sioux Rapids says the state could continue to make child care assistance payments for days when kids are out sick. She got the idea from the director of her own kids’ daycare who was filling out the required paperwork. “Here was this director sitting before me telling me that paperwork and red tape is what was the most stressful part of her day, when she really just wanted to go work with kids,” Jones says. Jones introduced a bill in the 2023 legislative session that’s still eligible for debate in 2024. It would have the state pay for each day a child is enrolled in a daycare, even if they’re out for part of a day or a full day. Jones made her comments during a child care summit hosted by the Iowa Women’s Foundation.

Lawmakers recently expanded eligibility for child care assistance for low-income families and boosted payments to providers. Representative Heather Matson, a Democrat from Ankeny, say those are positive changes, but Iowa still has a child care crisis to solve. “The vast majority of families in this state — and in this country for that matter, right? — their families are not necessarily on child care assistance, but it is fundamentally unaffordable for almost all families,” Matson says. Matson says the state needs to focus on stabilizing the child care workforce with higher wages and benefits.

Republican Senator Jeff Edler of State Center says gradual approach G-O-P lawmakers are taking on child care issues gives Iowa taxpayers the best bang for their buck.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Officials with the Glenwood Police Department report the arrest on Wednesday, of 44-year-old Melinda Johnson. The Glenwood woman was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense. She posted a $1,000 cash or surety bond and was released.