Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has resigned after serving as the Pentagon chief since early 2013 when he succeeded Leon Panetta. Hagel is a former Republican U-S Senator from Nebraska. Iowa Republican Congressman, Steve King, says Hagel and the president appear to have been at odds over handling military policy in the middle east. “Chuck Hagel might have spoken out a little too boldly about what we needed to do beef up our forces against ISIS. And it doesn’t fit very well with the president’s no boots on the ground promise,”King says. “And it doesn’t fit so well with the deconstruction of the U-S military, the weakening of the military that the president has pushed so hard for.”

King says it looks like there is a significant disagreement at the root of Hagel’s resignation. Hagel was the third person to serve as President Obama’s defense secretary following Robert Gates and Panetta. King says there has been a pattern of politics in defense briefings since President Obama took office, going back to some staffers who were holdovers from the Bush administration.

“They would be sitting there briefing us and it changed dramatically one president to the next. Same faces of the briefers, it became political responses instead of tactical and factual classified briefing. And that is very troubling if you are going to push your military into a political operation,” according to King. Hagel has agreed to remain in office until his successor is confirmed by the Senate. King made his comments during an appearance on K-S-C-J radio in Sioux City.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources say the Smithfield Farmland plant in Denison reported a small spill Monday, at around 1:15-p.m. About 50 gallons of process wastewater from the plan flowed into a storm drain, which empties into the Boyer River after a small fire in the electrical room at 11
a.m. Plant operators shut down the power and pumps to prevent further potential damage.

The power outage caused the spillage of untreated wastewater. The DNR says it will follow up with the facility.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad has pardoned two turkeys as part of a Thanksgiving tradition. Branstad read an official proclamation for the pardon of the birds, named Cranberry and Cinnamon, at Terrace Hill. Officials say the turkeys, from a farm near Ellsworth, will now live at Living History Farms in Urbandale instead of possibly becoming cold cuts.

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Boy Scout troop has restored a barn-like structure used for many years as a nativity scene in Webster City. The structure was built as part of an Eagle Scout project by Brandon Hayes in 1989. Local organizations contributed to the 25-year-old project, which cost about $800.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Even as costs decline, many Iowa residents are having trouble paying their heating bills. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says Midwest consumers could see their bills decrease up to 38 percent depending on the fuel used to heat their homes. But many Iowa residents are still struggling based on notices provided to the state’s utilities board through Nov. 1. About 16,000 homes across the state didn’t have heat when cold temperatures hit the state last week.

CHURDAN, Iowa (AP) — A bottled water advisory has been issued for the city of Churdan in Greene County. The state Department of Natural Resources says the advisory was issued due to a loss of water pressure from a leaky valve. The city lost pressure for about a half hour. Officials say there is a high level of nitrites in the water supply. Boiling could be unsafe because it concentrates the nitrites in the water. Bottled water should be used for drinking, tooth washing, food preparation and other similar uses.