(Radio Iowa) – Just before a trip to Iowa, President Donald Trump announced he’s been notified he’s a target in a grand jury investigation of the January 6th attack on the U-S Capitol. During remarks at a meeting of Linn County Republicans last night, Trump called federal prosecutors “evil…deranged people” who want to put a person in jail for the rest of their life if they say something about an election.

During an interview on W-H-O Radio, Trump doubled down on his criticism of Governor Kim Reynolds’ decision to remain neutral in the presidential race. Trump said he gets along with Governor Kim Reynolds, but he’s very disappointed she is not endorsing him. Trump, who endorsed Reynolds during her 2018 race, said without him, she would not be governor.

During a news conference in Des Moines, Reynolds was asked if she owed her 2018 victory to Trump. “I owe it to Iowans who actually put their trust in me,” Reynolds said. “They put their trust in me in 2018. It was a tough year for Republicans. I was one of the few that made it across the finish line and then I overwhelmingly won in 2022.”

Reynolds told reporters she hopes Trump accepts her invitation to join her on an Iowa State Fair stage. Reynolds is planning one-on-one interviews with all the presidential candidates during the fair

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says more than 26 hundred state employees have transitioned to a different state agency after her state government reorganization plan took effect July 1st. The number of state agencies has been cut from 37 down to 16. Over 500 open positions in state government have been eliminated. Reynolds says the workforce may shrink more as state employees resign or retire.

“We’re going to continue to look at ways that we can be lean and mean and just really provide a one-stop shop for Iowans,” Reynolds says. Reynolds hired a consulting firm to examine how other states operated, examine agencies within the executive branch of Iowa’s state government and come up with a realignment plan to present to the legislature. The governor says that was critical because her small staff didn’t have the capacity to do an enterprise wide assessment.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says an appeal will be filed as soon as possible to challenge a judge’s injunction that has blocked enforcement of a ban on most abortions in Iowa. “It’s just a matter of time, but we’re working with the AG’s office on the details,” Reynolds told reporters this afternoon, “so hopefully that will be filed yet this week.” Reynolds signed a bill into law last Friday that immediately banned most abortions at or near the sixth week of a pregnancy, when cardiac activity is first detected.

A district court judge issued a temporary injunction to block enforcement as a lawsuit challenging the policy makes its way through the court system. “For three days we were saving babies and then the temporary injunction was filed,” Reynolds says. “I think the right to life is the most important right we have and without it we have nothing.” The bill that passed the legislature a week ago is nearly identical to a 2018 law that was ruled unconstitutional by the Iowa Supreme Court.

Five years later, Reynolds has appointed five of the seven justices on the state’s highest court. That court ruled in June of last year that the Iowa constitution does not guarantee a right to an abortion, a week before the U-S Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Reynolds says last month, the Iowa Supreme Court got it wrong when it failed on a tie vote to let the 2018 Fetal Heartbeat Act go into effect and that’s why G-O-P lawmakers approved a nearly identical bill last week in a special legislative session.

“And I think the bill we passed is constitutional,” Reynolds said, “especially with the changes that we’ve seen.” House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says Reynolds and Republican lawmakers have stopped listening to the strong majority of Iowans who do not support their abortion ban.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowan has found a hidden treasure in Utah. Chelsea Gotta of Pella went to Utah three times before solving the riddles in a poem and finding the 25-thousand dollar prize. The annual Utah Scavenger Hunt was first held in 2020. This year’s clues led Gotta to find the treasure box near the mountain hiking trail in a Bountiful, Utah.

Bountiful is about 12 miles north of Salt Lake City. The box was hidden for 51 days before Gotta found it. Gotta told K-T-V-X in Salt Lake City she plans to sponsor a treasure hunt in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – The Alzheimer’s Association is releasing its first-ever nationwide report, offering a county-by-county breakdown of the prevalence of that form of dementia, including in all 99 Iowa counties. According to the report, the average Alzheimer’s prevalence rate in Iowans age 65 and older is 11%.

Brianne Fitzgerald, a senior director with the association’s Iowa chapter, says two rural counties topped the state’s list: “Our highest two counties in Iowa were Monona in western Iowa at 12.6%, and Ringgold in southern Iowa 12.9%.” By comparison, the nation’s highest incidence of Alzheimer’s is nearly four points higher at 16.6% with a three-way tie between Miami-Dade County, Florida; Baltimore City, Maryland; and Bronx County, New York.

None of Iowa’s 99 counties made the national top 20, but the news from the report wasn’t all good.

“Iowa is definitely a dementia desert, meaning, we don’t have enough persons that are working in the field as far as gerontologists are concerned to continue to help our aging population,” Fitzgerald says. “We are concerned about taking care of our elderly as we move forward.”

The report shows what appears to be a higher prevalence for Alzheimer’s in Iowa’s northwestern counties, with lower rates in eastern Iowa. Fitzgerald says they’ll be studying this map carefully.

“For one thing, it’s nice to see this map and say, ‘Okay, well, in our work with public health and other community partners we need to make sure we’re concentrating for sure in these Iowa counties that are of a higher rate,’” Fitzgerald says, “but we need to understand the why behind it and that guides us a little bit more.”

Researchers found the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s in the east and southeastern regions of the U.S. There are varied levels of Alzheimer’s spread across Iowa, but Fitzgerald says there are theories about why there appears to be a higher prevalence in northwestern Iowa.

“We do know that with this report, a combination of some specific demographic characteristics could explain some of the higher prevalence in some of these counties,” she says, “including the older average age and then possibly higher percentages of black and Hispanic residents.”

Here are the Alzheimer’s prevalence rates for the seven Iowa counties with the highest number of residents age 65 and older:

· Polk (68,200) – 10.5%
· Linn (38,000) – 10.8%
· Scott (29,800) – 10.9%
· Black Hawk (22,900) – 11.1%
· Johnson (19,700) – 10.1%
· Dubuque (18,200) – 11.1%
· Pottawattamie (17,200) – 10.5%

For Iowans who want to learn more, she directs people to the website, alz.org. “We have so many ways for people to get involved, learn more information,” Fitzgerald says. “We have a 24/7 helpline for people who really want to learn more about the disease and chat with somebody, maybe about their concerns or concerns of a loved one, and that’s 1-800-272-3900.”

It’s estimated there are 66,000 Iowans living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and another 98,000 Iowans are their caregivers.

(Radio Iowa) – A state board has voted to extend tax breaks to a company planning to hire 65 more people once its Red Oak facility has expanded. Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 company that makes hydraulic equipment for aerospace and industrial uses. The company plans to spend two-and-a-half million dollars to expand its plant in Red Oak. The Iowa Economic Development Authority’s board has approved tax incentives to offset all or part of that investment. In June, the Southwestern Community College Board of Directors approved using nearly 600-thousand dollars worth of bond money to finance job training for the company’s 65 new employees.

Family-owned Osmundson Manufacturing in Perry is getting state tax breaks for a 19-million dollar expansion. The facility makes blades for agricultural equipment and the company plans to hire 17 more employees once the expansion is done. The Iowa Economic Development Authority board also extended tax breaks for remodeling a building in Waterloo that will become home for a garment business. Dignity Apparel uses fabrics made in the U.S. and marketed under the Image Pointe brand. The four-and-a-half million dollars project includes the purchase of equipment and software. The company says it will hire seven employees to work at the facility.