(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Union County Sheriff’s Office report the operator of a motorcycle was transported to the hospital following a collision Wednesday evening on Highway 34. Authorities say 20-year-old Hunter L. Walter, of Creston, was operating a 2016 Kawasaki motorcycle eastbound on Highway 34, when the machine collided with the rear of a 2009 Chevy Cobalt, driven by 25-year-old Fulton S. Abraham, of Murray. Following the collision that happened at around 6:15-p.m., Wednesday, the cycle ended-up in the south ditch.

Hunter Walter was ejected from the motorcycle and slid on the road before coming to rest. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital in Creston. An accident investigation revealed the motorcycle left a long skid mark prior to hitting the car. No citations were issued.

Damage from the crash amounted to $2,000 for the car and $5,000 to the motorcycle.

(Radio Iowa) – The Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain reports its gross profit rose in the just completed fourth quarter by nearly nine percent compared to the previous year. President and C-E-O, Darren Rebelez, says their in-store sales were up, while the fuel gallons remained flat. He says they are starting to see a few changes in what’s been a tough economy as some of the costs brought on by inflation have eased.

The company saw an increase in sales of its private brand products in stores, which Rebelez says is due in part to the impact of inflation and price increases for national brands. For the fiscal year, Casey’s reported net income increased 31-point-five percent to nearly 447 million dollars. The company added 81 new stores in the fiscal year, ending the year with two-thousand-521 stores.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department reports deputies Wednesday night, arrested a man wanted on an active Pottawattamie County warrant. Logan Hastings was arrested at around 10:15-p.m. in the 100 block of Coolbaugh Street, on the warrant for Violation of Probation. Hastings was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Vice President Mike Pence says he’s entering the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential race because he has a different vision for the country and the party than Donald Trump.  “We are here because we know that Iowa was the right place to start our engines for the great American comeback,” Pence said, to cheers. Pence kicked off his campaign over the noon hour Wednesday, with a rally in Ankeny, calling the former president reckless.

“We need leaders who can distinguish between starting fights and finishing them, between the politics of outrage and standing firm.” Pence spent several minutes discussing the rioting at the U.S. Capitol on the day congress confirmed Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Pence, as he’s said before, stresses that he had no authority to reject or overturn the results.

“The American people must know leaders in the Republican Party we will keep our oath to support and defend the constitution even when it is not in our political interests to do so,” Pence said. “Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the constitution should never be president of the United States again.”

Pence served 12 years in the U.S. House and was governor of Indiana when Trump chose him as his 2016 running mate. Pence says he’s incredibly proud of the Trump Administration’s conservative agenda.  “As your vice president, I was proud to stand by President Donald Trump every single day when we made America great again,” Pence said. But Pence has been cautioning Republicans to resist the siren song of populism and return to the roots of the Reagan Revolution, leading with tax cuts and repealing regulations.

“We must elect a new Republican president to chart a course for our nation guided by our timeless principles,” Pence said.

(Radio Iowa) – Democrats in the Iowa Senate have removed the lawmaker who’s been their leader for two and a half years and selected a veteran legislator to be Senate Minority Leader. According to a news release, Senate Democrats have unanimously selected Pam Jochum of Dubuque to be Senate Democratic Leader, replacing Zach Wahls of Coralville.

Wahls faced criticism from some his colleagues for his decision to dismiss two long time employees last Friday. Wahls was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2018 and had a national reputation when he arrived due to his statehouse testimony as a teenager against a ban on same-sex marriage. He’s been directly involved in recent efforts to reshape the Iowa Democratic Party and recruit candidates.

Jochum has been a legislator for 30 years. She issued a written statement thanking Wahls for his vision and leadership and describing Senate Democrats as a united team heading into the 2024 election.  Jochum was first elected to the Iowa House in 1992. She’s been a member of the Iowa Senate since 2009 and previously served as Senate President when Democrats held the majority.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne is now a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s senior staff. Axne is the U-S-D-A’s Senior Advisor for Rural Engagement, Delivery and Prosperity. Axne, a 58 year old Democrat from West Des Moines, served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Last November, she lost her campaign for reelection in Iowa’s third congressional district to Republican Zach Nunn of Bondurant.

Axne and Democrat Abby Finkenauer of Dubuque were the first two women from Iowa to serve in the U.S. House after winning their first races for the House in 2018. Axne served on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee for four years and co-chaired the Congressional Rural Caucus. Axne had worked in state government for nine years, serving three different governors, including Tom Vilsack who is now the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Axne endorsed Joe Biden just before the 2020 Iowa Caucuses.