(Radio Iowa) – Former President Donald Trump is returning to Sioux City next Thursday for a pre-election rally. The announcement from Trump’s political action committee says the event will highlight Trump endorsed candidates Kim Reynolds and Chuck Grassley. Senator Grassley anticipates he’ll get to address the crowd.

“Tell ’em what I’m trying to accomplish and what has been accomplished before and what is wrong with this administration…inflation and high gas prices and the border not being enforced and all that sort of stuff and I’m just going to speak that out,” Grassley says. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to get in front of, I imagine, a few thousand people.”

A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll this month found 83 percent of likely Republican voters in Iowa have a favorable view of the former president, while just over half of all voters view from very or mostly unfavorably. Grassley says concerns about Trump aren’t very high on the list of the Iowans he meets.

“What I’m hearing from Iowans on my 99 county tour is inflation, high energy prices — gas prices,” Grassley says, “and I’m trying to address those issues that Iowans are most concerned about.” Mike Franken, Grassley’s Democratic opponent, says Trump’s appearance shows Republicans are in panic mode about the race.

“There is, in Navy parlance, a sea change happening and it’s quite palpable,” Franken said. “…Perhaps this is not the Chuck Grassley of old.” Franken said. Franken campaigned yesterday (Wednesday) in eastern Iowa with former Alabama Senator Doug Jones, a Democrat. Current Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee campaigned with Grassley in central Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – President Biden has hosted an online fundraiser for Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne, illustrating her bid for reelection is key for Democrats’ hopes of keeping majority control of the U.S. House. Biden spoke for about 15 minutes during the virtual event. He suggested if the G-O-P wins control of congress, they’ll push for the same kind of tax cuts Britain’s now former prime minister proposed, prompting economic chaos in that country.

Biden referred to Axne as one of the best persons in the entire congress. Zach Nunn is the Republican running against Axne. He spoke at a G-O-P event yesterday, but did not mention Axne or Biden by name. Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann issued a written statement about Biden’s event. He said Biden was trying to save his favorite congresswoman at the last minute, but held the event online because Biden — in Kaufmann’s words — “can’t show his face” here.

(Dubuque County, Iowa) – A man from Dubuque died Wednesday from injuries he suffered in a single-vehicle accident near Maquoketa. The Iowa State Patrol reports 69-year-old Michael G. Truesdale was driving a 2015 Chevy pickup. The vehicle entered a ditch and struck a culvert, before vaulting into the air and rolling over, coming to rest on the passenger side. Truesdale was wearing his seat belt. He died at the scene.

The accident happened as the pickup was traveling north on Highway 61, approaching the intersection with Fulton Road. It’s not clear what time the accident occurred.

(Adel, Iowa) – The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Dexter was arrested Wednesday, in connection with the robbery of the Casey’s General Store, in Dexter. Authorities say 21-year-old Phillip Andrew Dolezal was arrested on two Dallas County warrants, Failure to Appear, original charge of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Failure to Appear, original charge of Theft 3rd and Theft 4th. Wednesday morning, he was additionally charged with Robbery 2nd degree. Dolezal remains held in the Dallas County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

The Sheriff’s Department said that at around 8:13-p.m., Tuesday, Dallas County Dispatch received a 911 phone call from the Casey’s Store at 803 State Street in Dexter, Iowa. The store clerk stated that the store had been robbed and a suspect had left the store running on foot. The caller reported that the suspect showed a note indicating that he had a gun. No gun was displayed.

Phillip Dolezal (Dallas County S/O photo)

Dallas County Deputies immediately responded to the scene and were assisted by the Iowa State Patrol, the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office. An Iowa State Patrol K-9 team assisted in tracking the suspect to 605 State Street in Dexter. Stuart Iowa Police Department K9 Handler Officer Irving, and his K9 partner “Ally,” assisted as well.

Along with interviews and other evidence gathered by Deputies, a search warrant was executed at this address. Evidence related to this robbery was located and seized.

Sheriff Adam Infante said “I am continually amazed by the hard work and effort our Deputies put in, day in and day out. This case is a great example of their efforts. It’s also so beneficial to have a strong partnership with the Iowa State Patrol and their K-9s, they did a great job helping us out.”

All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

DES MOINES – A total of 16,629 students from more than 140 schools voted in Secretary of State Paul Pate’s Iowa Youth Straw Poll this week. Students in every K-12 school across the state were invited to vote for their preferred candidates in Iowa’s U.S. Senate, U.S. House and gubernatorial races. The purpose of the poll is to serve as a fun, hands-on, learning activity to engage young people in civics.

The final results show Republican Kim Reynolds winning the Youth Straw Poll race for Governor, with 60% of the vote. Democratic Deidre DeJear had 31% and Libertarian Rick Stewart picked up 9%. Republican Chuck Grassley came out on top in the U.S. Senate race, 61%-39% over Democrat Michael Franken.

Iowa’s four U.S. House races were polled as well. In the First Congressional District, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks defeated Christina Bohannon 58%-42%. Republican Ashley Hinson won 66%-34% over Liz Mathis in the Second District.

Democrat Cindy Axne defeated Republican Zach Nunn in Iowa’s Third District, 56%-44%. Republican Randy Feenstra picked up 63% of the vote in the Fourth District, with Democrat Ryan Melton at 23% and Liberty Party Caucus candidate Bryan Jack Holder at 14%.

Traditionally, the Iowa Youth Straw Poll has served as a good indicator of how the actual elections will shape up. “I want to thank all the teachers, principals and staff that helped make the Youth Straw Poll possible, but most importantly, thank you to the students who made their voices heard,” Secretary Pate said. “This was hopefully a valuable, hands-on learning experience for them, and I hope all of them will continue to be a voter throughout their lives.”

Vote totals for this year and past years are available by clicking here.

(Radio Iowa) – Three men from Miami are under arrest, accused of stealing nine MILLION dollars worth of frozen beef and pork from meatpacking plants in Iowa and five other states. Terry Wagner, the sheriff in Lancaster County, Nebraska, says his department started connecting the dots after finding empty semi trailers that had been stolen from a Grand Island beef packer. “It was surprising how brazen and how widespread it really was,” Wagner says. Investigators from the Lancaster County, Nebraska sheriff’s office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have identified 45 thefts so far.

“They’ve been targeted beef and pork packaging facilities in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Wisconsin,” the sheriff says. It was a highly sophisticated organized criminal enterprise according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Nebraska sheriff says in many instances it appears the men drove into an area in a semi tractor and hooked it up to a trailer that had been loaded with frozen meat.

“They knew what to look for, they knew where to look, where trailers would be staged for transport and they would just drive in, hook up to a trailer and take off.” The sheriff told reporters in Lincoln, Nebraska that federal investigators used electronic surveillance to track three semi tractor trailers with more than half a million dollars worth of stolen meat to Florida last Thursday.

“The investigation is still continuing,” he says. “We’re still trying to identify some of the victims of these thefts and we’ll keep working on this case.” On September 1st, 100-thousand dollars worth of pork was stolen from the J-B-S plant in Ottumwa, but there’s been no official confirmation that case is among the 45 meat thefts identified by the Nebraska sheriff.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has identified a record number of trumpeter swan nests. D-N-R waterfowl biologist Orrin Jones says the species was reintroduced in Iowa in 1993. “Their population has been slowly recovering since then,” he says, “and we’re really pleased to see them continue that recovery.”

According to the D-N-R’s website, unregulated hunting and the draining of wetlands after European settlers arrived in Iowa led to the species’ demise here. Now, in the 29th year of the restoration effort, the latest count indicates there are at least 135 pairs of adult nesting swans in Iowa. “Trumpeter swans are traditionally associated with the Prairie Pothole region of Iowa, which is a geographic formation in north central and northwest Iowa where historically pothole wetlands were very abundant,” Jones says.

Jones says restoration of wetland areas has helped the species get re-established. The D-N-R began its trumpeter swan restoration program in 1993, then in 1998, three wild cygnets — baby swans — hatched from a next in Dubuque County.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, received updates on the County employee Wellness Program, and Conservation Department activities. Supervisor Jerry Walker reported on the Wellness program participation and data regarding employee physicals. Data from the physicals helps the County in its efforts to obtain the best insurance rates it can in a points-based system. Walker said that, as of Monday, 60% of the physical reports had been turned-in.

Auditor Mandy Berg said the County stands to lose money if there is no change from last year’s data.

Rates have skyrocketed this year in Iowa, for both personal and group insurance. In other business, the Adair County Supervisors acknowledged and approved the GAAP Annual Financial Report. GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and are a collection of commonly-followed accounting rules and standards for financial reporting.

And, in his report to the Board, Adair County Conservation Director Dominic Johnson said they have awarded a contract for the Mormon Trail Shower House to Caliber Concrete, LLC out of Adair, in the amount of $174, 250, which was under budget by about $750,

The good news, he said is that they’ll have the site already prepped for the shower house before it arrives.

Johnson said he’s pleased by the number of campers they’ve had this year and the funds those persons bring to the county for camping fees.

He said this Fall has been especially busy. At Orient, they have been a lot of weekends this month where the campsites are full. Dominic said also, shower houses were officially closed and winterized last week. The docks are out of the water at most of the lakes in Adair County. Johnson said also, there were 27 people who attended the Conservation Department’s Hunter Education Class, last month.

Walleye fish, he said, have been stocked at four different county lakes, but there is concern about the lakes being as low as they are.

(Radio Iowa) – A new program to train aviation maintenance workers is coming to Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, thanks to nearly a million dollars in funding. Those who complete the two-year program will be qualified to work on anything from small aircraft to, eventually, commercial airliners. Iowa Department of Economic Development director Debbie Durham says Kirkwood’s Aviation Maintenance Technology program will be located at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids. “Iowa has more jobs than people right now to fill,” Durham says, “and the aviation industry is not spared from this very need.”

Classes are scheduled to begin in the fall of 2023. The funding includes an 800-thousand dollar grant from the U-S Commerce Department and nearly 200-thousand dollars from local sources. A survey found there are about 90 openings every year for aviation mechanics in Iowa, while nationally, there will be a need over the next decade for more than 600-thousand mechanics.