April 22, 2022 (DES MOINES, IA) – The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board, today (Friday) approved awards for four Iowa companies, which will assist in the creation of 75 jobs and result in over $84 million in new capital investment for the state. The projects are located in Farley, Shenandoah, Templeton and Lee County. The board also provided final approval on two reinvestment district plans for Fort Dodge and Urbandale/Des Moines.

Green Plains constructs new technology plant in Shenandoah
A subsidiary of Iowa’s Green Plains, Inc., Green Plains Shenandoah, LLC is expanding its focus on value-add agricultural technology, and will create diverse, non-cyclical, high margin feed ingredients, specialty alcohols and renewable feedstocks for the renewable diesel industry. The company plans to construct its Clean Sugar Technology plant adjacent to its biorefinery in Shenandoah, which will produce low carbon dextrose. The board awarded this $50 million capital investment project a $250,000 forgivable loan and tax benefits through the HQJ program. It is expected to create 12 jobs incented at a qualifying wage of $21.78 per hour.

Templeton Rye Spirits to expand Templeton warehouse
Templeton Rye Spirits, LLC produces Templeton Rye whiskey. The company plans to expand its warehouse facilities in Templeton for long-term barreling. The project is expected to create three jobs, of which two are incented at a qualifying wage of $22.63 per hour. It was awarded tax benefits through the HQJ program and represents a capital investment of $13.6 million. 

Read more about the other projects HERE.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Officers with the Red Oak Police Department, today (Friday), arrested a man on a theft charge. Authorities allege 46-year-old Markus Eugene Johnson, of Red Oak, was found to be in possession of a utility trailer from the City Maintenance Facility. The trailer was located in the 300 block of 4th Avenue. It was stolen on Thursday. Johnson was taken into custody at around 11:30-a.m., for Theft in the 3rd Degree (an Aggravated Misdemeanor), and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his cash bond was set at $2,000.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors were hosted by Kyler Morgan, Edward Jones, on Thursday, April 21st, 2022. The Ambassadors joined Kyler Morgan in celebrating the opening of his new location in Atlantic with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Kyler graduated from Grand View University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. With a passion for teaching and serving others, his path eventually took him to Edward Jones. Kyler and his branch Office Administrator, Kristy Pitts, have had an office in Council Bluffs since March of 2014. Kyler was offered the opportunity to move his office to Atlantic when Brian Farley began his retirement transition.

Photo courtesy the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce

When ask about his favorite part of working in financial planning, Kyler shared working with clients on accumulating wealth, protecting wealth, and passing down generational wealth make him love his job. Kyler enjoys building relationships with clients and being able to offer advice and reassurance through celebratory moments, along with supporting individuals through the tough times as well.

Edward Jones, Kyler Morgan is located at 508 Poplar Street in Atlantic. Appointments can be made by stopping in or calling the office at 712-254-7647 or requesting an appointment at https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/financial-advisor/kyler-morgan.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The bravery of American military members has been well-documented, often due to the unique reporting done by Iowa-based broadcasters on the scene. This Sunday afternoon in Atlantic, Jeff Stein, author, historian and documentary producer will tell how they did their jobs in WWII and later. His program is called “From the Battlefront to the Homefront: Iowa Broadcasters Go To War.” Stein says broadcasters of the day were accredited as “War Correspondents.”

Their reports were live via short-wave radio and Transatlantic Cable, back to Iowa, and make mention of the Iowans they encountered overseas.

Stein said he met a man from Ames who was part of those broadcasts.

Some of the audio clips be available for you to hear this Sunday, have not been heard since they first aired.

The program takes place beginning at 2-p.m. Sunday, at the American Legion Memorial Building, 201 Poplar Street, in Atlantic. It’s free and open to all interested persons. The building is handicapped accessible. The program is sponsored by Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE) and supported by Atlantic Community Promotion Commission. Jeff Stein is provided through Humanities Iowa, a private, non-profit sate affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Jeff Stein

Jeff Stein is recognized as the foremost broadcast historian in Iowa. He currently is news and program director for KXEL based in Waterloo. His daily interview program can be heard weekday mornings. He also airs a daily radio feature on Iowa History, “Iowa Almanac” on 30 stations statewide. Stein taught at the university level for 25 years. He has written several books one of which “One Week in June: The Iowa Floods of 2008” was a best seller.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has passed a bill responding to the case of a Storm Lake man accused of forcing his wife to take medication to end two pregnancies. Tony Wangmeng Lee was convicted of assault and tampering with a witness, but in 2017 the Iowa Court of Appeals dismissed his conviction for terminating a pregnancy without consent. Lee’s wife told police her husband had forced her to take pills on five different occasions, ending two pregnancies.

Representative Sandy Salmon of Janesville described the case during House debate. “The court ruled that since it could not be proven she was pregnant at the time, therefore the crime of non-consensual abortion was not committed,” Salmon says. “This bill is designed to close that loophole.” The House unanimously endorsed the bill two months ago. It cleared the Senate this week on a 47-to-zero vote.

Senator Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center — the only Senator to speak about the bill — didn’t mention Lee’s case.”In addition to public safety in general, I think this specifically is a bill that will protect pregnant women and babies,” Taylor said, “and I think that is something that is very important.”

Lee was arrested in October of 2014, shortly after his wife filed for divorce and told police her estranged husband was threatening her and previously forced her to end two pregnancies. Court records show Lee went to Laos in 2010 to marry the woman and she could not read, write or speak English when she arrived in the U.S. in 2011. According to the Iowa Department of Corrections, Lee served two years in prison and was released in 2017, several months after the Court of Appeals ruling that reversed his felony conviction for non-consensual termination of a pregnancy.

(Corning, Iowa) – Sheriff’s Deputies in Adams County, earlier this week, arrested a man on Assault, Attempted Murder, Kidnapping and other charges. According to the Sheriff’s report,  37-year-old Ashley Joe Cornelius was arrested after deputies responded around 11:51-a.m. Tuesday, to conduct a welfare check in the 900 block of 10th Street in Corning. Their investigation resulted in Cornelius being taken into custody on charges that include: Attempted Murder; Kidnapping in the 3rd Degree; Domestic Abuse Assault with Strangulation, and Willful Injury. His bond at the Adams County Jail was set at $50,000.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also, that at around 11:30-a.m. Monday, 33-year-old Christopher John Hazen, of Corning, was arrested on an Adams County warrant for Failure to Appear (in court). He was being held without bond in the Adams County Jail. Last Sunday, 29-year-ol Devin Lee Heimke was arrested at around 4:20-a.m., for Public Intoxication. His bond was set at $300.

And, at around 3:53-a.m. Sunday, Adams County Deputies arrested 52-year-old Michael Edward Archer, following a traffic stop. Archer was charged with OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The owner of a dog grooming business in rural Audubon said on social media this (Friday) morning, that her day did not get off to a good start. Risa Rugaard, owner of In The Dog House Boarding and Grooming, said “We had quite a bit of damage,” from the storms that blew through at around 6:30-a.m.

The event happened “really quick and really loud.” The roof of she and her husband Kevin’s business was torn-off and tossed about, but neither Risa nor any of the animals were injured. There were no warnings issued for Audubon County. The whole thing took her and Kevin by surprise.

Photo courtesy Risa Rugaard

The wind event apparently took on a straight-line through their property.

It was there and gone quickly, but during the time it occurred, the roof damage the wind caused was extensive, and it’s unclear how long it will take to fix. Adding insult to injury, was the rain that was falling inside the building, with the roof having been peeled away. The couple have owned the dog grooming and boarding business for three-years (2019). Risa has been grooming animals for more than 30-years.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following an accident Thursday morning. Authorities say a 2022 Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by 37-year-old Daniel L. Koch, of West Des Moines, was traveling east on Highway 34 at around 8:10-a.m., when a deer ran into the side of the motorcycle. Koch lost control of the cycle, causing it to skid into the path of a 2010 Kenworth semi driven by 44-year-old Steven Robertson, of Rake, Iowa.

The tractor-trailer ran over the motorcycle, totaling the machine ($15,000 value). The semi sustained a bent front bumper that tore a chunk of rubber out of the left front tire, causing it to lose air. The semi, registered to Kuchenbecker Excavating, Inc., of Rake, sustained $2,000 damage. There were no citations issued.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department says officials with AgriVision, in Creston, have reported another theft. As previously mentioned, on Wednesday, AgriVision officials said  a white, 2020 Chevy Silverado pickup was stolen. The vehicle was valued at $37,200. They have since reported a 2018 John Deere XUV 835M ATV Gator w/4-wheel drive, was stolen from their lot. The machine was valued at $16,000.

Creston Police said also, 20-year-old Keontay Shylee Taylor, of Davenport, was arrested Thursday afternoon, at 1303 Southwestern Blvd. (Near SWCC). Taylor was charged with Possession of Paraphernalia. He was cited, and released from the scene on a Promise to Appear.

(Radio Iowa) – The leader of a group of Iowa mobile home residents advocating for fair housing practices says the mobile homes bill that’s awaiting the governor’s signature won’t help them. Candi Evans of North Liberty is co-chair of the Iowa Manufactured Home Residents’ Network. She says the bill didn’t address any of the group’s five priorities.  “Legislators said as they began to work on this that they were anxious to balance the power of ownership between the landlords and the residents, the homeowners. That did not happen. They gave more power to the landlords. And they took away more from us,” Evans says

Evans started pushing for change when an out-of-state company bought the mobile home park she lives in and significantly raised the rent.  “We only want to save our home. We are not asking for anything that we have not earned on our own,” she says.”We are asking that they help us so it’s not taken away from us.”

Republican lawmakers say they wanted to do more — but this bill is a step forward in protecting Iowans who live in mobile homes. But Democrats and Evans say the bill will make things worse for residents. Evans made her comments Thursday, on the Iowa Public Radio program “River to River.”

(reporting By Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)