(Radio Iowa) – The town of Tiffin has grown around 230 percent in the last decade and the Tiffin Fire Department is operating at about half the number of volunteers needed. Chief Bill Hall tells K-C-R-G T-V the population growth has brought more calls — with 441 made to 9-1-1 in 2021. “As Tiffin continues to grow, 18 volunteer firefighters aren’t going to cut it, so the more the merrier for sure,” said Chief Hall. As of April 19th, the number of calls year-to-date was up 49 from 2021. Those calls have gone up by about 80 calls per year since 2018. The chief says they’ve been trying to incentives volunteers.

“We’ve actually started offering stipends to folks who answer calls. So, that’s a pay-per-call position. We also have applied for several grants, some of those are staffing grants,” he says. Last year mutual aid helped the Tiffen 18 times when volunteers couldn’t respond, and 70 calls were answered where volunteers were not E-M-S certified. Volunteer firefighter and City Council member, Skylar Limkemann, tells K-C-R-G T-V with the same 18 people being called out to each response, it’s causing burnout.

Chief Bill Hall. (KCRG photo.)

“There are days where I can’t get any work done at my full-time job because we’ve been running fire calls all day long,” he says. Limkemann says he wanted to bring on paid firefighters, but with the community growing so quickly, other demands have been made first.

“With everything going on in the city, we have other projects that we need to do,” he says. “There are situations where you can budget for it, but other things come up, and you might not be able to hire that position just given other needs that may arise.” Tiffin is located on the edge of Coralville and south of Cedar Rapids and there are no signs of the growth slowing down there. Chief Hall says the game plan is to continue to do whatever they can do to recruit new volunteer firefighters.

(Radio Iowa) – Sixty-five dogs and puppies were rescued today (Tuesday) from a property near Hedrick. The Animal Rescue League of Iowa was alerted by law enforcement about the animals being moved from a puppy mill in Florida to Keokuk County. A-R-L director of animal services, Joe Stafford, describes the scene as “horrible.”

“A lot of the animals are thin, and underweight. They have various skin issues, and dental issues. They all appear to have a very heavy parasite load of hookworms, and whipworms and different parasites that dogs have when they’re left untreated,” Stafford says. Stafford describes one of the dogs that was rescued.

One of the dogs was rescued. (ARL photo)

“We found one animal, in particular, that was missing its lower leg and foot. And that did not appear to have been done by a veterinarian,” he says. Stafford says it will take some time for the dogs to recover so they can be adopted. The Keokuk County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the case.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has joined 25 other Republican governors in forming what they call a “Border Strike Force” to deal with crime at the U.S. border with Mexico. The governors of Arizona and Texas announced the group’s creation Tuesday. Governor Kim Reynolds announced on Thursday that she had signed onto a Memorandum of Understanding with 25 other Republican-led states.

It means law enforcement in those states are to share information about criminal investigations of illegal immigration, drug smuggling and human trafficking if there are suspicions the activity is connected to Mexico. In a written statement, Reynolds said governors can’t stand idle while President Biden does nothing to stop the crisis at our border, which she says is destroying our country.

Progress Iowa, a liberal advocacy group, says the announcement is a stunt to stoke fear about all immigrants and distract from lagging job growth the state.

(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. Transportation Secretary says addressing safety concerns is the highest priority for the three-point-nine BILLION dollars in new federal infrastructure money for Iowa roads, bridges and airports. Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke with Iowa reporters during an online news conference.

“When you have these bridges, for example, in need of repair, a lot of projects, I think, will make their way to the top of the list for that reason,” Buttigieg says. Nearly one in five bridges in Iowa is considered structurally deficient. Buttigieg is holding news conferences around the country to emphasize that 20 percent of the new infrastructure spending is reserved for projects in rural areas — where 19 percent of Americans live.

“This really is a once in a lifetime investment,” Buttigieg said,” and having gotten to know Iowa well, having traveled many of those roads and having gone around those bridges that are load limited or need work, I’ve seen how much of a difference this legislation is going to make in the Midwest generally and in Iowa specifically.” Buttigieg won Iowa’s 2020 Caucuses, but dropped out of the presidential race a month later and endorsed Joe Biden.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat, were the only two members of Iowa’s D.C. delegation who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Axne says adding money for broadband and water systems, Iowa will receive five BILLION dollars in total as a result of the infrastructure bill.  “This law includes more than 375 programs that rural communities across the third district are eligible for,” Axne says.

Axne says she’s grateful to see the infrastructure funding starting to go out the door. “I am always disappointed, though, when I see too many people taking credit without explaining where the funding does come from,” Axne says. Axne says elected officials, including the governor, should explain the money for infrastructure and other large scale projects came from the bipartisan infrastructure bill as well as the federal pandemic relief packages approved during the Trump and Biden Administrations.

(Neola, Iowa) – In an update to our previous report, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office tells KJAN News, the driver of a 2011 KIA Sportage was injured Wednesday morning, during a collision that happened near the Tri-Center High School. Authoritiess say 15-year-old Ava Speight, of Logan, was driving the car and pulled up to a stop sign at the T-intersection of 310th and Railroad Highway at around 7:30-a.m.

She proceeded to enter the intersection to make a left turn (northbound), when she pulled in front of a 2018 Ford Edge traveling south on Railroad Highway. The driver of the SUV, 59-year-old Jacaly Ann Velthoff, of Panama, was unable to avoid a collision. Her vehicle struck the KIA on the front, driver side door.

Photo courtesy of Zach Ploen.

Speight was transported by Neola Rescue to Mercy Hospital. Sheriff’s deputies cited the teen for Failure to Yield upon left turn. Damage to the KIA was estimated at $10,000. The Ford Edge sustained about $6,000 damage.

(Cass County, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Cass County report one person suffered minor injuries and was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, following a collision this (Thursday) morning, near Massena. Authorities say the collision happened at around 10:20-a.m. at the intersection of 750th Street and Highway 92.

The report states the driver of a silver 2020 Chevy Silverado, David Schlater, stopped at the stop sign southbound on 750th at the intersection with Highway 92 in Massena. Due to heavy fog, Schlater was unable to see oncoming traffic. He continued through the intersection and was struck by a westbound 1999 Chevy 2500 driven by Randy Shuey. Shuey was transported to CCMH for treatment of his minor injuries.

Schlater was given a warning for failure to yield the right of way. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Massena Rescue, Cass EMS, and the Department of Transportation.

(Radio Iowa) – Some House Republicans are publicly stating their opposition to the governor’s plan to create state scholarships to cover expenses for sending 10-thousand students to a private school. Republican Representative Megan Jones of Sioux Rapids, who is opposed to the bill, says the votes just aren’t there in the House to pass it. “I myself have a lot of concerns about that bill, too, because I don’t think it’s going to impact any kids in our area,” Jones says, “and so if we’re going to pile more money into this, I don’t want to see that money just going to Des Moines.”

There are more than a dozen private schools in the Des Moines metro, including Dowling Catholic and Des Moines Christian High Schools — while 42 of Iowa’s 99 counties do not have a private or parochial school. Jones says the 55-million dollar price tag for the governor’s private school scholarships is also a worry. “We could only do 2.5% supplemental state aid for our public schools, but now we’re going to bite off another huge chunk here,” Jones says. “…I’m just not sure we can carry that through.” Jones is vice chair of the legislative committee that meets year-round to oversee state regulations.

The Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and a retiring Republican lawmaker from Walcott announced at a forum in the Quad Cities that they are opposed to the spending plan.

The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest on Wednesday, of a Sioux City, Iowa, resident. 39-year-old Leslie Wilson was arrested for Driving While Barred. Wilson’s cash or surety bond was set at $2,000.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department says officials with AgriVision Equipment, in Creston, reported Wednesday morning, that one of their vehicles was stolen. A white, 2020 Chevy Silverado pickup registered to AgriVision, was stolen. The vehicle was valued at $37,200.

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