(Cass County, Iowa) – Firefighters from Atlantic were called to the scene of a side-by-side (UTV) fire, this afternoon. The call went out at around 2:45-p.m, for the incident at 620th St., just south of Jasper Road, a little south of the Atlantic City limits.

Lewis Fire was requested for mutual aid, as the wind whipped flames were spreading to a nearby field.  Additional information is not currently available.

(Radio Iowa) – Estherville’s fire chief is praising four men for a daring rescue from a locked apartment in a burning building.

A fire was reported Monday night in Estherville at the Country View Apartments and emergency responders rushed to evacuate several elderly and disabled residents A firefighter from Wallingford and a deputy sheriff could hear someone inside an apartment, behind a locked door. An Estherville policeman and a businessman from across the street who ran to help joined the two other men in getting the person out of their apartment.

Estherville fire. (Estherville FD photo)

Estherville’s fire chief says the four men encountered heavy smoke and flames above their heads as they saved someone they didn’t know. The apartment’s resident was taken to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

(Radio Iowa) – A key Iowa Democrat is hinting his party might sue if the Republican-led legislature passes a bill to forbid Democrats from using a mail-in system for participation in the 2024 Iowa Caucuses.

Scott Brennan, a former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, is one of Iowa’s representatives on the Democratic National Committee. “I am a practicing lawyer and I have my own thoughts on the subject but maybe, ultimately, somebody will have to make a decision who’s wearing a black robe,” Brennan told statehouse reporters late this morning.

Republicans on a House committee have approved a bill that would require in-person participation in the Iowa Republican and Democratic Party Caucuses. New Hampshire’s Secretary of State has said if Iowa Democrats use mail-in voting for their 2024 Caucuses, New Hampshire’s presidential Primary would be moved ahead of Iowa’s Caucuses.

Scott Brennan. (file photo from Iowa PBS)

Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann said his bill is about saving the Iowa Caucuses. “If we do nothing, we lose first in the nation status period,” Kaufmann said. “When you do mail in, it’s a primary. New Hampshire is obligated by law to jump us. This bill is protecting the integrity of the Iowa Caucuses for Republicans and Democrats.”

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee suggest Kaufmann as the bill’s sponsor has a conflict of interest because he is a paid senior advisor to Donald Trump’s Iowa Caucus campaign. Brennan, the former Iowa Democratic Party chairman, said Democrats were blindsided by Kaufmann’s bill, which was publicly released this week.

“It’s a solution in search of a problem. I don’t understand it. It makes no sense,” Brennan said. “We have decades of history where the two parties came together and talked about issues important to Iowans in our (Caucus) process. Nothing this time.”

National Democrats have voted for five other states to lead the voting in the 2024 presidential campaign and Brennan said Iowa Democrats have not yet announced when or exactly how they will conduct their Caucuses next year.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Natural Resources Commission has given final approval for a continuous open season for hunting and trapping raccoons on private lands. The DNR says there has been a steady increase in the raccoon population in the last 20 years, and they get many reports of the animals being a nuisance in attics, barns, and farm equipment. The DNR’s Chris Ensminger says they had two public hearings on the issue.

“There were 117 comments received, 75 of those were in support, two were partially supportive, and 40 were opposed,” Ensminger says. He says there were concerns about having an open season for public lands, so that was removed. “There was just some concern that if it was continuously open trapping and hunting — sometimes that’s dogs and other things — that on public lands and road right aways. that there could be conflicts with non-hunting parties using public land and different groups,” he says.

Raccoons. (DNR Photo)

Ensminger says trappers didn’t seem to have a concern with the change. “My impression is, Iowa’s trappers are pretty concerned about making sure that their reputation stays strong and good,” he says. “And they do not want to see places where there’s conflict, because it doesn’t benefit their sport.”

Ensminger says you can hunt on your own land without a license, but you need a license if you hunt raccoons on someone else’s land. He says you would need a general hunting license or a fur harvester license. The Iowa House passed a bill on a continuous raccoon hunting season, but there has not been any action on it in the Iowa Senate.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The City Council in Audubon, earlier this week, passed a new ordinance (#767) amending the Code of Ordinances, by adding Chapter 161, pertaining to Commercial Property Maintenance.  The Ordinance reads as follows:

Chapter 161

Commercial Property Maintenance Code.

161. 1. Purpose. The city’s commercial property maintenance code requirements are intended to preserve the structural integrity of the building and property values while assuring a clean and attractive community.

161. 2. Administrative provisions.

1. The provisions of this section shall apply to all existing and future commercial property, including upper story residential use in first floor commercially used buildings.

2. If a section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Chapter is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Chapter.

3. Repairs, maintenance work, alterations or installations which are caused directly or indirectly by the enforcement of this Chapter shall be executed and performed in a workmanlike manner and installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions.

4. Violations of this Chapter may result in the issuance of civil municipal infraction citations and nuisance abatement action by the City with the resulting costs to be reported and certified to the County Treasurer and to be assessed against the property in the same manner as real estate taxes.

161. 3. Minimum requirements. Every owner or operator shall improve and maintain all property under their control to comply with the following minimum requirements:

1. 1. Drainage. All courts, yards, or other areas on the premises shall be properly graded to divert water away from any building or structure.

   2. Weeds. All exterior property areas shall be kept free from weeds as required by this Chapter.

   3. Debris. All exterior property areas shall be properly maintained in a clean and sanitary condition free from debris, rubbish or garbage, physical hazards, rodent harborage and infestation, and animal feces.

   4. Fences, walks, and parking areas. Fences, other minor construction, walks, driveways, parking areas, and similar paved areas shall be properly maintained in a safe, sanitary, and substantial condition. Approved walks shall provide all-weather access to buildings or structures.

   5. Exterior surfaces. Exterior surfaces of buildings and structures not inherently resistant to deterioration shall be treated with a protective coating of non-lead based paint or other suitable preservative which will provide adequate resistance to weathering and maintain an attractive appearance. Any exterior surface treated with paint or other preservative shall be maintained so as to prevent chipping, cracking or other deterioration of the exterior surface or the surface treatment and to present an attractive appearance. All paint or other preservative shall be applied in a workmanlike fashion.

   6. Yard areas. Yard areas of real estate shall not be permitted to deteriorate or remain in a condition that is not in accord with the following: Yard areas shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition, free from any accumulation of combustible or non-combustible materials (which are not used as an integral part of the authorized business carried out on the premises), debris, refuse, or overgrown vegetation.

   7. General requirements. Every foundation, exterior wall, and roof shall be reasonably weather tight, watertight and rodentproof and shall be kept in proper repair and shall be capable of affording privacy. Any hazardous sagging or bulging shall be properly repaired to a level or plumb position. All chimneys and breeching shall be so constructed and maintained so as to ensure that it safely and properly removes the products of combustion from the building.

   8. Windows and doors. Every window, exterior door, and basement hatchway shall be reasonably weather tight, watertight and rodentproof and kept in proper repair. All door and window hardware shall be installed and maintained in proper working condition. No building openings, except basement windows, in a building with any lot frontage on a public street may be boarded or covered in whole or in part. Doors and windows located on a facade of a building with lot frontage on a public street must be properly maintained, painted, and trimmed in the same manner as if the building was occupied. Where permitted by this Chapter, boarded up windows and doors must be a material that is compatible with the structure being protected and painted a color that is compatible with the building.

   9. Outside stairs and porches. Every outside stair, every porch, and every appurtenance thereto shall be so constructed as to be safe to use and capable of supporting the load that normal use may cause to be placed thereon and shall be kept in proper condition and repair and shall present an attractive appearance. All exterior stairs and steps and every appurtenance thereto shall comply with the requirements specified in the International Existing Building Code as adopted by this Chapter.

   10. Signs for businesses. Every sign for businesses no longer in operation shall be removed within 60 days after business use ceases or, if part of the building structure, painted over or otherwise obscured following the guidelines of subsection 5 of this Section.

   11. Transfer of ownership. Any owner of any property as to which an order or notice to repair, improve, demolish, or vacate has been issued shall not sell or enter into any agreement to sell or lease such property unless such order of the City has been disclosed and displayed to the prospective purchaser or lessee as required.

Section 2. Repealer. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed.

Section 3. Severability Clause. If any section, provision or part of this ordinance shall be adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole or any section, provision, or part thereof not adjudged invalid or unconstitutional.

Section 4. When effective. This ordinance shall be in effect from and after its final passage, approval, and publication as provided by law.