(Creston, Iowa) – A collision that happened at around 2:25-p.m. Wednesday, in Creston, left a driver of one of the vehicles complaining of pain. According to the Creston Police, a 2015 Jeep Patriot SUV driven by 18-year-old Briley Dunning, of Creston, was leaving the Creston High School and turning left onto Townline Street. Dunning looked both ways before proceeding from the stop sign, but according to the report, failed to see any oncoming vehicles.

As she proceeded into the intersection, the Jeep’s front passenger side was struck by a 2009 Ford Taurus, driven by 32-year-old Katherine Robinson, of Creston, as Robinson was traveling east on Townline. Both vehicles became disabled by the collision.

Dunning complained of pain. She and a passenger in the SUV were both cleared by medics, at the scene. Damage from the crash amounted to $10,000 altogether. No citations were issued.

(Anita, Iowa) – Anita Firefighters responded to a house fire west of Anita a little after Noon today (Wednesday). Fire Chief Eric Steffensen said the home at 72737 Eastland Road was engulfed in fire and had collapsed onto the ground when the first crews arrived. The home was unoccupied at the time the fire broke out, which Steffensen was apparently around 11:30-a.m.  The residence was home to Chris and Ann Butler.

Photos via Nishna Valley Cycle’s Facebook page

The wind-whipped flames and embers jumped a road to north of the structure and caught about 80 acres of land to burn.

Mutual aid was provided by firefighters from Wiota, Adair and Atlantic, mainly in the form of grass units and tankers. No injuries were reported and a cause of the fire remains undetermined at this time. Nishna Valley Cycle is working with Community 1st Credit Union (200 Maple St., Atlantic, IA),on an account for donations to help the couple.

A donation jar will also be available at Nishna Valley Cycle in Atlantic, where Chris is the Sales Manager. A GoFundMe account has also been established.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says the Iowa Democratic Party is “unwilling to accept” that a mail-in system of ballots for their 2024 Caucuses is akin to a primary and that jeopardizes the first-in-the-nation status for both parties’ Caucuses.

Reynolds issued a written statement on the topic shortly after a House subcommittee approved a bill to require that participants in Iowa’s Republican and Democratic Party Caucuses attend the events in person. Representative Austin Harris of Moulton is the former political director for the Iowa Republican Party. He predicts New Hampshire will schedule its presidential primary ahead of Iowa’s Caucuses if Iowa Democrats are allowed to follow through with their plan .

“The purpose of the Caucus is to have a closed door meeting to conduct the party business,” Harris said, “and I think having a vote-by-mail process is going to destroy the entire purpose of the Caucus to begin with.” Representative Amy Nielsen, a Democrat from North Liberty, said her party is looking to expand access to the Caucuses. “It’s a little bit of an exclusive group that gets to participate in the in-person Caucuses on one night,” Nielsen said. “…People that work nights don’t have the opportunity, people that maybe have children that they can’t bring or don’t have a babysitter.”

Nielsen said Republicans are inserting themselves into Democratic Party business. “I don’t think that allowing some remote access to our Caucuses is creating a Primary,” Nielsen said. “What it’s doing is opening up access.”

Bill sponsor Representative Bobby Kaufmann, the son of Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann, responded to Nielsen. “I will mind my own business when the Iowa Caucuses are not in jeopardy,” Kaufmann said. “when the Iowa Caucuses are in jeopardy, which they absolutely are, then it is my business.”

Representative Brooke Boden, a Republican from Indianola, said the bill would maintain the integrity of the Caucus concept. “A Caucus is a place for a robust conversation, a place where you can get together with your party and discuss the best candidates and I don’t think a mail ballot affords that type of conversation to happen,” Boden said.

The bill also would require Caucus participants to be registered to vote as a Democrat or a Republican 70 days before the night of the caucuses. Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver said both parties have worked for years to maintain the first-in-the-nation status of the Iowa Caucuses.

“The Senate is hopeful this tradition will continue,” Whitver said in a written statement.

(Anita, Iowa) – Firefighters from Anita and Wiota were paged-out to a residential structure fire at around Noon today (Wednesday). The blaze was reported west of Anita at 72737 Eastland Road. Cass County Communications also requested Atlantic and Adair Fire for provide mutual aid to Anita Fire. Additional details are currently not available.

(Radio Iowa) – Two South Carolina Republicans with White House aspirations are campaigning in Iowa. South Carolina Tim Scott has just announced he formed a presidential campaign exploratory committee — the last step before declaring he’s a candidate for the White House. He was in Cedar Rapids this (Wednesday) morning. Scott, the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, released a video and it begins by noting this is the day the first shots were fired in the Civil War.

In the video, Scott says Democrats are pursing a liberal agenda and promoting a culture of grievance in America.

Senator Tim (Rep.) from South Carolina.

Scott has made frequent visits to Iowa, dating back to 2014, shortly after he was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Nikki Haley, who was South Carolina’s governor at the time. Haley, who served as United Nations Ambassador during the first half of the Trump Administration, kicked off her own bid for president early this year. She spoke to an audience in Des Moines early this (Wednesday) morning. (click on photos to enlarge)

Haley spoke at events in western Iowa earlier this week. Today’s (Wednesday’s) event was aimed at women voters.

Nikki Haley speaks during an event in Denison, IA. April, 2023

Haley was the first woman to be elected governor of South Carolina and, after winning that first race for governor in 2010, she was the youngest governor in the country.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Transportation Commission is considering delaying some projects in its five-year construction plan as inflation and other factors impact the costs of building and maintaining state roadways. The D-O-T’s Stuart Anderson says they’ve been analyzing a lot of data as they prepare the plan for a June vote. “Not surprisingly, the inflationary pressures have hit the road and bridge construction industry, just like they have all sectors. So we are seeing our project cost estimates increase,” Anderson says.

He says the cost increases come as state and federal revenue is relatively flat.  “Last year, with a five year program, there was additional revenue from the federal infrastructure bill, but all that money was programmed last June. So this new program, there’s no additional revenue,” Anderson says. “So with increasing costs and flat revenue. That means the commission has had to look at some different options for how to deliver a fiscally-constrained five year program.”

Higher gas prices can leads to less driving and less gas tax revenue for road repairs — but Anderson says the impact of high fuel prices on construction costs is a bigger issue. “Building a roadway or bridge requires moving dirt and a lot of heavy equipment that uses fuel. And, of course, some of our road construction materials involve involves petroleum products,” Anderson says. “That can certainly have an impact on our construction costs as well.” Anderson says they’ve look at ways to adjust while keeping the Transportation Commission’s priority for the repair and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure.

“And so the Commission asked the department to look at options to make sure those investments aren’t reduced, and those projects aren’t impacted,” he says. “But then see if there are other projects that are more related to capacity or system enhancement, to see if there’s some projects there that could perhaps be delayed, but in a way that minimizes those impacts on ultimate construction schedules.” He says the D-O-T presented the Commission with some options. “And about a dozen projects would be delayed by a year in the program. And that’s out of over 600 projects. So program can be balanced with a pretty minimal impact on project schedules,” he says.

The D-O-T will release its draft five-year improvement plan in May, and then the Transportation Commission will vote on the final plan in June.