(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County, this (Monday) morning, arrested a Red Oak man on a Montgomery County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. 60-year-old Robert Wade Abraham was taken into custody at around 4-a.m. in the 2300 block of Eastern Avenue, in Red Oak. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa G-O-P’s chairman says getting Donald Trump elected is all the matters in the 2024 election. Over a thousand Iowa Republicans gathered in Clive Saturday for the party’s state convention. Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann told the delegates the party’s number one priority is the presidential race.

“Every action I take between now and November I’m going to ask myself: ‘How does this help put Donald Trump back in the White House?’ That’s all that matters,” Kaufmann said, to cheers. “…That is the only function of the Republican Party of Iowa this year until November — win, win, win with Republicans. That’s why we exist.” Kaufmann says there are people in the party who have reservations about Trump, but he suggests they must have beefs with President Biden on a variety of issues.

“If you don’t want that, you’ve got one choice: Donald J. Trump,” Kaufman said, to cheers. In her state convention speech, Governor Kim Reynolds made a passing reference to January’s Iowa Caucuses. Ron DeSantis, the candidate she endorsed last November, won got 21 percent. “While we may have been on different sides I can tell you without a doubt, without hesitate that we share a common goal,” Reynolds said, “and that is ending Joe Biden’s political career.”

Reynolds, who issued a written statement in March endorsing Trump, verbalized it on Saturday. “He is a fighter. He is a leader. He will close the border on day one. He will bring our economy back and our enemies will know that America is back!” Reynolds said, to cheers. Attorney General Brenna Bird, who endorsed Trump before the Iowa Caucuses, said the Trump campaign is depending on a big margin of victory in Iowa, so they can focus on winning other states.

Governor Reynolds, RPI chairman Kaufmann, other GOP officials addressed Iowa GOP convention delegates on May 4, 2024. (RI photo)

“You know what I’ve told him? ‘Don’t worry. We’re working hard here in Iowa. We have election integrity. Iowa has your back,'” Bird said, before asking the crowd: “Right?” The delegates were shown video messages from Iowa’s U.S. Senators, both of whom urged Iowa Republicans to stand firm and work to elect Trump.  A Des Moines Register “Iowa Poll” conducted at the end of February showed Trump leading Joe Biden in Iowa by 15 points.

The Iowa DEMOCRATIC Party’s state convention is June 15th. Democrats held district conventions Saturday. Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman Rita Hart told delegates at the second district convention in North Liberty that it’s important to get Democrats elected to the state legislature, to restore common sense and fairness in state government.

(Radio Iowa) – Death and disability benefits for first responders in dozens of Iowa cities will change July 1st. Under current law, firefighters, police and E-M-Ts in those cities are eligible for disability as well as death benefits if they’re diagnosed with one of 14 types of cancer that could be connected to their work. The governor has approved legislation that lets those first responders be eligible for disability benefits for ANY type of cancer as well as heart or lung diseases. Their spouses or children will be eligible for benefits if any of those illnesses leads to death.

Representative Eric Gjerde of Cedar Rapids is a volunteer Linn County deputy. “This is a great piece of legislation for the folks that serve on the front lines of our communities, our municipal police officers, our fire fighters and our first responders,” Gjerde says. “It’s something that has been worked on for a very long time.”

The law also requires local governments to cover the costs of mental health evaluations as part of the annual physicals for police officers and firefighters. First responders diagnosed with a mental illness connected to their service also could qualify for disability benefits.

Here’s the list of cities involved in the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa AND an asterisk means only POLICE get pensions through the system in that city: Ames, Ankeny, Bettendorf, Boone, Burlington, Camanche, Carroll*, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Centerville, Charles City, Clinton, Clive*, Council Bluffs, Creston, Davenport, Decorah, Des Moines, DeWitt*, Dubuque, Estherville*, Evansdale*, Fairfield, Fort Dodge, Fort Madison, Grinnell, Indianola*, Iowa City, Keokuk, Knoxville*, LeMars*, Maquoketa*, Marion, Marshalltown, Mason City, Muscatine, Newton, Oelwein, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Pella*, Sioux City, Spencer, Storm Lake, Urbandale, Waterloo, Waverly*, Webster City, West Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa) – The federal government intends to file a lawsuit tomorrow (Tuesday) to block enforcement of an Iowa law that makes illegal re-entry into the U.S. a state crime. The new law, signed by Governor Reynolds in April, also lets Iowa judges issue deportation orders for people arrested in Iowa who entered the country illegally. Delegates at the Iowa G-O-P’s state convention cheered the governor this weekend when she mentioned the law.

“Now the Biden Administration and the Department of Justice are threatening to sue me and the State of Iowa for, get this, for punishing people who are breaking the law. You can’t make it up,” Reynolds said. “I will never back down and I will never apologize for keeping Iowa and Iowans safe and for standing for the Constitution.” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird told state convention delegates the situation at the U-S/Mexico border out of control and she’ll defend the new state law in court.

Over 1000 delegates gathered in Clive for the Iowa GOP’s State Convention on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (RI photo)

“I’ve got something to tell the Biden Administration in response. Go pound sand, right?” Bird said, to cheers. “Maybe instead of suing people who enforce our laws they should try to secure the border for a day or two, right? That’s where the energy needs to be. They need to keep our country safe.”

In a letter to state officials, the U-S Justice Department said the Iowa law conflicts with federal immigration law and interferes with the functions of the federal government. A federal lawsuit is blocking a similar law in Texas from going into effect. In 2012, the U-S Supreme Court ruled the federal government, not states, had authority to set immigration policy. Since then, four new justices have been appointed to the court.

(Radio Iowa) – A woman from the small town of Hinton in northwest Iowa was arrested early Friday morning on the freight train she’d climbed aboard in Sioux City. The Sioux County sheriff says 46-year-old Shannon Heckler called 911 to report that she was riding on a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train car that was north of Sioux Center.

Heckler said she climbed on the train in Sioux City, in an attempt to get to her home in Hinton. Hinton is between Sioux City and Sioux Center.

Sioux County Sheriff’s Office photo of Shannon Heckler

Sioux County officials contacted the railroad and the train’s crew stopped the train near Sioux Center. Officers found Heckler, she was taken to the Sioux County Jail and charged with public intoxication and trespassing.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – (Corrects location of incident to Elliott)  A report of shots fired at a residence in the 100 block of Oak Street, in Elliott, Saturday night, resulted in the arrest of a man from Griswold. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies responded to the scene at around 10:16-p.m., in Elliott Upon investigation, Deputies arrested 42-year-old Justin Michael Strong, of Griswold, for: Assault with a dangerous weapon – an Aggravated Misdemeanor; Reckless Use of a Firearm – a Simple Misdemeanor; Possession of a firearm by a Prohibited Person – a Class-D Felony; Dangerous weapon used in a Crime – an Aggravated Misdemeanor, and Interference with Official Acts – a Simple Misdemeanor.

Justin Strong was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – A Kentucky Derby watch party in Iowa City on Saturday was about more than horses and hats—it was a fundraiser to support nurses in a field with a lot of burnout and turnover. KCRG says specifically, the money raised will support the nurses who work on the 11th floor of the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital with pediatric oncology patients. It’s a tough job, and so the money goes to keeping up morale.

The American Nurses Association said a 2020 survey indicated almost two-thirds of nurses experience burnout. According to the most recent staff engagement survey at Children’s Hospital, 33% of staff reported that they have an unreasonable amount of job stress.

The nurses on the 11th floor face particular intensity and stress. Crystal Walter, with Northwestern Mutual, said, “The turnover rate because of—pediatric oncology is very difficult. And with COVID, there was just a lot of burnout and stress. And so it was very difficult for them to keep nurses on that floor particularly.”

The company started the fund after winning a grant.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a man from Cass County (IA) was arrested Saturday, on an Assault charge. 39-year-old Michael Scott Stafford, of Griswold, was arrested just before 7-p.m., at 3rd and Elm Streets, in Red Oak. Stafford was charged with Domestic Assault/2nd Offense-causing bodily injury – an Aggravated Misdemeanor. Stafford was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A letter to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from more the five-dozen Iowans from 18 counties, are asking state agencies for a formal investigation of an “unprecedented” fertilizer spill that in March killed 750,000 fish in a Southwest Iowa river. The Gazette in Cedar Rapids reports 63 people signed onto the letter asking for the DNR to pursue “penalties and civil actions,” including referring enforcement to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which can pursue bigger fines.  Signers of the letter include people from Cass, Clayton, Crawford, Dallas, Guthrie, Greene, Johnson, Linn, Mitchell, Montgomery, Muscatine, Page, Polk, Pottawattamie, Story, Warren, Wayne and Winneshiek counties.

(View a copy of the letter HERE)

Around March 9, someone at the NEW Cooperative in Red Oak left open a hose valve that leaked about 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer into a drainage ditch that went to the East Nishnabotna River. An employee noticed the spill March 11 and alerted the Iowa DNR.

The Gazette reports Neil Hamilton, a Drake University emeritus professor of agricultural law, wrote in the letter dated April 29th, “The extent of this pollution event is unprecedented and requires the attention of all Iowans. The devastation of life in over 50 miles of the river, including the death of 750,000 fish as reported by your dedicated staff, is difficult to even comprehend.”

New Cooperative spill (File photo from the Iowa DNR)

In addition to seeking higher penalties for offenders, the letter asks the Iowa DNR to work with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to review rules about agricultural chemical storage to see if they are adequate to protect waterways.