Des Moines – A Mason City woman, 26-year-old Shavhona Whitmore, pled guilty and was sentenced on March 13, 2023 to one count of Fraudulent Submissions (Class D Felony) following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Divisions Fraud Bureau.

The investigation began in July of 2022. According to criminal complaints filed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, Whitmore misrepresented information to an insurance company in an attempt to receive benefits she otherwise would not have been entitled to.

Following her guilty plea, Whitmore was placed on supervised probation for five years. A civil penalty of $1,025 is imposed, but suspended.

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

(Radio Iowa) – U-S Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is scheduled to testify before members of the Senate Ag Committee this week, including Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. Vilsack, a former Iowa governor and a Democrat, is pushing through policies at U-S-D-A which Grassley says will make it difficult to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill. Grassley, a Republican, says Vilsack discussed the continued consolidation of farming at the agency’s Ag Outlook Forum. “Even with record farm income, almost half of our farmers have negative farm income. We know that the largest 10% of the farms receive 70% of the commodity payments,” Grassley says. “That’s unacceptable.”

Grassley says he’s pursuing payment cap legislation which targets farm programs specifically to small- and medium-sized farmers.  “Along this line, the words ‘actively engaged in farming,’ a legal term, is very important,” Grassley says. “USDA has the ability to tighten the rules on those, whether or not they’re actively engaged. If they aren’t actively engaged, they shouldn’t be qualifying for payments.”

Grassley says they need to find ways to make the farm safety net work for all farmers, not just the large ones. He says the U-S-D-A’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, a program championed by Vilsack, is a departure from the agency’s earlier efforts to focus on small farmers. “Not-so-small companies like Microsoft, Campbell’s Soup, and Hershey’s have all been rewarded by this new program that the USDA created,” Grassley says, “and keep in mind that USDA created this program without input from Congress.”

Grassley says Vilsack’s actions, which he says include increasing the price of SNAP by 250-billion dollars, will put hopes for swift passage of the Farm Bill in jeopardy. The Senate Ag Committee hearing is scheduled for 8:30 A-M/Central on Thursday.

CRESTON, Iowa – March 14, 2023 – If you are driving on U.S. 59 in Mills and Pottawattamie counties in the coming weeks you may notice some construction work taking place on the roadway between U.S. 34 near Emerson and Iowa 92 near Carson.

Beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, March 20, weather permitting, construction crews will work on finishing up asphalt paving work that began last year. To get the work done, crews will need to take the road down to one lane. To help move traffic safely through the work zone, there will be flaggers and a pilot car from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays until completed on Friday, May 5. There’s also a 12-foot lane restriction while this work is being done.

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through the 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or Twitter (find links at https://iowadot.gov/511/511-social-media-sites); or download the free app to your mobile device.

(Anita, Iowa) – Members of the CAM School District’s Board of Education met in a regular session Monday evening. Superintendent Paul Croghan told KJAN News there were numerous resignations.

Croghan explains why there were so many resignations for the end of the current school year.

Croghan says some of those resignations will fit into the Board’s plan to close a District attendance center.

The Board voted to approve Sitelogiq as the architectural firm for the District’s facilities, and to enter into a contract with the firm for any kind of future needs.

And, Superintendent Croghan reports that on Wed., March 15^th, in the High School Commons, the Facilities Committee will be taking public comments on the closing of a district facility.

He asks everyone to attend Wednesday’s presentation, if at all possible. The CAM School Board will receive the Committee’s official recommendation during their regular meeting in April.

(Creston, Iowa) – A woman from Creston was arrested at around 6:11-p.m., Monday. Creston Police report 46-year-old Elizabeth Lea Reents was arrested at 900 N. Chestnut Street on a charge of Disorderly Conduct-Loud Raucous Noise. She was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on a $300 bond.