Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a woman from Villisca was arrested Tuesday, on an assault charge.  40-year-old Kyla Rae Smith was taken into custody for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. She was being held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – All three Republicans competing for the chance to run against Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne in the fall oppose abortion under any circumstance — but all three say it should be the states that regulate abortion, not the U.S. congress. Candidate Nicole Hasso of Johnston is an insurance executive. Hasso says there’s nothing more important than life itself.

“They put those Planned Parenthood places in the black communities to control the population,” she says. “Where’s the outrage in that? So I will be 100% standing for life, from conception to the grave.” Candidate Zach Nunn is a state senator from Bondurant. Nunn says if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade, Democrats will try to pass a federal law on abortion rights.

“They’re going so far as to say just today that they would tear down the filibuster so they could push through a congressional act,” Nunn says. “They’re going so far as to say they would pack the courts to ensure their liberal view of abortion on demand is something that they can have,” Nunn says. Candidate Gary Leffler of West Des Moines is a construction consultant. Leffler, who also opposes abortion in all circumstances, says it is absolutely critical that states decide abortion policy.

“We’re tired of Washington, D.C. and its dominance of what happens in Iowa,” Leffler says. “Let’s put Iowans back in control of this issue.” The candidates made their comments during a debate hosted by W-H-O T-V. Leffler said Governor Reynolds should return federal pandemic relief that hasn’t been spent. “We can’t sit there and say: ‘Hey, we want all this dollars from Washington, D.C. and continue this rapid spending.’ Can’t do it,” Leffler says. “Send a congressman to D.C. who’ll say: ‘No!'”

Governor Reynolds returned about 95 million dollars in federal pandemic aid to reopen Iowa schools, which Reynolds said were already open, and Hasso says that was the right decision. “If we’re not going to use that money and we’re just going to sit on it, it needs to go back,” Hasso said. Nunn disagreed with returning pandemic aid. “God knows where that money would have ended up if Iowa would have sent it back, but it wouldn’t have been helping our state,” Nunn says. “It would have ended up somewhere n a blue state.”

Nunn says the federal pandemic support helped pave the way for state tax cuts, which he supported. The group said those who invaded the U.S. Capitol on January 6th should be prosecuted, but Hasso questioned whether January 6th defendants are being treated the same as those arrested in protests after George Floyd’s murder. “People burned down buildings, held communities hostage and took the livelihood of small businesses,” Hasso says, “and those people, they were arrested, but it was called ‘catch and release.'”

Leffler attended President Trump’s rally in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, but says he did not enter the Capitol. “There was a certain element that went there and they had an ulterior motive. That’s absolutely true,” Leffler said, “but for the million people plus that were there…to support American values, the support ‘We, the People, they were there for the right reasons.” Nunn says January 6th was a tragic day, but it was fueled Americans who feel frustrated by the election process.

“We in Iowa do it very well,” Nunn said. “…But Cindy Axne, the opponent in this race, has tried to pass HR1 which would nationalize all elections and bottle it up in a Washington, D.C. run form of election monitoring, implementation and verification.” All three candidates criticized Axne for failing to report stock trades, as required by House rules.

Sheriff’s officials in Shelby County report the following arrests took place between April 17th and the 29th….

4-17-22: Anthony Joseph Miller, age 43, Kimballton, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Washington St., In Elk Horn, IA.  Miller was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with OWI 3rd offense, Driving while Barred, Improper Rear Lamps, and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability.

4-23-22: Nathanial Thomas Jacobsen, age 32, Harlan, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on RD M47. Jacobsen was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with OWI 1st offense, Reckless Driving, Open Container, Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability, and Speed; And, Cory Robert Kyle, age 34, Harlan, IA was arrested and charged following a traffic stop on Hwy 59, Harlan, IA. Kyle was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Driving while Barred, Driving while License Under Suspension, and Windshield and Window Requirements.

4-27-22: Jennifer Stephanie Gomez Gonzalez, age 19, Denison, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 191. Gomez Gonzalez was transported to the Shelby County Jail and Charged with Prohibited Acts Penalties, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Speeding, Possession of Alcohol by person under the legal age, and Failure to provide Proof of Financial Liability.

4-28-22: Thomas Mathias Wageman, age 70, Harlan, IA was arrested after a call for service in the 1100 Block of Highway 59.  Wageman was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Trespassing 1st Offense; And, Amanda Louise Lavender, age 32, Kiron, IA, was arrested following a traffic stop at 12th St and Cyclone Ave.  Lavender was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Prohibited Acts Penalties, Eluding Injury, OWI Drugs or Participating in a Felony, Driving while License Denied or Revoked, Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Failure to use Safety Glass, Speeding, Fail to Obey stop sign and Yield Right of Way, Failure to Maintain Control, and Reckless Driving.

4-29-22: Jazmine Marie Petra Martinez, age 25, Harlan, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 59 and Highway 37.  Martinez was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Speeding; And, Jamie Lee Brooks, age 40, Boone, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 59 and 1600th St. Brooks was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Driving while Barred, and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability.

(Radio Iowa) – A state law that goes into effect July 1st sets new parameters for what government agencies and officials may charge for access to public records. Senator Waylon Brown of Osage says the bill sets a reasonable standard of what the custodians of public records are to charge for copies. “The custodian shall make every reasonable effort to provide a record at no cost, other than copying, if the record takes less than 30 minutes to produce,” Brown says. “It permits a person to contest the reasonableness of the expenses and, lastly, it limits the costs for legal services only for redaction or review of legally protected confidential information.”

Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City says it’s a consumer protection law. “Obviously we want to make sure people have access to copies. It allows anyone to visually look at public records at any time without any cost at all,” Mascher says.  And Mascher says for people who believe they’d been overcharged for copies of public records, the law sets up an appeal process. Representative Megan Jones of Sioux Rapids says the law strikes a balance between state and local governments and the requesters of public records, but it’s also an important check on some corporations that go on data mining expeditions through public records.

“They submit these really fradulent requests which can be very expensive to the taxpayer, ” Jones says, “so while government should be responsible to the people, we also cannot afford for the taxpayer to just be used a data center at taxpayer expense.” The Iowa Braodcasters Association and the Iowa Newspaper Association registered in favor of the proposal. The bill passed the Senate unanimously in February and cleared the House on a 93-to-zero vote in March. The governor approved it this week.

(Radio Iowa) – How would a decision from the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade impact Iowa law on abortion? In 2018, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Iowa women have a fundamental right to an abortion under the STATE constitution. It means THAT ruling would have to be overturned before any IOWA law could be enacted to restrict access to abortion. That’s exactly what Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has asked the Iowa Supreme Court to do in 2022. Reynolds has appointed a majority of the justices on the Iowa Supreme Court. The Iowa court is due to soon rule whether a law can take effect that would ban abortions in Iowa after the sixth week of a pregnancy.

Critics say that’s effectively a ban on all abortions, as few women know or have confirmed by week six that they’re pregnant. In a tweet late this (Tuesday) morning, Governor Reynolds said the mission remains as clear as it has ever been — to defend the most important freedom there is: the right to life. The Republican Party of Iowa released a written statement, saying the party is committed to defending the unborn. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn says the majority of Iowans believe abortion should be legal and Iowans will have a chance this fall to elect candidates who will write the protection of Roe into law at the state and federal level.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, is expected to receive an update from Housing Committee Chair Kathy Somers, with regard to progress that’s being made in addressing the critical shortage of single-family residential homes in the community. Along those lines, the Council – later on in their meeting – will act on passing the second reading of an Ordinance amending the City Code, with regard to changing the Zoning Classification of certain real property (the Redwood Subdivision) from R-4 (Multi-family use) to R-2 (Low Density/Single Family use), and changing the official Zoning Map to reflect the change.

They will also hold the second reading of an Ordinance that also amends the Code, with regard to changing the area at 705 W. 8th Street from R-3 (High Density/Single Family Residential District) to C-1 (Highway Commercial District), and making the change to the Zoning Map. In other business, the Council will act on an Order to approve the City’s application to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, for a Destination Iowa Grant associated with the Prairie Hill Development project in the area of 22nd and Olive Streets. The City of Atlantic’s Housing Committee hopes to receive up to 25% of the project cost through IEDA, or about $710,000. The total project price tag is expected to be around $2.8-million, and would help to create 34 lots for the development of single-family homes, the necessary infrastructure, and a trail.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on a Resolution establishing an updated Credit Card Policy, replacing authorized users, new credit limits, and improved controls over use of the credit card. Mayor Grace Garrett is expected to announce a proclamation recognizing the week of May 1st through the 7th as the 53rd Professional Municipal Clerk’s Week, in Atlantic. Among their final items of business, is to set the date for a Public Hearing on Amending the FY 2022 Budget, as May 18, 2022. A full explanation of changes made to the FY22 Budget will be included in the Agenda notes for the 18th.

The Council’s meeting takes place in their Chambers at City Hall, beginning at 5:30-p.m. Wednesday (May 4th).

(Radio Iowa) – Senator Chuck Grassley says it’s no secret he has hoped Roe v Wade would be overturned. as a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion seems to indicate is imminent. “I’ve let people know for 40 years where I stand on Roe,” Grassley said this morning. “I’ve had the same position for decades.” But during his weekly conference call with radio reporters from Iowa, Grassley said there’s no way to predict any of the Supreme Court nominees he’s supported recently would vote to overturn the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion. “It is possible that they would and that’s it,” Grassley said, “but there’s no way members of congress can control what people do once they get on the bench.”

Grassley led the Senate Judiciary Committee as it refused to consider President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court and then confirmed two of President Trump’s nominees. “You don’t aim for any outcome in choosing anybody to be on the Supreme Court,” Grassley said this morning. “I look for strict constructionists. People who are going to interpret law, not make law.” Last night, Politico published the leaked draft of an opinion indicating five justices had voted to overturn Roe v Wade. “The leak was surely a monumental breach of trust within our judicial system and hasn’t happened within my years in the Senate,” Grassley said.

Grassley would not “speculate” on what abortion-related restrictions Republican-led congress might pass if the leaked document matches up with the opinion the court releases. Grassley drew cheers a month ago in a speech to the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition when he discussed his influence in shaping the Supreme Court. “You know we might have an opportunity here before the end of June for the Supreme Court either by a 6-3 vote or a 5-4 vote to overturn Roe v Wade,” Grassley said April 9. “You probably my remember my role in not moving ahead with the Garland nomination, not holding a hearing on it because we were hoping we’d get a Republican president and we did get a Republican president…and overturning Roe v Wade is a real possibility now.”

Two of the Democrats who hope to run against Grassley in the General Election say the future of women’s rights is at stake. Mike Franken said the “pending” decision is not a “partial rollback,” but “one of the most disastrous decisions the court has ever made.” Abby Finkenauer said like “millions of women across the country,” the news Roe is likely to be overturned “makes me scared and sick” and “ready to defend reproductive rights.”

(Radio Iowa) – A doctoral student at Iowa State University is gathering signatures to challenge budget cuts that would cause the history department to end its graduate program. Michael Belding says the program has a unique focus on rural history as well as agriculture, technology and the environment. Belding says ending it would mean lost expertise on topics that are central to Iowa’s culture and economy. Belding says, “Based on the facts and based on the facts at other institutions, we know that ISU’s department becomes a lot more generic, a lot less focused on stuff that Iowans need.”

Kevin Mason, an I-S-U history alum and a professor at Waldorf University in Forest City, is one of more than 60 alumni who have signed the petition. Mason says cutting the program would be shortsighted because Iowa State is one of the top universities training experts in rural and agricultural history. “And a lot of that work has to do with being at one of the premier agricultural universities in the world,” Mason says, “and I think that’s an important piece of it that’s different than anywhere else.”

Iowa State is looking to make up for lower enrollment and increased costs by cutting 15-million dollars overall from the budget of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences by 2026. The cuts range from around 70-thousand dollars in computer science to nearly one-million in history.