(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Amy Sinclair of Allerton will be president of the Iowa Senate when the 2023 legislature convenes. “I view the role of the president as stepping up and being the face of the people who’ve been elected to serve Iowa,” Sinclair says. “Being an arbiter of the law and the rules that we have in place for the Senate is a really important job and I will do it with fidelity.”

The 34 Republicans who’ll be serving in the Senate next year met this morning and elected Sinclair to this new role — replacing current Senate President Jake Chapman of Adel was defeated in this week’s election. Jack Whitver of Grimes was re-elected by his colleagues to be Senate Majority Leader — so Senate Republicans will have leaders from urban central Iowa and rural southern Iowa.

“Having leadership in the Iowa Senate that reflects the face of Iowa is really important and I come from one of the most rural parts of the state,” Sinclair says. “I have all or part of nine different counties, which may well be the largest district in the state.” Sinclair’s district includes the town of Clio, which has around 70 residents.

Amy Sinclair. (IA Legislature photo)

“My largest towns are in the 5000 to 6000 to 7000 range and those are our urban centers and so having a voice for people who are coming from a place where it’s not uncommon to put 40,000 miles on your car in a given year just going to work and taking your kids to school,” Sinclair says, “so being able to bring that voice to a leadership role to our caucus I think will be a phenomenal improvement for our state and the folks that I represent.”

Sinclair says the GOP’s 2023 legislative agenda will be centered around families and their jobs, “and do those things that just make the lives of Iowans better and that tax reform, that is a solid education system and just regulation and rule of law that makes sense and advances the family unit.”

Sinclair has been chair of the Iowa Senate Education Committee. She’s also guided several major pieces of legislation through senate debate since she was first elected in 2012.

House Republicans also met today and reelected Pat Grassley as Speaker and Matt Windschitl as Majority Leader.

(Radio Iowa) – The Story County Sheriff’s Office has charged a 17-year-old Roland-Story student and wrestler with one count of felony assault for stripping off the victim’s clothes assaulting him with a pencil. Roland Story senior Kade Blume was charged with from an incident that occurred on New Year’s Day. The Story County Sheriff’s Office has said that multiple wrestlers were a part of the hazing, and a second person has been charged in juvenile court.

Roland Story School District Superintendent Matt Payton released a statement that said that the district has continued to cooperate with local police and since the alleged incident did not occur on school property. We’re at a school event it has become a law enforcement matter.

Peyton has also said that the district is considering appropriate disciplinary actions for the students allegedly involved in the incident — but due to the legal obligation to protect student confidentiality, they cannot publicly share details about what the actions will be at this time

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A District Court Judge has granted a request from an attorney for a Cass County woman, to continue her 1st Degree Murder and Child Endangerment trial until May 1, 2023. The trial for 39-year-old Alison Dorsey, of Anita, was set last June, to take place on Dec. 5th of this year, in Pottawattamie County District Court. The charges against Dorsey stem from the October 2019 death of an infant in her care, at a home daycare facility in Massena.

According to online court records, Dorsey’s pre-trial conference (PTC) will now take place March 24, 2023 with the jury trial beginning at 9:30-a.m., on May 1st. The trial remains to be held in Council Bluffs. Dorsey’s Cass County trial in the fall of 2021 ended after six-days, when the jury in her case deadlocked. A Judge declared a mistrial.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports, late Wednesday evening, Clarinda Police were notified of a juvenile’s written threat of violence to the campus of the Clarinda Lutheran School. Brothers said the “Clarinda Lutheran School has cooperated fully with the Clarinda Police Department to address this threat and the juvenile involved is currently in the custody of police.

After a thorough investigation into the threat, as well as a search of the facility, we are confident there is no on-going threat to the Clarinda Lutheran School or the community. The investigation revealed this is an isolated event. The incident report and a complaint alleging juvenile delinquency have been forwarded to Page County Juvenile Court Services.”

All juveniles are presumed innocent under our system of criminal justice until adjudicated delinquent in a court of law.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on arrests and/or incidents occurring from Oct. 25th through the 28th:

On Oct. 25th, at around 4:52-p.m. Adams County deputies conducted a traffic stop on Highway 25 at 250th Street. Upon further investigation, 36-year-old Angel Sharpsteen was arrested and charged with Driving while (under) suspension. A passenger in the vehicle, 27-year-old Dashawn Procks, was arrested and charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. Sharpsteen later posted a $300 cash-only bond and was released from the Jail. Procks was later released on a $1,300 cash-only bond.

There were two arrests on Oct. 26th in Adams County. Deputies assisted a DHS worker at a location in Cumberland. Upon further investigation, 40-year-old Curtis Penton, of Cumberland, was arrested for Poss. of a Controlled substance/Methamphetamine-2nd offense, Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia, and Child Endangerment. Penton remains in the Adams County Jail on a $5,000 bond. And, deputies in Adams County made a casual encounter approach at a residence in the 900 block of Davis Avenue, in Corning. The ended-up arresting 31-year-old Colby Hoover, of Des Moines, for Public Intoxication, and Interference with Official Acts. He has since plead guilty to the charges.

On Oct. 27th, 37-year-old Jennifer Lyn Ham, of Lorimor, was arrested in Adams County for Public Intoxication. She was being held on a $300 bond. And, on the 28th, Adams County Deputies arrested 28-year-old Joshua Haggerty, for PCS/Marijuana-3rd offense. He later posted a $2,000 cash or surety bond, and was released.

*Any potential criminal charges identified above are merely allegations and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

WASHINGTON – Ahead of Black Friday, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to make additional staffing preparations to handle the influx of legal gun purchases and background checks conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) expected during the holidays.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the senators write: “The FBI is notoriously understaffed on Black Friday, despite knowing year-after-year of the high-volume of gun sales. This must change. Now is the time to prepare the FBI and ATF for adequate staffing to avoid the inevitable holiday rush. The letter continues: “Black Friday is less than a month away and reports already indicate the ATF is shorthanded and facing backlogs. The current wait time for approval of a paper Form 4, which is used to complete a tax stamp purchase, is one year, and an e-Form 4 is at least 180 days, some taking more than a year.  The average processing time for an e-Form 4 has increased by 80 days since the enactment of the ‘Frame or Receiver’ final rule, which went into effect just over a month ago.”

Traditionally, Black Friday is among the top ten highest days for legal gun sales and background checks through NICS. Last year, NICS recorded 187,585 checks on Black Friday alone. Despite the year-after-year high volume of gun sales, the FBI is notoriously understaffed on this day, which has caused delays and backlogs.

Read the full letter here.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police in Council Bluffs arrested two men during an incident this (Thursday) morning, following a brief stand-off. Authorities report Officers with the Council Bluffs Police Department, Adult Probation, and U-S Marshalls, went to 2906 Avenue A in Council Bluffs, to serve a felony warrant on a man believed to be inside the residence. While watching the residence, officers saw a second male who was known to officers, enter the house with what appeared to be a long gun. Those same officers knew that person was prohibited from possessing firearms.

They secured the residence and called out the original wanted person – 20-year old Keshawn Houtz-Mayfield – and placed him under arrest without incident. The man seen with the apparent long-gun, refused to come out, and shut the front door. He surrendered without incident less than 10-minutes later. A search warrant was obtained for the residence. During the search, officers recovered one-rifle and one stolen handgun.

Since an investigation is ongoing, authorities have chosen not to release the name of the second subject at this time. Traffic on Avenue A was restricted for about 90-minutes during the incident and investigation, but has since re-opened.

(Radio Iowa) – A printing error caused a board of supervisors race to be left off the ballot in one precinct in rural Linn County on Tuesday, but officials say the mistake didn’t have an impact on the outcome. Iowa’s Secretary of State says the ballots used in Putnam Township did not list the race between Republican Mark Banowetz and Democrat Kristen Running-Marquardt. Banowetz says he was denied the chance to see how he did in his own community.  “I wish it would show up differently that I won in the town I live in,” Banowetz says, laughing, “but I don’t think they’re going to be able to correct that unless we do a recount or something.”

Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said it was his fault for not catching the ballot error. Banowetz says it was a real shock to realize something was wrong with his ballot.  “What I did is I went in to vote, I went up and got my ballot, went over, sat down, went through and started marking off all the different people I wanted to win,” Banowetz says. “I got done and thought, ‘Wait, where’s my name at?’ So I read through the ballot on the front a couple times, and the back a couple times and it was just not there.”

Reports show 57-percent of Linn County residents district voted for Banowetz’ opponent. He’d need to gain four-thousand votes in Putnam Township to win the seat, but the precinct has half that many registered voters. While the result may not change, Banowetz says he’s weighing his options on whether to call for a special election.

(reporting by Zachary Oren Smith, Iowa Public Radio)