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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Area Chamber Ambassadors were on-hand, Thursday, to celebrate the opening of a new business, The Moviehouse & Event Center, located in a renovated space above Brymons Interiors in downtown Atlantic. The event included a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Jennifer Miller, owner of Brymons Interiors & Moviehouse & Event center, purchased 412 Chestnut building 6 years ago from the Mason’s. The Mason’s continued to rent the top levels of the building to host meetings, but the elevator fell out of operation, and the group found other arrangements for the meetings. When the movie theater left Downtown Atlantic, Jennifer recognized the need and went to the drawing board. In March of this year, Jennifer and her daughter Cambrie began cleaning, painting, remodeling and installing equipment.
The Moviehouse & Event Center shows movies that are “current release” or “classic” movie every Saturday night. Jennifer shared that as fall and winter approach they may increase the amount of showings and possibly add a matinee. Jennifer looks forward to community feedback and requests to help guide their selections.
Pictured from Left to Right: Jeremy Butler, Chris Parks, Jennifer McEntaffer, Dr. Keith Leonard, Krysta Hanson, Kennedy Freund, Sue Liston, Ruth Sears, Colt Doherty, Jennifer Miller, Elaine Otte, Anne Quist, Dolly Bergmann, Gabby Wahlert, Lana Westphalen, Emily Symonds, Connie Wahls, Julie Waters, Alden Harriman, Kathie Hockenberry, DeeDee Kalny, Bailey Smith
The Moviehouse & Event Center is located at 412 1/2 Chestnut Street in Atlantic. For more information and movie scheduled visit their Facebook page @The Moviehouse & Events Center.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2024 – Perdue Foods LLC, a Perry, Ga. establishment, is recalling approximately 167,171 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken breast nugget and tender products that may be contaminated with foreign material, specifically metal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The frozen, ready-to-eat chicken breast nugget and tender items were produced on March 23, 2024. The following products are subject to recall [view labels]:
The products subject to recall bear establishment number “P-33944” on the back of the package. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide and sold online directly to consumers.
The problem was discovered after the firm received consumer complaints about metal wire embedded in the product and notified FSIS of the issue.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.
FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Perdue Consumer Care at 1-866-866-3703.
DES MOINES, Iowa – A businessman, formerly of Adel, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in federal prison for filing a false income tax return.
According to public court documents, Mark Francis Davidson, 66, is the majority shareholder of a company called Collegiate Concepts, Inc., which rents dorm minifridges to colleges and college students across the United States. Beginning in 2015 and continuing until 2021, Davidson diverted over $3.8 million from the corporation to himself and failed to report this income to the Internal Revenue Service. Davidson concealed these payments from the corporation’s accountant and tax preparer by providing falsified check ledgers that falsely identified checks from the corporation to Davidson as seemingly legitimate business expenses.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Davison will be on supervised release for one year. There is no parole in the federal system. Davidson was also ordered to pay $1,449,620 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and a fine of $20,000.
“A prison sentence should send a message to anyone who consistently underreports their income each year that it’s just a matter of time before they land on the radar of IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock of CI’s St. Louis Field Office. “We strive to ensure the integrity and fairness of the nation’s tax code, so all taxpayers pay their fair share.”
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
(Oskaloosa, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Army National Guard in Johnston, say an amazing story of military training put into a real-life scenario that saved a person suffering a massive heart attack. On December 18, 2023, Nathan Kessler was surveying a field in Peru, IA when he collapsed, suffering a massive heart attack. No less than five other people were in the area, but Staff Sergeant Nicolas M Darland immediately sprang into action, a critical moment in the survival of Mr. Kessler.
For this heroic deed, SSG Darland is being awarded the Iowa Medal of Merit, with his family and Mr. Kessler present. The Iowa Medal of Merit is the second highest state award next to the Iowa Medal of Valor. The Presentation will be Sunday, August 18th , at 1 PM at the Oskaloosa Armory (2260 Hwy 63) on the north side of Oskaloosa. 
SSG Darland attributes his twelve-year career and military training to his effective response. SSG Darland is a true selfless servant, he holds the lessons and training he has learned as a member of the Iowa National Guard and applies them in his civilian and military career. His action in a real-world situation, resulted in the saving of not only a life but of one who is a close friend, employee, father, and husband. His actions truly distinguish himself and exemplify selfless service to the highest degree.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, to 136 months in federal prison for distribution of methamphetamine.
According to public court documents, Michael Martin Meehan, 53, distributed methamphetamine to a confidential informant on two occasions in January 2023, totaling more than 150 grams.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Meehan will be required to serve seven years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Council Bluffs Police Department, and Carter Lake Police Department.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs woman was sentenced on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, to 122 months in federal prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.
According to public court documents, Demi Lynn Jahn, 33, conspired with other individuals to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine in the Council Bluffs metro area between March and June 2023. Jahn conspired with others including Leonires Perez, also known as “Flaco,” who was sentenced in May 2024 in the District of Nebraska to 248 months for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and Virgil McIntosh, who was sentenced in April 2024 to 240 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm.
After completing her term of imprisonment, Jahn will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Council Bluffs Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, to 48 months in federal prison for two counts of possessing a firearm as a drug user.
According to public court documents, Nicholas Paul Gilmore, 33, was found in possession of two firearms between August and September 2023. One of the firearms was stolen. During a search of Gilmore’s residence in August 2023, officers located methamphetamine, ammunition, and extended firearms magazines.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Gilmore will be required to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Council Bluffs Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
(Des Moines, Iowa) – An advocate for seniors is calling on the state auditor’s office to investigate the state’s failure to collect $10.7 million in fees owed by corporate nursing home owners. The auditor’s office says it has reported a state agency’s failure to collect the fees but has no enforcement authority. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reported last week that 49 Iowa nursing homes owe Iowa taxpayers more than $10.7 million in unpaid fees that are past due and which the state has so far failed to collect.
According to documents obtained through the state’s Open Records Law, one for-profit company based in West Des Moines operates 18 care facilities that collectively owe the state $3.6 million in unpaid fees. The company’s top two executives, meanwhile, have made $293,000 in political donations to Statehouse leaders, the governor and industry lobbyists.
The fees the state imposes on nursing homes, called Quality Assurance Assessment fees, are a mechanism that has been used since 2009 to artificially inflate the facilities’ cost of doing business. That increased expense enables the facilities to draw down more money in Medicaid reimbursement for resident care. Often, the increased Medicaid payments more than offset the cost of the fees paid to the state, resulting in a net gain for the homes.
By law, the care facilities are supposed to use that additional money to increase the compensation of front-line caregivers — which is why the fees are called Quality Assurance Assessment fees. It’s a circular, but legal, method of increasing the revenue collected by nursing homes and has been approved by the federal government in Iowa and other states.
However, not all Iowa homes are paying the fees and of those that do, up to 18% of them have failed to meet all of the legal requirements for spending their additional Medicaid revenue on pay increases for front-line caregivers. Two Iowa nursing home companies that have filed for bankruptcy in recent years did so while owing the state a combined total of $5 million in unpaid QAA fees. Some of those unpaid fees date back to at least 2019, according to court records.
John Hale, a consultant and advocate for Iowa seniors, says it appears to him that “taxpayers are getting taken to the cleaners” by nursing home companies. ” Hale said an investigation by the Iowa Auditor of State is warranted, in part to make sure nursing facilities that claim to be increasing staff pay are doing so.
In a written statement, Auditor of State Rob Sand said his office has publicly reported DHHS’ failure “to collect these fees as required by law. However, the auditor’s office isn’t an enforcement agency. We have no legal authority to force DHHS to collect the fees or impose penalties on the facilities that don’t pay them.”
The company that appears to owe taxpayers the most is Accura Healthcare of West Des Moines. Eighteen of the for-profit company’s Iowa care facilities are currently on payment plans with the state, and they now owe a combined $3,644,432.97, according to DHHS. Campaign finance records show that since 2015, Accura Healthcare’s CEO, Ted LeNeave, has personally donated more than $239,000 to GOP campaigns in Iowa and to the political action committee of the industry’s main lobbying organization. That total includes $54,500 LeNeave donated directly to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ campaigns, plus $76,000 LeNeave donated to Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver of Grimes.
Since 2021, the president of Accura Healthcare, Lisa Toti, has made $36,000 in political donations in Iowa, including $16,000 contributed to Reynolds’ campaign committees.
(Radio Iowa) – A U-S House committee hosted a hearing at the Iowa State Fair today (Friday) to tout Trump-era tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of 2025. Steve Sukup, president and C-E-O of Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield, says the tax reform law of 2017 was a shot in the arm to the manufacturing sector. “Thanks to lowering the corporate tax rate to 21%, Sukup grew our workforce by a third,” Sukup said, “adding 200 well-paying manufacturing jobs in our community.” Sukup also urged congress to address a tax policy which had allowed 100 percent of equipment purchases to be claimed in the year they’re made.
“Unfortunately, full expensing began to expire in 2023. We believe that was a mistake. It is common sense that our tax code should encourage investment that leads to growth,” Sukup says. “Many manufacturing teams, including our company, would benefit from seeing this provision restored and congress should do it immediately.” Iowa Corn Growers Association president Jolene Riessen, of Ida Grove, says being able to claim that expense in a single year is a big deal when buying farm equipment, since a new combine costs 750-thousand dollars.
“Being able to use that 100% depreciation now it just freed up money so I can make those payments,” Riessen said. “You know, people have 20 to 30 years to pay off a house. Nope, I’ve got to pay off in three to five years.” Riessen and Lana Pol, of Pella, who owns four businesses, urged federal lawmakers to address inheritance taxes, too. “While I agree with others that this tax should be eliminated entirely, if congress does not at least act to preserve the expanded exemption of the estate tax, it will be increasingly harder to pass if from generation to generation,” she said.
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee convened a field hearing at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 16, 2024. (RI photo)
The standard deduction and child tax credit doubled in 2017 and are set to return to previous levels at the end of 2025. Sarah Curry, of Glenwood, is the mother of three boys and most of the services for her youngest, who has been diagnosed with autism, are not covered by insurance. She says the increased child tax credit and standard deduction for each child has made a difference. “I mean, every dollar that my husband and I earn that we get to keep goes to our children,” Curry says. “…Reducing it by any amount would negatively impact my family, our children and our ability to pay for services.”
Curry, who is the research director for Iowans for Tax Relief, says if she and her husband pay more in federal taxes, they’ll likely pay more in state income taxes. That’s because federal taxable income is the starting point for calculating how much is owed in state income taxes. Congressman Randy Feenstra is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, that panel that held today’s (Friday’s) hearing about the Trump-era tax cuts. “But if all these things go away, it will have a dramatic effect, for our families, for our businesses, for our Main Streets,” Feenstra said, “…and so many other things.”
The three other Iowa Republicans who serve in the U-S House also attended the hearing.
(Radio Iowa) – A man has been charged following the investigation of signs posted on the doors of Latino-owned businesses in Hampton. The signs were placed on the doors of numerous Hispanic businesses Tuesday morning. The flier, with a black-and-white image, reads: “U-S-A Illegal Immigrant Hunting Permit – No Bag Limit – Tagging Not Required,” and at the bottom it said “Trump 2024.”
Daniel Alan Embree
Hampton Police Chief Mark Morrison announced a search warrant was executed Thursday at a residence and in Hampton and Daniel Alan Embree was charged with eight counts of second-degree harassment, and trespassing with intent to commit a hate crime. Morrison said the investigation is ongoing.
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