(Radio Iowa) – State officials say liquid manure from a cattle operation near Remsen turned the water in a nearby creek brown and killed fish for several miles downstream. Department of Natural Resources staff were on site Monday, monitoring clean-up and conducting a count of dead fish. According to a news release from the agency, Louis Pick, who owns LCNJ Farms, filled a tanker with manure Saturday night, but a valve on the tanker apparently failed.

Manure ran into a road ditch, then into a tributary of Whiskey Creek near Remsen. Pick discovered the spill Monday morning and took steps to stop the flow of manure into the ditch and recover pools of liquid manure in the area.

The news at 7:07-a.m., w/News Director Ric Hanson.

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Perry, Iowa – April 6, 2021 – Alliant Energy and the city of Perry have reached an agreement to install a 1-megawatt solar facility on a 7-acre site on the western edge of the city. On April 5, a lease for the project was approved during the City Council Meeting. Sven Peterson, City Administrator for the City of Perry, says “The City of Perry looks forward to hosting a solar energy project in our community,” said . “Our collaboration with Alliant Energy on this facility will provide financial, environmental and educational benefits to the city and area residents.”

By hosting the solar facility, the City of Perry will receive significant revenue from lease payments for 25 years. The city will also obtain renewable energy credits from the project to offset their greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions and help them progress toward their sustainability goals. Mason Adams, Alliant Energy key account manager, says “We are excited to partner with the city of Perry to support the community and bring more clean energy to our customers. This is the first Alliant Energy® Customer Hosted Renewables solar facility in the state of Iowa. This project is a win-win that will benefit the local economy and the environment for many years to come. It represents our vision to provide a clean energy future for our customers and the communities we serve.”

The solar facility will be located on a remediated brownfield site that the city of Perry has worked to put a renewable energy project on for several years. Alliant Energy will oversee construction of the solar facility and will own, operate and maintain it. There are no upfront, financing or other costs to the city of Perry. It is expected to be operational by mid-2022.

(Radio Iowa) – The man wanted for last week’s murder of a Mason City man was arrested on Monday afternoon after a standoff with authorities in Algona. The Mason City Police Department says at around 4 o’clock, 38-year-old Benjamin Gonzalez was taken into custody on a first-degree murder warrant.

Benjamin B. Gonzalez

He’s accused of the shooting death last Wednesday night of 36-year-old Michael Creviston in the area of 3rd Northwest and North Jefferson. Gonzalez is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail on $1 million cash-only bond pending an initial court date. If convicted of first-degree murder, Gonzalez would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the opportunity for parole.

Police are still seeking more information about the case, and if you have information, you are asked to contact the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reports six recent arrests.  Last Saturday (4/3/21), Deputies arrested 49-year-old Mario Santay-Hernandez, of Schuyler NE, following a traffic stop along Highway 191 north of Portsmouth.  Upon further investigation, Santay-Hernandez taken into custody for operating while intoxicated 1st offense, and failure to have a valid driver’s license.  He was transported to the jail without incident and released a few hours later after posting a cash bond.

Last Friday (4/21), 24-year-old Bret Michael Schutles, of Carroll, was arrested following a traffic stop in Shelby County.  Schultes was taken into custody after further investigation and charged with operating while intoxicated 2nd offense, speeding violation, no insurance, and failure to display license plate.  He was transported to the jail without incident and released the following morning after posting bond.

Authorities say three people were arrested on separate charges, March 30th:

• 38-year-old Cecil Leo Foster, of Shelby, was arrested following a traffic stop within Shelby City limits for window tint violation.   Upon further investigation, it was determined that Foster had a suspended license to operate a motor vehicle through the State of Iowa.   He was transported to the Shelby County Jail and was charged with driving under suspension, window tint violation and open container as a driver.  Foster was released a short time later after posting bond.
• 22-year-old Justin Michael Couch, of Bennington NE, was arrested following  a traffic stop for speeding, along Highway 59.  Upon further investigation, Couch was also charged with operating while intoxicated 1st offense, supplying alcohol to minors, open container as driver, and speeding violation. He was transferred to the Shelby County jail and held until being released on his own recognizance the following morning.
• And, 36-year-old Aubree Jasmine Cline, of Bellevue, IA, turned herself into authorities to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, March 30th. She was wanted on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for probation violation charge.  Cline was processed into the jail and held until her court appearance on Monday (4/5). She was released after a plea deal, with credit for time served.

On March 29th, 35-year-old Bryce William Messinger, of Harlan, was taken into custody after a traffic stop along Highway 59 in Shelby County.   Upon further investigation, Messinger was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with prohibited acts, possession of controlled substance (marijuana), possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving while license suspended.  He was released on his own recognizance on the local charge, but transferred to another county upon release for an active warrant for failure to pay child support.

(Radio Iowa) – Faculty numbers at the three state universities are on the decline and the number of professors being considered for tenure is the lowest its been in five years. The board that governs the three public universities takes the final vote that grants tenure. Iowa State University officials are asking the Board of Regents to approve tenure for 59 faculty members. Tenure is recommended for 45 University of Iowa faculty members and University of Northern Iowa administrators recommend tenure for 17 faculty.

Republican lawmakers this year proposed and advanced bills to end the tenure systems at the state universities. While those proposals failed to clear last week’s procedural deadline, key Republicans say rather a ban on tenure, next year they may propose limitations or new guidelines for tenure.

The number of overall faculty at the University of Northern Iowa has dropped eight percent in the past year. At the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, faculty positions dropped three percent.

(Radio Iowa) – A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Education says a social justice and equity conference for educators has been postponed in response to a bill in the Iowa Legislature. The House bill bans so-called “divisive concepts” in government diversity training and school curriculum — including teaching that the U-S and the state of Iowa are “fundamentally or systemically racist or sexist.” A retired education department official, Tom Rendon, was supposed to give a presentation at the conference.

“What concerned me was that the work we do here in education-and equity, I think is an important part of it, especially in early childhood-is being hindered even before this House File 802 becomes law,” according to Rendon. Simpson College assistant professor, Katrina Cummings was also supposed to speak at the equity conference.  “If teachers aren’t prepared to be responsive to diversity, to differences, because there’s a lack of training, or limited scope of training, I think that could have a great impact on teacher competence, as well as the experience of their students,” Cummings says.

The bill passed out of the House without any Democratic support and was sent to the Senate. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison said during debate he believes that teaching or applying a certain characteristic to a certain group of people based on color is the very definition of racism. Holt said, “the way I was raised, that’s un-American.”

Representative Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City, is an Asian American who told his colleagues he’s been called every racial slur you could imagine, but Stone said he does not believe there is “systemic racism” in the United States or in Iowa. The Education Department says they’re rescheduling the conference for this fall.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that seeks to equalize workplace benefits for adoptive and biological parents as cleared the House unanimously, but awaits a Senate vote. If the House bill becomes law, Iowa businesses that give parents time off after the birth of a biological child would have to give the same benefit to parents who adopt a child under the age of seven. Representative Brian Lohse of Bondurant and his three siblings were adopted.

“I think it’s very important that we tell parents of adopted children that they are the same in every way and should be treated the same in every way as those who have biological children,” Lohse says “In my mind, there’s no difference between an adopted child and a biological child.”

More than 11-hundred adoptions have been finalized in Iowa over the past 12 months. Representative Bob Kressig (KRESS-ig) of Cedar Falls says more than half of those adopted children were above the age of six.  “The transition of being a foster child and going through the adoption process, which I haven’t experienced, but I’m sure it can be kind of traumatic for the family and for the child,” Kressig says.

While Kressig would like to see time off and other workplace benefits for parents who adopt of child up to the age of 18 be equal to those for the parents of a newborn, he supported the bill when it passed the House. The legislation cleared a Senate committee in mid-February, but has not yet been passed by the full Senate.

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowans don’t eat right and the latest surveys show the state’s adult obesity rate is among the nation’s worst at 36-percent, while Iowa’s childhood obesity rate is about 15-percent. John Troup, a vice president at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, says daily dietary supplements — things like vitamins, minerals and fish oils — could help Iowans meet our nutritional needs.

“We have to continue to look for nutrient-dense foods, primarily fruits and vegetables, and if we can’t get those, then it’s important to consider appropriate dietary supplementation,” Troup says. “They can help fill the gaps and provide a transition into a healthier diet and help us make sure we’re meeting the nutrient requirements set by the USDA.”

While it’s recommended we get five servings a day of both fruits and vegetables, most of us don’t even get three. With so many types of supplements on the shelves, Troup says it’s important to pick the right ones. “People should look for a brand they recognize and then buy it from a source they can trust or that they have regular visits to,” Troup says. “Make sure that you look at the label for any quality designations and go online and research what they have on their own websites.”

During the past year of the pandemic, some Iowans have been able to buckle down and focus on their personal health and wellness. For many of us, that means adding a dietary supplement to the daily health regimen. “They support the underlying systems that keep us healthy,” he says, “and those underlying systems play an important role in being able to fight things like infections and to make sure our metabolic processes are working as optimally as they can.”

Surveys find nearly seven in ten Americans use dietary supplements at least once a week. Learn more about supplements at KnowYourOTCs.org.

Atlantic, IA —Cass County Public Health has immediate openings this Thursday, April 8^th for Covid-19 vaccine appointments. These appointments are for adults 18 and older.

Anyone in the area that would like to be vaccinated is encouraged to sign up immediately. To sign up, complete the form at casshealth.org/covidvaccine or call (712) 243-3250 and press 7.