(Ames, Iowa) – It’s a busy time of year. School is starting, harvest is just around the corner and there seem to be more priorities than time for many of us. If you find yourself rushing to get from here to there, remember that cutting a few minutes from your drive by speeding or driving aggressively is not worth the risk. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2020, speeding killed 11,258 people in the United States.

In Iowa in 2021, law enforcement officers determined speed and aggressive driving played a part in the deaths of 176 people. If you are lucky enough to just get pulled over and not get into a crash, the average cost for a ticket for aggressive driving is $195. Just a speeding ticket will run you anywhere from $92 to $402.

What does a crash look like at different speeds? Check this out – https://youtu.be/71xuU9y-iwM…

(West Des Moines, Iowa) – A long-time County Employee in Pottawattamie County was honored recently. Officials with ISAC (Iowa State Association of Counties) report Melvyn Houser, Pottawattamie County Auditor, was presented with the prestigious “Golden Eagle” award on Wednesday, during ISAC’s 2022 Annual Conference in Des Moines. The Golden Eagle is given to commend extraordinary public service to ISAC and county government. The honor was created to recognize elected or appointed county officials, business or civic leaders, persons rendering assistance to counties as trainers, consultants or advisors, and former members of ISAC staff also are eligible.

The ISAC Board of Directors selected Houser as the Golden Eagle, an honor that has been given annually since 2010 on the basis of service rendered to county government generally, including leadership in ISAC, ISAC-affiliated boards, service on state or national boards or commissions, service to the National Association of Counties (NACo), service to counties in training, education and development of local leadership, advocating for counties and good local government, and providing exceptional professional assistance and support to counties.

Melvyn Houser was honored as the 2022 ISAC Golden Eagle during a ceremony in Des Moines. (L to R: ISAC President Richard Crouch: Pottawattamie County Auditor Melvyn Houser; Black Hawk County Auditor Grant Veeder; ISAC Executive Director Bill Peterson)

Melvyn Houser served as Pottawattamie County Supervisor from 2001-2017. Since that time, he has served as Pottawattamie County Auditor. He has been actively engaged in ISAC and NACo and has gone above and beyond for both organization for many years. He has been a mainstay on the Boards of both organizations. He has served on the ISAC Board since 2009, on the NACo Board since 2013, and served as ISAC President in 2015. He has served on countless statewide boards and committees related directly to ISAC, including, but not limited to:

• ICTS Advisory Committee
• Iowa State Association of County Auditors
• Iowa State Association of County Supervisors
• Case Management and Mental Health and Disability Services

At the federal level, Melvyn Houser has been a member of the Rural Action Caucus (RAC), the Membership Committee, the Arts & Culture Commission, the Finance Pensions and Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee, the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Steering Committee, and much more. He has been an enthusiastic proponent and successful recruiter for NACo membership, participation, and event attendance. He currently lives in Carson with his wife LaRue. They have three grown sons.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Red Oak Police Department reports a man wanted on a Page County warrant for Failure to Appear (in court), was arrested Thursday evening. Authorities say 37-year-old Randon Daniel Phelps, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 6:32-p.m., in the 2400 block of N. 8th Street. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $3,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman says Republicans at the statehouse have put Iowa gun laws on a downward spiral — leading to the plan to have 10 Spirit Lake School staff carry guns on school grounds. Spirit Lake officials announced this week that staff with permits for concealed weapons would be trained to quickly respond to a shooting in Spirit Lake schools, however teachers will not have guns in classrooms. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn is also a state representative from Ames and he has voted against allowing guns in Iowa schools.

“Eliminating the Iowa permit to carry requirements, allowing guns in schools and also making it easy for domestic abusers and felons to buy handguns — it’s a continued spiral downward,” Wilburn says. “It continues to stoke fear.” Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames is the top Democrat on the Senate Education Committee. “Turning our schools into armed camps is just the absolute wrong way,” Quirmbach says. “The psychological effect on our kids, I think, is devastating.” Deidre DeJear, the Democratic candidate for governor, was in Spirit Lake Wednesday and DeJear says she talked with people who were devastated by the district’s decision.

“There are some common sense measures that we can put into place at a statewide level so that folks aren’t scared that they’re sending their kids to schools with guns in them,” DeJear says. “We see a school trying to be preventative, but in essence it’s challenging for them to be preventative that this current governor is creating.” Last year, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that lets Iowans buy and carry handguns without a permit.

DeJear, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, says she’d reinstate the permit process. She says that way background checks would be required for private gun sales in Iowa. Spirit Lake school officials say the program to have armed staff on school grounds should serve as a deterrent to anyone contemplating a school shooting. The Iowa Firearms Coalition says Iowa children are worth protecting and the group is urging other Iowa districts to adopt Spirit Lake’s plan.