(Radio Iowa) – An organization that evaluates the reliability of the nation’s electric grid says there’s a high risk of energy shortfalls in Iowa this summer. The Des Moines Register reports the Iowa Utilities Board is urging the companies that provide electricity to Iowans to prepare customers for what may be ahead. A non-profit that analyzes the North American power grid note temperatures and drought conditions are predicted to be above normal this summer in the western half of the United States. That will drive up peak demand for electricity. The Electric Reliability Organization for North America warns there’s a high risk of power outages in Iowa and 14 other states over the summer months.

(Washington, D-C) – A federal judge in Washington, D-C, Wednesday, ordered a father and son from northern Iowa serve time in prison for their participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The men, 51-year-old Daryl Johnson and his son, 30-year-old Daniel Johnson, both of St. Ansgar, admitted to entering the building through a broken window and pushing through a police line once inside.

While the entire encounter lasted roughly twenty seconds, the pair were in the Capitol for 26 minutes. The pair were sentenced on one felony count of civil disorder, because of their guilty plea to that charge the other counts they faced were dismissed.

Daryl Johnson will serve 30 days in jail and Daniel Johnson with serve four months. Defense attorneys for both men sought probation and no jail time. Daniel Johnson has three prior convictions, all misdemeanors.

Both men expressed their apologies to Judge Dabney Friedrich and those at the capitol, for their actions on that day.

(Red Oak, Iowa) –  The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests: At around 12:10-a.m. today (Thursday, June 2nd), Deputies conducted a traffic stop at 110th and G Avenue, and as a result, arrested 51-year-old Martha Anngeline Oltmanns, of Council Bluffs. She was taken into custody for Driving While Barred, and held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

And, on Tuesday, Deputies in Montgomery County arrested 30-year-old Jesse Allen Luft, of Villisca, for Violation of a No Contact Order. Luft was being held on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Two Republicans are listed on this year’s Primary ballot for state auditor and the winner will face Rob Sand, the Democratic incumbent, in the General Election. Mary Ann Hanusa, who has been endorsed by Governor Reynolds, managed the White House Office of Correspondence for President George W. Bush. She was more recently elected to five terms in the Iowa House, representing her hometown of Council Bluffs for 10 years.

“I served as Government Oversight chair in the House when I was in the legislature,” Hanusa says, “I brought in front of the committee heads of state agencies, asking tough questions, making sure the Iowa taxpayers’ dollars were being spent appropriately.” Hanusa says Sand, the current state auditor, was wrong to audit and question how Governor Reynolds spent federal pandemic relief money on staff salaries and computer software.

“I believe that for the last four years our state auditor’s office has been politicized,” Hanusa says, “and there just isn’t any room for politics in this office.” Todd Halbur, of Clive, is the other G-O-P candidate for state auditor. Halbur sued the state in 2018, alleging he was fired from his job as chief financial officer the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division after he questioned some transactions. A spokesperson for the agency has said Halbur’s allegations are untrue. Halbur says if he’s elected state auditor, he’ll educate state employees on how to spot waste, fraud and abuse.

“The eyes and ears of all employees know what’s right and wrong,” he says. Halbur, who is a realtor, also owns a school supply business. He’s previously worked for three different banks and is taking the test to become a certified audit examiner. “I believe that Iowa needs an auditor that has the financial background and the qualifications that I have as a prior banker and the CFO of a large state agency of Iowa,” he says.

Sand, the Democrat who is Iowa’s current state auditor, is seeking a second term. The Democratic and Republican Primary Elections are next Tuesday, June 7th.