A traffic stop at around 11:18-p.m. Monday, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of a man from Clarinda. Red Oak Police report 59-year-old Robert Charles Harvey, III, was arrested for Driving While Barred. Harvey was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor has signed a bill into law that will increase the penalties for those convicted of making, possessing or selling heroin to be the same as for similar crimes involving meth. Representative Ross Paustian is a Republican from Walcott.  “Heroin addition and overdoses are a growing problem across Iowa that must be addressed in multiple ways,” Paulstian said. “Treatment alone won’t stop the spread of this dangerous. Heroin dealers must face meaningful penalties to keep them off the streets.”

Representative Kristin Sunde, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says heroin is particularly problematic right now, especially when it’s laced with fentanyl.  “There are going to be higher consequences if they’re caught dealing,” Sunde says. “I think that’s fair enough and I think it’s one way to try to make some difference here.”

The bill would make those caught with 100 grams or more of heroin eligible for a 50 year prison sentence. Under current law, someone would have to be caught with a ten times that much — at least a kilogram of heroin — to get that stiff a sentence. Twenty-five Democrats in the legislature opposed the bill. Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo says more work must be done to reduce heroin use. “Our goal should be to not only make sure that we punish those who are flooding our streets with heroin, but also work to save lives,” Smith says.

Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, a Democrat from Des Moines, says putting a serious dent in the heroin trade requires treatment for addicts. “We want to get heroin off the street. We want to get the heroin dealers off the street without a doubt, but we also need to do it comprehensively,” Abdul-Samad said. “We need to address is so we’re also dealing with the addict. The key is the dealers will be in business as long as there’s a customer.”

The bill passed the House and Senate in March and will go into effect on July 1st. It was among 26 bills Governor Kim Reynolds approved yesterday (Monday).

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Republicans hosted the the second of two “Know your candidates” forums Monday evening, in Atlantic, at the Cass County Community Center. Candidates in attendance included: Senator Jim Carlin – candidate for the U-S House of Representatives; Gary Leffler – candidate for U-S House/3rd District; and Candidates for State Auditor, Todd Halbur and Mary Ann Hanusa. Representatives were also on-hand for Senator Charles Grassley, who is running for re-election to the U-S Senate, and Nicole Hasso, Candidate for U-S House in the 3rd District. State Senator Zach Nunn was unable to attend to a family matter. Candidates for State Auditor in attendance included Mary Ann Hanusa and Todd Halbur. Both hope to defeat Democrat Incumbent Auditor Rob Sand. Each candidate received the same six questions ahead of time to decide how they would respond.

One of the questions the candidates were asked, was how to recruit more people to serve in law enforcement. All of the candidates said they “Backed the Blue.” Senator Jim Carlin – candidate for the U-S House, suggested signing bonuses in conjunction with a federal subsidy.

Nicole Hasso’s spokesperson said “Defunding the Police is insanity,” and “rebuilding law enforcement agencies,” by providing them with the all the resources they need is necessary.

Gary Leffler said it’s not all about the money, it’s “Does the community support us?” His nephew is a law enforcement officer in South St. Paul, MN. Leffler says officers in blue need to know the public supports them, “actions speak louder than words.”

On the topic of attacking the Opiod problem in America, Senator Carlin said the drug companies need to be held accountable, and additional measures need to be taken to stem the flow of Fenanyl, which comes primarily through the mail, from China. He said he supports the continued construction of the border wall with Mexico, and criticized Senator Grassley for voting to stop construction of the wall in 2019.

Hasso’s representative said it was a very personal thing to the candidate, since her mom and other family members struggled with drug addiction for a long time. Once again, the border wall was the subject said to be part of the solution to the problem.

Gary Leffler also supported build the wall. He said the problem also exists in “Our back yard,” and have a comprehensive plan to address the situation. That includes using the resources of the county, state and federal government to work together to reduce the flow of drugs.

On the subject of education, Jim Carlin said “parents have a legitimate concern about the direction things are taking,” because “The left is after our children. It’s using our public school system where it can. It’s using our colleges and universities.”

He supports the idea of parents being subsidized if they want to send their children to a private instead of public school. There was also a question about what support or procedures could be implemented to improve the educational climate, and therefore allow recruitment and retaining of quality teachers, especially with regard to discipline.
Gary Leffler said while rural schools tend to watch over their own, urban schools are nothing more than glorified babysitters.Teachers and administrators, he said, “Just want to be respected again.”

Other questions and answers touched on energy independence and health care.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican legislators have approved a bill that would let Iowa child care providers ask parents who get state money to cover child care fees add onto that with their own money. Under the bill, parents in Iowa’s child care assistance program could agree to pay the difference between the state subsidy and what would typically be charged to parents who do not get government assistance for child care. Senator Mark Lofgren, a Republican from Muscatine, says the bill is a recommendation from the governor’s child care task force.

“It allows families to work with child care providers to work with child care providers to negotiate rates,” Lofgren says, ” and to use child care providers might not normally have accepted child care assistance families.” Democrats like Senator Sarah Trone Garriott of Windsor Heights say it makes no sense, since Iowa parents who qualify for child care assistance live at or near the poverty level.

“These are working parents who don’t have an extra dollar,” Trone Garriott says, “let alone an extra $100 a week per child to make up the difference.” Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the state needs to increase child care assistance for working families instead.

“I mean just last week we had a bill where the governor wanted gas stations across our state to sell E15 and what did the legislature do? It provided money to gas stations to sell what the governor wanted them to sell,” Pedersen said. “If we want to fix the workforce problem in our state, we know we need child care, but why are we putting it on the backs of working parents?” Senator Carrie Koelker, a Republican from Dyersville, says taxpayers cannot fill all the holes in the child care system.

“I’m a mother of four and when I had my children it was my responsibility to provide them with a quality life and it was my decision on what child care center I brought them to. It was my job, if I wanted to bring them to child care centers, that I needed to provide a living and go out and work for that,” Koelker said. “I didn’t expect that on the backs of the taxpayers.”

House Republicans passed the bill in early March and it cleared the Senate today (Monday) with the support of all Republicans present.

(Radio Iowa) – A monthly survey of supply managers and business leaders in Iowa and eight other states finds the economies in Iowa — and the Midwest — slowed during April. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the regional economy is still in the “healthy” category but dropped from being considered “very strong” in March. Goss says much of the blame goes to supply chain disruptions. “Four out of ten supply managers expect those supply chain disruptions to get worse,” Goss says. “Now, only one to five expect them to get better, and of course that leaves another four out of ten that expect those supply chain disruptions to remain the same.”

The prices consumers are paying for most goods remain high and the survey results indicate things likely won’t be improving anytime soon. “Inflation is still strong. That’s what we’ve seen and that’s what we’re going to continue to see,” Goss says. “The April number’s at 89.7. Again, these indices range from zero-to-100 and 89.7 is quite strong. I will call it excessive inflationary pressures, but it is down from March’s 95.5.”

Long-term interest rates will likely be going up a full percentage point, Goss predicts, which will have far-reaching ripple effects. “Of course, that’s going to slow the housing sector more than what we’re seeing right now,” Goss says. “The housing sector has been going gangbusters. These higher mortgage rates are going to slow that growth in prices and we’re going to see the housing market slow down a bit, but still in a positive range.”

The survey shows Iowa’s Business Conditions Index for April sank to 69.8 from 75.6 in March, again on a zero-to-100 scale. For the nine-state region, the overall index showed a “still healthy” 65.9 for April, down from March’s “very strong” rating of 71.3.

Police in Red Oak, early this (Monday) afternoon, arrested a man on an active warrant for Contempt of Court. 42-year-old Michael Shane Webster, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 12:30-p.m. and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held without bond.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports five arrests took place over the past week. Saturday evening, 49-year-old Robert William Fears, of Fort Collins, Colorado, was arrested at the abandoned/locked Stuart Burger King store, after a door’s window glass was found to be broken, and Fears laying on the floor inside the building. Fears said he went inside to get out of the wind, but denied breaking the glass. He was taken into custody for Criminal Mischief/3rd Degree (Causing $800+ damage), Trespass causing damage, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-1st offense. He was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $4,000 cash or surety bond.

At around 12:50-a.m., Saturday, 32-year-old Matthew David Swanson, of Orient, was arrested in Orient for OWI/1st offense. His breath-alcohol tested at .190%. Swanson was later released on a $1,000 bond. Friday night, 38-year-old Erich Sean Johnson, of Casey, was arrested in Adair, for Driving While Barred. He was later released on $2,000 bond. Friday evening, 50-year-old Allen John Sample, of Des Moines, was arrested at mile marker 86 of Interstate 80 in Adair County, after an Adair County Deputy initiated a traffic stop. Sample was arrested for OWI/1st offense and later released on a $1,000 bond.

And, on April 25th, 21-year old Madison LM Hayward, of Calais, Maine, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol, following a traffic stop on a speeding BMW, in which she was a passenger.  The vehicle was stopped on I-80 EB at mile marker 76, for traveling 84 mph in a 70 mph zone. Hayward was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Psilocybin mushrooms, and poss. of drug paraphernalia. She was later released on a $2,300 bond.

(Johnston, Iowa) – The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum invites the public to attend the opening of a traveling exhibit on Thursday May 5, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. “The League of Wives: Vietnam’s POW/MIA Allies and Advocates” exhibit, sponsored by the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas, includes 18 illustrated panels and related artifacts tracing the story of the women who formed The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. They became the POW and MIAs most fervent advocates, going to extraordinary lengths to facilitate their husbands’ freedom and to account for missing military men by relentlessly lobbying government leaders, conducting a media campaign, holding covert meetings with antiwar activists, attempting negotiations with the North Vietnamese, and encoding messages in letters to their imprisoned husbands. The exhibit will be available for viewing through 31 August 2022.

Iowa Gold Star Museum

Ms. Heath Hardage Lee is the opening event’s guest speaker. Her 2019 book, The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home from Vietnam, has been optioned for a feature film. Ms. Lee is also the curator of the exhibit. During her presentation, Ms. Lee will tell the story of these remarkable women drawing on first person interviews, diaries, letters, oral histories and archival government records to tell the story of courage, resilience, and rescue. She will provide a book signing opportunity at the conclusion of the program.