MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (KCRG) – A 101-year-old Mount Vernon man who gained a following on social media by telling jokes during the pandemic died over Memorial Day weekend, his daughter confirmed. Fred Lehman posted jokes to Facebook every day for several years to spread joy. It started as a way to make people smile when they were isolated in their homes because of the pandemic.

Lehman was known for his sense of humor. He was considered a community icon in Mount Vernon. When he turned 100-years-old, a special birthday celebration was held, in which Mayor Thomas Wieseler declared January 26, Fred Lehman Day, in 2023.

Lehman served as a marine in 1945 and was a member of the Mount Vernon American Legion for 75 years, and the Lion’s Club for 70 years.

PERRY, Iowa (KCCI) – The Perry Community School District honored its late high school principal during graduation over the weekend. Dan Marburger died while protecting students during a shooting at the high school in January. The district left an empty chair near the podium for Sunday’s ceremony. A coat was draped over the back of it, with red roses on the seat.

Seniors then dropped white flowers into buckets on either side as they crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. During the ceremony, Clark Wicks, the district’s superintendent, thanked Marburger for his efforts in coordinating graduation every year.

The shooting in January also killed sixth grade student, 11-year-old Ahmir Joliff. Six others were also hurt.

AMES, Iowa — [KCCI] – The first concert at Jack Trice Stadium in more than two decades drew a large crowd to Ames, and according to police, the event went over fairly smoothly for law enforcement. The Iowa State University Police Department released arrest data Sunday, one day after the May 25th show featuring George Strait and Chris Stapleton. It was the first concert at Iowa State’s football stadium since April 1999.

ISUPD said one person was cited for possession of alcohol under the legal age, and seven people were arrested (five of whom were arrested for public intoxication). No Iowa State students were arrested or cited. One person was ejected from the arena.

Although authorities issued few citations or arrests, they responded to 91 calls for first aid. The data from Saturday’s concert could help officials know what to expect from future events, which are expected to be more frequent with the completion of CyTown, a massive entertainment district currently in the works between Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum.

(Radio Iowa) – There is no statewide race in next Tuesday’s Primary Elections, but there are primaries in three of Iowa’s four congressional districts. In the first district, Davenport businessman David Pautsch is challenging Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks in the Republican Primary. Pautsch has never run for office before.

“I’m not a politician. I’m a statesman. I don’t need to be doing this. I’m 70 years old,” Pautsch says. “…We have to restore God to government. You can’t have good government without God. You can have government without God, but it won’t be good because you need God in the government to give people a sense of right and wrong.” Pautsch says he decided to run because of Miller-Meeks’ voting record.

“Voting for everything from the FISA bill, so the government can spy on us, to certifying the presidential election of 2020,” Pautsch says. “…It’s just intolerable.” Miller-Meeks and the rest of Iowa’s congressional delegation voted for the FISA bill that extended national security surveillance programs. And Miller-Meeks says while she had concerns about the 2020 election, she voted to certify the Electoral College result because the Constitution says states, not congress, choose the slates of electors presented to congress.

Miller-Meeks, who is 68 years old, is an eye doctor who’s seeking a third term in the U-S House. Miller-Meeks says she voted to impeach Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary and she’ll vote to impeach Biden if she gets the chance. “You’re living them every single day whether it’s crime, whether it’s the border, whether it’s inflation (and) high prices, whether it’s the chaos overseas,” Miller-Meeks says. “All of that is laid at Biden’s feet.”

Miller-Meeks, who has established a residence in Davenport, says she has the best chance of keeping Iowa’s first district seat in Republican hands. “Our Democrat opponent raised $820,000 last quarter,” Miller-Meeks says. “I have raised the money to defend this seat and I will do everything in my power to keep it.”

Christian Bohannan, a Democrat from Iowa City, ran against Miller-Meeks in 2022 and is the only Democrat running in this year’s first congressional district primary.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Scattered sections of the eastern side of Atlantic were without power for about an hour this (Monday) afternoon. KJAN News Director Ric Hanson heard a loud boom in the Mulberry Street area, followed by the sounds of a transformer shorting out. The Cass County Communications Center reported traffic lights were out in areas mainly east of Chestnut Street, including 7th and Plum,

Various locations, including the Dollar General Store, Hy-Vee, Atlantic High School and Middle School, Murphy USA and the AmericInn were in the dark for a while, while other sites, including WalMart, were up and running as usual. Others commented their lights only flickered, but stayed-on.

A cause for the disruption was not immediately known.

(Radio Iowa) – Long-time Minden mayor Kevin Zimmerman says clean-up has progressed after losing around 50 homes and many businesses one month ago in a tornado.  “We’re getting a lot of the big piles hauled away. And we’re tearing the concrete foundations out and stuff and getting ready to either rebuild or leave empty lots,” Zimmerman says. Zimmerman says some older residents with destroyed homes have decided not to stay, while others wait for their insurance claims to kick in. He says many were under-insured, including himself.

“Check your insurance to make sure you have enough insurance on your property. You know, make sure you got enough coverage. You know, so you because you never know,” he says. Zimmerman says it was hard to see the devastation in Greenfield form another twister that hit last Tuesday, leveling homes and killing four people. He says both storms have left him shell-shocked. “I’ve had several sleepless nights just thinking about it, you know, what we’ve gone through and what you wish you could just jump in the truck and go there and help them guys right away. That was a big part of what helped us,” Zimmerman says.

The tornado also destroyed Minden’s water treatment plant, and it could take years for a new one to take its place. Residents are relying on a temporary system to get by.

(Radio Iowa) – Women’s sports are reaching new heights in popularity and revenue. An Iowa State University researcher credits Title Nine, the 1972 federal law that bans discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities, for not only increasing interest in women’s sports, but for changing career choices for women. Karen Kedrowski is director of I-S-U’s Center for Women and Politics.

“Women’s sports are enjoying much more support. There are many more opportunities for women and girls to participate in sports,” Kedrowski says. “There are many more opportunities for women to receive college scholarships in order to play sports and, of course we have seen this even penetrate as far as the Olympics level where you know women for the last couple of summer Olympics have actually been a majority of the American team.” But Kedrowski says Title Nine has had enormous impact in other ways.

“It has opened up fields of study to women,” Kedrowski says. “It has opened up scholarship opportunities aside from athletic scholarships to women. It has ensured there are no gender quotas used to keep the number of women low in certain professions.” Fifty-two years after the passage of Title Nine, women now earn a majority of all high school diplomas and a majority of all college degrees, including PhD’s.

“We also know that women are a majority of those or have reached parity in medical and law schools and are very close to reaching parity in dental schools,” Kedrowski says, “so in terms of opening up professions to women and really changing the nature of college campuses it has had a huge impact.” Nationally, 58 percent of college students are women. Kedrowski says the rising rate of women earning a college degree is having an impact in politics, too.

“It has certainly helped think about women run for public office or becoming involved in local government because they no longer lack the official credentials that we see of how people run for office,” Kedrowski says, “where we expect them overwhelmingly to have college degrees.”

All six members of Iowa’s congressional delegation have college degrees. According to the Pew Research Center, 94 percent of all U-S House members and all but one U-S Senator have a four-year college degree.

(Radio Iowa) – Manufacturers say it’s becoming difficult to find the components for smokeless gunpowder and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says the Biden Administration should conduct an inventory of the gunpowder supply.  “Supply chain is always a concern, especially in the munitions area,” Ernst says. “There are a number of components that go into the munitions that are used, whether it’s to defend our own country, whether it is in Ukraine, Israel of Taiwan.”

So-called smokeless gunpowder is more efficient and produces less smoke that black gunpowder. The Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas Wars have increased demand and depleted supplies of smokeless gunpowder, which is the propellant used to hurl artillery shells. Ernst says President Biden should exercise his full authority to secure the supply chain and ensure our military and U-S allies have what they need.

“I do think that we can look at the Defense Production Act which has been used at various times in the past,” Ernst says, “…making sure we secure all the necessary components.” A key ingredient in smokeless gunpowder is a certain type of cotton, which comes from China. This spring, the European Union offered grants to companies that develop a substitute ingredient.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say eight people were arrested on separate charges, from Friday through early this (Monday) morning. Three people were arrested today (Monday):

• At around 2:05-a.m., 49-year-old Mary Baxter, Missouri, was arrested at the intersection of Irving and Chestnut. Baxter was charged with OWI 1st Offense and False Claim of Emergency. Sher was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on $1300 cash or surety bond
• At around 3:35-a.m., 37-year-old April Marie Roberts, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Wyoming and Highway 34. Roberts was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Driving while Suspended. She was cited and released from the scene.
• And, at around 5:50-a.m., Police in Creston arrested 75-year-old Emmitt Cecil Johnston, of Bedford, at 1700 W. Townline Rd. Johnston was taken into custody on a Page County Warrant for FTA on a charge of Driving while License Denied or Revoked. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on $1,000 cash only bond.

Sunday night, 34-year-old Christopher Roland Bird, of Creston, was arrested at the Intersection of Prairie and Spruce. Bird was charged with OWI/2nd Offense and 2 counts of Child Endangerment. He was later released on a $6,000 cash or surety bond.

At around 3:50-a.m., Saturday, Creston Police arrested 32-year-old Christopher Cerda-Romo, of Lenox, for Driving on Revoked, OWI 2nd, Provide False Identification Information. Cerda-Romo was taken to the Union County Jail later released on a $3,300 cash or surety bond. 55-year-old Roger Allen Mains, of Villisca, was arrested in Creston at around 9:45-p.m., Saturday, at the Creston Union County LEC. Mains was charged on a Union County Warrant with 9 counts in the Theft 5th Degree/other means under $300. Mains was later released on a $2,700 cash or surety bond.

And, at around 5:35-p.m., Friday, Creston Police took two people into custody at a residence on W. Adams Street: 35-year-old Jessica Lynn Wilker, and 30-year-old Darren McCay Wilker, both of Creston, were each charged with Assault Causing Bodily Injury or Mental Illness No Intent. Both subjects were each later released on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

(Radio Iowa) – If you are looking for a place to rent for your upcoming summer vacation a consumer protection expert Michelle Reinen advises you to do your homework first. She says the listing may look beautiful and gives you lots of accessories and things are not that good when you show up.

Reinen says scammers are making fake listings with bogus reviews to entice people. Reinen says you should be sure to make your payment through whatever program you’re using to find your rental, not a third party, and use a credit card so you’ll have recourse if there’s an issue.