(Radio Iowa) – The sons and daughters of Iowans who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor gathered in the cold and wind today (Tuesday) near the State Capitol to mark the 80th anniversary of the attack. Linda Clark Quigley is the leader of the group, and spoke about the impact of the surprise attack.

Quigley talked about the importance of remembering Pearl Harbor, and read from a statement of a survivor who recently died.

Wreath Laying at PH memorial (12-7-2021)

Quigley says there are no Iowans still alive who survived that tragic day.

Her dad Richard Clark was a signalman aboard the battleship U-S-S Pennsylvania, which was in drydock and hit during the attack. That gave her connection to the other survivors.

She says her dad told her it was a terrible experience to see the death and destruction on December 7th. But she says he later dealt with it.

She says her father knew that not all the Japanese people wanted war and they were not all bad. The ceremony ended with wreaths laid at the Pearl Harbor monument.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Reynolds has appointed a district court judge from Cedar Rapids to the Iowa Court of Appeals. Mary Chicchelly has been a district court judge for nearly nine years. She’s a 1992 graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law. After graduation, she worked in private practice in Fort Dodge for two years, then for the next two years she worked in Waterloo.

Chicchelly practiced law in Cedar Rapids from 1997 until 2013. She is a past president of the Iowa Judges Association. She will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Iowa Court of Appeals Judge Michael Mullins of Washington.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four recent arrests and one accident. At around 4:50-a.m. Monday (12/6), Deputies arrested 26-year-old Jericho Cash Clements, on an out-of-state warrant. Clements was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Sunday, Mills County Deputies arrested 28-year-old Kevin Uriel Soliz, of Omaha, for Theft in the 2nd Degree. He was taken into custody following a traffic stop on I-29. Bond was set at $5,000. And, 40-year-old Anthony Joseph Quandt, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held in the Mills County Jail without bond.

Last Friday, 21-year-old Tyler Blake Miller, of Omaha, was arrested in Douglas County, NE, for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $5,000.

Authorities say no injuries were reported, after a 2013 Accura driven by 53-year-old Barbara Buenning, of Council Bluffs, struck a 2019 Freightliner semi driven by 55-year-old John Downwy, of Midwest City, OK. The accident happened as Buenning was exiting southbound I-29 and was on the ramp leading to U-S Highway 34 westbound. The semi was traveling west on the highway in the far right lane.

Officials say Buenning failed to yield from the stop sign, and pulled onto the highway before colliding with the truck. Minor damage occurred to both vehicles.

Police in Creston say an accident early this (Tuesday) afternoon, caused a total of $9,000 damage, but no one was hurt. The accident happened at around 1:15-p.m. at Elm and Howard Streets. Officials say a 2013 Dodge Dart driven by 27-year-old Blade Allen Fox, of Clearfield, was stopped at the stop sign heading east on Howard Street.

A 2006 GMC Envoy SUV driven by 22-year-old Brielle Alexandra Shoeman, of West Des Moines, was traveling south on Elm and approaching the intersection with no stop or yield sign for her direction of travel. When Fox’ vehicle pulled out in front of her, Shoeman’s SUV struck the car.

Authorities say Blade Fox failed to yield, but no citations were issued.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Harlan Police Department, Tuesday, reported two recent arrests and three non-injury accidents. Last Friday (Dec. 3), Harlan Police arrested 36-year-old David Allen Coenen, of Harlan, following a traffic stop. He was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Possession of Stolen Property. And, on Dec. 1st, 28-year-old Jacob Patrick Sweeney, of Audubon, was arrested following  a traffic stop. He was charged with Driving While Barred.

Harlan Police said, as far as the accidents are concerned:

On Monday, Dec. 6th, a 2020 GMC Yukon driven by Robert Hoogensen was traveling east on Baldwin Street, when it was struck by a 2010 Nissan Murano, driven by Jaci Ganserner, who was traveling south on 8th Street. Both drivers are from Harlan. Both vehicles were disabled in the collision.

On Dec. 3rd, a parked 2016 Chrysler 200 registered to Leah Schmidt, of Harlan, was struck by a 2004 Ford Explorer, driven by Andrew Hanson, of Harlan. The accident happened as Hanson was backing out of a parking stall on the west side of the Dollar General Store. Both vehicles sustained minor damage.

And, on Dec. 2nd, a legally parked 2020 Buick Envision registered to Carrie Greve, of Elk Horn, was struck by a 1993 Dodge Dakota, driven by Doris Towne, of Harlan. The accident happened as Towne was leaving a parking stall and turned too tight, causing her pickup to sideswipe the Buick. Authorities say Towne left the scene not knowing she hit the Buick.

(Radio Iowa) – The Democrats’ Build Back Better plan promises sweeping prescription drug reform, something Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has unsuccessfully tried to accomplish in the Senate for years. Grassley, a Republican, was asked if that issue alone is enough for him to support the near-two-trillion dollar bill. “Absolutely not,” Grassley says. “It’s going to hurt innovation — which my bill doesn’t — and it doesn’t have any of the reforms in that my bill had in to Medicare Part D.”

Backers of Build Back Better are hoping to pass the measure before Christmas. The White House says the plan would lower prescription drug costs by letting Medicare negotiate prices, but Grassley remains unconvinced. Grassley says, “Taxpayers are going to continue to pay a great deal of the cost of what we call the catastrophic portions of Part D Medicare.”

One example backers of the legislation use is insulin. Under the Democrats’ plan, insulin prices for seniors would be capped at 35-dollars a month — while some diabetics are now facing costs of up to 700-dollars a month for the medication. Grassley says his bill, the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2020, would save taxpayers 95-billion dollars, reduce out-of-pocket spending by 72-billion and cut premiums by one-billion.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – More than $289,000 in 50 percent cost-share grants have recently been awarded to 115 of Iowa’s rural fire departments to aid their efforts in protecting Iowan’s and their property from wildfires.  The grants offer valuable funding assistance for wildfire suppression, personal protective and communications equipment.

Locally, among the fire departments receiving 2021 VFA grants, is: Adair, Anita, Charter Oak, Clarinda, Creston, De Soto, Elk Horn, Farragut, Glenwood, Grant, Griswold, Harlan, Lenox, Little Sioux, Logan, Menlo, Mondamin, Onawa, Persia, Shenandoah, Stuart, Walnut and Yale.

The grants are made possible through Iowa DNR Forestry, in cooperation with US Forest Service – State and Private Forestry. Gail Kantak, fire supervisor with DNR Forestry, reminds all fire departments of the importance of submitting Wildland Fire Reports whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Wildland fire reporting forms are available at www.iowadnr.gov/fire. Departments returning these reports receive priority points when the Volunteer Fire Assistance grant applications are scored. These wildland fire reports are compiled locally and nationally and are reported to Congress.