(Radio Iowa) — With ratification of the U-S Mexico Canada Agreement expected soon and the lifting of a ban on U-S exports to China, Iowa’s turkey producers are expecting 2020 to be a banner year. Iowa Turkey Federation executive director Greta Irwin says new biosecurity measures are in place at all of Iowa’s 130 turkey farms following a devastating round of avian flu in 2015.

“We really work hard to make sure we have clean boots when we go into a barn,” Irwin says, “because that would be the number-one way that you’re going to track in a virus and we are constantly keeping the water clean and healthy and sanitized for the birds here on the farm.” Back in November, China announced that it was lifting an import ban on U-S turkey products that had been place since 2015.

“Even our turkey feathers were not allowed to come into China and as you think about turkey feathers,” Irwin says. “You say, ‘Wow what do we use turkey feathers for?’ Well, decorative masks, costumes, feather boas, even fishing lures. China would make those products out of our turkey feathers.” The U-S-M-C-A passed the U-S House last month and cleared a U-S Senate committee last week, with passage by the full Senate expected soon. Mexico is Iowa’s top trading partner, followed by China, then Canada.

(Reporting by Pat Blank, Iowa Public Radio)

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests. Today (Monday), 30-year old Anthony Charles Binau, a homeless person, was arrested on Interstate 29 at mile marker 36, on two counts Possession of Controlled Substance, Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drug and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bond was set at $3,300.

On Sunday, 22-year old Justin Danielle Perez, and 26-year old Brandon Lee Lambert, both of Glenwood, were arrested at 221st and Abbey Road, for Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Their bonds were set at $1,300 each.

And, at around 3:05-a.m. Saturday, 25-year old Deondria Derice Carter, of Schuyler, NE., was arrested for possession of Controlled Substance. Her bond was set at $1,000.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a Lorimor woman reported Saturday night, that someone had stolen a small, red, 16-foot trailer parked at 701 3rd Street, in Lorimor. The trailer contained many tools and antiques. The loss was estimated at $10,625.00.

(Radio Iowa) — The opening day of the 2020 Iowa legislature features what the Iowa G-O-P’s chairman calls “a new generation of leadership” in the Iowa House. Thirty-six-year-old Pat Grassley of New Hartford was installed as House Speaker today (Monday). U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley and his wife, Barbara — his grandparents — were in Des Moines to mark the moment.  “I’m very proud of Pat not only for being selected speaker, but I’ve seen him grow over the years that he first approach me 14 years ago saying he’d like to run for the state house of representatives,” Senator Grassley says. “I don’t recall a single political conversation I had with him before that point.”

Thirty-six-year-old Matt Windschitl, of Missouri Valley, is now the majority leader in the Iowa House. “We’ve been in the majority since 2011,” Windschitl says. “What we’re going to do this session is continue to give Iowans every reason to give us that majority back in the November elections. It’s as simple as that.” Windschitl and other G-O-P leaders spoke early this (Monday) morning at a party fundraiser in Des Moines. Forty-six-year-old Charles Schneider of West Des Moines has been president of the Iowa Senate for nearly two years. He says lowering taxes and cutting red tape are core G-O-P promises. “We know that our approach is what Iowans want because they sent us there to accomplish that and they kept us there in 2018,” Schneider said at the GOP breakfast, “and I believe they’ll keep us there in 2020 as well.”

Democrats had a private fundraiser Sunday evening. Members of the House and Senate are unable to collect campaign contributions during the legislative session.

(Radio Iowa) — Free tax filing of your 2019 return is now available from the Internal Revenue Service. I-R-S spokesperson Diane Fox says you can find the information on their website. “You can go to I-R-S-dot-gov-slash-free-file (IRS.gov/freefile) and get started on your taxes. Free File does all the hard work for you. Frankly, it makes taxes less taxing in a lot of ways,” Fox says. She says the program is based on your income. “Anyone who made 69-thousand dollars or less last year can use Free File,” she says. “We even have a special offer for active duty military personnel. And we offer one product in Spanish.”

Fox says they have a variety of name brand Free File options. “It’s do it yourself software — but it leads people through — so that people don’t leave money on the table — that they get all the benefits that are available to them for their refund,” according to Fox. “And makes sure that it checks everything for them before they electronically file.” Fox says there is added benefit to going through the I-R-S site to get the Free File software. “You end up with the guardrails that we have in place for this program to make sure that you are getting the Free File program that has some protections for you,” she says. “In fact, we even have some of those protections listed on our website — so you can readily see what to expect when you are using the program.”

Fox says around 22-thousand people in Iowa used Free File last year. She says that is well below the number of people who are eligible to use the program.

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) – A judge has ordered the owners of a closed-down roadside zoo in eastern Iowa to explain what happened to some animals that were supposed to be removed. In late November the judge ordered removal of exotic animals from Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester. An attorney representing Iowa residents who sued for the zoo’s closure filed an affidavit requesting a contempt charge. It alleged that several animals specifically mentioned in the removal order could not be found. The zoo owners’ attorney didn’t immediately return a message Monday from The Associated Press. The judge set the hearing for Feb. 7.

(Radio Iowa) — The Prairie Woods Nature Center held its grand opening over the weekend at Oak Grove Park near Hawarden in northwest Iowa. The project is a dozen years in the making, according to Sunday Ford, the environmental education coordinator for the Sioux County Conservation Board. “With the number of students we get every year and the number of families and individuals that want that outdoor connection, we had outgrown our building that we were using for education,” Ford says. “We really just needed a place for the environmental education programs and also for the self tours to learn about the outdoors.”

During the summer months, the staff will be joined by two naturalist interns and many volunteers, which, according to Ford, serve a very important role. “We have a wonderful core group of volunteers that are excited about the building, excited to help with teaching, help with summer camps, greet people when they come in, and do projects that have to do with the outdoors,” Ford says. “Our volunteers are what’s going to make this building what it is.”

The goal is to provide education that enhances the outdoor experiences for all ages in Sioux County, leading to environmental appreciation, understanding, and stewardship. The facility is a two-level, 12-thousand square foot building that will host school education programs, field trips, nursing home visits, preschools, library programs, public programs, partnerships with civic groups, and more. Inside the center are hands-on activities for kids and adults, reading, live animals and exhibits.  “When you get out of your car in the parking lot, you’re going to take in this majestic view, rolling hill prairies,” Ford says. “Walking the sidewalks into the building, there are animal tracks that are in the concrete from foxes to deer and we’ve got a woodpecker.”

Inside, she says, the vaulted ceilings and wood create a cabin feel. The four-point-eight million dollar project included a local fund-raising campaign to raise two-point-three million — and that mark was surpassed. The project also received an Enhance Iowa community grant of 600-thousand dollars. The facility is closed Sundays and Mondays, so official business hours begin tomorrow (Tuesday).

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – County leaders have scheduled a March 3 election on bonds to build a replacement jail in western Iowa’s Monona County. The jail in Onawa was built in 1976 to hold 12 inmates but now regularly holds 20. Station KTIV reports that the $6.2 million replacement would be built on the northeast side of the courthouse square in Onawa. It would house up to 32 inmates, with the possibility of expanding to hold as many as 66. It also would have interview rooms and more office space for the sheriff’s office and police department.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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