(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says Iowans are telling her they want conservative consensus on the issue of an immigration bill. She says they also know that President Biden is behind the chaos at the border. “Iowans see right through his gaslighting, they know on day one of his presidency he began to unravel secure border policies and incentivize illegal immigration,” Hinson says. A bipartisan bill on the issue has failed to gain traction, but Hinson says they need to get something done.

“We could go through every hypothetical scenario. I don’t want to comment on something that hasn’t come up in the house. But I can point to what I’ve already supported, which is H-R-2 border security. It’s unfortunate that congressional Democrats will not vote for tougher immigration legislation and that President Biden won’t enforce our existing immigration laws,” she says. Republicans in the House failed to get enough votes to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary over his actions in dealing with immigration. Hinson says it is tough when her party has such a thin majority margin.

“I did vote to impeach Secretary Mayorkas because he is willfully refusing to comply with the immigration laws on the books and he is breaching public trust,” she says. Hinson says Mayorkas has also not been truthful. “He lied directly to me and my appropriations colleagues and I am hopeful we will be able to move forward with impeaching Secretary Mayorkas to hold him and the Biden administration accountable for this border crisis,” Hinson says. Hinson hopes they can have another impeachment vote this week.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling involving evidence obtained in a drunk driving case. The district court sided with driver Colby Laub who argued a Boone County Deputy wrongfully obtained a search warrant to get him to give a breathe test that proved he was driving drunk. Laub said the deputy should have used the state’s implied consent procedure.

Under implied consent, a driver can refuse to take a test, but will automatically have their driver’s license suspended. The Iowa Supreme Court overturned the district court ruling, saying the use of a warrant did not violate Laub’s right to due process as the implied consent procedure is not the exclusive means of investigating O-W-I cases.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies Sunday night, arrested 47-year-old Tracy Ann Culbertson, of Villisca. The woman was taken into custody at around 8:45-p.m., on two-counts each of Child Endangerment (aggravated misdemeanors), and Domestic Simple Assault (simple misdemeanors). Culbertson was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

(Anita, Iowa) – The CAM School Board is set to meet in a regular monthly session tonight. The meeting takes place in the CAM High School Media Center, beginning at 6:30-p.m. Here’s their agenda:

SAC COUNTY, Iowa — ​A reward for information leading to the location of missing Sac County man David Schultz or  an arrest and conviction in his case,  has increased once again. On Sunday, Sac County Crime Stoppers announced the reward is now $27,800. The total includes $25,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and ongoing contributions provided by the community to a Sac County Crimestoppers’ account specifically for David Schultz.

The Sac County Board of Supervisors had previously approved an application for the American Rescue Plan funds of $25,000. Anyone interested in contributing to the reward fund for David Schultz can do so through Iowa State Bank (in Sac City, Lake View or Odebolt), or through the SCC Venmo account (@SacCoCrimestoppers), which is linked to the Crimestoppers account at Iowa State Bank.

Schultz has been missing since the early morning hours of Nov. 21. His semi truck full of hogs was located on Highway 71 with his phone and wallet inside. Officials say David Schultz is about 5 feet 11 inches tall. He weighs around 180 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Schultz was last seen wearing Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots, and a Peterbilt hat.

If you have any information about David Schultz or where he might be, call the Sac County Communication Center at 712-662-7127.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest voter registration data suggests thousands of Iowans switched their party registration to Republican so they could participate in last month’s Iowa Caucuses. Voter data from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office shows there were about 16-thousand more registered Republicans in Iowa on February 1st than there were on January 1st.

The Iowa Republican Party Caucuses were held January 15th. The data suggests about 55-hundred were Democrats and six-thousand independents switched their party registration to Republicans in order to participate in the caucuses that night.

During the month of January, about 48-hundred Iowans registered as Republicans for the first time.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Cass County Democrats say Iowa 3rd District Congressional Candidate Lanon Baccam will visit Cass County on Tuesday, Feb. 13th. Baccam is being hosted by the Cass County Democrats at the Heritage House lower level meeting room (1200 Brookridge Circle, Atlantic, IA 50022). The event will start with a potluck and social from 6:00-6:30 PM, and the meeting with Baccam will begin at 6:30. Everyone is welcome, regardless of party affiliation.

Baccam, a Democrat, is running for Congress in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional district. The seat is currently held by Republican Zach Nunn. Baccam is a combat veteran whose parents immigrated to Iowa from Laos in 1980. Baccam was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant. Following service in the Army, Baccam attended Drake University and served in the USDA under former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack.

The Cass County Democrats are hosting Baccam at their February monthly meeting, which is open to the public. For more information on the Cass County Democrats, monthly gatherings, or to join the Cass County Democrats email newsletter, contact casscountyiadems@gmail.com or follow the Cass County Democrats on Facebook @CassCountyIADems or on Instagram @CassCountyDemocrats.

(Audubon, Iowa) – Audubon County EMA/911 Coordinator Tyler Thygesen reports the Audubon County 911 Dispatch Center took a 911 call at approximately 2:00 pm today (Sunday, February 11, 2024), of a structure fire  northeast of Exira, at 2845 Pheasant Avenue (Johnson Helicopter, Inc). They were advised that the structure contained two helicopters and fuel. They were also advised a male victim had received burns. Exira Fire & Rescue and Brayton Fire & Rescue were paged at 2:02 pm. Exira Fire & Rescue requested assistance from Audubon Fire & Rescue at 2:11 pm.

The fire was determined to be under control and they were completing overhaul at approximately 3:37 pm. The male victim was transported to the Audubon Airport by Exira Fire & Rescue and then he was flown by helicopter to a burn center.

The name of the victim was not immediately released.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a man was arrested at around 12:40-a.m. Saturday (Feb. 10), for Public Intoxication. Authorities say 52-year-old Philip Luke Turner, of Elliott, was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

OMAHA, Nebraska (KCRG) – A new report focused on deportation hearings in one immigration court finds there’s a lack of due process for immigrants.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska observed more than 500 hearings in the Omaha immigration court. About 40 percent of the removal proceedings in the court involve people living in Iowa.

According to the report, judges routinely compromised the due process rights of immigrants. The report outlines four specific areas: judges failing to consistently advise people of their rights, deficient interpretation services, a high number of cases without attorney representation, and the short duration of hearings – often lasting fewer than four minutes.

“As the backlog grows bigger and bigger every day, it has not been going down, you can imagine there’s pressure to get things done quicker. However, our constitutional rights cannot be affected by that. An immovable object that simply cannot be infringed on for the sake of expediency,” said ACLU of Nebraska Legal Fellow & lead author of the report Dylan Severino.

The report’s recommendations range from small adjustments, such as using telephone interpretation services whenever needed, to large actions by Congress, such as passing comprehensive immigration reform and reestablishing the immigration court system as an independent court system rather than a Department of Justice function.

The report also suggests state and local governments consider creating programs to guarantee legal representation in immigration court proceedings.

To view the full report, click HERE.