(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds says she wants to arrange a meeting with county officials who’re considering a local ordinance prohibiting wind turbines within a mile and a half of a residence. Madison County Public Health officials say soundwaves from the turbines and the sun reflecting off the huge blades cause headaches and nausea. Reynolds told reporters she wants to review the data.

“I’ve sat down with both sides of the equation, so I’ve met with people that have some concerns,” Reynolds said, “and we will continue to do that and make sure that we’re mindful as we move forward.”

Reynolds signed a proclamation recognizing the wind energy industry on Monday, declaring this “wind week” in Iowa. Today (Tuesday), Reynolds told reporters she’s unaware of research showing wind turbines cause health problems. “Listen, I support the industry. I’ve said that, you know, until I show some data to show us otherwise,” Reynolds said.

According to the Iowa Environmental Council, there have been no scientific studies linking wind turbines to public health concerns. Reynolds says she’s not an expert in this area, but plans to gather “stakeholders” to discuss this Madison County ordinance.

“I don’t have all the facts in front of me, so if they want to sit down with me and talk to me about some of the information they’ve been gathering, I’ll meet with them. I have before. We’ll continue to bring stakeholders together at the table and try to address any concerns that they may have, listen to what they are, listen to what they are, take a look at some of the data, I’m sure they do, to present to us, we’ll take a look at that.”

This spring, President Trump said “wind mills” cause cancer. Senator Chuck Grassley called the comment “idiotic.” At the time, Reynolds said it wasn’t her place to say whether wind turbines caused cancer. The governor emphasized her support for the industry and said this issue may be like scientific studies about coffee showing one year it’s good for you and the next it causes cancer.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg says rural Americans embrace immigration when they see it as the solution to their employment needs and a shrinking population.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor discussed his rural economic policy proposal with reporters Tuesday while taking a walk through the Iowa State Fair. His proposal calls for towns and counties, and not just corporations, to be able to seek employment visas.

Buttigieg says if residents are part of the decision to invite immigrants to their communities, “it does change the way we look at things,” and they are less likely to fear outsiders.

Buttigieg has embarked on a three-day trip through Iowa, including rural counties carried by Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and Republican Donald Trump in 2016.

COLLINS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in central Iowa say crews have stopped a leak that sent plumes of dangerous anhydrous ammonia into an area around Collins.

Hazardous materials crews were called around 11 a.m. Tuesday to Landus Cooperative, where a 30,000-gallon tank of anhydrous ammonia leaked. The Story County Sheriff’s Office says first responders immediately evacuated an area in the southeast corner of Collins.

A news release by the sheriff’s office says the leak was contained around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and the evacuation order lifted. No injuries were reported.

Anhydrous ammonia is a farm fertilizer that is stored under pressure as a liquid, but becomes a lethal, suffocating gas when released from pressure. Even thin fumes can cause breathing difficulty and irritation to eyes, nose or throat.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a man from Thayer reported Saturday, that sometime during the night of Friday August 9th and early Saturday morning, Aug. 10th, someone vandalized a fuel tank on his property, and stole diesel fuel. The loss was estimated at $1,250.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

CARTER LAKE, Iowa (AP) — The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska has scored another legal win in its fight to keep its casino in western Iowa open. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose on Monday rejected motions in a lawsuit by the states of Iowa and Nebraska and the Iowa city of Council Bluffs seeking to derail the casino. The motions sought to amend Rose’s order earlier this year in which she required the National Indian Gaming Commission to revisit its 2017 ruling giving the tribe the right to build the Prairie Flower Casino on land it owns in Carter Lake.

Attorneys for Nebraska, Iowa and Council Bluffs had wanted the judge to declare that her order had vacated the commission’s 2017 ruling, which likely would have required the casino to shut down as litigation dragged on.

Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources report Norma McCutchan, life science teacher at Nodaway Valley High School in Greenfield, is the 2019 recipient of the Brass Bluegill award from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fish Iowa! program. McCutchan started using Fish Iowa! in 2012 to introduce animal behavior and Iowa’s natural resources to her sophomore classes, and share her love of the outdoors. McCutchan says “Many of my students aren’t aware of the nature around them, activities available outdoors, and the impact we have on an ecosystem.” She said also, “I’m an outdoors person and want to share my experiences and passion for nature, and hopefully spark an interest in fishing.”

McCutchan’s students study Iowa fish species found in their regional lakes, and characteristics of the fish. They learn about different fishing baits and lures and make a hypothesis about which lure or bait they could use to catch a specific fish species. McCutchan reminds her students that it’s not always about catching when they go fishing, they need to be aware of lake conditions and weather. After the students’ research is complete, they put their knowledge into practice during a fish outing.

“I want students to experience the outdoors and joys of fishing,” McCutchan said. “Many of my students have never gone fishing, don’t know how to cast a rod, bait a hook, tie a hook/lure on their line, or remove a fish after it’s caught. I get the privilege to teach them these skills.”

McCutchan was presented her award at the Natural Resources Commission meeting in Des Moines on August 8. The Brass Bluegill award has been presented each year since 1996 to an instructor who has established an outstanding local program that exemplifies the goals of Fish Iowa!

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines lawyer working for Iowa Workforce Development as an administrative law judge has been named the new director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday she appointed Elizabeth Johnson of Altoona to head the commission responsible for enforcing state civil rights laws designed to prohibit discrimination in employment, public accommodations and education. Johnson was a civil rights specialist at the commission before she took her current job.

She begins Aug. 26 as commission executive director, a job subject to Iowa Senate confirmation. The commission’s interim director Linda Grathwohl left on July 25 without giving a reason other than planning to return to a position at Iowa Legal Aid. The previous permanent commission executive Kristin Johnson had the job for 3½ years. She resigned Jan. 2 as Reynolds began her first full term as governor.

The Harlan Police Department reports two recent arrests and an accident. 44-year old Jason Michael Lassen, of Harlan, was arrested August 7th, following a call for a disturbance. Lassen was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with public intoxication. On August 10th, 32-year old Daniel Perez Martinez, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Perez Martinez was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with operating while intoxicated.

And, no injuries were reported following an accident August 3rd at 2102 23rd Street, in Harlan. Authorities say a 2001 Ford Focus driven by Mariah Karnes, of Harlan, was pulling into a parking stall, and mistakenly pushed the accelerator instead of the brake. The car hit the south side of the building, causing the wall to collapse into the building. The wall entered the building, striking a restroom and rupturing the plumbing inside the room. The water escaped the room and flooded the entire entrance.

(Radio Iowa) — Law enforcement and medical professionals are staging an active shooter training drill today (Tuesday) at the University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center in downtown Iowa City. One organizer, Johnson County Emergency Management Director Dave Wilson, says the exercise seems even more necessary in the wake of recent shootings in Dayton and El Paso. “So for us, it’s all reality,” Wilson says. “We don’t take a, ‘it’s a never going to happen here’ approach. We try and be ready for what happens when it’s our turn because it’s very possible.”

The exercise is meant to be a full-scale simulation. Multiple law enforcement agencies from across Johnson County are responding, and medical professionals are working to triage volunteers posing as victims, then transporting them to area hospitals for treatment.  “More than anything, it probably reinforces the fact that, yeah, this is a relevant thing, this isn’t some wild training exercise that is never going to happen here. I don’t think anybody feels that way,” Wilson says. “We all thought prior to Texas and prior to Ohio that this could happen here.”

Wilson says the exercise has been in the works for years and the timing is coincidental. He says it’s the first such training in about three years to include E-M-S in addition to law enforcement. With each incident, he says agencies do additional preparation for the responsibility they never hope to have.

(Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says congressional oversight is needed following the apparent weekend suicide of financier Jeffrey Epstein in a federal jail in New York City. Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges and reportedly hanged himself Saturday in his cell. Grassley says an investigation is warranted as it appears mistakes were made in how Epstein was being watched. Grassley says, “I think it would be to make sure that the Bureau of Prisons, which has a terrible record of management, we make sure that the taxpayers’ money is being spent wisely.”

Grassley says there needs to be strong leadership from the top down, something that’s lacking in this particular division. “It’s just terrible that we don’t have a fulltime director of the Bureau of Prisons,” Grassley says. “When I say ‘full-time,’ we have full-time acting, but we don’t have somebody appointed specifically for that position.”

Epstein had ties to both President Trump and former President Clinton, as well as to British royalty. Social media is aflame with conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death and who may’ve actually been responsible. Grassley, a Republican, says he doesn’t believe in conspiracy theories and is only interested in righting potential wrongs in the prison system, not delving into Epstein’s past and who knew who. “Maybe they weren’t bad when they knew him, maybe they were bad, maybe they didn’t know they were bad,” Grassley says, “but just because you rub elbows with somebody doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s some guilt on the part of friends of a person that committed suicide.”

Epstein was accused of sexually abusing dozens of young girls at his homes in Florida and New York in the early 2000s, charges he denied.