After completing public interviews of all 30 applicants, the State Judicial Nominating Commission said Friday it has selected a slate of six nominees to fill the two vacancies on the Iowa Court of Appeals that occurred when Chief Judge David Danilson retired on January 4, 2019, and Judge Christopher McDonald filled the Supreme Court vacancy on March 7, 2019.

Among the nominees is Julie Schumacher, District Court Judge – Third Judicial District, from Schleswig. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has thirty days in which to make the appointments to the court from this slate of nominees.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa issued the following statement today (Friday), after touring flood-devastated areas of southwest Iowa and three meetings with community leaders, emergency managers, small business owners, farmers and other Iowans affected by flooding in the region.

“I saw destruction and loss in the flooded parts of southwest Iowa. I also saw strength. Farmers and small towns always have the steepest uphill climb to recover after natural disasters, but I’ll be doing all I can to help.

“On Monday, the Senate will be voting on disaster funding that would help the recovery process for the farms, businesses and the everyday lives of Iowans, Nebraskans and others suffering from natural disasters. I’ve heard discussion from some of my colleagues who want to bring up unrelated issues, but we can debate those at another time. I sure hope my colleagues who have been visiting Iowa will be able to tell farmers and small business owners they aren’t standing in the way of assistance for the Midwest recovery the next time they visit.”

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Senate has unanimously passed a bill that would get rid of the special conventions that pick party nominees if no candidate gets at least 35 percent of the vote on Primary Election Day. Senator Brad Zaun of Urbandale found himself in that situation five years ago. He was the top vote-getter in the Republican Primary in Iowa’s third congressional district, but with just 25 percent. A district nomination convention had to be held — and G-O-P delegates chose David Young over Zaun.

“God had a different plan for me and I’m so glad I’m not out there in that dysfunction in that cesspool out there in Washington, D.C.,” Zaun says. Zaun’s bill calls for having a run-off election in early August if none of the candidates in the June Primary Election get at least 35 percent of the vote.

“What this bill does is it creates a run-off between the top two vote getters and then that person would be the nominee for whatever the party is,” Zaun said. The Iowa Senate has embraced this run-off concept before, but it has stalled in the House and the bill faces a deadline this year. If a House COMMITTEE fails to pass the bill by next Friday, it will be sidelined for the year.

ANKENY, Iowa – March 29, 2019 – In response to flooding emergencies in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, the Iowa Department of Transportation is temporarily waiving some requirements for motor carriers engaged in flood response and recovery activities. To expedite disaster relief and recovery in Iowa and Nebraska, some rules related to trip permits required by the International Registration Plan and fuel permits required by the International Fuel Tax Agreement have been temporarily waived for motor carriers transporting equipment, supplies, materials, and storm debris in conjunction with response and recovery efforts in Iowa and Nebraska.

These waivers apply to commercial vehicles traveling in and through the state of Iowa for the purpose of providing direct assistance to disaster areas in the states of Iowa and Nebraska. These waivers are effective immediately and will end on April 24, 2019, in concurrence with the expiration of the Governor’s Proclamation of Disaster Emergency dated March 25, 2019, as amended.  Additionally, on March 22, 2019, Governor Kim Reynolds issued a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency in which certain state regulations were waived relating to size and weight permitting requirements for commercial vehicles providing disaster repair and recovery in this state.

For more information on flood resources and recovery efforts, go to https://floods2019.iowa.gov/

A passenger in a vehicle pulled over during a traffic stop in Red Oak this (Friday) morning, was arrested on a drug-related charge. Red Oak Police say 26-year old Justyn Ray Carlson, of Omaha, was arrested at around 9:50-a.m., for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (a marijuana pipe). He was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa prosecutors have again charged a Nebraska 16-year-old with helping to rob and kill a man. The adult murder charge against Xavier Smith Catchings, of Omaha, was refiled after a jurisdiction hearing in Council Bluffs. He and two other people are accused of killing Council Bluffs resident Adam Angeroth.

Prosecutors initially charged the boy in district court and then sought dismissal and his referral to juvenile court because the crime alleged occurred when the boy was 15. The prosecutors said juveniles charged with forcible felonies must be at least 16 when the crimes occurred for the charges to be directly filed to district courts.

A judge ruled Thursday that Smith Catchings’ case should be returned to district court because it was unlikely he’d be rehabilitated in the juvenile system.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office reminds patrons of the Atlantic Community School District, that there are only a couple days left before Atlantic School Special Election Day. There’s still time to vote in the Auditor’s Office during their regular business hours. Absentee voting will be held up until 11-a.m. until Tuesday, April 2nd. The polls will be open April 2nd from Noon until 8:00 p.m. As of this (Friday) morning 400 voters had cast their ballots at the Auditor’s Office.

Coming before the voters Tuesday, is a $9.5-million bond referendum that would pay for school building and site improvements. The Resolution on the ballot asks: “Shall the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Community School District, in the Counties of Cass, Audubon and Pottawattamie, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness ans issue general obligation bonds in an amount not exceeding $9,500,000 for the purpose of furnishing, equipping, constructing, improving, repairing, and renovating school buildings and improving the sites thereof at the school district’s existing school buildings located in Atlantic, Iowa, including without limitation: (a) renovating, equipping and improving the football field/track/stadium, team building, concession and related buildings/site improvements, (b) renovating, equipping and improving  the softball/baseball fields and related buildings/site improvements, (c) constructing, relocating, equipping and improving tennis courts and related buildings/site improvements, and (d) improving and realigning a roadway for smoother access to the elementary school and connection to the middle school?”

If approved during the Special Election, the indebtedness of the district will be in excess of 1.25-percent of the assessed valuation of taxable property in the School District.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Senate has unanimously endorsed the idea of adding mental health professionals who a masters degree to a state program that helps nurses and physicians assistants repay their college loans.  Republican Senator Tim Kraayenbrink, of Fort Dodge, says “All the recipients are required to work in rural areas. The bill helps address some of our shortfalls and shortages in mental health in our rural areas.”

The loan repayment program is ONLY available to those who work full-time in a rural community and the state grants are NOT subject to income taxes. Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, says there’s bipartisan support for this move. “Mental health professionals — and we don’t have enough overall — but the ones we have, too many of them are concentrated in urban areas,” Quirmbach said. “I think this bill will help us get more of that type of medical assistance out to our smaller communities.”‘

The current program offers state grants to nurses and P-As and the money is to be used to repay student loans. It’s only available to those who are working in a rural area with “diminishing” health care services.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s former secretary of agriculture is back in the state to survey flood damage and talk to displaced residents, especially farmers who have had many hundreds of acres underwater. Bill Northey, now an undersecretary at the U-S-D-A, says it was “mind-boggling” to tour the disaster areas of water-logged southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri on Thursday.  “It’s devastating. We’ve talked to producers. This is one of the worst they’ve had,” Northey says. “We need to be able to work with our partners in other parts of the federal government to say how do we need to address the overall issue going forward, also, how do we need to respond to help people right now?”

Northey and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley plan to conduct a town hall meeting at the Mills County Fairgrounds in Hamburg this (Friday) afternoon at 1:30 p-m. Northey says he worries a wrecked levee system along the Missouri River is leaving the area vulnerable to more flooding, perhaps very soon. He says he knows fields are unprotected, as farmers wait for the water to recede. “This is going to take a long time to get out of the way so folks can get back to picking up debris and trying to rebuild levees and certainly get back to a more normal situation,” Northey says. “But it could be worse before it gets better as well.”

Northey says he’s overwhelmed by the scope of the damage he’s witnessing in the region, noting, flooding is always devastating but he wasn’t prepared for this. “It’s just mind-boggling to see it in person,” Northey says. “How much water there is and how much water has to get off of here to eventually make this land such that they can get out there and get some planting done.”

Northey says he has two messages for his boss, U-S Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue. First, farmers need help to recover — now, and second, changes are needed in how the Missouri River is managed to prevent another repeat.

(Thanks to Brent Martin, KFEQ, St. Joseph, MO.)

(Radio Iowa) — Floodwaters are gradually falling but residents in four southwest Iowa communities who are still subject to mandatory evacuation orders haven’t seen their homes in about two weeks. Matt Schoville and his family had to flee their home near Percival and have been staying at a campground outside of Sidney. Schoville says the dislocation has been devastating. “I really don’t know what we’re gonna do, it’s crazy,” Schoville says. “There’s not much to rent or to buy around this area, to even relocate for now.”

In Fremont County, part of Hamburg remains evacuated, while Percival, McPaul and Bartlett are fully evacuated. Mike Crecelius, Fremont County’s emergency management coordinator, says FEMA is helping people with losses but there’s a long recovery process ahead. “Some of our county roads aren’t even there anymore,” Crecelius says. “There was that much force with the water flowing south that we have large portions of county roads that are missing or there’s holes in them.”

Crecelius says this second major Missouri River flood within a decade is disastrous for the region. “Bartlett, in 2011, only had three to four feet of water in it,” Crecelius says, “and this time, Bartlett had water to where you could only see rooftops.”  He says the river needs to drop below flood stage before communities can start to see relief. The National Weather Service says snowmelt from South Dakota is coming down the river, and that’s one thing delaying water levels from dropping.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)