MILLS COUNTY, Iowa (KETV) — It’s been almost a year since Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Company announced its plan to build a new beef processing plant in Mills County. The site near Interstate 29 and Bunge Avenue has seen little movement since the company worked to meet federal and environmental regulations.

In June, Cattlemen’s Heritage received a $25 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture for the project. This meant the ground needed to undergo a rigorous assessment to make sure there wouldn’t be any significant environmental damage. Other regulations also require the company to build a water treatment plant on site.

CEO Chad Tentinger tells KETV in Omaha, that it took longer than expected, and he underestimated the project’s timeline. He said they’re preparing to break ground later this year. It’s likely to happen near Spring, but hopes to announce a new date within a month. Legacy Beef Co-op will be the official supplier for the plant.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (KCCI) – Two people from California face over a dozen criminal charges each for allegedly stealing lottery scratch-off tickets in Iowa. Court documents say Robert Price and Samantha Flippo broke into a convenience store in Fort Dodge on Christmas Day with a crowbar and allegedly stole a lottery ticket kiosk.

Investigators say Price and Flippo then cashed winning tickets worth $135 at another convenience store in Fort Dodge. They also presented tickets marked as stolen during a burglary at a gas station in Sac City on Dec. 29, according to court documents.

Price faces 16 counts of lottery theft and a burglary charge. Flippo faces 17 lottery theft charges.

(Des Moines, Iowa (Audio courtesy O.Kay Henderson) – The CEO of Cass Health in Atlantic, representing the Iowa Hospital Association, spoke with Governor Kim Reynolds during her online hearing about the state budget, Wednesday. Brett Altman thanked Reynolds on behalf of the organization, for “championing the landmark tort reform bill, last year.” Altman said the bill is making a difference, with regard to a cap on non-economic damages, which he says has made Iowa more competitive, when it comes to recruitment of physicians and health care providers.

He also thanked the Governor for the health careers registered apprenticeship program, which, he says, Cass Health benefited from.

Brett Altman reminded the Governor Cass Health was one of the recipients of her Rural Hospitals Centers of Excellence program.

Altman said the Governor is “Obviously doing something right,” because the State ranks high in healthcare matters.

The Governor said the success of Iowa’s healthcare system and rank in the country, is also a reflection of what the medical community is “doing right.”

(Radio Iowa) – A Dubuque County landmark will get a significant overhaul this year as the rebuilding of the Centennial Cross is scheduled to start soon. Also known as the Blue Cross, it’s located in the town of Key West, about ten miles south of Dubuque. Tim McCaffery is president of the not-for-profit Centennial Cross Incorporated. McCaffery tells KCRG-TV that the cross has been part of the skyline in the Dubuque area since 1937.

“It was built to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the archdiocese,” McCaffery says. “In 1962 I believe it was, for the 150th year anniversary, we lit the cross, the Knights of Columbus of Dubuque lit the cross, and the plan is to keep it lit.” Construction is expected to start in the next few weeks and last four to six weeks. The group has raised about 150-thousand dollars toward of its goal of 350-thousand to pay for construction and for future maintenance of the cross.

“It’s served as a beacon for travelers coming back into Dubuque,” McCaffery says. “I remember as a kid, we’d travel to our cousin’s house or when we were out of town and coming home, we always knew we were close to home when we’d see that cross.” The current cross is 75 feet tall and has been blocked from sight for a number of years by trees. The new cross will stand 137-feet tall and will have L-E-D lighting on both sides.

“Over the years, the trees have grown up around the cross and that made it hard to see,” McCaffery says, “and then of course, neon lights were on the cross and the trees would blow against the cross and knock out the lights, or even wind storms would break the lights.” Donations can be made at the website: https://centennialcross.org/

(Radio Iowa) – Summit Carbon Solutions is suing Kossuth County in federal court over a new ordinance that restricts where carbon pipelines may be built.  Kossuth County Supervisors approved an ordinance last month that would require the carbon pipelines to be at least two and a half miles outside of city limits and at least one and a half miles from any home, hospital, nursing home, church, livestock confinement or public park in Kossuth County.The Iowa Capital Dispatch was first to report on Summit’s lawsuit.

The company argues state and federal officials have sole authority to approve its pipeline route and set safety standards. Summit has sued three other counties with similar ordinances. Kossuth County’s ordinance says a hazardous liquid pipeline would be a threat to public health.

The ordinance directly mentions pipeline plans from two companies — Summit and Navigator — but Navigator’s project has been cancelled due to what the company called regulatory hurdles.

(Radio Iowa) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says former President Trump should show up next week to a debate in Iowa. C-N-N announced Trump, DeSantis and Haley had met the polling requirements to be included in the network’s debate that’s scheduled for January 10th. “He was invited. He declined. I’m debating Nikki Haley. And what does he do? He schedules a town hall on Fox News to compete with the debate that we’re going to be doing,” DeSantis says. “Why would you not just show up to the debate at that point?”

Trump’s town hall on Fox and the DeSantis-Haley debate on C-N-N will air at exactly the same time next Wednesday night. Vivek Ramaswamy says he’ll tape a town hall with podcaster Tim Pool that will also air at 7 p.m. next Tuesday.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic City Administrator John Lund was under the weather for this evening’s (Wednesday’s) City Council meeting, but he pushed through, donning a mask and gloves, saying he was “miserably sick,” but nevertheless optimistic for the start of the new year, budget-wise. He updated the Council on the City’s potential health insurance renewal costs.

Lund shared some positive news with regard to the Local Option Sales Tax revenue from November and December 2023 holiday shopping season.

Overall, he said, Atlantic is running “at pace or ahead of where we were last year. That will be reflected in the revised estimate. The rest is a good-news/bad news situation. The good news is, that the Assessed Property Valuations are in.

The bad news is while Iowa lawmakers have nearly unanimously approved a massive property tax bill on both sides of the aisle, which they claim will make Iowans’ tax payments more manageable, the bill consolidates 15 existing Iowa city levies into one General Fund system. For cities, the bill which was sent to Governor Reynolds’ desk, caps levies for cities at $8.10 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. For counties, it’s capped at $3.50/$1,000. Rural services levies are capped at $3.95/$1,000. The bill also requires local governments to put any surplus revenue from assessment value growth, toward lowering their levy. Lawmakers estimate the total tax cuts to Iowa property owners at upwards of $100-million. John Lund said “The legislature got what they wanted.”

He said that’s much lower than what he was basing his budget projections on.

Lund said “That’s not a lot to work with.” The General Fund helps to pay for many city operations, including the police and fire department, ambulance service, airport, library, the pool and much more. Despite the dire news, Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett remained optimistic.

Lund added the legislatures action won’t affect on the City’s economic development projects this year.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved First Whitney Bank & trusts as the City’s official bank for the City Checking Account in 2024, and the Atlantic News Telegraph as the City’s Official Newspaper for legal publications in 2024.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds didn’t share any clues about her tax and spending plans as she hosted an online hearing about the state budget today (Wednesday). Groups that have lobbied for tax cuts in the past used the forum to make the case for deeper reductions. Chris Hagenow is president of Iowans for Tax Relief.

“Clearly there is significant room to continue to lower income tax rates,” Hagenow says. “…Excited to see what you might have planned for us going forward.” Tyler Raygor, state director for Americans for Prosperity, says it’s reasonable to accelerate the plan to shrink down to a three-point-nine percent flat income tax.

“Moreover, we would support you, Governor Reynolds, and the legislative leadership in crafting a strategic path toward the complete elimination of the income tax,” Raygor said. “This bold move would make Iowa an attractive destination for businesses  and individuals seeking a state committed to fostering economy freedom.” Mike Rozenboom, legal counsel for the Iowa Bankers Association, says Iowa is in a well-positioned to both cut taxes and spend money on affordable housing, child care, education and other quality of life initiatives.

“Tax relief and a robust budget will mean more money is being invested in communities across the state,” Rozenboom says.  Matt Everson, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, says his members want to pay less taxes. “To let them keep their own money, to let them spend that in their communities, on their own employees and what not,” Everson says.

Reynolds will deliver the annual “Condition of the State” address on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and release her state budget plan that evening. During the event two years ago, she called on legislators to pass a flat income tax and is likely to reveal her latest tax cutting goals next Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who bought electric vehicles last week may have qualified for a 75-hundred-dollar federal tax credit, but that credit evaporated when 2024 arrived. The Inflation Reduction Act aims to shift battery production from China and incentivize production in the U-S, so cars with Chinese-made batteries aren’t eligible. Bruce Anderson, president of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association, says the regulatory hiccup will have a short-term impact on buyers, but he anticipates E-Vs only becoming more available across the state.

“They’re there and they’re ready and they’ve been getting ready for the past couple of years,” Anderson says, “but the credit piece is changing.” If you priced electric vehicles last year but held off buying until now, you may be surprised to find the popular Nissan Leaf or Tesla Model 3 have lost eligibility for the big tax credit.

“They really changed at the stroke of midnight New Years Day,” he says. “There were vehicles on the showroom that qualified on December 31st that didn’t qualify on January 1st.” Major U-S car manufacturers are adjusting their supply chains to comply with the changes, but in the meantime, the list of vehicles eligible for the tax credit decreased from 43 to 19. Anderson says as car manufacturers shift their supplies, that eligibility number will rebound.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report an alleged shoplifter crashed a vehicle Tuesday night, in an attempt to flee from the crime scene at the Creston Wal-Mart Store. The incident happened at around 8:25-p.m.

Authorities say 24-year-old Wiley James Lewallen, of Riverside, CA, entered a 2006 Chevy Cobalt registered to a woman from Cromwell and took-off. The vehicle traveled northeast through the parking lot at a high-rate of speed before striking a curb and going airborne. It continued through the air until the vehicle crashed through a chain link fence, and entered a small retention pond. No tire tracks were observed by officers in the grass from the curb and chain link fence. Lewallen got out of the car and fled on foot. The vehicle sustained $3,500 damage.

Photos from the Creston Fire Dept. Facebook page

Creston Fire and Medic 1 crews responded to the scene. A fire crew donned cold water immersion suits to search the vehicle’s interior and the water surrounding the vehicle. The vehicle was determined to be unoccupied, and was towed out of the water. As mentioned in our prior report, 48-year-old Jennifer Suzanne Donez, of Cromwell, and 24-year-old Wiley James Lewallen, were arrested early Wednesday morning in the 1700 block of W. Townline Road.

Both were charged with Interference with Official Acts and Provide False Identification. Donez and Lewallen were being held in the Union County Jail, with bond set at $600 each.