(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is urging Iowans to call in tips to a new cold case unit in her office.

Iowa briefly had a cold case unit to examine unsolved murders, but it was financed with a federal grant and closed down more than a dozen years ago. The legislature has provided Bird’s office with over half a million dollars and she’ll be hiring three investigators to review the more than 400 unsolved murders or missing person cases in Iowa.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird held a news conference to discuss formation of a cold case unit in her office. (RI photo)

Steve Ponsetto, a retired state trooper and Division of Criminal Investigation agent, will lead the office. He says they will review homicides and cases involving unidentified human remains as well as people who’ve gone missing under suspicious circumstances if local investigators have exhausted all leads.

The attorney general held a news conference today (Tuesday) at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to preview the project, which will be launched July 1st when the next state budgeting year starts. Polk County Sheriff Kevin Schneider has had a group of retired officers volunteer to go through records and evidence for the over 100 unsolved cold cases in Polk County — and he thanked legislators for providing the money to launch a state-funded cold case unit.

Jody Ewing founded the Iowa Cold Cases website in 2005 as a service to the families of victims and she joined the attorney general at today’s (Tuesday’s) news conference.

Bird says her office has prosecuted two cold cases in the past 18 months.

There are more than a quarter of a million unsolved murders in the U-S and most states have a cold case unit.

(Radio Iowa) – The principal of Perry High School, who was killed while trying to protect students during a shooting rampage at the school in January, is being honored with a posthumous award for his actions. Dan Marburger is being named Iowa’s Character Champion for 2024 by the state program that recognizes individuals and organizations for their role in the six pillars of character. Iowa Character program coordinator Hilary Ortman says Marburger was a hero.

The six pillars of character include: Caring, Citizenship, Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, and Trustworthiness. The program, based at Drake University, is honoring others, including this year’s Citizens of Character, Alan Steckman of Mason City and Carter Hammer of Sioux City; and Katie Hoover of West Des Moines as the Educator of Character.

Dan Marburger (Perry Community School District photo)

Ortman says The Iowa League of Heroes is also being singled out as the Business of Character — the group that brings costumed superheroes to the hospital beds of children.

Ortman is calling on all Iowans to consider the importance of character in those around them.

Each of the recipients will be recognized at a dinner on August 2nd at the Prairie Meadows Conference Center in Altoona with a televised special of the recipients to be aired later. See the full list of this year’s award recipients at IowaCharacterAwards.org.

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand says it’s time to change state law so there’s mandatory prison time for anyone convicted of large scale theft of taxpayer funds. Sand defines “large scale” theft as anything over 10-thousand dollars.

Sand says red flags about bookkeeping are showing up in several of the audits his office has done for small Iowa communities and counties. While it can be hard to find people in rural Iowa with the skills to manage local government accounts, Sand says that can’t excuse everything.

Sand made his comments this weekend on an episode of “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. Last week, Sand’s office released an audit that found the small southwest Iowa town of Lorimor had a quarter of a million dollar budget deficit. The town’s clerk had been fired by a different city in 2013 after auditors found she’d mishandled 27-thousand dollars in that city’s accounts.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Adair County will meet at 9-a.m. on Wednesday, June 19th, in the Greenfield Courthouse Board Room. On their agenda is discussion facilitated by Maria Brownell, with the Ahlers and Cooney Law Firm, with regard to a Commercial & Industrial Development Ordinance.

Adair-Cass-Guthrie Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber will provide the Board with an Environment Health update, and County Engineer Nick Kauffman is expected to present for the Board’s approval, a contract with Adams County for Interim Engineer services, along with his regular report on Adair County Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities.

(Radio Iowa) Iowa Republican Joni Ernst — the first female combat veteran elected to the U-S Senate — is blasting President Biden’s recent decision to let Ukraine send U-S weapons into Russia ONLY if it’s done in defense of a city that’s 30 miles from the Russian border.

Several media organizations reported in late May that Biden had given Ukraine authority to send U-S weapons into Russian territory to defend the city of Kharkiv (har-KEEVE) — but using long-range U-S missiles to go on offense into Russia is still barred. Ernst is also critical of the Biden Administration’s approach to Iran.

Ernst is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and its version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act is expected to be released in July. Last week, the U-S House approved a nearly 884 BILLION dollar spending plan for the U-S military and a group of 74 House Republicans failed in an effort to forbid any funds from going to Ukraine.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – Members of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center Community School District Board of Education will hold a joint session beginning at 7-p.m. Wednesday in Guthrie Center, in the AC/GC High School Media Center. On the agenda for both Board are contract recommendations.

In the Guthrie Center School District, the recommendations include: William Shull – Physical Education/Health Teacher/Junior High Weightlifting Coach; Kena Baier – 1st Grade Teacher;  Emma Bireline – Junior High English Teacher. and Rebecca Diemer – Junior High Cross Country Coach. The Adair-Casey Board will act on Contract Recommendations for:  Summer School Staff – Elementary, and Coaching Recommendations.

Both Board will review/discuss Spring 2024 Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) data, the final property tax rate and liability/workman’s compensation insurance renewal for 2024-25, an interfund loan between the general fund and school nutrition fund (for the GC District), and 2024-25 employee handbooks.

The Boards will also consider for joint approval, 2024-25 Operational Sharing Agreements, teacher 28E sharing agreements, milk and bread bids, Board memberships, TLC contracts and employee handbooks, along with fitness center memberships.

Action items for the Adair-Casey Board includes: Approval of a transfer from the student activity fund for elementary and junior high yearbooks; the purchase of equipment for the kitchen; purchase of  student and staff computers; disposal of obsolete equipment; a compact utility tractor trade, and the fourth pay application for the junior high bleacher project.

The GC Board will consider for approval: The purchase of a pressure washer, and beginning a high school dance team. The joint school Boards will adjourn to enter a joint closed session for superintendent evaluation. Once that’s completed, the will return to an open session for approval of the 2024-25 superintendent contract.

Creston Police report that on Monday, June 17 at 8:51 pm, 35-year-old Jessica Lee Marintha Ferber of Greenfield was arrested at the Creston Union County Law Enforcement Center.  Ferber was charged with Harassment 2nd Degree-Threatening Bodily Injury. Ferber was cited and released.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) joined her colleagues in calling on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to raise Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels to levels that are consistent with production and availability.

“America’s environmental and energy security depend on the widespread production, availability, and use of biofuels. Biofuels play a particularly critical role in emissions reduction for heavy-duty transportation — including aviation, shipping, rail, and trucking — while opening up economic opportunities for American farmers,” wrote the lawmakers. “A strong RFS and broad availability of homegrown agricultural feedstocks are critical for ensuring we keep up the progress we have made in decarbonizing our roads, seas, railways, and skies.”

“Since the volumes were set last summer, RIN values have decreased by an average of 66 percent, sending a discouraging market signal to farmers, feedstock producers, biofuel producers, blenders and investors,” the lawmakers continued. “Domestic fuel production facilities are closing as a result, putting Americans out of work and disrupting local economies. The negative signal to renewable fuel producers threatens billions of dollars of investment in feedstock and fuel production, including for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Without EPA action, America will miss out on the carbon reductions delivered by advanced biofuels.”