(Atlantic, Iowa) – 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will hold 29 events out of 99 counties in Iowa, this week.  In this area, Ramaswamy will hold Town Hall events this Thursday. Tickets for the events are available through the candidate’s website (shown below).

The schedule is as follows:

• 9-a.m. at the Guthrie Activity Center at Guthrie Center.
• 10:30-a.m. in Adair County at the Hotel Greenfield.
• Noon at the Pizza Ranch in Atlantic.
• 1:30-p.m. Thursday at Vic’s Main Tap, in Audubon.
• 3-p.m. at the Buck Snort Restaurant in Harlan.
• 4:30-p.m. Thursday at The Boneyard, in Logan.
• And, the Pottawattamie County Town Hall event for Vivek Ramaswamy will be held 6:45-p.m. Thursday, at Barley’s Bar & Grill, in Council Bluffs.

https://events.vivek2024.com/?_gl=1%2A14rkxv6%2A_gcl_au%2AMTk4NjkxMzAzOS4xNzAyMzE5MjUz&_ga=2.252023689.1458380787.1702319254-1114449620.1702319253

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports 41-year-old Dustin Brian Benge, of Greenfield, was arrested Dec. 8, 2023, at the Adair County Courthouse. Benge was taken into custody for Violation of Probation on the original charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine- 2nd offense; A Class-D felony charge of Dominion/Control of a Firearm/Offensive Weapon by a Felon; and Tampering with a Witness. His probation was revoked, and Benge was ordered to serve a term not to exceed five-years on the Dominion/Control charge, two-years on the Tampering charge, and two-years on the Possession charge. The sentences will be run concurrently. Benge will serve his time at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. He was also ordered to pay fines amount to $2,735 plus a 15% surcharge.

And, 44-year-old Ryan James Cook, of Anita, was arrested December 9th in Adair County, on an Adair County warrant for Violation of Probation. Cook was being held without bond in the Adair County Jail.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has signed an extension of the proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of grain, fertilizer, and manure.

The proclamation, issued today (Monday, 12/11/23) is effective immediately and continues through January 11, 2024. The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage, stover, fertilizer (dry, liquid, and gas), and manure (dry and liquid) to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation. 

This proclamation applies to loads transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system) and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table in Iowa Code § 321.463 (6) (a) and (b), by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges. 

See the proclamation here. 

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has said her goal is to get rid of the state income tax by the end of her current term, which would be December of 2026. A bill that cleared an Iowa Senate committee last spring suggested elimination of the state income tax could be accomplished in the next decade. “The Senate Republican goal has always been to eliminate the income tax in a responsible and thoughtful manner,” Republican Senator Dan Dawson says. “and that is the pathway that we are going down this next session.”

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (on left) and Senate Ways and Means chairman Dan Dawson. (RI file photo)

Dawson, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, says he’s looking forward to seeing the tax plan Governor Reynolds is set to unveil in January. Under current law, the state’s personal income tax will become a flat three-point-nine percent by 2026, but Republican leaders say the state is still taking in far more tax dollars than needed to run the government.

Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum says the focus of tax cutting should be on helping working families and elderly Iowans. “Not on the wealthy and the big corporations who have quite frankly benefitted from this series of tax cuts we’ve seen in recent years,” Jochum says. Jochum and Dawson made their comments at a forum sponsored by the Iowa Taxpayers Association. The 2024 Iowa legislative session begins Monday, January 8.

(Glenwood, Iowa) –  Police in Glenwood report a man from Nebraska was arrested Sunday, on drug charges. Authorities say 39-year-old Cody Heanue, of Cedar Bluffs, NE, was arrested for Possession of a controlled substance and possession drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $1,300 cash or surety. Heanue posted bond, and was released.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) —Police in Iowa City arrested nine people, including a woman from Pottawattamie County,  for allegedly bolting themselves to a door at Kinnick Stadium, preventing university staff from entering on Saturday, KCRG reports. In criminal complaints, police said the group was protesting at around 4:30 p.m. when they chained themselves to an entrance door using U-bolts and shouted abusive language at police and university staff. Police said they had to use bolt cutters to cut the protesters free of the door. They then had to lift the protesters off the ground and take them to police vehicles after they allegedly refused to comply. Police said the group caused more than $200 in damage during the protest.

The following people were charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and interference with official acts for the incident:

• Anthony Allou, 19, of Coralville
• Ariele Andalon, 27, of Iowa City
• Miriam Daoud, 22, of Cedar Rapids
• Ella Doolittle, 22, of Council Bluffs
• Jared Kula, 22, of North Liberty
• Brian Nilles, 23, of Ashton
• Clara Reynen, 26, of Iowa City
• Cassidy Slater-Scott, 24, of Iowa City
• Gabriel Sperry, 26, of Iowa City

Police did not confirm what the group was protesting.

ORLANDO, Fla. [KCCI] — The Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band will officially play at halftime during the Hawkeyes’ bowl game. The announcement was posted on the University of Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band’s Facebook page on Sunday. Previously, the Hawkeye Band was only scheduled to play before the game for seven minutes, without a performance during halftime. Now, the Hawkeye Band and the Pride of the Southland Band will perform after Gavin DeGraw’s halftime performance.

The band shared the following message from The Citrus Bowl:

“We’re working closely with Iowa and Tennessee to design a great experience for this year’s Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. The university bands will perform on the field both in pregame and at halftime. We appreciate the creativity and goodwill of the university band leaders to make this possible.

“During the halftime show presented by Cheez-It Snap’d, our live performance will be followed by traditional bowl game performances from The Hawkeye Marching Band and The Pride of the Southland Band.

“We have a special day planned for the Vols, the Hawkeyes and the coast-to-coast audience who gather around their televisions for this New Year’s tradition. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Orlando for ‘The Best Bowl Trip in America’ later this month.”

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa man is charged in the slaying of a Nebraska priest. The Washington County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office arrested an Iowa man in the fatal stabbing of a priest in the rectory of a church in Fort Calhoun early Sunday. Deputies were called to the house on a report of an attempted break-in and found Reverend Stephen Gutgsell suffering from stab wounds. Gutgsell later died at an Omaha hospital.

Kierre Williams.(Washington Cty Sheriff’s-Office)

Deputies also found 43-year-old Kierre Williams of Sioux City in the rectory and charged him with homicide and use of a weapon to commit a felony. Williams is jailed in Blair.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular, weekly meeting at 9-a.m. Tuesday in their Atlantic Courthouse Board Room. On their agenda is action on passing a Resolution “Approving [a] Collective Bargaining Agreement between Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Local 1414 American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Union, Council 61, AFL-CIO, Iowa (AFSCME).”

The Board is also expected to act on removing Ronnie Ross as Medical Examiner Investigator, retroactive to Dec. 6, 2023, and passing a Resolution to set Posted Weight Limits on County Bridges. They will also continue, and possibly act on approving, the Cass County Wellness Plan (effective from Jan. 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024).

The complete agenda is shown below:

(Des Moines, Iowa) –  Iowa anglers can buy the Missouri and Big Sioux River paddlefish license and tags starting Dec. 15 through Jan. 7th. The Iowa DNR says you can buy your special paddlefish license and tags on the Iowa DNR online licenses sales website at https://gooutdoorsiowa.com. A resident license sells for $25.50 and a nonresident license is $49. You must also have a valid Iowa fishing license. You can buy up to two tags – one from Dec. 15 to Dec. 31 and an additional tag from Jan. 1 to Jan. 7, or two tags if you didn’t buy one in December. A limited number of paddlefish licenses are available – 950 resident and 50 nonresident.

The license, harvest tag(s), and regulations will be mailed to purchasers in mid-January. Purchasers will be asked to complete an electronic survey to help the Iowa DNR evaluate the success of the paddlefish season. Please complete the survey whether you harvested a paddlefish or not.  The Iowa DNR is always working to improve the paddlefish season for anglers; any input provided is considered and is greatly appreciated.

The Missouri and Big Sioux River paddlefish season opens Feb. 1 and runs through April 30. For more information about Iowa’s special paddlefish season, visit the DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/paddlefish – click on Missouri River Paddlefish Season and Regulations.